New Orleans Eats: Drago's for THE Go-To Place for Char Broiled Oysters!

We stumbled upon Drago's merely by chance since it was right in our hotel in New Orleans, the Hilton Riverside.  Since the place always seemed busy and bustling, a quick browse of the Yelp reviews showed that Drago's is touted by many as having the best charbroiled oysters in the area!

Since we had just eaten the night before at Acme and the charbroiled oysters there were the highlight of our meal, we decided to do a little taste test.

Ladies and gents...I think the picture below speaks for itself!  Covered in glorious amounts of melted butter and cheese, what's not to love?  And just like Acme, you get some bread to sop up the drippings.  But, at Drago's this dish has more buttery goodness, the cheese is a bit creamier, and the oysters were juicier than Acme's.  Probably the best bite of food I had in New Orleans, maybe even topping the first bite into Willie Mae's crispy fried chicken.

We also ordered a dozen ray oysters.  The raw oysters tasted good, but the oyster shucker didn't do a great job of cleaning the oysters since there was still quite a bit of dirt on the underside of the shell.  Yep, not good if you're trying to slurp it off the half shell.

Drago's at Hilton New Orleans Riverside
2 Poydras St
New Orleans, LA 70140

(504) 584-3911

New Orleans Eats: Mother's for Delicious, No Frills, Home Cookin!

Mother's is a long standing New Orleans institution that has been serving locals since 1938.  There's often a line at Mother's and it was no different when we went on Saturday at around 11am.  They're a do-it-all diner that serves breakfast, local specialties such as po-boy sandwiches, gumbo, etouffee, and jambalaya.  Mother's is also known for their baked ham and all their meats, which are cooked in-house.

For lunch we ordered the famous "Ferdi Special", which was an awesome sandwich that has a sampling of their meats.  It comes with their baked ham, roast beef, and "debris" (roast beef pieces that fall in the gravy), au jus gravy, coleslaw, and mustard.  Sounds like a crapload of ingredients but they all come together really well!  A must-order if you stop by the restaurant.

We also ordered a side of turtle soup to start.  The broth had a very deep flavor and was great, just maybe a little salty after having a bit.  It was my first time having turtle ever though...the shell is used for stock and the meat it's shredded into the soup (and yes it tastes like chicken).

Lastly, we ordered a side of dirty rice...looks so simple but is oh soooo flavorful and good!

Everything we ordered was simple yet tasted great.  This is the one restaurant I wish I returned to on our trip since they serve quite a variety of food (they even have fried chicken!)  Mother's just serves no frills, hearty comfort food, that simply hits the spot.  

Check out this clip from Man Vs. Food!

  

New Orleans Eats: John Besh's August for an Amazing Lunch Prix Fixe Meal!

One of my must stops during my New Orleans trip is John Besh's Restaurant, August.  Arguably the most well known and popular chef coming out of the city, I became a huge fan from watching him on the first season of the Next Iron Chef (still think he should've won over Michael Symon!) and his appearances on Top Chef.

August also has an amazing prix fixe deal for just for lunch:  Three courses for a mere $20.11!  (Note that the four course dinner prix fixe is about $80 a person).

On top of the three courses, the meal even starts with the best amuse I've had at any restaurant...a creamy fish stock flavored custard served in an egg shell and topped with caviar.  As you can see the presentation is great and the amuse is as good as it looks!  You also get some good sourdough bread to start (seen in the background).

For apps, we got the roasted cauliflower cauliflower salad with pistachio, chicory, and brown butter vinaigrette.  A light, nutty, and refreshing salad....and again, the presentation was beautiful.

The acorn squash soup with toasted walnuts and cardamom creme fraiche was silky and delicious!

The pork belly entree was just stunning... Yes the pork was as yummy as it looks!  Super crisp skin and pork itself was super moist and tender.  It came with smoked apple and celeriac, petit fall root 

vegetables and chestnuts.  

The other entree ordered was the pan seared Gulf Sheepshead fish entree.  It came with a parsnip custard (delicious!), brussel sprouts, and farro with butternut squash vinaigrette.  Everything on the dish was delicious,  especially the custard, but the vinaigrette on the farro seemed a bit out of place on the dish.

For desserts, the eclair was awesome.  It was stuffed with some sort of cheese and came with fleur de

sel caramel and roasted apples.

The other dessert was a fried apple pie with heirloom apples and caramelized goat's milk.

The flavors here were more familiar but still excellent.  The apple pie was freshly made and piping hot, and

the caramelized goat's milk served as whipped cream accompaniment.

After dessert, we also received petit fours which consisted of a chocolate ganache-candy as well as a 

peanut brittle.  This was a great closer to an incredible meal.

There it is...an amazing meal and probably my favorite meal during my New Orleans trip.  At $20 a person for basically five separate courses, you can't pass up this deal and HAVE to stop by if you're in town!

August

301 Tchoupitoulas St

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 299-9777

**reservations highly recommended**

New Orleans Eats: Willie Mae's Scotch House for Awesome Fried Chicken!

Willie Mae's Scotch House in New Orleans has made the leap in going beyond being known as a local neighborhood favorite to being crowned "Best Fried Chicken in the Country" by Food Network and the Travel Channel, likely setting up extremely high expectations for anyone going in to try their famous fried chicken.

For better or worse, the restaurant has become a tourist destination, and reviews online have noted long waits at peak hours.  Located about a mile or two outside the comfy confines of the French Quarter, it's best to take a cab to the restaurant since it's located in a pretty isolated area that supposed can get dicey at night.

Our group went on an Monday at around 3pm so we were able to snag a table without waiting in line.  There were several delicious looking soul food dishes on the menu but were were all there for the fried chicken!  A three piece dinner with a side is a very reasonable $10.  

The chicken was cooked fresh to order and was served piping hot.  There is a batter but the skin is very light and extremely crispy.  Yes, the batter and the chicken is a bit greasy, but the inside of the chicken very moist and juicy as well.  Their chicken is definitely unique and really really good.  I try to stay away from does it live up to "the best fried chicken" hype since some people may ultimately get disappointed.  I just simply sat down, enjoyed my meal, and ate some really good fried chicken!

With an order of chicken you get the choice of a side...which includes fries, red beans and rice, butter beans and rice, and green beans and rice.  Here's a pic of a "side" of butter beans and rice.  As you can see, it's a huge healthy portion and the beans and rice tasted delicious...just so hearty and comforting....

We also ordered a side of green beans and rice, which was also excellent!

Willie Mae's serves up some deeee-licious fried chicken, with some amazing side dishes to boot!  I would definitely recommend coming here if you're in the New Orleans area.

Here's a feature on the restaurant:

Willie Mae's Scotch House
2401 Saint Ann Street
New Orleans LA 70119
Phone: 504-822-9503