Munch Factory* (#292, 3/14/14) – 68
I don’t venture out to the Lakefront too often, but had some business in the neighborhood, so worked in a lunch at The Munch Factory. While it’s a goofy name, it’s a pretty good place. Worth dropping in for lunch sometime.
They have a variety of small plates, salads and sandwiches for lunch, as well as shrimp and grits, which seems to be a very popular item there. I went for a grilled chicken sandwich with pepperjack cheese and it was quite good, though kind of messy. It started falling apart before I could eat it all. I had a tomato & basic salad as my side and that was quite good actually. I surprised myself by even ordering it, but a solid choice. With one visit for the food, I’ll give it a 32 out of 50 on food.
The service was very good. It’s not “freaky fast” or anything, but you should be able to get a lunch down in an hour. People were friendly and it wasn’t terribly busy. I’ll give it a 15 out of 20 in service.
The atmosphere was solid as well. It’s a pretty basic place, but clean and open. Nothing special, but no knocks on it either. I’ll give it a 21 out of 30 for atmosphere.
Final score = 68.
McClure’s Barbecue* (#291, 3/11/14) – 67
I’ve always said that New Orleans is not really a town for barbecue, but it’s slowly starting to pick up. McClure’s Barbecue is a place that began as a pop-up restaurant and has now established itself Uptown on Magazine Street. The building it moved into, just across from Le Bon Temps, has an interesting history as the last few places there include a veterinary hospital and a tattoo shop. I was a bit surprised by the hours, seems like staying open past 9 on the weekends they could do pretty well with the Le Bon Temps crowd.
Another concern was that it is a hike from downtown; if you only have an hour lunch break, you may worry about getting there and back on time. However, no need to worry, we easily made the round-trip as they have food ready to roll. You simply order at the counter and within minutes, good-tasting barbecue is sitting on the table in front of you. As far as service, I’ll give it a 16 out of 20.
The food was quite good, some of the better barbecue I’ve had here in town. The best thing is a wide-variety of sauces (seven total). And another good thing is they actually give you a description of each of the sauces. Often barbecue places just put the sauce out and say “North Carolina” or “Mojo” and you really aren’t positive what it is, but good descriptions here. I had a pulled pork platter with 4-cheese macaroni and the barbecue jambalaya. Both excellent sides. The pulled pork was very good as well; I tried three different sauces with my favorite being the South Carolina, though I wish I had tried the NOLA East sauce (sweet & spicy, hoisin and soy sauce). I’ll give it a 33 out of 50 for sauce.
The atmosphere was good too. Typical barbecue joint fashion with picnic tables and benches – though well finished, clean, shiny. They have about eight tables. I’m a bit concerned that we went at noon and there was only one other table occupied. Hopefully they do good evening business, but again, keep in mind, they’re quick, so you can make it there-and-back quickly from downtown. Atmosphere is an 18 out of 30.
Final score = 67.
Brigtsen’s (#290, 2/21/14) – 83
One of the long-time places that I’ve been meaning to check out is Brigtsen’s in the Uptown Riverbend area. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, and they all proved true. Another excellent old New Orleans style place with amazing food.
I made reservations for 8 p.m. on a Friday with three days advance notice, so not that difficult to get in. The atmosphere is old New Orleans, a little stuffy. You definitely need to dress up; not sure if there’s an actual dress code, but you should look right to go here. It’s Mardi Gras season, so they had some fun Mardi Gras music playing, but very low volume. Being in an old house essentially, it has multiple rooms, but the room we were in had space (tables not stuffed next to each other). For atmosphere, I’ll give it a 23 out of 30.
The service was excellent. I believe co-owner Marna was the one who greeted us (could be wrong on that), but she was very friendly and even dancing a bit in her mardi gras outfit. We arrived about 7:40 for the 8 p.m. reservation and waited at seats in a little hallway for about 15 minutes. We had a little delay in putting our food order in, but really no issue at all. The food came relatively quickly and the waitress was there when we needed anything without being over-bearing. I’ll give them an 18 out of 20 in service.
The food was also excellent. I definitely recommend the seafood platter. It is a big dish that includes two different baked oysters, a good-sized piece of drum almondine, a nice plump scallop, shrimp cornbread and some interesting cole slaw. Slid all-around. The tuna was also good, but had a large amount of sauce/salsa. Probably too much of that, but still tasty. Prices are high (approaching $30 for most entrees), so be ready for that. You’re at a high end restaurant, you’re going to pay high-end prices. Out of 50 points in food, I’m giving Brigtsen’s a 42, which is very high for me!
Final score = 83.
Cake Café* (#289, 2/4/14) – 59
Seems to me that eating lunch at a cake café is a good idea, so I dropped in at the Cake Café in the Marigny/Bywater area. Their specialty is bakery items, such as cupcakes. But they also serve breakfast and sandwiches.
I opted for an omelet with sausage, cheddar and peppers and it was outstanding. A nice spicy Andouille sausage. Very good stuff. The eggs were perfectly done as well. Usually don’t think omelets taste much different, but this one was high-end for sure – and not too pricey. The sandwiches also looked large and tasty. Also, with the purchase of any meal, you can buy a cupcake for $1. I went with red velvet. It was pretty good, but maybe a bit too much icing. We also tried a piece of king cake – Nola.com has been running stories on places with different king cakes. This one had a goat cheese and apple king cake; it wasn’t very good. But overall, seems like a solid place food-wise; I’ll give it a 30 out of 50 for food.
The atmosphere was definitely “Bywater.” A very basic building with no frills, but comfortable with plenty of street parking nearby. I’ll give it an 18 out of 30 for atmosphere.
The service was decent as well. Only weird thing was when I ordered my omelet and asked if I could choose my own ingredients, the woman said “We’re kind of an off-the-menu place.” So I said, no problem, I can order something from the menu, but she gave me an exasperated look and said, “We can probably do it.” Weird. The food came out pretty quickly, so all decent there. I’ll give it an 11 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 59.
Sammy’s Food Service (#288, 1/24/14) – 60
After seeing an article on Facebook about the top 10 po-boys in New Orleans, I figured I better check some of them out. Actually, I think the article may have been the 10 Po-Boys You Must Try, or something like that, so not really positive it was the 10 best. My first visit was to Sammy’s Food Service & Deli.
They have a very extensive menu with a variety of items, but I went for the recommended “Ray-Ray,” which is southern fried chicken breast, grilled ham and Swiss cheese. While the sandwich was recommended, I wasn’t sure what to do on size, so just spent the extra $2 on the large. Note to self (and other): Don’t spend the extra two bucks on the large. My lord; it is a giant sandwich. I ate half and was still stuffed. I do think the other half will work cold, so brought it home. Overall, an interesting and tasty sandwich. I’m not sure I’ll rush back to get another, but definitely willing to try some other items there. As far as food, I’ll give it a 28 out of 50.
The atmosphere here was decent. It is what it is, a basic deli where you order at the counter and wait for your number to be called. They have a fair amount of seating, but it’s basically a no-frills place. Atmosphere is 20 out of 30.
The service was decent. It took a little bit to get my food; I would say almost a half hour. They were quite busy and I believe also had a logjam of chicken orders. But overall, no real issues. Service is 12 out of 20.
Final score = 60.
Phil’s Grill* (#287, 1/16/14) – 79
In a very exciting New Orleans eating development, Phil’s Grill opened a downtown location on Camp Street in the CBD (sadly to say, it didn’t last long downtown, not sure why, but the Camp Street location closed in March of 2015). I think Phil’s is one of the better burger joints in town (only had Jefferson Parish locations, so adding this one allows me to count it).
As far as food, Phil’s has a great variety of burgers. You can choose from angus beef, bison, chicken, mushroom, filet, alligator, etc. You build your own burger by checking off what you want on an order pad and handing to the server. For instance, I’ll take the bison, cooked medium, on jalapeno bread with horseradish honey mustard, lettuce, tomato and bacon, as well as jalapeno jack cheese. They have a lot of toppings and sauces and a good selection of sides as well (I really like the grilled vegetables, which is weird for me). I like this place a lot, but I will say, if you just want a regular beef burger, it’s probably better to run by Company Burger – better burger, better price. But if you want some fun varieties or if you have a group of people with varying tastes, this is a great place to go. I’m giving it a 40 out of 50 (big score!).
The atmosphere here is very good. It doesn’t look like much from outside, but it’s a very long, narrow building with extra high ceilings. The building was built in the mid 1800s and once served as a recording studio. The tables are spaced out pretty well, so no need to listen in on everyone else’s conversation (unless you want to). I’ll give it a 23 out of 30 for atmosphere.
The service was good also; the woman who seated us didn’t seem too enthused, but the waiter was great. He knew everything about the menu and rattled off specials (a venison burger….hmm, may have to try that) easily. It wasn’t super-fast but decently quick, prefer they cook my burger right rather than fast. I’ll give it a 16 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 79 – that’s right up at the top for my listings. Well done.
Booty’s* (#286, 1/13/14) – 66
An interesting place in the Bywater is Booty’s Street Food. I like the concept of Booty’s a lot; basically, the owner has worked and traveled all over the world, so he is trying to bring different basic “street” foods to one place in New Orleans. Don’t go here looking for New Orleans-style food; this is the place for non-New Orleans food. Although don’t be surprised if something New Orleans pops up. I understand the menu is changing constantly, so always worth checking in to see if there’s something new that interests you.
Having said that, the biggest problem we had was that things were not available that we expected/hoped to see, so the online menu may not always be up-to-date. For instance, online reviews talked of the best ceviche in town, but it wasn’t available (this wasn’t on menu either, so not knocking them, just saying). The shrimp tacos, from the menu, sounded good, but they were moving away from any shrimp (due to some sort of shortage, apparently). Thinking fish tacos would be a good substitute, but they didn’t have that. Interestingly, there were no fish products on the menu at all, which seems crazy in New Orleans (of course, see above, not serving “New Orleans” food). None of this is a big deal unless you’re trying to eat vegetarian or pescatarian. In that case, you get a salad, I guess.
Being a dedicated carnivore, I opted for the moros y cerdo (from Havana, Cuba, 23-08′N, 82-23′W; if I could figure out how to make the “degree” symbol, the latitude/longitude would make more sense). This was a tasty pork dish with rice, avocado and chimichurri sauce (each dish has its traditional name and where it’s from, but also, a very helpful description of what it is). Not only was it very good, but it could also be made without pork for the vegetarian population. They have a variety of pepper sauces from around the world and I sampled them all. Not sure which one I liked best, but it was kind of yellow colored, so go with that. I’d like to go back and try some different things, but based on what I had, I’ll give it a 28 on food. Ohh, prices are all pretty much under $10, so it’s reasonable, but again….for a small mason jar of iced tea, it was $3! Since this is common now, I won’t knock Booty’s, but what is with these places? Do they hate making iced tea? Do they figure everyone will just pay it without noticing? I’m adding a New Year’s Resolution of no paying for iced tea!
The atmosphere was good here as well. It fits into the Bywater neighborhood, so a little hipster, very casual-type place. It has a good-sized bar and seating for 20 or so, I’d say. I’ll give it a 22 for atmosphere.
There were lots of complaints about service online, but I didn’t have any problems. I guess it’s not a place to go if in a big hurry (and keep in mind, it’s way out in the Bywater, not going to be a convenient run from the CBD for a one-hour lunch break). Not only weren’t there problems, but they gave us a free drink that they were experimenting with. It was a pinkish color and had mezcal and some sort of Peruvian brandy-style liquor in it. Not sure I would order it, but always like free samples. I’m going with a 16 out of 20 on service.
Final score = 66.
Namese* (#285, 1/9/14) – 61
It may surprise many, but New Orleans supposedly has outstanding Vietnamese food. I hear New Orleans East has a lot of little Vietnamese restaurants that are great. Not being familiar with the cuisine, I am just slowly venturing into that type of food. I dropped in on Namese in Mid-City. One positive thing about it is that it’s on the edge of a fairly rough neighborhood, so it’s good to see a good-looking new business popping up.
As I said, I’m not too familiar with Vietnamese food, so probably not a good judge. I went for a crab rangoon appetizer with a chino churrie sauce. It was pretty good, but I think crab rangoon from Five Happiness is probably better. The dipping sauce could add to it, but they only give you a little and it’s not really easy to dip. For my meal, I went for the House Cured Ducky Cuban. Again, it was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. Prices seemed reasonable to me; one thing I might like to see is a basic lunch menu with some “meal-deal” options (yeah, I’m cheap). Food rating, 28 out of 50.
The atmosphere here was pretty good. Interestingly, they played random 80s rock music, which was a plus in my book. They have a decent outdoor seating area (with heat devices for the colder days). I am giving a 21 out of 30 for atmosphere.
The service was good also. No issues here. A 12 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 61.
Cleo’s Mediterranean Cuisine (#284, 11/26/13) – 60
Another interesting lunch spot in the CBD, Cleo’s Mediterranean Cuisine offers a wide-range of Mediterranean food, but, that’s not all! It also has the largest hookah selection of any restaurant I’ve been to – and they’re all for sale! Actually, this is a convenience store as well, so it has a large range of items. I would say the best thing is that it’s open 24 hours. For people out late in the Quarter looking for a quick bite that isn’t pizza or fried food, drop in here, just across Canal Street. The word I here from Mediterranean folks is that it is very authentic as well.
I tried a sampler plate which gave a good range of items. Some very good, some a little plain, but hey, it’s a sampler plate. So as far as food, I’ll give it an average grade of about 28.
The atmosphere…well, it’s part of a convenient store. It’s nothing fancy, but nothing bad. I’ll give it an 18 for atmosphere.
The service was good, very friendly people, though we were a bit confused as to how to pay. After great service, the waitress sort of disappeared, but I think that may have been because we were done. Instead of getting a bill at the table, we just went to the counter and the guy asked what we had and we paid. So I’ll give it a 14 for service.
Final score = 60.
District Donuts Sliders Brew (#283, 11/15/13) – 67
I really like little sandwiches, little burgers, little donuts, etc. I like smaller foods a lot. So when a slider place finally opened up, I knew I would be there soon. District Donuts Sliders Brew is a cool little place on Magazine Street, near Jackson, right next to Stein’s Deli.
First things first, brew refers to coffee, not beer. They have a few basic sliders on the main menu, as well as featured sliders each day. For my trip, the features were oyster, BLT and duck. I opted to stick to the main menu and ordered a cheeseburger slider and a fried chicken slider ($3.50 each). Both were pretty good – burger was very good, chicken was okay. I liked the bread a lot, which is key. Having said that, if you want good sliders in New Orleans, you have to find the SliderShak food truck. But back to this restaurant; I also decided to try a donut, so went for a giant peanut butter and jelly donut with some sort of cream frosting as well (trying to eat healthy). It cost $2.50 and it was pretty darned good. As far as food, I’m going to give this place a 32, good sliders and a unique menu.
The atmosphere was a bit hipsterish. A very cool space, very high ceilings, sort of industrial looking. It has a long bar where you look right at the kitchen, plus a line of nice wood tables. They had some sort of borderline techno music going, which didn’t do much for me. But overall, good atmosphere, I’ll give it a 20 out of 30.
The service was also good. It’s always a bonus when all the workers seem to be having fun. It’s a place where you order at the front register, then they call your name when the food was ready. It was very quick, we were in and out in less than 30 minutes. I’ll give it a 15 out of 20 for service.
Final score is a 67.