A visit to NOLA

The digest version:


FOOD

Po-boys I’ve Had
-Shrimp at Coop’s place: very good
-Half shrimp half oyster at Crabby Jack’s: excellent!
-Shrimp at Freret Po-Boy and Donut Shop: outstanding! Best of the trip!

Po-boys Others Ordered That I Sampled
-Catfish at Crabby Jack’s: outstanding
-Cochon du lait at Crabby Jack’s: o.k. (disappointing, tasted like a bbq sandwich)
-Shrimp and green tomatoes with remoulade at Crabby Jack’s: outstanding!

Other Dishes

From Coop’s Place
-Red Beans: very good
-Jambalaya: excellent!
-Fried chicken: first time outstanding, second time excellent

From Freret
-Fried catfish: outstanding
-Crawfish Etoufee: excellent!
-Red beans: outstanding

From Frank’s Restaurant
-Muffaletta: very good to excellent, generally pleasing.

From Dat Dog
-Crawfish (and pork) sausage on a grilled sourdough roll with Andouille sauce
and grilled onions. Un-believable! Highlight of the trip thus far!

From Central Grocery
-Muffaletta: excellent. Not heated/toasted, as Frank’s was. Both are legitimate
approaches. I think Central Grocery by a skootch.

MUSIC

-Chris Ardoin and Nustep at the Rock and Bowl (Zydeco+ish)
Entertaining, good band, vocals sometimes got in the way

-Kermit at Blue Nile
Good, but not his best stuff; playing to the tourist crowd (librarians!) – did “I got
a feeling” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Really? Left after the first set, since he said
he was bringing a DJ in to join for the next set

-Lagniappe Brass Band at the Balcony Music Club (BMC)
Excellent – almost outstanding! They’ve only been together about a year, but
they’ve got a really tight sound – drum set, not two drummers. More
progressive harmonies, etc.

-Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf
Excellent, and solid. Very consistent. Ended up sitting at the bar because the
preppy college kids on the floor got annoying with their talking and faux-
“getting into the music”

-Johnny Vidacovich, June Yamagishi, and Keiko Komaki at the Maple Leaf
Killin’!! The guy’s a monster, and the group was fun (and good!)