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Bar Tonique | New Orleans, LA

we owe a lot of our trip to our buddy, mark, since he took us around to all the great bars in nola and made some amazing recommendations for food and drinks.

we went to visit his bar, bar tonique, while he was working because he was raving about the bloody mary! great thing about this place is their $5 drink of the day! the bacon bloody mary is a saturday special. apparently this sells out so get there earlier.

solid bloody mary. one of the best bloody marys we have ever had. no dispute. cocktails here are great. mark made me a refreshing, spicy drink (my go-to).

mark doin’ his magic.

overall: if you are looking for a great cocktail lounge/bar a little outside of the french quarter, come to bar tonique. specialty: hand-crafted cocktails… expansive menu. they will take care of you. oh, and mark was voted nola’s hottest up and coming bartenders. no big deal.

Bar Tonique
820 N Rampart St
New Orleans, LA 70116

By fabliss | December 30th, 2014 | Bars, Food | 0 Comments

Cane and Table | New Orleans, LA

this is another great recommendation from our buddy mark (so we decided to stop by after venturing to coop’s place for our fried chicken). we came here during an awkward time… well after lunch and too early for dinner. so they were only serving small plates.

we ordered:

peas n rice ($9) – island peas. local andouille sausage. rice.
crispy rum ribs ($17) – pork. el dorado 3-yr rum. papaya chutney. sambal.
avocado salad ($14) – avocado. jerked crab fingers. pecan smoked salt. marinated cherry tomatoes

we knew this place would be good since our friend, mark, had been spot on with his recommendations but we didn’t anticipate how good.

the peas n rice small plate was not what we expected… basically it looked like beans. we were thinking… did we get the wrong order? oh well because the beans were bomb! so flavorful!

the avocado salad was refreshing! exactly what we needed for our crispy ribs and beans.

last but absolutely not least, the real MVP–the deep-fried ribs. yep. deep-fried. ribs. fell off the bone. great sauce that smacks you in the face. everything i wanted these to be.

like i said, we knew this place would be good. we just didn’t expect this place to serve the most memorable dish of the trip!

food: everything we ordered was excellent! we can’t stop talking about the ribs!
ambience: we sat in the courtyard area. super cute spot especially on a warm day. bar is chic. dark woods, distressed walls with some exposed brick and emerald-green accents. we dig it.
service: service with a smile is always a good sign.
overall: ribs were spectacular! no, this place is not the cheapest but well worth it in my opinion. some people will have a heart attack when they read $17 for 6 baby ribs… but trust me, they are a must try. get ready for some mind explosion.

Cane and Table
1113 Decatur St
New Orleans, LA 70116

By fabliss | December 29th, 2014 | Food, New Orleans, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Verti Marte | New Orleans, LA

came here after our ghost and vampire tour. this place is a small market that makes sandwiches in the back. we saw that it had a ton of reviews so we thought why not?

this is a classic case of “don’t judge a book by its cover.” we ordered the poboy sandwich. it took us a minute to decide what to order since there is a huge menu!

the sandwich does not look pretty… none of us thought we would love it. but we were so wrong. it is delicious! super packed with flavor. what sauce is it?!! this is the kind of sandwich that you eat quickly since it is on the messier side but watch out since it comes out piping hot.

service: uber friendly
ambience: small market lit by fluorescent lighting (excuse the horrible photos… all i had was my iphone). there are two standing tables in the back of you want to scarf your sandwich down like we did.
overall: great, cheap sandwich! i would recommend this any day. like many have said before, pictures do not do it justice. oh! and this is open late night!

Verti Marte
1201 Royal St
New Orleans, LA 70195

By fabliss | December 28th, 2014 | Food, New Orleans, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Peche Seafood Grill | New Orleans, LA

came here on the recommendation of our friend, mark. we initially had booked a res with luke but decided to come here instead. what we ordered for the four of us:

shrimp toast ($7)
smoked tuna dip ($7)
fried bread w/ sea salt ($5)
hushpuppies ($6)
seafood gumbo ($9)
crab & jalapeno capellini ($14)
spicy ground shrimp & noodles ($12)

we were wondering why fried bread was on the menu… we were obviously just being foolish. we should know better than to question a chef who won a james beard award. these were little balls of heaven! crispy, hot, and awesome.

shrimp toast was a twist on what we expected. the shrimp was fried together into one piece and placed on top of toast. the texture reminded me asian shrimp balls on sugar cane sticks (anyone know what i’m talking about?) it was good! the pickles added the needed sweet/sour taste to cut the fat.

smoked tuna dip was good and came in a huge portion. it did get a little overwhelming after a while but still good. we had to ask for more crackers to finish it up. we think crackers were good but crispy bread would’ve been better.

hushpuppies were okay. make sure you dip it in the sauce.

seafood gumbo. kyle really liked this one.

spicy ground shrimp & noodles (above) were so tasty! noodles were cooked al dente. sauce was incredible. i wanted to slurp it up. the crab and jalapeno capellini looks bland but it is also equally fantastic!

food: we loved the food here. this was my favorite meal! notable dishes: pasta dishes were uh-mazing. make sure you get the fried bread.
ambience: awesome, industrial-looking, yet charming space. exposed wood beams and brick. high ceilings. lots of natural light. natural woods. very refreshing from anything you will encounter on bourbon street. since it is a big open floor plan, the restaurant would be able to accommodate larger parties.
service: service was good but i will say that we felt a little tension when we told the waiter no dessert for us.
location: this is walkable from the french quarter (we did it on the way back). 5 minute drive vs. 15 minute walk.
overall: we fell in love with peche. everything was delicious! items on the menu sound relatively simple but trust us when we say, you will be blown away by how well prepared everything is. flavors are well thought out, packing a great punch to your taste buds. fyi – peche has received the james beard award… well deserved awards (best new restaurant and best chef). thanks mark, for introducing us!

Peche Seafood Grill
800 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA 70130

By fabliss | December 26th, 2014 | Food, New Orleans, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

Commander’s Palace | New Orleans, LA

commander’s palace was one place that we needed to make a reservation a week before our arrival. it’s a pretty popular tourist destination winning the masses over with its southern charm.

their menu has a lot going on. there is an a la carte lunch menu, a 3-course lunch menu, and a 2-course lunch menu.

we went with:

a 3-course lunch menu ($34) that comes with creole gumbo, chicory coffee lacquered quail, and the bread pudding souffle
a 2-course lunch menu ($22) that comes with the cochon de lait cassoulet and a soup or salad. darci went with a soup – the gumbo. the cochon cassoulet is a bourbon glazed pork shoulder with boudin, white bean purée and crispy onion rings over a grilled ciabatta.
turtle soup ($8.50) – this is their famous soup that takes 3 days to make.
croque madame ($19)
pork prime rib ($25) – slow roasted rack of pork, crispy root chips, braised red cabbage and granny smith apples with buffalo honey green peppercorn jus
cheesecake ($3) – on the denser side.
apple crisp ($9.50) – my favorite of the desserts.
sazerac ($12.25)

this was kyle’s favorite sazerac out of the gazillion he tried over the course of our trip. very well made.

the pork prime rib was massive and actually pretty moist despite how dry it looks. the cabbage with the peppercorn jus was tasty. good flavor.

andrew ordered the croque madame. he thought it was good.

the quail was excellent! uh-mazing flavor. the quail was perfectly cooked. this dish killed it.

the cochon de lait cassoulet looks like a pork hash. this was actually my favorite. bold. great texture. i was a fan.

onto the dessert: the apple crisp was my favorite dessert. the souffle was on the eggy side. it just didn’t hit the spot for us. the cheesecake was pretty dense and didn’t blow our minds.

food: overall, food was good. the turtle soup and gumbo were okay. the quail and pork hash were our favorite main dishes. these were the ones that came with the pre-set menu. so my advice is to go with the 3-course or the 2-course lunch menus fo sho. oh, and don’t forget to order a 25 cent martini! we aren’t normally fans of martinis but for 25 cents, we would be fans of anything. if you are into sazeracs, order one here.
ambience: this place has been around since 1880. despite being pretty old, the building is extremely charming. there is a strict dress code. no jeans, no sandals. they explain this when you call to make a reservation. this is a really nice place for special occasions!
service: excellent service. excellent.
location: this was a little trek from the french quarter. it was a $20 cab ride. not bad. the good thing is that it is located across the street from the lafayette cemetery, which was a landmark we wanted to visit.
overall: this place stands out for it’s service, which is what most people say about this place. the food was good with decently sized portions. yes, it is on the pricier side but an experience i would say is worth it.

Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130

By fabliss | December 24th, 2014 | Food, New Orleans, Restaurants, Travel | 0 Comments

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