The Top 5 Seafood Restaurants in the New Orleans Area!

Last week, we penned a Love Note to Louisiana Seafood; now that we've extolled its virtues, here is our top 5 list of where to get it. The restaurants are recommended by staff (and guests) and in close proximity to our New Orleans bed and breakfast.

Crawfish Maque Choux

 1. Jacques-Imo's  is best described by Bonnie Rabe, the Innkeeper of New Orleans Garden District bed and breakfast as "Godzilla meets fried green tomatoes." This Carrollton area restaurant is a perennial favorite because there are always different kinds of fish prepared in a variety ways. A perusal of their current menu lists over 20 seafood entrees from Fried Mirliton with Oysters to Amberjack Provencal. They only take reservations for large groups, so hit this popular eatery early.

2. Mandina's has been a mid-city institution since 1932, and the post-Katrina renovation is bigger and better. Check out the "House Specials" menu for our favorites including Trout Meuniere, Grilled Shrimp over Pasta Bordelaise and of course, their famous Turtle Soup.

3. Superior Seafood is the new kid on the block that has an old New Orleans feel to it. It is located on the historic streetcar corner of St. Charles and Napoleon Avenue. It features an oyster bar including a sampler plate that serves two traditional New Orleans fare–Bienville and Rockefeller–plus something new called "Angels on Horseback."

4.  Guy's PoBoys – 5257 Magazine, New Orleans, LA, 504-891-5025. It is the proverbial hole-in-the-wall as Guy's doesn't even have a website and takes cash only. Sit down for a few minutes as all the po-boys are individually made by the owner. Hang out with the locals, have a Barq's Rootbeer, and talk about the daily news as this is a nostalgic place of days-gone-by.

Shrimp po-boy, ask for it "dressed"

5.  La Thai may sound strange to some as we have a Thai restaurant on our list, but Chef Merlin's Jumbo Lump Crab Cake is what keeps us coming back on a regular basis! Chef Merlin has won several seafood awards including 1st Runner Up as the King of Louisiana Seafood, 2010-2011.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the best seafood restaurants in New Orleans, so you'll have to make several trips to the Garden District bed and breakfast to experience them all.

A Love Note to Louisiana Seafood

Louisiana Seafood: it draws many visitors to our cities and our restaurants; most locals won't eat it anywhere but here. At our Garden District B&B, we spend a lot of time around the breakfast table talking about food. Our staff has the arduous task of trying out as many restaurants as we can, and we keep the beautifully photographed magazine Louisiana Cookin in every guest room.

Delicious seafood is not just an indulgence for us. The traditions of catching, cooking and eating seafood are an important part of Louisiana life. Everyone from the finest chefs to neighbors at the crab boil has a seafood recipe to share. 

Heart healthy seafood is also an important part of the state economy. One out of every 70 jobs in Louisiana is seafood related, providing 90% of the crawfish, 70% of the shrimp and 70% of the oysters to the US. If you’ve eaten a blue crab on the East Coast, it's probably from Louisiana.

Our New Orleans Garden District Bed and Breakfast is surrounded by incredible seafood choices. Check out the restaurants on the Grand Victorian B&B Calendar and talk about seafood with us. We'll help you pick the best restaurant for the seafood dish you're craving.

Three June Festivals in One New Orleans Historic Weekend

Tomatoes, Seafood and Zydeco: this festival trio (June 9-12, 2012) celebrates the early summer harvest bounty of the New Orleans region. The festivals are held at the same time and in the same location, the French Market District, 8 blocks along the Mississippi River from Jackson Square to Esplanade Avenue, a quick ride from our Garden District B&B via the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar.

The French Market's Creole Tomato Festival heralds the arrival of New Orleans' favorite summer vegetable. The New Orleans secret behind what makes a tomato a Creole is only realized through the local culture. And what makes this festival a local favorite are the life size tomatoes strolling the grounds handing out tomato shaped fans and the annual auction of the first tomatoes of the season to local chefs for charity!

  

The Louisiana Seafood Festival is held at the Old U.S. Mint (Esplanade Avenue) and features delicious dishes from local restaurants. It celebrates the family businesses that provides most of the shrimp, oysters, crab, crawfish and alligator to the rest of the U.S. (By the way, it's the beginning of shrimp season too!)

The sixth annual Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival has three stages (also at the Old U.S. Mint), cooking demonstrations, a large crafts fair with handmade jewelry and art, and some of the best Cajun and zydeco artists in the state.

Some of the artists this year include:

• C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band
• Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie
• Rosie Ledet
• Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas
• The Lost Bayou Ramblers
• Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots
• Bruce Daigrepont
• Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers

Come out and enjoy all three festivals for delicious Louisiana food, music and fun! Two-step your way down to our Garden District Bed and Breakfast to relax after feasting and frolicking along the old Mississippi River.

New Orleans Food and Wine Experience

The week before Memorial Day is the 20th Anniversary of the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, a nationally recognized festival that features over 175 wineries, 1000 wines, and raises over $100,000 annually for local charities.

Except for the Vinter Dinners, most events are held in the French Quarter, a 10 minute historic streetcar ride from our New Orleans garden district bed and breakfast. The Vintner Dinners match restaurants with vineyards to plan menus and pairings at over 20 of the city's best restaurants. See if your favorite restaurant is on the list, or if it's time to fall in love with a new restaurant. There are a few participating restaurants near our Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast; we'll be happy to make a reservation for you.

Highlights from this year's events include:

• A seminar on what wine goes best with and all the new designer burger joints opening in the city.
• Several "Grand Tastings" with offerings from New Orleans' finest chefs and wines from around the world plus a Louisiana Seafood Cook-off competition.
• The Royal Street stroll provides great architecture, shopping, live music and, of course, wine offerings in the art galleries.
• Teams of architects will build magnificent structures entirely out of canned goods and non-perishable food items, with each structure providing 10,000 meals donated to charities.
• New this year for the 20th anniversary is an international cake competition and tasting called "The Big Gateaux." Hosted by Top Chef Just Desserts, master cake chefs partnering with local culinary students compete for a $5,000 prize.

So, "Come to Your Senses" and spend a few days eating and drinking good wine in the French Quarter and retire to our peaceful garden district bed and breakfast for restoration.

Our Top 5 Jazz Fest Foods

Cochon de Lait Po-Boy

 There are over 65 food booths at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; it can make it hard to decide what to eat.  As the staff of our New Orleans Bed and Breakfast attend and sample the food booths every year, we are sharing our Top 5 Jazz Fest Food selections with photos taken from last weekend's feasting.

1.  Innkeeper Bonnie's favorite Combination Plate is a tie between two booths which she chooses depending on who has the shortest line: 


• Spinach Artichoke Casserole, Seafood Au Gratin, Sweet Potato Pone from Ten Talents Catering.  This plate has veggies, a rarity in the Jazz Fest diet, plus a slightly sweet dessert.  It also has the additional factor of being easy to eat while traveling between stages.
• Crawfish Sack, Oyster Patty, Crawfish Beignets from Patton's Caterers.  The sacks are thin crepes filled with a wonderful crawfish etouffee, tied at the top w/ a green onion & the entire thing gets quick fried until the outside is crispy.  The crawfish beignets are a non-sweet adaptation for the traditional delicacy deep fried, bite-sized crawfish bread balls served with a tasty but light remoulade sauce; fabulous. (The oyster I give to a friend!)



Crawfish Sack, Oyster Patty, Crawfish Beignets



2. Cochon de Lait Po-Boy from Love at First Bite Caterers.  (See photo above)  A must have item at least once per weekend!! While the main ingredient of this po-boy is the pork (cochon is roasted suckling pig), this Cajun treat's highlight is its extras. It is dressed with cabbage and creamy Cajun sauce. The combo of tastes are wonderful. Make sure you pick up lots of napkins before you walk away with this one!

3.  Creole Stuffed Bread from Creole’s Lunch House.  Get the "original." It is a thin bread covering filled with sauteed & seasoned ground meat & chunks of pork sausage. It comes wrapped in a small paper bag, which makes it an easy "take, store in your backpack, and eat later" treat. It's good even at room temp!  Bonnie says:

The same elderly Creole lady from Lafayette serves from her chair at the front of the booth every day of Jazz Fest. She is always cheerful and remembers me like an old friend, always asking about my New Orleans B&B.  I always get two breads to go on the last day of Jazz Fest (1 for post Jazz Fest blues and one for my Mom). She always says "Another good one! See you next year!" 

4. Crawfish Strudel from Coffee Cottage. This is the first beeline stop every year for Rachel, as it used to be just inside the gates. Bonnie always calls it "breakfast strudel" because it goes really well with the first cold beer of the day! The year after Katrina, it moved locations and caused a mild panic attack until an emergency consultation with the information booth in Area 2.  There are many crawfish dishes on the grounds, but the the light and flaky pastry shell that makes this one my all time favorite crawfish dish in the world. (They also have the white chocolate bread pudding in a non-guilty bite size portion!)

Crawfish strudel plus essentials:  flip flops, wipes, sun glasses and white chocolate bread pudding (in box)

5.  Guil's Gators from Sharon and Guilherme Wegner.  If you want to try an alligator dish, my friends Sharon and Guil don't run a restaurant anymore, but every year they make these fried alligator bits with jalapenos and onions. They are great tasting and not too spicy or gamey.  They also used to make the softshell crawfish poboys, but haven't been able to get those since the BP oil spill.  (Sorry no photo, they had run out by the time we got there Sunday afternoon.)

There are a cornucopia of food options to try as you travel from stage to stage.  Don't be afraid, they are all good or they wouldn't be at Jazz Fest.  When you want to know what is great about NOLA, visit the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast in New Orleans and the local innkeeper will give you all the local scoop.  See you at the fest!

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest 2012: Your Guide for a Great Experience!

New Orleans...home to Jazz music, Mardi Gras, and the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast...will now see its streets inhabited with the sounds of music as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest 2012 is dawning! The Jazz Fest cubes have been out for awhile, now that the French Quarter Festival is over, it's time to turn our attention here as the New Orleans Jazz Fest begins April 27 - May 6, 2012. What are the cubes? As Chris Rose says, they are...

"...those hallowed, nearly mystical linear graphic guides to whom is playing when and where at the Fair Grounds on any given day."

Marcia Ball - an annual Do Not Miss performance for Grand Victorian Innkeeper

Locals spend hours pouring over and researching what acts to see at what times. Here are Wesley Hodges' special picks for each day. The highlight is the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and many special guests including Ani Defranco and Bonnie Raitt, would be taking over the coveted responsibility of closing down the Gentilly Stage on the festival's final day. The spot was previously held by The Radiators, who played their Jazz Fest farewell set on May 8, 2011. 

This article by Keith Spera shows how jam-packed each day is, living up to its promise that every year will be better than the last. 

Artist Anders Osborne

There have been many changes in the lineup; this NolaVie blog has links to previous concert appearances by some of the fill-ins that may help you decide. The loss of Levon Helm, Eddie Veddeer and Jill Scott has made for some interesting fill-ins.

Offbeat Magazine has the cubes for download, a new and improved iphone app and the best guide to pick up when you're in town or once you get to the hallowed Jazz Festival gates.

For other suggestions on "Jazz Feasting" and other delectable items to tempt your tastebuds at this year's Jazz Fest, check out this Gambit article for all Foodies as it provides a superior overview.

We would love to have you come by and visit us at the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast to tell us about your experience at this year's Jazz fest!

Photos by Masahiro Sumori

Enjoy Mother's Day Weekend in the New Orleans Garden District!

Thinking ahead about the perfect gift for the most important woman in your life? Bring mom to the Garden District in New Orleans for local music, superbly delicious meals or even a pampering day of relaxation.

The Garden District is home to many top restaurants with food ranging from casual to haute cuisine and you can find Jazz brunches at many locations. It's a special occasion, so you may want to call ahead for reservations at her favorite place. Check out the interactive map on the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast website to discover some recommended restaurants near our New Orleans B&B.

Take a guided tour of the historic cemetery neighborhood, and on Sunday treat your mother like a queen with New Orleans Queen of Soul, Irma Thomas at the Audubon Zoo Mother's Day concert.

You will find great music and incredible food in the lush surroundings of one of the nation's top ranked zoos. You'll also have a chance to purchase that special gift for Mom at one of the local craft and jewelry tents. 

Treat mom to a much-deserved pampering at a local day spa. Belladonna Day Spa, voted Best Place to get a Facial, Manicure, Pedicure or Massage, is a few blocks walk from our New Orleans B&B. They also opened a resort spa for pets called Belladoggie in case your mom wants to bring her favorite child along!

Treat the Mom in your life to a relaxing weekend in the Garden District and complete the gift with a stay at the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast. Check out our Rates and Specials page for our Mother's Day package which includes tickets to the Irma Thomas concert at Audubon Zoo!