Willie Mae's Scotch House

New Orleans, Louisiana

In the heart of Treme rests a little restaurant known as Willie Mae's Scotch House, and they're known for their ever so famous fried chicken. Some even may say that it's hands down the best fried chicken that they've ever had. And this was my chance to finally get my hands on some.

For about 10 dollars you can get enough food to feed two people. A standard order of chicken comes with one large breast, a wing and a drumstick. It also comes with a side of your choice. I got an order of their fried chicken and a side of their red beans and rice. My friend did the same but with the white beans and rice instead.

When I took my first bite into the chicken, I couldn't believe how juicy it was. The skin was extra crispy and sealed in all the seasoning. The main difference between Willie Mae's fried chicken and anywhere else is their cooking method. They use a secret wet batter and fry it around 20 minutes. So, it takes a while for it to come out.

When peeling back the fried deliciousness, you can see the coat of seasoning around the outside of the meat, making each bite just as good as the next. Both the red beans and white beans and rice were about as they could be. We also somehow found room for a little bit of dessert and got their bread pudding. This too was very well done and added a sweet highlight to the end of our meal.

The chicken was the star of this show and was worth every penny spent. The service was a bit lackadaisical though, but yet again the chicken didn't make us care too much about that either. Now I know why food programs on the Food Channel and Travel Channel keep coming back here. So, if you haven't yet, take the trip out to Treme and eat the best fried chicken you'll ever get your hands on.


Willie Mae's Scotch House - 2401 Saint Ann Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Mean Streak Tailgating: Joey 'BarbieMan' Harvey's Pastalaya and Gumbo

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Welcome to LSU game day in Baton Rouge. The place where thousands of loyal Tiger fans gather to party like rockstars, drink like fish, and eat like kings. Oh, and occasionally watch some good ole smash mouth SEC football. 

What goes behind the scenes at every tailgate are a handful of dedicated and loyal people that do things that allow them to separate themselves from the average tailgater, and lets them be a part of the greatest tailgating tradition in the country. This may include waking up at the crack of dawn to set up tents, ice down kegs, and setting up entertainment systems for not only LSU fans, but those from the opposing teams as well.

Sure, the Tiger faithful take pride in the ability that they can out-drink any other group of fans. But what we're really proud of, is the food that we consume every weekend. This... is when one of the more generous types of people come in. It's the guys or gals behind the grill, burner, pot or any cooking device. These people take the time to bust their humps to slave away in the hot Louisiana heat to prepare some good eats to level off some of the hangovers that are to come the next morning. They sacrifice a lot of their fun time to work and aren't even personally thanked for it most of the time...But they still love doing what they do and especially love to sit back see people enjoy their food. That my friends, is what LSU tailgating is all about. 

On this day, Mr. Harvey created some delicious pastalaya and chicken and sausage gumbo. Pastalaya is basically jamabalaya, but in noodle form. If you know someone that can pull it off, you're in for a real treat. This was ridiculously tasty. There was a ton of spices and pieces of delicious meats. So delicious that it may even sway a vegetarian's stance. 

People generally don't eat soup while the weather is warm... but not in Louisiana! Any weather, is gumbo weather. This gumbo had everything you'd want in it. Okra, chicken, sausage, you name it. You think gumbo is good by itself? How about trying it with some potato salad in it. Sounds crazy, I know. I have never heard of it before, but Joey claimed that people out in Lafayette do it and that it's pretty damn good. He was right. So, now if you have some extra potato salad laying around and a bowl of gumbo. Give it a shot. I added some Louisiana Hot Sauce in it and I was ready to rage for a few more hours til kickoff. Another successful day of eating in the books.

As always, the food was delicious and I can't wait for what shows up next.

Thanks Joey, and all the other hard working cooks and tailgaters out there in Tiger Nation. LSU tailgating would not be the same without y'all.

NOLA Restaurant

New Orleans, Louisiana

Everyone knows who Emeril Lagasse is and that the man can flat out cook, but it's always a task for his restaurants to live up to his name, now that he's one of these "celebrity chefs." I had the pleasure to dine in the second restaurant he opened in New Orleans, NOLA Restaurant.

This restaurant brings in many of the occasional New Orleans Creole dishes but some may come with a Cajun, Southwestern and even a Vietnamese flare to them.

First, they bring every person a nice corn muffin and this odd looking square bread. It was actually pretty good, there were definitely pieces of sun dried tomato in it and definitely made you ridiculously hungry.

Our reservation was really late so unfortunately they ran out of their popular Crispy Smoked Duck and Mushroom Boudin Balls. We asked out waiter what his favorite was and he said that he orders Miss Hay's Stuffed Chicken Wings with homemade Hoisin Dipping sauce, every time. We ordered them and were not disappointed in the slightest. They were fried perfectly and once you bite into them, you instantly get the Vietnamese twist to it. This came out of left field for sure, I was expecting some kind of sausage or other kind of stuffing but you could really consider this as a chicken wing dumpling. The homemade Hoisin sauce was delicious as well.




I came here with my aunt in cousins so I was fortunate to try all of their dishes as well. We had Pan Roasted Salmon with Herb Couscous, Ratatouille, Red Chili Raita and Preserved Lemon Butter Sauce. The salmon was cooked just the way we wanted it (more on the rarer side) and everything surrounding it was very flavorful.

I told my visiting family that someone absolutely had to try shrimp and grits, because they haven't had them before. NOLA Restaurant's Shrimp & Grits comes with Sauteed Gulf Shrimp, Grilled Green Onions, Smoked Cheddar Grits, Apple Smoked Bacon, Crimini Mushrooms and Red Chili-Abita Butter Sauce. The grits were nice and creamy as they should be, and I really enjoyed the size and flavor of the shrimp. The Red Chili-Abita Butter Sauce added some heat to it and ...who doesn't love big chunks of apple smoked bacon?

I decided to try the Abita Beer Braised Pork Shank. I was expecting maybe a small portion of cut up pork shank, and not this Fred Flintstone sized piece of meat. I was pleasantly surprised when this got sat in front of me. It comes with Fresh Field Pea Succotash, Housemade Bacon and Sheaux Fresh Farms Okra Sprouts. The pork had a very good braise done to it so every bite around the outside had a very nice sweet caramelization to it. On the inside, it was so tender that you could pull it apart with your fork. The Fresh Field Pea Succotash had a very nice earthy flavor that paired really well with the shank.

And last but not least, dessert. We didn't have enough room to each get something we wanted so we decided to split the Creme Brulee Trio. One was Vanilla Bean with Fresh Berries, the other was Coconut with a Coconut Truffle and the third was Mocha with a Chocolate-Almond Biscotti. They were all pretty rich in flavor, and I really liked how the coconut brulee wasn't overpowering with coconut flavor.

We had a great time here, I really enjoyed the casual-fine dining atmosphere and the food lived up to the Emeril standard. I recommend on making a reservation here if you need a good place to eat in the Quarter.

NOLA Restaurant - 532 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.emerilsrestaurants.com/nola-restaurant

Cochon Butcher

New Orleans, Louisiana

There comes a time where everyone should take in a deep breath, and enjoy a deliciously prepared sandwich with some excellent choices of meat. When you first walk in the doors of Cochon Butcher, you are immediately lifted to the high heavens with the aroma of... well... meat. Once you get back down to reality, you realize that you have to order something, and maybe everything.

Here, I decided to go with everyone's guiltiest pleasure... bacon. This is their Buck Board Bacon Melt. It comes with a copious amount of deliciously smoky sliced bacon, collard greens, swiss cheese and pickled pepper aioli. The bread comes nicely buttered and pressed to make a delicious sandwich. It also comes with a side of their potato chips, and sliced pickles.

You certainly get a mouthful of bacon in every bite, just like how all great sandwiches should be. Very rich and full with smoky flavor. The pepper aioli pairs really well with it. They also have a couple hot sauces that go with the sandwich pretty well too, if you're into that kind of thing. The sweet potato habanero sauce was my favorite, sweet and a big spicy kick at the end.

My friend ordered the BBQ Pork sandwich, because she's a huge fan of the Carolina style. Carolina style BBQ is more geared towards the vinegary flavor, so it has a clean bite to it. It came topped with coleslaw on a big fluffy bun. It too came with a side of their chips and sweet buttery pickle slices.

Overall, we enjoyed the experience a ton and definitely plan on coming back again. Beware that seating is pretty limited. We came at a very arbitrary hour and it was still very, very busy.

Cochon Butcher - 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.cochonbutcher.com/

Joey K's Restaurant& Bar

New Orleans, Louisiana

I had a couple of friends come in town for some cajun/creole cuisine the other day. I remember spotting this place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives so I figured that it had to be pretty good. Little did I know that my hopes were about to be dashed.

We ordered a few things: the Oyster Platter, Red Beans and Rice, and the Trout Tchoupitoulas.

The Oyster Platter consisted of a bunch of deliciously fried oysters and a side of fries. Probably the one highlight of our meal. The Red Beans and Rice wasn't so spectacular. They were quite stingy on the rice and it was a little too thick for my liking. Flavor was decent though. It's pretty hard to mess up either dish.

The one specialty item on the menu that I decided to go for was the Trout Tchoupitoulas. It comes lightly floured and pan fried, then topped with shrimp and crab meat. On the side were mixed vegetables and potatoes. It also comes with a side of salad, but I didn't bother to take a picture, because it clearly came out of a pre-made salad bag.

When the plate got placed in front of me I immediately knew I probably wasn't going to enjoy it, especially not for the amount of money it was worth. The trout was definitely over cooked. It came out very dry and the seasoning was very very conservative at best. Hardly flavorful at all. The toppings on it weren't very appetizing either. The shrimp was very bland and whatever alcohol they tried cooking into the crab meat stuck out like a sore thumb. It almost tasted like a sour beer. The potatoes were pretty plain and the mixed vegetables dwarfed the portion size of the fish. The garnish of scallions on our dishes looked relatively old as well.

Joey K's also added gratuity to our table. I am perfectly fine with adding gratuity to my bill as long as the service can back it up... which it most certainly did not. Our waiter may have visited us twice during our two hour stay (most of the time we spent waiting for our food). It got to the point where we were sipping on our melted ice. I was utterly disappointed with the quality of service and their specialty item, however they can fry a mean oyster.

To be honest, I felt pretty embarrassed on bringing my friends here. And how this place got mentioned on the food channel is beyond me. It will take a ridiculous amount of consideration to give this place another shot.

Joey K's Restaurant & Bar - 3001 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.joeyksrestaurant.com/

Pat's King of Steaks

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Well, I had an early morning flight off to Philly after seeing the one and only parade on my Mardi Gras agenda. Needless to say, I was quite hungover. So, what better way to cure it by filling my stomach with a Philly Cheesesteak! Oddly enough, I just to happened to go to another site that was featured in Food Wars and Food Feuds. The episode of Food Wars that took place in Philadelphia was for the best Philly Cheesesteak. The contestants were Pat's King of Steaks and Tony Luke's. In Food Feuds, it was Pat's vs Geno's, a rival that sits just across the street. This time, I picked the winner of BOTH shows. Pat's has been around since 1930 and is considered as the co-founders of the cheesesteak. You step up to the window and ask for a cheesesteak "wit", meaning you want onions on it. They operate at a super fast pace. So fast that my cheesesteak came out literally in seconds. I ordered the pepper cheesesteak "wit" with an order of fries.(which you order separately a window down)

The difference with this place compared to many other cheesesteaks is the cheese. If you don't specify what type of cheese you want on your sandwich, they automatically load it up with cheese whiz. You can ask for provolone or American too. They use thinly sliced rib eye for their meat and place it on Italian bread, which tends to be a little bit chewier than what I'm used to in the South. (French bread) This cheesesteak was delicious. This place is the definition of "simpler is better". Very tender chopped up rib eye with some grilled onion and cheese whiz, can you really go wrong with that?












Pat's King of Steaks - 1237 East Passyunk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/

Crabby Jack's

New Orleans, Louisiana

You're in New Orleans for some Cajun/Creole influenced food, sure you are. But, it's not the etouffee or gumbo that reigns supreme. In this city, it's all about the Po'boy, and the Po'boy will always be king. I haven't tried every place that sells them... yet... but I can tell you that this place is DEFINITELY worth stopping by.

Crabby Jack's doesn't sell just Po'boys, they range from seafood specials such as blackened fish with hollandaise, fried green tomato salad, fried chicken and sides that cover all bases (jambalaya, mac & cheese, potato salad and slaw). I haven't explored much into their full menu, but I would assume it's good. After all, they do belong to the same owner that owns the famous restaurant, Jacques-Imo's on Oak Street.

I ordered both the Calamari and Cochon de Lait Po'boys. And you can order them to be fully dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle and mayo.

So, for the calamari, it was fried really well. Definitely not over cooked because they can end up hard as rocks if they're fried for too long. I can't say much other than that it was really fresh, and delicious. I added some Crystal hot sauce on it for an additional kick. (As listed on their menu, these things really are overstuffed)

The cochon de lait on the other hand, needed nothing. It had a good amount of spice to it which was pleasant. The sauce was delicious and the meat was so tender that you have no problem shredding through it with your teeth. This does get a little sloppy but, who cares when you're dealing with something that tastes THIS good.

The bread that they use is also a very good find. The crust is firm enough to not fall apart and the inside is so soft that it could be mistaken for a pillow. I absolutely love this place. The atmosphere, the food, and the people that take your order shows what New Orleans is all about. Making new friends and eating delicious food!

*Note*
Their hours are limited from a lunch time to an early dinner.

Crabby Jack's - 428 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://crabbyjacksnola.com/