Cook. Travel. Eat. The Adventures of Kurt and Cristina

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Drago’s

Posted by Kurt on March 14, 2013

The Original Charbroiled Oysters at Drago's.

The Original Charbroiled Oysters at Drago’s.

I married well for a number of reasons.  One reason is that Cristina has family in Panama City Beach, Orlando, Washington DC, Italy, and Australia.  It is truly a chore to have to travel to these locations to see family. (By the way Cristina…when are we going to Australia?).  Another is that when they come to New Orleans they want to eat at places they can only eat at here.  Not a bad deal, if you ask me.  This time it was Drago’s.

Drago’s is known for oysters but they do have a lot of stuff on the menu.  Most of the pasta’s are really good as is the shrimp and grits.  The only thing I think they do poorly is fried foods.  There is a complete lack of seasoning in the food as if they are cooking for people with high blood pressure.  Being someone who has high blood pressure, if we are going to cheat and eat fried foods then please season the hell out of it.

However, you really should not go to Drago’s for the fried seafood.  If you have developed a taste for oysters, which I admit is an acquired taste, then you go to Drago’s for oysters.

First, we had a few appetizers.  Their cheesy appetizers are excellent.  Moreover, this comes from someone who is not supposed to eat cheese food.  I had to stop myself to make sure I could eat my oysters.

Cristina’s mom ordered the shrimp and grits.  Having had them once before, they are very good.  Cristina’s step-dad went with an eggplant dish that looked very good even if the shrimp were smaller than the shrimp in the shrimp and grits. Cristina does not like eggplant so it is one of my go to dishes to order when we are out.

However, tonight, for Cristina and I, it was about the oysters.

Cristina is a charbroiled girl.  For any readers outside of the area, a charbroiled oyster is an oyster covered with cheese and butter and broiled until they are charred.  Simply put, they take a great food and make it better.  Drago’s serves the oysters with bread, which allows the diner to consume all the leftover butter and cheese.  In addition, it saves Drago’s some time from cleaning the oyster shells. And the plate.

Since this is an “R” month, I went with a dozen raw.  What were put in front of me were 12 beautiful creatures.  Large, plump, and briny, this was the best meal I have had this year.  If I had not had a large lunch, I would have had a second dozen.

Raw Oysters at Drago's

Raw Oysters at Drago’s

If you like oysters, few places that you can go are as good as Drago’s.

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Posted in New Orleans, Restaurants, The Suburbs | 1 Comment »

Eating During Lent: Smitty’s Seafood

Posted by Kurt on February 13, 2013

The Hamper

The Hamper

Boiled seafood must sound like the most boring bland food in the world to an outsider. Yet, we all know in Louisiana our boiled seafood is everything but boring or bland. Boiled seafood is more than a meal; it’s a celebration.

We were celebrating the fact that Cristina’s mom and step-dad came to visit. We needed a place that served boiled seafood. Smitty’s in Kenner did just fine.

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Posted in New Orleans, Restaurants, The Suburbs | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

Our Anniversary Meal at Herbsaint

Posted by Kurt on November 28, 2012

There is one class in college that I remember not wanting to take…Folklore. I am not even sure why I scheduled it. Of course, this means it became my favorite class. While I was a history major, I overlooked the power of traditions in our lives. The crawfish boils, the hope chests, the drinking competitions at softball tournaments — the things that make up who we are as a people and as a community. Being a single guy for so long, I never paid much to creating my own traditions. However, now I am married. It is time to create our own traditions. One tradition I hope we started is having our anniversary dinner at Herbsaint.

Our anniversary fell on Memorial Day so we actually had our dinner the day after. We are early eaters (thanks to our jobs which has us eating lunch at the wonderful time of 10:30) so we arrived around six. As soon as we finished ordering, the kitchen sent goat cheese on a toast as a little gift for our special day. A perfect one bite to begin a perfect meal.

Enjoying a Pilsner at Herbsaint

Enjoying a Pilsner at Herbsaint

For our small plates, Cristina ordered the gnocchi while I went with the spaghetti with the fried poached egg. Cristina’s gnocchi was fantastic, yet I think my spaghetti was even better. The yolk from the egg mixed perfectly with the cream sauce to create a new super sauce that should come with its own theme song. It took every bit of reserve in me not to lick the plate clean.

For my main course, I went with the roasted chicken mainly because I wanted to see how a chicken dish could be great. Lesson learned. Juicy and flavorful, each bite left me wanting more. The crawfish sauce and the mashed potatoes were the perfect accompaniments to the chicken. On paper, this dish could have been at many restaurants all over the price range. In execution, very few places could have pulled off such a magnificent dish.

Like most men, I take pride in how I cook my steaks. In fact, most restaurants’ steaks disappoint her. Not Herbsaint. Cristina judges all other steaks by the ribeye at Herbsaint. My ego is not hurt. I changed the way I cooked steaks after reading this.

For dessert, Herbsaint provided me with a chance to prove my vegetable maxim: that if you can order a vegetable in a sorbet form you must. Tonight’s flavor was cucumber. Cool and slightly tart, this was an amazing way to end a meal until Cristina gave me a bite of her warm chocolate pudding cake with salted caramel, cashew ice cream, and cocoa nib caramel corn. Yes, it is a good as its name says. No, it is better. It is so good poets should write verse about it.

Walking out of the restaurant, I realized how lucky I am. I found a beautiful woman who is willing to put up with me. We have settled down near one of the greatest cities in the world. An area where we can make our own traditions. Herbsaint might just be where we create one of our most special ones.

Our Anniversary Meal at Herbsaint

Our Anniversary Meal at Herbsaint

 

Posted in New Orleans, Restaurants | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

A Place We Can Always Agree on: Phil’s Grill

Posted by Kurt on April 16, 2012

Duck Sausage Hamburger with Goat Cheese and Strawberries from Phil's Grill

Duck Sausage Hamburger with Goat Cheese and Strawberries from Phil's Grill

Everyone needs a restaurant in which they can take anyone they know. We are either relatives or friends of picky eaters. Hell, I’m picky in that I really don’t every want to eat at Applebee’s or Chili’s again. But sometimes we have to agree on where to eat. One place we always suggest when have a group is Phil’s Grill. We’ve never had a complaint.

I’ve eaten a different sandwich every time I’m at Phil’s and I’m not near trying everything. The reason for this is that Phils Grill is a build your own burger place. However, the burger (Angus by the way) isn’t the only option. You can build your “burger” with grilled or fried chicken breast, tuna, alligator, hot sausage blend, Portobello mushroom, turkey, and bison. Their are about six buns and many toppings to go with your choice. And all meats that can be, are cooked to order.

If building your own burger places too much pressure on you, there are plenty of predesigned burgers to choose from. Plus, every month there is a burger of the month.

Ok, I’ve described what you can get at Phil’s Grill. How does the food taste? Well, it’s one of the few places we eat at regularly. The grilled chicken sandwich is never dry like at most places and the fried chicken sandwich is breaded with Zapps potato chips. Cristina’s grandmother, a lady who is not afraid to tell you if something is good or not, raves about how good the hamburgers are. Every time she comes to visit she wants to go.

This month’s burger of the month: Duck sausage burger, LA strawberries, herb goat cheese spread with LA Sisters pepper jelly vinaigrette and fresh spinach on a sun-dried tomato bun. Also available on a bed of Spinach. This was the best burger I’ve had yet at Phil’s. Considering how often we go, that’s saying something. I can’t wait for May.

Posted in Restaurants, The Suburbs | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Breaking Free From the Chains

Posted by Kurt on March 26, 2012

The Bar at the High Hat Cafe

The Bar at the High Hat Cafe

A life lived in chains is not a life worth living.  This is one of the main reasons why Cristina and I don’t often eat at chain restaurants.  Another reason is that we live practically ten minutes away from New Orleans.  I can understand that if I lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota that I could be excited about an Olive Garden.  However, I don’t.  I live in New Orleans.  I can get fresh made Italian food at numerous local places in the area.  And most of the places are cheaper than chain restaurants.

Coming from a small town that doesn’t have a red light, I can understand how people think chains are good.  I used to believe they were.   New Orleans, unlike Metairie, has very few chain restaurants.  When I taught in New Orleans, my school near the corner of Magazine and Louisiana.  There were a restaurant row of some very good restaurants: Joey K’s, Byblos, and Rocky’s to name a few.  That’s when I broke free from the chains. The food was better and cheaper than most of the chain restaurants I’ve been to. And yes there are some chains I do like, but most of those tend to be locally based.

The question we are asked all the time is where do we hear of these places.  Easy, check out the Nola Food blogs on the left side of the page. The Gambit is a good place to look as well.

Those two places led us to High Hat Cafe on Freret Street.

I really liked the space at High Hat. It is open with a great looking bar. Large windows let you see all the activity on the street which was pretty crowded due to a boxing match across the street.  The earthy look of the restaurant went well with the down home cooking. I ordered the smoked pork with sweet potato salad. The pork was very good, fork tender but a little too greasy which would actually make for a great po-boy. The sweet potato salad was creamy and cold and lovely. Cristina had the smoked chicken with pimento cheese fries. The chicken had a nice smokey flavor but was a little dry. The pimento cheese fries, however, were a perfect side dish.

Smoked Pork with Sweet Potato Salad at High Hat Cafe

Smoked Pork with Sweet Potato Salad at High Hat Cafe

Smoked Chicken and Pimento Cheese Fries at High Hat Cafe

Smoked Chicken and Pimento Cheese Fries at High Hat Cafe

The best part of the meal was the check. Both entrees clocked in at under thirteen dollars.

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Pi Day!

Posted by Kurt on March 14, 2012

hubig's pies

Hubig's Pies (Photo credit: artbymags)

We  love to eat. We also love movies. Therefore, we love the The Theatres at Canal Place when we want a special treat.

When you by your tickets, you are asked where you would like to sit. This is one of the few theatres I would recommend you sit in the front, due to the ottomans, which allow you to just relax. You are then taken by the usher/waiter to your seat and given menus. I haven’t tried much here, but I do recommend the Roman Artichokes highly. The flatbread pizzas are also very good. The gourmet popcorn is very tasty, but don’t expect them to come out hot…or even warm.

If you need something to wash it down with, you can order the movie size soda. Or, because they only let those of us over twenty-one in, why not order a beer or a glass of wine. A Sazerac goes well with the Parmigiano and Black Pepper popcorn.

However, the real star is for after the movie. Go to the bar (which you can go to without going to a movie) and order the Hubig’s Pie with ice cream. For my readers who don’t live in the Greater New Orleans area, a Hubig’s pie is like a Hostess Fruit pie but actually good.  Seriously, they are fantastic. One of the reasons is they use fruit that is only in season (which means strawberry ones should be coming any day). At the theater, the pie, which is an apple pie, comes out hot and crispy with vanilla ice cream on the side both topped with caramel sauce.

We definitely give it two thumbs up.

Posted in Media, Movies, New Orleans, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Eat Your Vegetables: Beet and Lime Gelato at La Divina Gelateria

Posted by Kurt on March 1, 2012

La Divina Gelateria

La Divina Gelateria (Photo credit: nerdling)

I am all about eating healthy as often as I can. I know I should eat more vegetables. This why I couldn’t pass up the Beet and Lime gelato from La Divina Gelateria on Magazine Street the other night.

Let’s not quibble about what form the vegetables took.

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Posted in New Orleans, Restaurants | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Company Burger and a Putting Aside Past Prejudices

Posted by Kurt on February 28, 2012

Company Burger Single with Bacon and a Fried Egg

Company Burger Single with Bacon and a Fried Egg

All of January, Cristina seemed to be fighting a cold. All of January, I was having the Can’t Hardly Waits to see Color Me Obsessed about the Replacements…my favorite band. The night of the movie, she wasn’t feeling any better. She told me to go without her. This meant I would be dining alone.

I decided to check out Freret Street. We have been to High Hat before but that’s it. At first I was going to go to Dat Dog. However, the line was very long so I figured I would save that for another day. I ended up at Company Burger.

In Pulp Fiction, there is a scene in which Samuel L. Jackson asks for a bite of a hamburger because he’s girlfriend is a vegetarian which pretty much makes him a vegetarian. Cristina isn’t a vegetarian but she doesn’t care for hamburgers (except Cowbells…for now). This means I relish any time I can order a good hamburger.

Company Burger didn’t disappoint.

I ordered the single with no cheese. I added the fried egg and bacon. What came out was a near masterpiece of a burger. Juicy in ways that Dave Thomas would have been jealous of, this was one satisfying burger. I sent Cristina pictures of the burger and she was intrigued enough to try her second burger just off the picture. The fries were crisp and starchy (again, near perfect). The aioli bar served up some great dips for the fries.

However, the best part was the pickles. Now, if you know me, you will understand that unless they are on a ham sandwich, I feel that pickles are nothing more than cucumbers soaked in absolute evil. I didn’t even read the menu enough to notice they were there. Usually when I bite into a pickle I make a sour face. Not, with these. These homemade bread and butter pickles were perfect. Next time I go may order a pickle sandwich dressed with a hamburger patty.

Now, that Cristina is feeling better, it’s time to return to Company Burger.

Posted in New Orleans, Random, Restaurants | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

1000 Places: #1 – The New Orleans Restaurant Scene

Posted by Cristina on February 23, 2012

If you haven’t noticed, I am slightly obsessed with traveling. In the country, out of the country, in Louisiana, even in New Orleans, I love touring, history, experiencing new thrills. One of the books I read that helps me pick amazing places is 1000 Places To See Before You Die. I thought I’d do a themed category called 1000 Places, where I document each of the places from the book that I’ve been. Currently, I rest at 43/1000 using the updated book. The new book has about 200 new places. How did they add 200 new places without deleting any of the old places? By combining places. For example, in the old book, five entries were Anne Frank House, Canal Cruises, Red-Light District, Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh Museum. In the new book, they combined all of these into one entry: Amsterdam. Right there, I lost four entries I had. But I am okay with this…I would rather have 200 new and exciting places to challenge myself to visit!

These entries will be randomly chosen, based on what I feel like writing about. So my first one will be near and dear to my heart: The New Orleans Restaurant Scene.

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Posted in 1000 Places, New Orleans, Restaurants | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

A Roast Beef Po-Boy at Parasol’s

Posted by Kurt on January 31, 2012

Parasol's

Parasol's

The roast beef po-boy that I judge all other roast beef po-boy’s by comes from a small hole in the wall restaurant in Lockport called La Magazine. I’m not sure if the place still exists. This roast beef, slow cooked and shredded, made for a near perfect sandwich. After I moved up north to Kenner then Destrehan, I haven’t found one as good — yet like everyone else it seems I’m determined to research this subject fully.

Parasol’s roast beef po-boy might be the new sandwich I judge all others by.

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Posted in New Orleans, Restaurants | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

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