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

Archive for the ‘The Suburbs’ Category

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.

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 »

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 »

The Irish-Italian Parade and What to Do With Your Catch

Posted by Kurt on March 19, 2012

The Sunday after St. Patrick’s day was a beautiful day, so we headed to Metairie to catch the Irish-Italian Parade. The parade, which started in 1983, is known for it’s marching groups that hand out flowers and it’s unique throws. Sure there are beads, doubloons, and moon pies; however, the real prizes are potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and if you are lucky, garlic.

Irish-Italian Parade

Irish-Italian Parade floats

Irish-Italian Parade Celtic marching group

Irish-Italian Parade Celtic marching group

Our loot this year was quite impressive. But what to do with it?

Cristina posted a picture of our loot on Facebook. Our friend Vinnie offered to give our cabbage a good home. Since I like cabbage, but cabbage doesn’t really like me, I thought this was a good idea.

Vegetables from the Irish-Italian Parade

Vegetables from the Irish-Italian Parade

Yet, we were left with still a lot of carrots and potatoes. We were planning on barbequing some steaks that evening, so why not put the vegetables on the grill as well? I sliced up our carrots, onions, and bell peppers we caught at the parade as well as some summer squash I purchased at the farmer’s marketthe day before. Drizzled some olive oil and some Herbes de Provence on them and placed them in my BBQ skillet. I took some russet potatoes, scrubbed them clean, and put them on the grill as well to get that smoky flavor before I transfer them to the oven to have them bake all the way through. Not a bad way to use free vegetables.

Irish-Italian Parade Vegetables on the BBQ

Irish-Italian Parade Potatoes and Vegetables on the BBQ

Meanwhile, Vinnie worked her magic on the cabbage and delivered to us some braised cabbage and onions and topped it with some pickle relish.

Vinnie's braised cabbage and onions

Vinnie's braised cabbage and onions

So we started the day with a community parade and ended with a community meal. Cool, cool, cool.

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

Crazy Johnnie’s

Posted by Kurt on April 6, 2011

A couple of weeks ago Cristina and I were stuck in Kenner and Metairie waiting for 6:30 to come along so we could pick up her new glasses. We decided to get dinner. However, we weren’t sure about where we wanted to eat.

Then, upon approaching Severn, Cristina suggested Outback. I replied that yes Crazy Johnnie’s would be a great choice.

Whenever I’m given a choice between a chain restaurant and a local restaurant, I’ll always choose local. There is something eerie and, frankly, boring about ordering something from Red Lobster in Louisiana, Virginia, and Florida and knowing that it will taste exactly the same. This is not to say that you can’t get a good meal at a chain restaurant. You can, and sometimes it can downright nice on a road trip, hence my numerous visits to Cracker Barrel when traveling. But I truly feel that I’ll only ever get a good meal at chain restaurant and not a great one. And often, like in a certain place that sells never ending pasta, I can do most of that at home…plus one look at me should tell you I should never eat something never ending. And to set the record straight, I like Outback. But, I love Crazy Johnnies.

First of all Crazy Johnnies is crazy cheap. Two steak dinners plus an appetizer cost me forty dollars, and this is after I left a twenty percent tip. They also cook steaks to order. I like my steaks with the chill knocked off. Yet, often at chain restaurants, my steak ends up being exactly like the other person’s steak at the table since they usually like theirs cooked a little more. The only thing you can blame for that is that chain restaurants are more like manufacturing plants than restaurants. They have to do that volume of business and to maintain consistency across such wide geographic areas.

We started off with seafood stuffed artichoke which is one of my favorite appetizers anywhere. It’s the kind of appetizer that begs you to keep eating more and more. I always seem to make a mess, but I really don’t care. We then both ordered sirloins. Now, this isn’t the best cut of meat ever, you would be paying a lot more for that, but it is a very good piece of meat cooked expertly. The garlic butter provides a great kick without overwhelming the meat. The side of crazy potatoes, smashed with the skins on, are the perfect complement to the steaks. Both Cristina and I love to spread them on top of each bite. When we do eat at Crazy Johnnie’s, Cristina and I go long stretches without talking.

That’s because we were too busy eating.

Crazy Johnnie’s is definitely in low end of steak houses. However, of the low end steak houses, none get any higher.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  The candied apple that comes with each steak is absolutely odd and perfect.

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

And now for something completely different

Posted by Cristina on March 20, 2011

Notice anything different about this blog post? First, look at the URL. That’s right! We bought a domain! Cooktraveleat.com. Now, if you have the old website name saved, it will still take you here. But, this is a simpler URL to remember. Plus, it describes this blog perfectly. Second, this isn’t a blog post by Kurt, it’s by Cristina! Okay, okay, stop the cheering. You knew this day was coming, you just didn’t realize it would be so soon, did you?

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Posted in Adventures in NOLA, New Orleans, Restaurants, The Suburbs | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Food and Art: 2 of My Favorite Things

Posted by Kurt on March 5, 2011

 

New Orleans Arts Market

This will become a monthly tradition for us.

Last Saturday, after visiting Velvet, we made the trip back to Palmer Park to visit the Arts Market. We parked by Stuart Hall and walked to the market. Normally, we would go nuts at a market like this. I wanted to buy the swamp scene painting, the serving boards, and the silly little stuff that goes around the house. I know Cristina was thinking the same thing. Only one thing was stopping us: our upcoming wedding. That and the fair was about to close and we had noticed that they had food. Art could wait for the next fair at the end of the next month; today our taste buds and stomachs had to come first.

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Posted in Adventures in NOLA, New Orleans, The Suburbs | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Weekend Update: Phil’s Grill, First Attempt at Cookies, and How Popeyes is Romantic

Posted by Kurt on February 15, 2011

I like hamburgers. However, Cristina isn’t sold on them…yet. She did have a steakburger in NYC over Christmas so there is hope. However, Phil’s Grill is a favorite spot for us even though it touts itself as a hamburger joint. And it is, but Phil was smart enough to know not everyone eats beef. Seriously, if a restaurant serves a chicken sandwich then why not make all sandwiches available as a hamburger or a chicken sandwich. Countless times, I’ve watched Cristina confuse a waiter just by asking a substitution of chicken for hamburger. Three out of four times she is receives what she orders.

This is the reason we enjoy going to Phil’s grill. Cristina usually just sticks to chicken sandwiches, of course. I rarely order the same thing twice. Sometimes I feel like angering my doctors by ordering a hot sausage blend with a fried egg and bacon; other times I’ll order the bison because it’s a leaner meat. This past time I ordered the burger of the month: alligator burger stuffed with boudin dressed with shredded cabbage, Crystal hot sauce infused onion rings, and Mardi Gras sauce (not sure I want to know what is in that) on a half a French bread. It was a very good but not great sandwich. First of all, it was too big of a sandwich. I had to stretch my face muscles to be able to eat it. Also, the rice in the middle of a sandwich makes for a weird texture. It tasted fantastic but texture wise there was just too much going on. Of course, I’ll be there in March to sample that’s month’s burger. Also, I really wish they would put the lamb burger back on the menu even if for a limited time.

Sunday, Crisitna and I stayed inside. I know, it was gorgeous Sunday, but we just wanted to curl up on the couch and watch TV. Cristina found a recipe for cheese and mushroom stuffed chicken. Don’t quite remember the recipe but the stuffing was a mixture of plain yogurt, flour, mushrooms, cheese, and parsley. I think it was a little under seasoned but that’s a fixable mistake. Next time, I want to do the same thing but use feta and spinach. There was enough leftover stuffing that for supper so I used it to make an omelet which was a painful reminder of how long it had been since I made an omelet. It tasted great but looked awful. Sunday night, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies from two different recipes or in other words I tried making my recipe. They came out buttery and dry at the same time. Next time, I’ll stick to one recipe and then the time after that try to get creative.

For Valentine’s, we went to our favorite restaurant – Popeyes. Yes, we love that chicken from Popeyes (I’m sorry for not resisting the temptation). We were on our way to see The King’s Speech (highly recommend) and thanks to basketball and traffic we were running late. It’s actually Cristina’s great guilty pleasure, so she saw it as a romantic gesture. Like she said, it’s not like I was taking her to Applebee’s.

Posted in Cooking, New Orleans, The Suburbs | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

 
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