Part 9...whoo hoo. Just this one and one more to go and then I'll be DONE!!! This one is about our dining adventures. (Yes, you CAN have adventures while dining...you just remain sitting for the most part and the action happens in your mouth ...and before your eyes).
Aside from a couple of quicky breakfasts (one at McDonalds, two at Subway--whoopie.)...and the fact that we DID finally eat at the tacqueria below Tiki Tolteca (it really was like Chipotle's)...there's really only three dining stories I can think of...the good, the bad, and the ???? (which was both good--for laughs--and bad). Here's the story:
Of course we stopped to talk. We asked where he had disappeared to the night we left him in the tacqueria. He said he sat and waited for us as long as he could, but the manager came over and asked him to leave finally. He said he was waiting for us, but was kicked out any way. We then asked if he he got the job and if he were getting off work just now. He said yes he was just getting off. We said we were going there for dinner and were hoping to see him there. He said he was going home and to please not embarrass him by asking about him. He then explained about the homeless hotel thing again and mentioned that exact dollar/change amount. Erich was skeptical, thinking he was just scamming us, but he gave Luigi the money (I was going to do it, but Erich came through).
We had to wait quite a while for a table to become available. Erich sort of hemmed and hawed about going there. Maybe we should try someplace else? Maybe we could get in at this other place? Etc. I knew he wanted to eat there--to try it, any way. I felt that I had dominated pretty much the whole trip, so I wanted him to be able to experience this. I was a little curious about it myself because it was so obviously mom and pop-ish, being in such a small space.
I've already talked about my birthday dinner and mentioned eating at Latitude 29, Clover Grill, Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee, and also gave the briefest mention of the casino's buffet, breakfast at City Diner and at Beignet House. But there were other dining experiences. I did, also, make a point to get a po'boy sandwich at this place called Ignatius' (the name/image of which I recognized as being based on a character from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "A Confederacy of Dunces").
Aside from a couple of quicky breakfasts (one at McDonalds, two at Subway--whoopie.)...and the fact that we DID finally eat at the tacqueria below Tiki Tolteca (it really was like Chipotle's)...there's really only three dining stories I can think of...the good, the bad, and the ???? (which was both good--for laughs--and bad). Here's the story:
The Good: Tujagues
One day while we were out and about down by the French Market, I was buying some Cafe Du Monde canned coffee to take back home for a co-worker. She raved about it, as the coffee also has chicory in it. We hadn't been to Cafe Du Monde yet, but had tried coffee with chicory during dessert after my birthday dinner. Anyway, while making my purchase (at a Cafe Du Monde gift shop--completely separate from the actual beignet/coffee place), we asked the clerk if he knew of any good restaurants. He suggested Tujagues (pronounced "Two Jacks") (http://www.
Coincidentally enough, our homeless friend, Luigi D'Angelo, who we met outside of the tacqueria beneath the tiki bar and whom we bought dinner for, had been telling us about his job opportunity. It was as a clean-up guy at Tujagues. Luigi had told us while we sat talking with him (before sneaking off to have dinner without him at Latitude 29) that his interview and potential job were contingent on his having a permanent address. He said there was a half way house-like place where people on the streets could have a place to stay for very little money. It was under $25 for a month...and he had an exact amount he needed. Something like $23.56 or something like that. He was building up to asking us for it while we sat in the tacqueria that night. We told him we had to leave, but that we would be back. When we returned, he was gone.
So, with the recommendation of Tujagues and Luigi talking about possibly working there, we decided to check it out. As we walked down the street, guess who we ran into? Luigi, the homeless man!
Of course we stopped to talk. We asked where he had disappeared to the night we left him in the tacqueria. He said he sat and waited for us as long as he could, but the manager came over and asked him to leave finally. He said he was waiting for us, but was kicked out any way. We then asked if he he got the job and if he were getting off work just now. He said yes he was just getting off. We said we were going there for dinner and were hoping to see him there. He said he was going home and to please not embarrass him by asking about him. He then explained about the homeless hotel thing again and mentioned that exact dollar/change amount. Erich was skeptical, thinking he was just scamming us, but he gave Luigi the money (I was going to do it, but Erich came through).
We left Luigi and went to Tujagues, which was just about to open for dinner (although the bar was already open, of course). To get into the restaurant, you enter through the bar and then head towards the back, where the bathrooms are (!). Once back there, you make a little U-turn to enter the long, narrow dining room.
From its tile flooring to its wooden chairs and white table cloths, nothing seems like its changed much since it opened in 1856. The place served Italian food---but it was simply amazing. Hands down, that was the BEST meal we had while in New Orleans. Thumbs up! 4 stars! Recommended if in New Orleans. Mmm.
We did ask the waiter if they had hired a new clean up guy recently. No, he said. I told him Luigi's name...did that ring a bell? No. Erich thinks Luigi was scamming us the whole time. I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt. In my mind, he may not have gotten the job (and was too embarrassed to fess up to that when we saw him) simply because he was not able to check in to that homeless rooming house, and therefore had no "permanent address" when he had gone for his interview the following morning. I really hate to think it all was just a scam. He seemed so grateful/thankful when I bought him his dinner and his Coca Cola. I just hope that he did use the money Erich gave him to get a room/bed at that place (if it really exists) and, if he didn't get the Tujagues job, that he found himself another one. Oh well. I guess I'll never know...
The Bad--The Green Goddess:
Of all of the places we ate, my least favorite was The Green Goddess (http://www.
Erich spotted the Green Goddess in this cute pedestrian alleyway a day or two before we actually went to it.
The restaurant is literally a hole in the wall. ALL of the tables and chairs are out in the alleyway. The kitchen, cash registers and serving bar are the only things within the building.
We had to wait quite a while for a table to become available. Erich sort of hemmed and hawed about going there. Maybe we should try someplace else? Maybe we could get in at this other place? Etc. I knew he wanted to eat there--to try it, any way. I felt that I had dominated pretty much the whole trip, so I wanted him to be able to experience this. I was a little curious about it myself because it was so obviously mom and pop-ish, being in such a small space.
When we were seated and we were presented with the menus,I couldn't fathom what I was reading. The focus is on vegan/vegetarian and/or organic (when possible), cage-free, all-natural, etc. However, it was also trying to be gourmet at the same time. I know it was "food", but it's kind of like when you venture into Whole Foods or Trader Joes for the first time. All of the soups, cereals, dairy products, etc that you expect to be there--aren't. It's like you are in a parallel universe and you do not know/recognize any of the labels/brand names. This was how the menu was for me. I don't remember what I had--maybe duck something? Maybe meatloaf? All I remember was it was a big pile of brown sitting in a brown broth--like something dredged out of the toilet. I don't even remember what Erich had either. I'm not sure what he thought, but I was totally unimpressed. The Green Goddess was just...not good (to me).
The third and final eatery, well...that was the marvelously awful yet perfect ending to our trip! Ha!
On our last day before we had to leave, we were wandering the streets of the French Quarter and we came across this amazing (!!!!) sweet shop called Sucre.
The specialty of the house at Sucre is macaroons.
But they also had these incredible artisan chocolates and pastries, and the site-made ice cream looked fantastic too.
I bought some of the smaller chocolates to take back and share at work. They were just amazing looking.
The sales clerk was very friendly and we were chatting while we were buying. It was amazing she understood us as we were trying to communicate around the excessive drool coming out of our mouths while looking at all of the goodies. I'm not sure how it came up--whether we asked about a good place to eat or she brought it up herself--but right above the sweet shop was a new restaurant they were opening called salon (lowercase "s". It's more posh that way, don't you know? Ha! That should have been our first clue...) Wow! A restaurant too? If the food was half as good as the stuff in the sweet shop, how could we go wrong?
We went upstairs to check it out. The young maitre d' was very enthusiastic and welcoming. We explained we were thinking about dining there (it was far too early for dinner) and wanted to take a look before deciding. Very graciously, he showed us around the dining area, introduced us to one of the chefs and the bartender--both of whom he praised highly for their skills at creating delectable food and drink. The restaurant was in the midst of a soft opening. We would be one of its first diners. He was going on and on about gourmet cuisine, as if it had just been discovered and was the most amazing thing in the world. He wanted to know where we were from. California, we said.
"Oh, then you know all about cuisine," he said.
We took a peek at the menu and that should have also been a clue. It was trying too hard to be cutting edge and relevant...while stumbling over its forced sophistication. Hmm. It was kind of like a replay of the Green Goddess, but why not? The manager was very enthusiastic and we had already received excellent service just visiting the place. And, hello? It was right above the incredible sweet shop. Mmm. Dinner had to be fab, right? Ha!
We made a reservation, then went back to Tiki Tolteca for the final time...and had at least one more buzz button each to go with whatever cocktail we decided on that night. Again, the place was pretty much all ours. Hooray!
We went back to salon and were seated on the little metal balcony, the kind that are all over the French Quarter. How nice. The restaurant was fairly empty, but it was still early.
The menu, as I already said, was ridiculous in its attempt to be trendy. I think we were already snickering about it and the o' so valiant attempts by the wait staff to be classy and elegant. It was apparent this wanna be restaurant was like a kid playing dress up. Hilarious. But when we saw the wine list, our jaws dropped. They really DID think they were world class. Look at the prices for the wine...hundreds, even THOUSANDS of dollars a bottle! Really? Ha! That wine will be going to vinegar on them before they ever sell it.
We opted for cocktails instead (naturally...HA!). The bartender whipped up some of her specialties. Hmm. She's lucky she had a job. I was NOT impressed.
We ordered some appetizers, some beef sliders and a lamb one as well. Before the sliders came, there was a complimentary amuse-bouche to start off the meal.
I don't remember much about it, other than it was an unusual texture (in the thick, warm sauce). I did eat it though.
The sliders were, in my opinion, the best part of the meal.
I don't recall what I had for dinner (totally unremarkable, I'm sure), but Erich ordered the scallops with potato dumplings. I remember this because his plate looked like it had several scallops on it and he gave me one. However, as he ate his meal, he realized that what he thought were scallops, were actually the potato dumplings cleverly shaped/sized to look like scallops. I don't know how many scallops he actually had...or if he gave me the lone scallop on the plate.
As bad as this sounds, you have to understand that we were laughing hysterically through the whole meal. It was all so pretentious and mockable--the food, the menu, even the clumsy attempts at sophistication by the wait staff--that we were joking about it all through the meal. I remember distinctly one instance when we were chuckling and the waitress came over to ask if everything was satisfactory.
I turned and said in a very straight face and serious tone, "Of course. Everything is just fantastic."
She smiled, pleased with herself and turned to walk away...and we burst out laughing as soon as her back was turned.
But the best was yet to come...
For dessert, we decided to split something called Cerise, which was described as chocolate cake with cherry. It sounded interesting.
When it was served (and this is my biggest regret of the whole trip--NOT getting a photo of the Cerise), on the plate there was this crescent-shaped splatter of what looked like brown and pink vomit. We both just stared at it.
"I can tell by your expressions you have some questions about the dessert," the waitress said. "This is our deconstructed black forest cake. The brown chunks are the cake. The pink lumps are the cherry and the tan powder is the dehydrated peanut butter powder."
We thanked her very much for her explanation. She smiled and nodded, pleased with herself, I am sure, in that she was able to educate us on haute cuisine dessert...and we bust out laughing once again. DEconstructed black forest cake? Oh my stars! What a mess. It really did look like pink and brown vomit. They seriously should consider REconstructing it again. And dehydrated peanut butter powder? WTF? WHO puts that on black forest cake? But I guess if you want to (pretend to be) cutting edge, dehydrated peanut butter powder is de rigueur. How utterly, fabulously STUPID! We laughed and laughed and LAUGHED about the deconstructed black forest cake for days (and still do).
The bill was outrageous, of course...but it was our last night in New Orleans and we had had a good laugh--despite the food. That was the best/worst dining experience of the whole trip. Heck, of my whole LIFE!
Coming up---the final chapter! Chapter 10 will be all of the little tidbits that didn't fit in elsewhere.
Stay tuned.
CHEERS!
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