Dining in NoLa

I have found that the selection of Mexican food in New Orleans is in short supply, but this place is great. Taqueria Corona is a dive, and looks to be family run. As described on the website, it’s the Mexican version of the typical New Orleans neighborhood po-boy shop. We got there around 7 on a friday night and though there seemed to be a bit of a wait, we were able to sit immediately.

You can sit at the bar, which overlooks all the cooks and waiters while they work their magic in the kitchen or at the small cafe style tables. You even get to watch as they grill and chop all the meat. We sat at the bar, and started with chips and guacamole. The guacamole wasn’t fabulous, but the margaritas were.

The tacos come a la carte. Two are more than enough if you gorged yourself on chips before hand, like I tend to do. I ordered the Rib-eye Carne Asada Taco (topped with cebollita- charbroiled green onions seasoned with salt) and the Beef Tongue Taco. They gave my a side of chopped cilantro and onions which went great on both tacos. They were delicious, the rib-eye was so flavorful. 

My date got the numero uno y medio which came with one burrito, one taco, and one flauta filled with your choice of meats. It came with a side of beans and rice. I’m usually not a fan of either of these sides, but the beans were fantastic. I’ll definitely be getting a side of them when I go back.

My brother came to town this weekend for the Red Dress Run and I convinced him grabbing breakfast was a good idea. We typically bring friends to Slim Goodies Diner when they come to visit us in New Orleans (or Coulis, which I love… but my brother has already been to Coulis) so my brother wanted to check it out. Slim Goodies is great if you get there during a lull (we got there around 10am and we didn’t have to wait). If you get to Slim Goodies and they are busy, get ready to wait outside, just like Camellia Grill. 

Outside Slim Goodies doesn’t look like much, just another shop along Magazine St. On the inside it’s pretty ‘funky’. The wait staff are all pretty alternative and the decor matches that bohemian vibe.  The walls peppered with pictures of people who have sat in your seats before you. 

I got the Heaven (which is a pecan waffle topped with strawberries and whipped cream) sans whipped cream and including a side of bacon which I smothered in cane syrup. At this point the restaurant became fairly busy and my waffle came without any syrup. The staff was pretty prompt about filling out coffee and I was able to ask for some.

My brother got the Creole Slammer which included hash browns, two eggs (cooked your way), smothered in crawfish etouffee and a biscuit to soak it all up. He also got a side of bacon his he claimed to be some of the best bacon he ever had, as you can see he ate it all before I could take a picture. I should add, the coffee was pretty good and always tasted fresh.

I definitely recommend Slim Goodies, we typically bring friends there from out of town. It’s a nice change from Camellia grill and is super casual… which is nice after a long night of drinking. You’ll find that most of the other people there are in the same boat.

I went to Katie’s with my roommate for an early dinner, I believe it was a Saturday. We got there around 5 and it was already fairly crowded. We had a funny, interactive waiter who made you feel like you were part of the “neighborhood”. This placed is nestled in mid-city and is definitely a ‘local’s’ dining location.

Katie’s appeared to me as a young “mom and pop” kind of place. The cocktail list was pretty extensive for such a small scale restaurant. I unfortunately cannot remember the name of my cocktail, or find it on Katie’s online menu. Anyway, it had muddled watermelon and a sprig of rosemary (pictured above). It was DELICIOUS! And the watermelon pieces soaked up all the alcohol and were tasty once my drink was all gone.

We started with the eggplant fries, which were tasty. They were long strips of eggplant breaded like mozzarella sticks and came with an option of blue cheese, ranch or marinara sauce.

The crowd was young people and families and the menu reflects this. I had the roast beef po-boy, for which I remember the front door claiming they were famous. My roommate had the Baltimore and we each switched a half so we could try both. I admit, mine was…phenomenal. Perhaps it’s just been a long time since I had a roast beef po-boy or it made me a bit nostalgic, but I nearly cried. It was pathetic, but I can admit that it was delicious.

I had a few bites of the Baltimore and it was really good, I probably could have done without the bacon though. Overall, I definitely recommend everyone at least try Katie’s. There food is reasonably priced, unpretentious, and delicious. I felt welcomed, and even though we did not feel that there was a long delay, our waiter apologized a few times that we had to wait.

I primarily went here for drinks, and ended up also having dessert. I convinced my friend to go with me, so I had one drink but I was able to test hers. Mine was pretty bitter and had to be sipped slowly, but was pretty good. The Watermelon Man, on the other hand, was phenomenal and could have been thrown back quickly due to its sweetness. She also had the Susdara 9, which I also recommend.

A Great Deal of Sincerity (left) and Watermelon Man (right)

The bar is on Feret St. in an area I wouldn’t venture to alone at night…  However, the building is nice, and they seemed to have a man standing outside which made us feel somewhat more secure. The inside is classy, darkly lit, and somewhat romantic. We sat at the tables originally, but once space opened up at the bar we snatched up the seats. I find the primary interest in a place like this is watching and interacting with the bartenders, all of which were very friendly and helpful (even when they were clearly very busy). 

Me and my friend didn’t know many of the ingredients in most of these drinks, but ventured out and took suggestions, and never felt as though we were “looked down upon” for not knowing something. We ended up ordering the ‘Ricotta Cheesecake’ for dessert after hearing the desserts came from Patois. We were slightly disappointed, it was nothing too special.

I went to the Rib Room this year for father’s day. We originally attempted to go to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, but we didn’t have tickets and we would have had to wait 2 hours for the restaurant to open. So, we walked a few blocks over and visited the Rib Room. I think that when my parents lived here, the rib room was in its “hey day”. 

On Father’s Day, this place was entirely unimpressive. We started with a crab cake appetizer and I got the turtle soup. The soup was, alright, though not much better than Mandina’s (which I can’t rave about either). The crab cake consisted of ZERO breading. It was crab meat lumped together, lightly LIGHTLY breaded on the outside then fried. Also, for a 12.00(ish) appetizer, I expected more than one crab cake. The Remoulade sauce was tasteless and required salt to even taste similar to Remoulade. I can only ASSUME that they chose to make this crab cake in this manner for tourists. I’ve almost never seen a crab cake this way and it was tasteless.

I ordered the Eggs Benedict and my parents both got the prime rib. Granted this was a HUGE cut of meat, but its was completely bland! The meat tasted as though it had been boiled in flavorless aus jus sauce. I only had a few bites but felt the need to smother it in horseradish to eat it. My parents were not terribly impressed either. My dad said that it wasn’t bad, but he considered it a waste of meat… I agreed.

Unfortunately my Eggs Benedict were no better. My eggs were cooked straight through and the ham was almost too tough to cut through. The only GOOD thing I had while I was here, was from the bar. I’ve heard that Chef Bajeaux has taken over, hopefully her can turn this place around to its former glory.