Eating in NOLA:

Boucherie lives on Jeannette. Lots of people love Boucherie -- like, really dig it. We had dinner there a few months ago and were not bowled over, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth another try. At least another try at lunch. Especially because I do like the tiny 12 hour roast beef po-boys they serve out of that purple truck.



Kerry had the white peppercorn smoked scallops with sweet potatoes and a Steen's Molasses Veloute (just gonna pretend I know what that means). The scallops were huge and cooked perfectly, and the mashed potatoes beneath were roasted and topped with scallions to create a savory accompaniment rather than cloyingly sweet (which sometimes happens with sweet potatoes). The dish came with some fried ginger on top, which was crunchy and flavorful and not something we'd seen before. Seems like the new trend is serving seafood with sweet potatoes. It seems weird to me, but I guess people smarter than me know what they are doing.

Either way I think it's fair to say Boucherie redeemed itself in our eyes. Definitely a good place for lunch.

Healthy eating was a disaster... lets pretend it didn't happen.  And how are we going to do that?  By eating at a diner of course.


New Years Eve day we headed down to the quarter to see what people from Ohio look like.  We were hungry but everything place we tried was packed with mid-westerners and panhandle dwellers.  Eventually though, we came across Clover Grill.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but Kerry liked that they were supporting the Saints with a black and gold ballon arch, and I liked that they the only thing they advertised on their windows were "Eggs",  so we went in.  Immediately we were told they were crowded and if we wanted to eat we needed to wait outside.  Okay, sure.

Clover Grill has a certain charm... a charm described as "not for homophobes"  by the Zagat review hanging wall.  But thats not the only kind of charm that Clover Grill can claim.  There are two clocks on the wall reading incorrect times.  The "City Hall" clock reads 4:50pm because "whenever you need something at City Hall they act like they are 10 min from closing" and the "Chalmette" clock which is slow because "Chalmette is behind the times".

In the 10 minutes we waited for Kerry's Burger to cook under a hubcap, the guy behind the counter told another 10 groups of people they were going to need to wait outside if they wanted to eat.  So at least we weren't the only ones.


And the food was what you would expect but just a touch better.  Like I said, Kerry had the burger.  I went with a grilled cheese on wheat with bacon and tomato.  We shared a side of fries which was more than enough for us to share.

We don't spend a ton of time in the quarter but maybe you do.  You should to to Clover Grill... unless you're from Chalmette.  And don't be put off if you are told to wait outside.  They move quick... you're probably only 15 minuets away from sinking your teeth into a hubcap burger.

** This is be the last post that makes use of my trusty iPhone camera.  It didn't always take the best pictures or the clearest pictures, but I like to think it really gave this blog the gritty, tough, hardcore persona you have all come to love.  That being said moving forward all pictures on this blog will actually look like food.

We went to One Restaurant yesterday.  Kerry had been a few times before but it was my first time.  I wasn't disappointed.


It's nice having a few nice places in the River Bend neighborhood.  One is a pretty good lunch spot.  Prices are fairly reasonable and not at the expense of quality or portions.

Kerry started with the char-grilled oysters with Roquefort and red wine vinaigrette.  I'm not really into oysters (gasp) but I am into Roquefort and they were great.


I had the tomatoes three ways to start.  The three ways were marinated, raw and stewed.  All were good.  The marinate was a balsamic one which was pretty good.  I think my favorite was the raw though.  Cant beat a little salt and pepper on some raw tomatoes.


Kerry had the BBQ shrimp and grits.  Again, it was just really well prepared.  The BBQ had what tasted like a ginger soy base which was surprising but worked really well with the grits.


And I had the pulled pork sandwich because I love pulled pork.  It wasn't bad.  It wasn't quite what I expected.  I was expecting bbq even though there was nothing on the menu that indicated that would be the case.  Also it came on forcaccia which I think might have been a little better had it been grilled up.  All of that aside the pork was really tasty and it came with a mound of shoestring fries which is always going to win me over.  No joke, if me and you got into a shoestring french fry eating contest I'd probably eat a million and chances are you would eat like 3 or 4.


We got dessert too and we got it to go.  Deserts to go always look terrible but look at this.  This is how it looked when I opened it after just kind tossing it around in my car and throwing it on the table.  Not too shabby.  It was a flourless chocolate cake and thats what it tasted like.  It was good and a good way to finish off a solid lunch.

We tried out Besh's newest offering, The American Sector a few nights ago.  Now I'm a pretty big fan of Luke so this place had a little bit of living up to do.

Now, we showed up on a Thursday night and I assume the majority of their business must be done around lunch and during the hours the WWII Museum is open.  But we were one one of only three tables in what is a pretty large space.  In all fairness it could be because everyone in their right mind has spent the last 4 days hiding from the cold indoors but either way its always a little weird having a full staff waiting on you in an empty restaurant.That being said the service was very good and you got the feeling that even if the place had been a little more hopping we sill would have gotten good service.

The food was pretty excellent as well.  The menu was what I would call upscale Americana with things like Spicy garlic glazed fried chicken with watermelon pickles and Daube of beef with roasted root vegetables and egg noodles.


Kerry had the Chicken and Dumplings which came in its own cast iron dish.  Everything was really fresh and well seasoned and filling.


I had the Short rib “Sloppy Joe” on an onion Kaiser roll.  It was a little messy but also really good.  And it came with fried onions on it which is was fine with me... I would be fine eating fried onions out of the French's can as long as no one was looking.




These were the sides.  French fried potatoes, homemade kettle chips, and jalapeno cheese grits. All really good.  The fries are similar (if not the same) as the ones you get a Luke and the grits were as tasty as I was hoping they would be.




Dessert really capped off a great meal.  We ordered the Cane-sugar and bacon iced cupcake.  Above is what we got - the advertised cupcake, another pumpkin cupcake which we were told was the seasonal selection, and a mound of vanilla ice cream.  It was all pretty amazing.

So The American Sector was a pretty big success.  There are a few other things on the menu I wouldn't mind having an opinion on so there might be a good reason to go back soon.

So no more of those catch up posts. This post is going up before the Magazine Street Blues Fest is even over.

Obviously we have a festival or two here every weekend but this really was a good one. If you happen to be reading this right after it is posted (I know you stay glued to your laptops waiting for the nest EIN post) then go catch the last few hours.

On to the important part though. First Butter Chicken from from Nirvana. This was go good I went right home and looked for Butter Chicken recipies to make tomorrow.


And some fresh cut fries from Boucherie. Topped with some spicy vinegar... these were pretty incredible too. I was too full to try it, but I got a look at the 12 hour beef brisket po-boy... it looked so good I can't even talk about it.


Hey and Soul Rebels were there. I love Soul Rebels.

Hey who doesn't like Luke?

We went with a few friends after White Linen. It seemed like a better idea than eating the over priced street food.


The nice thing about Luke is you can do it for pretty cheap if you want. Kerry wasn't all that hungry so she got some soup and some fries.


I was kinda hungry so I got a Cochon de Lait sandwich. Seriously though check out these fries. They are like the second best fries in the city after Delachaise.



Either way we both got out for under $15 bucks which isn't bad considering its a John Besh restaurant