For me, one of the great dilemmas when visiting New Orleans is choosing where to eat. There are so many exciting, unique restaurants, there is never enough time to visit {or re~visit} as many as I would like to. So, you can imagine how happy I was at the International Food Bloggers Conference, when they brought the towns top tastes to us! They offered the most sumptuous tastes from the formal, the casual, the creole, the Cajun, the classics, le nouveau, so come feast your eyes {and maybe even your taste buds} because I am including the recipe for an award winning jambalaya, the perfect comfort food for fall.
Cru Raw and Bubble Bar served up these elegant and crispy squid ink dyed cones filled with flavorful tuna tartare {ahi tuna, shallots & garlic jalapeno relish} topped with paddlefish caviar and a delicate radish sprout.
Imagine a hunk of tender, melt-in-your mouth pork belly, cooked to perfection, pierced with a wooden stick, juices flowing, then dipped into a tangy , spicy glaze and shaken just so, to shed any excess sauce. When only a thin sheen of this piquant liquid remains, it’s dredged into a pile of crumbled cracklins, rolled around a bit, then packed down until it’s thoroughly coated.
The result is a luscious, savory lollipop with the most perfect blend of flavors and textures to delight all of the senses.. this taste wins my SVS {So Very Splendid} Award for best bite, thank you R’evolution NOLA restaurant for your delicious creativity!!
The classic Arnaud’s will be celebrating a century of delicious dining this year, brunch or dinner at there always makes a trip to Nola complete. They shared their signature gulf shrimp marinated in a spunky creole remoulade sauce with us and it was shrimply delicious!!
La Cocinita, Comida de la Calle {street food} introduced us to Arepas, freshly grilled and topped corn breads, this is their El Puerco version which delighted our tastebuds with Pulled Pork, Salsa Verde, Pickled Onions & Cotija Cheese a sumptuous Venezuelan classic I hope to get to know a little better.
Savory Red Pork ribs with classic “Dirty rice” came to us via Emeril Lagasse’s NOLA restaurant where they serve rustic Louisiana cooking with a twist. The tender pork was enveloped in a flavorful chewy exterior and the rice was perfectly balanced with seasonings, sausage and vegetables, I could have called this dinner and been thoroughly content.
But I didn’t.
Because you just can’t go to New Orleans and not have Shrimp and grits, and the Desire Oyster Bar made that delectably and indulgently possible.
You would think this mighty morsel of Buttered Rum Bread pudding from KD’s Nola Treats would be the ultimate conclusion to this varied feast with it’s satisfying rich flavors and just the right amount of sweetness.
But then I came across Mother’s restaurant stand, and I have a softness for Mother’s. It was one of the first restaurants I tried with my little cajun princess when she decided to go to Tulane University. That was 3 years ago and I still think the Mother’s baked ham on my exquisite breakfast sandwich that move~in morning was the most tender and flavorful I have ever had the pleasure to devour. At the conference they were offering their jambalaya which won first prize at the La Fête Jambalaya cookoff, so I decided it was worth a taste.
Well, one taste led to another and before I knew it I had completely gobbled down the entire bowl and enjoyed every flavorful detail of this ultimate dish…. and you can too, they shared Jerry’s Jambalaya recipe so now we can all enjoy this delicious comfort food, perfect for your fall dinners even if we aren’t in New Orleans.
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