Eating in NOLA:

So who knows what is ironic about the picture below?


That's right!  This place isn't open at all.  The Taco San Miguel on North Claiborne closed a few months ago which means two things.  One, I've run out of material so I've gone back to old pictures I never posted on... and two, the good people of Taco San Miguel are looking to open a new location.

Now Taco San Miguel turns out the most authentic tacos that I know about.  That's probably doesn't mean a whole lot coming from a guy that grew up in Georgia but I am half Mexican so it probably means more coming from me than it would someone like you...

Enough about how authentic I am though.  After this location closed I started going to the one in Metairie on 20th.  Last time we went, one of the owners was saying they didn't renew the lease on Claiborne because there was some concern about the safety of the location.  So now they are looking to open up a location in the (relative) safety of Uptown.

It will be nice to have something Uptown that isn't Felipe's.  The nice thing about San Miguel is it's simple and cheap.  This plate of food below will run you about $6.50.  Looks like I got the pastor, barbacoa, and the asada.  I actually have no idea what I got.  Made that all up.  Looks like I got double rice though... pretty genius move.



I for one am looking forward to good tacos that don't require me jumping on I-10.

**Keep an eye out for my series on cheap lunch spots in the city starting on Monday.  I'll be looking at places to get a good lunch under $10.  If you have any suggestions on places that fit the bill post a comment or shoot me an mail at jvillega@tulane.edu.

It took me longer than it should have to get to Cafe Reconcile.  It really is a pretty innovative place.  Here is a post in honor of them breaking ground on their space.

For those of you that don't know about Cafe Reconcile it is a program that allows at risk New Orleans teens to learn valuable life skills in a classroom and work setting.  The program starts with three weeks of life skills and then brings then into a restaurant setting to for six weeks where they rotate to different jobs (server, busser, back of the house, etc.) and then concludes with an internship placement.



The Tulane Entrepreneurs Association set up a dinner there a few weeks ago.  I'm rarely that inspired by things but just seeing the pride these kids took in their work was pretty impressive.  I could write all day about what a great program it is but this is a food blog so I'll move onto that.

We paid a set price for a 4 course meal - soup, salad, entree and dessert.


First up was a bowl of andouille and chicken gumbo.  It was pretty good.  I didn't get a picture of the salad but it was a pretty standard side salad with caesar dressing.



Entree was catfish with a crawfish butter sauce with whipped sweet potatoes and green beans.  I'm not normally a big catfish fan but it was good but I didn't have any problem finishing it all.



Dessert was good enough to go back for.  Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.  One of the best bread puddings I have ever had.  Maybe the best.

So in doing a little research for this post I found out that there are 13 other pizza posts on this blog.  That's like ten more then I realized and made me think that maybe it was a good idea to hit the abort button on this post.

But that would be doing a pretty big disservice to both you and Theo's.  They make a superb pie and maybe my favorite in the city.  They have found a way to make a gourmet pizza that doesn't make me feel like I ate a bowl full of dough after consuming two pieces.  The crust is thin so they can load on the toppings while keeping it pretty light.  I ate all my entire half and didn't feel all too guilty or bloated about it.  And its "neighborhood pizza" so when you finish you really feel like you're part of something.



We got the Expert (olive oil, minced garlic, spinach, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, purple onion and crumbled bacon) except we got it with artichoke hearts instead of purple onions because purple onions are a really dumb thing to put on a pizza. 

Theo's offers a selection of salads, sides, and sandwiches as well but trust me- skip those things and just cram as much of the pizza into your stomach as you can.  Wasting space on those other things would be like going to Disney World and deciding that Epcot was the place to spend your time.

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.

After the cheese and wine pairing at St. James a few weeks ago we headed over to Cafe Granada for some slightly more substantial food. A friend had suggested it and since its in Kerry's neck of the woods we figured it was worth a try. It wasn't bad. It wasn't great either but after a lack luster experience at St. James our bar wasn't set all that high.

We stuck with tapas and just got three things so we probably didn't get a full range of the menu but I feel like we got a pretty good idea of how they roll at Cafe Granada.


We started with the Croquettas de Gambas which were by far the best thing we got. Shrimp and crab fried up and in a sauce with a little bit of spice in it. They were a good size and pretty filling too.


Next were these meatballs. They tasted exactly how they look in the picture. They were pretty par, and compared to the Croquettas they were also pretty insubstantial.


And we finished with the beef empanada. Again, it was just kinda ok, though in all fairness we had just gotten back from Argentina where the empanadas flow like wine and taste like... angels. Unlike the meatballs there was a good amount of heft to it so at least we left full.

So, it was all alright. Kerry got a pretty reasonably priced glass of Sangria too.

I don't know, I always feel like you get ripped off with tapas. Either way there are definitely better restaurant options in the neighborhood and there are better tapas places worth the drive. If you do go, try the Croquettas but skip the other two.

A few weeks ago someone from Market Umbrella (the group that runs the Crescent City Farmers Market) came and spoke as part of a panel at Tulane. It was an interesting panel that discussed the importance of the availability of fresh organic foods to all socio-economic groups. It was interesting and informative and just inspiring enough to make me feel guilty for having skipped it the last... 20 weeks or so.

So when Kerry wanted to go this morning I tagged along even though its pouring rain and about 50 degrees outside. I'm actually still soaking wet while I write this post. I picked up a few things for dinner tonight but the best thing I picked up was this roasted pork and cucumber sandwich that was the Green Plate Special from Cochon.


Man was it good. So good I didn't mind standing in the rain to eat it. I had never really has the pork/cucumber combination before and I was a pretty big fan. Plus you got to appreciate the guys being out there in this weather. Though I'm not proud of it lots of time its the Green Light Special that gets me out to the market before the fresh produce and meats. So its good to see Cochon making the commitment in miserable weather.