Eating in NOLA:

If the three "Open" signs in the window didn't tip you off then let me be the first to let you know... Cabana Grill (no joke... that's the website printed on the menus) on St. Charles Uptown has opened up.  Its a nice place with a friendly staff and a island theme.  Thanks to the good people over at Cabana I can finally let you know about a place that is 1. healthy and 2. has some pretty decent food.

Kerry and I went after I picked her up at the airport and we were pretty impressed with the menu.  There were plenty of things I wanted to order and there really are plenty of pretty good healthy options.  They have around 7 or 8 salads and a number of lighter sandwiches.



 Kerry had the avocado egg-rolls.  I'm not sure how healthy they are but they were awesome and not only because they came with two different dipping sauces. 

It was a pretty good experience on the whole and a nice new option in the neighborhood.  Good menu, nice space, great lemonade and the staff was really helpful and very nice.  The only thing that was a little weird is it seconds as a oddly stocked convenience store.  Right in the middle of the restaurant they have shelves stocked with cans of soup, bags of sugar, and squeezable icing.  Don't believe me? 

 
Ha!  Don't believe that sucka.  All joking aside though, it wasn't a bad lunch and definitely had some healthy options.  It's worth a try.  So go try it already.

After yesterday's post, which highlighted a ham shop as a healthy dining option, I figured I better find a real healthy restaurant for today's post.  But don't thank me yet.

I had a meeting downtown yesterday so I figured it would be a good opportunity to try Back to the Garden in the CBD, which I had been told might fit the bill for this series.


Look I rarely say anything bad about a place.  That's because, quite honestly, I rarely come across a place that doesn't have at least a few redeeming qualities.  All I can think of, that's nice to say about Back to the Garden, is that the food was served quickly.  I wanted to say it was cheap too, but really what does that matter if you don't want to eat the food?


So I got the Veggie Stir-fry.  What you see above is actually the half order.  Its a medley of vegetables served over some brown rice.  I'll be honest even looking at the picture is making me a little queasy (for the full effect give the picture a click).  It just wasn't good.  It was pretty heavy on the garlic.  And I'm pretty sure it was the kind of garlic that comes out of a jar and not out of a clove.

And I don't know a lot about brown rice... I feel like it probably makes for a good substitute in a dish or a recipe, but when you are just serving it straight up its kinda like eating... well its kinda like eating brown rice I guess.

Now there are sandwiches and salads on the menu that might be better, but I saw a few of them on other tables and nothing looked too stellar.  So I wouldn't recommend Back to the Garden... even if you looking for a healthy option.  From my experience, chances are you will only eat a few bites and then grab a McDouble on the way to your meeting... and in the end how healthy is that really?

How was your Christmas?  Mine was... filling.  So this week we are going to look at four healthier eating options in the city.  Hopefully you all provide me with some good ideas on places to hit.  I've been here for a little more than a year and a half now and I can't think of any particularly healthy spots... which might be appernent in this post.  So comment please and let me know the places you think have some good healthy options.  So lets go...

Healthy Eating?  Heavenly Ham?  Hilarious.


Let me explain.  I had every intention of starting this series out with a place that was healthy and sounded healthy but things went awry.  First Il Posto was closed and then I was gonna go to Surrey's but it was just so far away and I was so hungry.  But believe it or not Heavenly Ham has some good healthy options.

Now don't get me wrong they have plenty of butter croissant stuffed with bacon and American cheese options too... but show a little self control and you can walk out of there with a fresh sandwich that doesn't sit like a brick in your stomach.



I went with the chicken salad.  Now normally it comes on a croissant but I got it on sliced wheat bead which is one of the healthiest of the sliced breads.  Now I planned on getting it without cheese, but just by looking at me they could tell I love cheese and put it on without me asking.  Nothing I can do about that.

I've just recently become a chicken salad convert so I'm by no means an expert, but I'm pretty sure they have pretty good chicken salad.  It would have been great with bacon on it.  I bet the bacon there is awesome.

So to wrap up.  Heavenly Ham - not my first choice of healthy spots but definitely can be healthy if you want it to be- and good sandwiches either way.  So go there... just don't get the ham... or do... either way.

Its good to be home.  But that doesn't mean I can't force one more Atlanta post on you.

We are only a few weeks away from the unveiling of the "Fattest States 2010" list.  Now both Louisiana and Georgia are bound to be on it but these states' fat strategies are very different.  What Louisianans manage to do with fried seafood in cream sauce, Georgians do with delicious, delicious quick service food.

Georgia must have the best quick service food in the country.  Just drive down any road in metro Atlanta and you'll find a Mecca of quick service food options.  Woven in among McDonald's and Burger King and Wendy's and Taco Bell you find Chick-fil-a, and Waffle House, and Nathans and Firehouse Subs and Bruster's and Steak 'n' Shake and tons and tons of other options.

Today we look at three.  One fast food, one independent quick service and one glorious super market.

Zaxby's



Above is Zaxby's chicken finger sandwich.  I hear a lot of people (one guy, once) talking about who reigns superior when it comes to Zaxby's and Cane's.  Both are chicken finger spots but really they are pretty different.  Zaxby's offers a lot more options than Cane's, with a bunch of different salads and sandwiches.  Zaxby's is also a little cheaper I think.  Cane's has better chicken though so i guess that's probably what actually matters.

Dacula Dogs


Even more impressive than the chains, metro Atlanta is laden with great independently run quick service places that, for the most part, reside in little strip malls.  I counted 4 independent pizza places in less than a mile just driving around.  Dacula Dogs is a hot dog place pretty close to my house.   I can only think of one good hot dog place in the city (Coney Island Dogs up on Airline), but when me and my dad wanted to grab one the day after Christmas we had something like 5 options.  This place was great.  Fresh Vienna hot dogs on warm poppy seed buns... great stuff.

Publix


When I was a little kid I remember people protesting outside of Publix all the time.  Now I don't know what they were protesting about but I like to think it was people from other places protesting how good Publix Subs are.  These are the best grocery store subs I have ever had and in my top 3 sandwiches anywhere.  And I have made it clear in the past I think, that I love sandwiches.  Publix subs are fresh and substantial, and come on bread that is soft and chewy and amazing.

So Louisianans... If you are interested in getting fat and you want to do it faster and cheaper than you can here... head on up to Atlanta.  Its delicious there.

The Holiday's are great.  They mean I can watch History Channel specials on Ancient Aliens (for the second time) and write blog posts without worrying that I'm neglecting something more important.  In recent years they have become a little greater with the addition of these two guys into the family.



There are lots of perks to having nephews.  One nice thing about them is they are a great tool for enacting revenge on my sister for years of sisterly torment.  For example every time I see them, I try to convince them that their shoes make their feet hot and they should take them off whenever they feel the need.  Ha!  Take that Sis.  As much as I enjoy using them as miniature saboteurs, the best thing about them is they open up opportunities for multiple Christmas meals.

This year, my sister and her family traveled down from Charlotte, while I traveled up from New Orleans, to converge at my parents house in Atlanta for a few days.  We did the Christmas thing early in Atlanta, then I followed them back home to prolong the holiday festivities... namely the holiday eating.


 The Atlanta meal included what is now becoming my mother's famous herb roasted turkey breast.



It was served with all the classic sides - mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits, stuffing and green beans a few different ways.   I enjoyed the meal with my mother and father, grandmother, sister, brother-in-law, and my nephews.  I actually don't think I helped with the meal at all.  But I ate it pretty good and I drank the wine so I feel like I did my part.



The holiday meal in Charlotte was a slightly different experience.  With a 5 year old and a 3 year old around extra help in the kitchen always seems appreciated.  So I spent the a few hours prepping some of the dishes.  Above are some of the dished in their early stages.  You're looking at the "before" of some pepper crusted pork tenderloin with a molasses glaze and pears and apples, and herb and garlic roasted potatoes.




I forgot to get a picture of dessert but it was a Bananas Foster bread pudding.  These things where in it.



And the dinner table looked like this.  I was lucky enough to share it with my sister and her family and my brother-in-law's sister and her family... which included two more toddlers for a grand total of 4 kids 5 and under.  Not quite the quietest Christmas ever.


Look and here is a picture of me and my sister, just to prove we have no problem getting along now.  I hope everyone had a great holiday.  There might be one or two more non-New Orleans posts in the future but then back to the grind of Eating In NOLA.  It's a tough life.

I'm thinking after the Christmas gluttony, a series on the healthy side on New Orleans eating might be in order.  If you have any ideas please comment here or shoot me an email.

Forgive the pictures I forgot my camera.


And I got the "Fig and Prosciutto"  Fresh made fig jam with prosciutto and bleu cheese topped with mozzarella and chives.  Its hard to screw up the sweetness of fig and the saltiness of prosciutto together.  And they didn't get anywhere close to screwing it up.  It was great.  Here it is.


I think its the bread that really made them good.  They are crispy and fresh and stone oven baked.  The whole restaurant is a simple concept but its a good simple concept.

So like I said.  If keeping high end shopping centers out of the city means missing out on places like this, I'm okay with it.  But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good Modern-Urban Casual Experience a few times a year while I'm visiting family.