Dijon* (#202, 2/14/2012)
I would say this place served me the best piece of chicken that I have ever had. Outstanding! Unfortunately, the oyster appetizer wasn’t very good and neither was the crab en phyllo. Just not a lot of taste. Some sort of spice cake dessert was okay. Also outstanding was the flat bread to start to meal. And the building, an old firehouse, was very cool, but it’s in quite a shady neighborhood, so be careful.
Mahony’s (#201, 2/11/2012)
I was planning to add some new little places during Mardi Gras, but this was the only new addition. Mahony’s is often called the best po-boys in New Orleans. Hard to say, I’m not a huge po-boy fan, don’t like the hard French bread. But I had a jumbo shrimp (fresh) po-boy that was pretty good. The shrimp was awesome, but still….that bread. Also ordered some dirty french fries and wasn’t impressed, don’t think the cooked the fries enough. Overall, a good stop, but if looking for a shrimp po-boy, go to Crabby Jack’s – still the best.
Irene’s (#200, 2/3/2012)
While I complained about the long wait even with reservations, I should have done better research. Apparently, it’s common to wait forever here, so my own fault for not being prepared. Not to mention, I should be better at being patient and just enjoying time and people watching. I have to apologize for being grumpy, I was starving! The Oysters Irene were outstanding and the filet was pretty good. Also added a very good bottle of wine, so that made things solid. It’s worth visiting for sure, but as noted, be prepared to just hang out for quite a while (waited over an hour past the time of our reservation).
Mondo* (#199, 1/27/2012)
Ventured to Lakeview for to drop in on Mondo and chef Susan Spicer, one of the newer “celebrity chefs” of New Orleans. It was…ok. Not sold on it. Again, decent place if you’re in the area, but maybe not worth the special trip. I had some sort of shrimp dish with cauliflower, it was pretty good, not great. The thai shrimp and pork meatballs were a great appetizer, but the pulled pork pupusas needed some more flavor, should have asked for hot sauce.
Manning’s (#198, 1/19/2012)
Manning’s marked the first time I went to a grand opening and, as expected, some things were a bit slow as they are working out the kinks, but overall a good place. It is as-advertised, an upscale sports bar; the food was very good, some interesting items and unique mixes. I had the Boudreaux Pie as well as sweet potato skins and cochon de lait poutine – all very tasty. However, there was one major problem – very small quantities. Everything was tiny; which doesn’t seem to fit well with a football-type crowd. An order of sweet potato skins was maybe half a sweet potato total. A friend had the fish and chips and it was two pieces of fish and apparently the breading was the chips. We all had appetizers, entrees and desserts and we were all ready to grab a pizza on the way home. Hopefully that changes because the bill for five of us (including a drink or two each) was over $200.
Riccobono’s Panola St. Café (#197, 1/15/2012)
After one visit, I had a new favorite breakfast stop, but it’s faded a bit, still good, but I still like to try out different places. It isn’t anything fancy, but for breakfast, I’m usually not looking for much – make me a good omelet, get me some bacon (weird thing – Mother’s doesn’t have bacon…huh?) and I’m good to go. Would also prefer not waiting in line and most times, I have been able to walk right in at Panola Street, sometimes you have to sit at the counter, but you can usually get a table. I definitely recommend it, especially to the Uptown folks in the area.
Le Meritage* (#196, 1/13/2012)
Another okay stop – worth checking out if you’re in the area (located in the Maison Dupuy hotel), but probably not worth a special trip. It’s not a real restaurant with full plates of food, but the bread and a bacon-wrapped fig (I’ve been eating a lot of figs lately, it seems) help fill you up. I had bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, which was ok. Everything is paired with wine, so that’s interesting.
EDIT: Closed in April of 2013.
Down the Hatch (#195, 12/4/2011) – 63
Down the Hatch is a little bar and grill just off Coliseum Square on Camp Street. I like it – though it took me almost two years to make a return trip. First time in, I was struck by the crazy little leprechaun at the entrance. They also have a handful of tv’s; it may be a good spot to watch some games, but not a very popular game as it’s probably too small.
While it’s definitely more “bar-oriented,” it has a solid menu with burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, etc. Unfortunately, on my first trip, I had a bison burger, but that’s no longer offered. I went with a Down the Hatch burger, which was flavored with New Orleans spices to go with pepper jack cheese. It’s a nice sturdy burger sure to fill you up. Well-cooked and good bread. I also heard that the veggie burger is extra good, so that’s interesting for a bar-food place. The sweet potato fries were decent also. They have a lot of good drink specials – such as $1 PBRs and cheap happy hour deals, so seems like a good spot to drop in on after work some day. As far as food, I’m going with a 33 out of 50.
The atmosphere is good too. During my latest lunch stop, they were playing a solid 80s mix. Despite being a bar, it didn’t seem smoky at all (doors were wide open, but still seems like you get that residue). It was clean and comfortable. I’ll give it an 18 out of 30 for atmosphere.
The service was okay; a bit challenging as they had one bartender running around handling all the tables, but it wasn’t all that crowded and she did a good job with it. I’ll give it a 12 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 63.
Katie’s (#194, 12/3/2011)
An outstanding mid-city neighborhood joint. It had quite a trek making it back after Katrina (seven feet of water), but they’ve been open a little more than a year and it was very good. I really liked the atmosphere, something different about it, but very friendly, it definitely lives up to its “neighborhood restaurant” billing. I had a giant platter of oysters and shrimp and they were outstanding; plus a lot of interesting looking po-boys on the menu. I definitely recommend checking this place out, well off the beaten path, but well-worth it. Be careful though, it’s not open Mondays and closed at 9 on other week nights (it took about four tries for me to actually eat here).
Mike’s on the Avenue* (#193, 11/30/2011)
The Mike’s experience started well with really cool water glasses and Mazzy Star playing (not live). Downside was that it was freezing cold (too many windows and too cold outside?). Food was excellent. I had some pulled pork sliders which were very good, to go with some solid french fries. Fairly reasonably priced for a nice restaurant as well. It also has some cool random art – check the website to check some out.