Showing posts with label Cheap Lunch Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheap Lunch Series. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Cheap Lunch Series: #5 Gott Gourmet
I've consumed a lot of food this week. Going from Vietnamese to Latin to barbecue to Po boys, all I wanted today was a nice crisp, refreshing salad. Dylan (who you can find over at Blackened Out occasionally) reminded me that I probably wanted some fried cheese on it too. So I went with her suggestion and secured a Gott Salad from Gott Gourmet.
Since Gott is just only kinda cheap and not super cheap I had to find a way to cut some costs. So I went with the to-go order and saved a few bucks on tip. It ended up running $10.70 after tax but I'm still under on the week so I figured it was ok. It came in the brown bag with this sticker on it. Look how flustered that little guy on the sticker looks. Whats the rush buddy?
So here is the storied Gott Salad. It's organtic greens topped with Panko fried brie, berries, candied pecans and grape tomatoes. It comes with a raspberry vinaigrette but I'm not a big raspberry vinaigrette guy skipped that and went with the honey balsamic which I think was a great call. All their dressings are homemade and this one was pretty incredible.
It really is a superior salad. The cheese is really what makes it. It gives you a little bit of savory but you still feel like you ate healthy(ish) afterward.
So that brings us to the end of the Cheap Lunches Series. I really expected to come across some bad lunches, but I guess when you ask people in the know for suggestions, chances are you aren't going to be steered wrong. Hopefully if gave you one or two places to try out. If not please don't tell me. I'm not sure I could live with the guilt.
We will get back to fancy eatin' on Monday with a post about The Grill Room and a sneak peak at some of the new things Chef Drew Dzejak is turning out of his kitchen of wonders down on Poydras.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Cheap Lunch Series: #4 Koz's
Hey look a new web page. Moving on -
Day four of our journey brings us to Lakeview for a poboy. A Koz's poboy to be exact. Koz's doesn't play around. They sell their poboys by the loaf, and to the best of my knowledge they don't give you a t-shirt or anything if you finish it.
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Now it was recommended I get the the BBQ beef poboy. After the Joint yesterday I wasn't sure I could handle it so I want with the 8 inch Cheeseburger poboy. They also sell a french fry poboy at Koz's but when I asked for some french fries on my cheeseburger poboy I was looked at like I should get the hell out. Whatever though because it was delicious. And after I took a few bite of it I took this picture. I took it with my phone... just for old times sake.
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Though I skipped the BBQ beef, my roommate had it and gave it his seal of approval. He's going to be a doctor one day so I feel like he can be trusted.
An 8 inch poboy at Koz'swill run you $7.50 or so depending on the type.
After 4 days of stuffing myself on lunch specials I think I'm going to have to track down a salad for tomorrow's post. If you know of good place post a comment or use the information under the nifty new Contact tab up there on the left.
Koz sounds like a killer clown. Just saying.
Day four of our journey brings us to Lakeview for a poboy. A Koz's poboy to be exact. Koz's doesn't play around. They sell their poboys by the loaf, and to the best of my knowledge they don't give you a t-shirt or anything if you finish it.
.jpg)
Now it was recommended I get the the BBQ beef poboy. After the Joint yesterday I wasn't sure I could handle it so I want with the 8 inch Cheeseburger poboy. They also sell a french fry poboy at Koz's but when I asked for some french fries on my cheeseburger poboy I was looked at like I should get the hell out. Whatever though because it was delicious. And after I took a few bite of it I took this picture. I took it with my phone... just for old times sake.
.jpg)
Though I skipped the BBQ beef, my roommate had it and gave it his seal of approval. He's going to be a doctor one day so I feel like he can be trusted.
An 8 inch poboy at Koz'swill run you $7.50 or so depending on the type.
After 4 days of stuffing myself on lunch specials I think I'm going to have to track down a salad for tomorrow's post. If you know of good place post a comment or use the information under the nifty new Contact tab up there on the left.
Koz sounds like a killer clown. Just saying.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Cheap Lunch Series: #3 The Joint
So lately, with the city looking a little less like New Orleans and a little more like Venice, there hadn't been a lot of reasons leave the safety of my second floor apartment. But if anything gives me a false sense of bravado its EPMD and barbecue so yesterday I braved the roads down to the Bywater for lunch at The Joint.
Now there is a thing about barbecue and that thing is that anytime you have barbecue that isn't terrible you tend to think its the best barbecue in the world. I think there is an even greater danger of that in New Orleans which has pretty limited barbecue options (at least for a city with such a strong food tradition). So instead of saying the Joint has the best barbecue around I'm just going to say that its damn good barbecue.
The menu has all the staples you would expect to find, including pork, ribs and local Cajun sausage. They also have some great sides that are served up in (un)healthy sized portions.
Now since the Joint isn't a place that requires tippin' I decided I would really make the most of my $10 limit. I went with the pulled pork sandwich topped with slaw, the mac and cheese, and an a la carte single rib since I heard they were excellent. When it was all said and done the register showed $10.18 so we are just going to make that the new Cheap Lunch Series Limit.
As you probably expect, the food was great. The rib was tender more substantial than it looks in the picture. The sandwich was as substantial as if looks in the picture. They offer two sauces on the table, one vinegar based and one tomato based. Both were pretty good but I suggest a mixture of both together.
One of my dining companions got the brisket sandwich. I've never been a big brisket fan but he seemed to enjoy it and the little piece I tried was as good as any other brisket I've ever had. But, like anything else, I expect it would taste better if it was made out of a pig.
So again, besides going $0.18 over budget, it was a very successful venture out to the Bywater. The only issue is that there are plenty of delicious options that would be hard to pass up that will run you a few dollars over $10. Someone like you can probably afford it though.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Cheap Lunch Series: #2 Sarita's Grill
So, on day two of my quest for cheap lunches in New Orleans I headed to Sarita's grill at the suggestion of an anonymous commenter... making this the spookiest post in Eating In NOLA's history.
Sarita's bills itself as "Latin Fusion." Alright I'll buy that. I'm gonna bill it as a La Macarena with better prices and more options.
It's a pretty neat little spot. The inside is bright and full of New Orleans art which is never a bad idea. Actually there is an weird amount of paintings of sno-balls but hey whatever. Most important is that the food is cheap and pretty good too.
I sat down and the server came over and walked through the whole menu and brought me some cheese dip and chips.
Who doesn't like cheese dip? This cheese dip was the bright orange kind that is probably far from authentic, but only snobs wouldn't admit is delicious. It was a pretty extensive menu so being walked through the menu was nice.
I went with three tacos.
Now I figured tacos where the way to go because I could try a few different meats (pork, chicken, and rib eye). Ms. Lorin Gaudin tells me a mistake by skipping the flautas and maybe shes right but the tacos weren't too shabby. After the orange cheese dip I figured I might as well get cheese and sour cream on the tacos (except for the pork where I went with the recommended tomatoes and onions).
So authentic? No, probably not. At least not the cheese dip and tacos. But it was definitely good and the menu is big enough for everyone to find something they like. Oh and it was super cheap. Under $6 before tip (though I did get a 20% discount for being a student).
I recommend it though. Like I said its a better/cheaper La Macarena in my opinion. Try it out and let me know what you think.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Cheap Lunch Series: #1 Jazmine Cafe
So I think this might come as a surprise to a lot of you. Not every New Orleans food blogger is a "lawyer" who has a lot of "disposable income" and can "afford" to eat in restaurants. Some of us are struggling Tulane MBA students who are coming to the end of our loan money and can't afford to eat in restaurants all the time... but do it anyway.
So in hopes of being at least slightly more responsible, this week I am going to focus on places that offer a cheap noontime meal. I figured a fair limit was $10 (including tax and tip) so that's what I'll be aiming for. I'll give you the good along with he bad. We all know that there are places out there were you can get a plate full of awful for under $10. If that's what I find I'll let you know so you don't make the same mistake. Thanks to everyone that gave suggestions via Twitta. I'm looking forward to trying them all out.
So first on the list is the Vietnamese spot, Jazmine Cafe on Carrollton. Jazmine was a good place to start. If you decide to stop reading this post right now, stop knowing that Jazmine's lunch special is a pretty good bet.
They offer a 10am-3pm lunch special Tuesday through Saturday and all under $10 including tax and tip (assuming you don't mind drinking water, and you really shouldn't). They offer ten lunch special options that you can check out here.
Kerry got the Bun Ga Nuong (Grilled Chicken Breast Noodle Salad Bowl).
They start you off with a bowl of soup and then bring this out to you. You're looking at Grilled chicken breast strips with vermicelli noodles, shredded cucumber, lettuce, pickled carrots, and cilantro. The cucumber, lettuce, carrots and cilantro are kinda hidden but you can trust that they are there. It comes with some sweet chili sauce too. I'm not sure you can tell how much food is there but its a good amount. Much more than expected.
I had the Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong (Grilled Sliced Pork and Summer Roll Noodle Salad Bowl).
As I'm sure you can tell its pretty much the same thing except with pork and a summer roll thrown on top. I'm telling you, these pictures don't do it justice. Its a lot of food. Those are bowls not plates.
So like I said it was a good jumping off point for the series. Huge success. It was good enough I wanted it for dinner the next day. Alright that's it. Go eat now.
Check in tomorrow for the next post in the series. I think it is going to be a Sarita's Grill... but I make you no promises.
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