Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

This spring, my wife Jeni and I had an amazing time on the Texas “Barbecue Trail,” and since then, the South has left us yearning for a return. So over Memorial Day, we set out for a weekend of eating and drinking in one of America’s oldest and most food-obsessed cities, New Orleans.

Our home during the three-day holiday was the Soniat House, a beautiful hotel in a quiet residential section of the French Quarter. The hotel was created twenty years ago by joining three Creole townhouses from the 1830s. With beautiful courtyards, balconies and greenery all around, the result is a quaint, comfortable oasis amid New Orleans’s famously sticky heat. Our room had a traditional French feel: classic double front doors and high ceilings, with a balcony that opened up into the quiet streets, and not a single bead-wearing, semi-nude reveler in sight.

We were most impressed by the hotel staff, who were incredibly helpful and kind. After arriving, we were advised at the front desk that we must not leave the hotel the next morning before trying their biscuits — widely acclaimed as some of New Orleans’s best. “Give us 20 minutes’ advance,” we were told. “They must be served hot.”

Eating well is important to us, and, evidently, to the people at the Soniat House, and the entire city of New Orleans too. We spent three days heartily enjoying ourselves and the local cuisine, and can’t wait to go back.

FOR EATING

Lüke
After sinking our teeth into our first oysters at Lüke, Chef John Besh’s casual German/Alsatian brasserie, we can confirm that the oil spill has not compromised the quality of gulf seafood. So different from its eastern and western counterparts, the Gulf oyster is in a category of its own with its light, creamy, slightly cucumbery profile, and a bargain at only $1 each.
333 St. Charles Avenue

Restaurant August
Eating at one of Besh’s six New Orleans restaurants just wasn’t going to be enough. He is a local legend around here, revered for his cooking but also for his commitment to the city. During Katrina, he served rice and beans to the hungry from his flat-bottom boat. While we didn’t see Chef Besh in person, we certainly felt his personality through his home-style food. We opted for the generously priced ($20) prix-fixe lunch, and sampled specials like local crawfish and sheepshead fish. The service was outstanding and not all pretentious, as one might expect from a James Beard–recognized restaurant.
301 Tchoupitoulas Street

Cochon
Two more revered local chefs (and two more James Beard Award recipients) are Donald Link and Chef Stephen Stryjewski, the co-owners of the pork-centric Cochon, in the Warehouse District. We arrived around 10 p.m. on an off-night, and to our surprise it was anything but slow. The menu is extensive, but we were most interested in New Orleans specialties, like gumbo. We enjoyed Link’s version so much in fact that on the last day of our trip, we risked missing our flight just to savor two more bowls. And for the flight home, we picked up muffaletta sandwiches from “pork to go.” With a heaping of pastrami, roast pork and mortadella lathered with sharp olive relish and smashed between two moist buns, we were the objects of a number of envious stares aboard the plane.
930 Tchoupitoulas Street

Sylvain
Not too far from the Soniat House is a charming new eatery called Sylvain. We sat at the bar and were served by a young lady named Lucy, who made some wonderful cocktails and recommended the pork shoulder hash — outstanding. She overheard us talking about how much we wanted to attend a crawfish boil, and it just so happened that Sylvain was holding one that weekend. She invited us back, and we arrived the next day to find ourselves standing in front of 200 pounds of crawfish supplied by the local favorite, Deanie’s. For those that don’t find joy in the act of ripping out the tail meat and sucking out crustacean brains, this may not be for you. But we found ourselves making new friends and enjoying a steady flow of cheap beer.
625 Chartres Street

Johnny’s Po-Boys
Johnny’s, right off Decatur, also proved to be a worthwhile stop. Their famous shrimp po-boys are laden with beautifully battered Gulf shrimp, mayonnaise, and pickles. We doused them in the local Louisiana hot sauce.
511 St. Louis Street

Sno Wizard
Ice cream may be the traditional American summer treat, but in New Orleans, the local recipe for a cool-down involves extra “wet” ice and a squirt of bright, sugary syrup. The snow cones at Sno Wizard on Magazine Street are famous and, on a hot day, a must for visitors not yet acclimated to the Louisiana heat.
4001 Magazine Street

FOR DRINKING

French 75 at Arnaud’s Restaurant
Some of America’s most famous cocktails come from New Orleans. And as cocktail enthusiasts, we wanted to sample the best, and learn more about their history. We were told to visit bartender Chris Hannah of the French 75, a young man who is well known in the NOLA cocktail scene. It was there that we really whet our cocktail appetites: The Sazerac, a rye-based cocktail with Herbsaint and Peychaud Bitters (all ingredients born in New Orleans) for me, and for Jeni a cold, frothy gin-based drink with an egg white known as the Ramos Gin Fizz. Both were delicious.
813 Rue Bienville

Tujague’s
One of the most amazing cocktail experiences of the trip happened at Tujague’s, which came as a surprise considering its Decatur Street location. Though it is a proper restaurant, we went straight to the bar, and met bartender Paul Gustings from the Netherlands. He transported us to the late 1800s with his libations, renditions of drinks created by America’s cocktail pioneer Jerry Thomas. We found ourselves so charmed by the whole experience that we ended up here twice in one day.
823 Decatur Street

Preservation Hall
On our way to the French Quarter, we stopped at the historic Preservation Hall for some jazz. The venue itself is a sight to see. Over 250 years old, it has evolved from a private home into a tavern and now a music hall and gallery. It’s age definitely shows, but in the most charming way. For $12, you can hear the sound of New Orleans’ soul.
726 St. Peter Street

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