Goooood Morning Baaaltimore, or should I say New Orleans; if you get that reference, I love you. October has been a month of music festivals for me and I will not and cannot complain. This post is all about my weekend in New Orleans and my time at Voodoo Music + Arts Festival! My friends and I had this trip planned for quite sometime so my anticipation leading up was overflowing and leaking everywhere; seriously I couldn’t shut up about it. New Orleans with five of the funniest people I know, Cajun cooking, Bourbon Street AND a music festival, who wouldn’t be eager to go?
My dad and his side of the family grew up in Baton Rouge, which is about an hour and a half outside New Orleans, so he would take my brother and I to visit the city a lot when we were kids.
We would walk the French Quarter, fish off the levees and drop into local spots to eat, so I was somewhat familiar with the city. However, I had never been as an adult! I was excited to experience those things (such as Bourbon Street) that I didn’t get to as a kid. Although I was very excited for the famous Hand grenades, which is a very well known alcoholic drink on Bourbon, what I was really looking forward to was that home-style Cajun cooking. My parents raised me on gumbo, red beans, and rice, so I know a little something about that Cajun food. I’m no expert, but I know the difference between a good roux and burnt roux.
On the first day, when we arrived to our Airbnb, I was in awe. Our little cottage was so cute and quaint in a quiet uptown neighborhood right by Tulane University; a little bit of a drive to the city but nonetheless a great find. We spent so much time at the cottage that we were late to the festival; no I don’t want to talk about missing Marian Hill, I’ll get over it eventually. Unfortunately, we didn’t eat anything Cajun or local our first day in town, except for Rally’s Burgers at 2 o’clock in the morning after we walked from the festival to a rather sketch part of town that we probably shouldn’t have been in, but hey, it was definitely an experience I won’t forget with some burgers I don’t mind forgetting. I’m not going to dog on the Rally’s too much, it had some upsides. One of these upsides being that it’s one of Rick Ross’s favorite burger shacks, and that their fries are the bomb.com.
The next morning, we decided to venture out and find some good grub to eat for breakfast. We ended up picking this place that was down the street from the house called Riccobono’s Panola St. Cafe. Just a little disclaimer for all of you who have never been to New Orleans, there is no such thing as a quick bite to eat. I don’t usually like to critique restaurants or really critique anything at all, but I can’t always be the nice guy. We waited almost 20 minutes in line, outside in the cold and to say the least, this restaurant was not my favorite…was it because I wanted crawfish étouffée for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Maybe, but I also felt like they just didn’t really care.
It looked and sounded amazing on the menu but my omelet was kind of mushy and runny, feeling slightly undercooked. I can make an omelet at home, in Texas, I wanted the New Orleans experience and as far as service goes we definitely were not in Texas. However, on a brighter note, the screwdrivers were stronger than venom and did their job better than expected. My boyfriend and I decided to split the omelet and get something authentic afterwards and that may have been the best decision we have ever made.
Another disclaimer: just because it’s on Google or Yelp does not mean that it is open for business or in business at all.
After breakfast, we went to one shut down restaurant and drove around for another 10 minutes before discovering that almost every restaurant in town either closes at noon or doesn’t open until dinner time. At last, we came across a hidden gem. If you have ever heard the expression “hole in the wall”, this place was the epitome of just that. Domilise’s Po-boy and Bar is a po-boy shop with a kitchen full of the sweetest most bada** old ladies you’ll ever come across.
We walked in having no idea what to expect, but realized we were in for a treat when we saw them frying up fresh batches of oysters and shrimp and slapping mayo and hot sauce on french bread faster than you can say mayo and hot sauce.
This was exactly what I had been seeking out; something local and small, seating no more than 25 people, and ran by ladies who know how to get the job done while also making you feel right at home. I hadn’t had a po-boy since I was about 9 or 10 years old and I couldn’t have asked for a better reminder of how freaking amazing they are. My taste buds were so insanely satisfied. The french bread was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the lettuce and pickles were crunchy, the spicy mustard and hot sauce added just the right amount of spice and those oysters; so fresh and fried to perfection!! I’m really not a huge fan of oysters unless they are fried and these were perfect. No kidding, this picture is set as my laptop background; the obsession is real.
The second day of the festival was incredible. So many great artists, such as Foo Fighters, DJ Snake, Illenium, and many more. It was over Halloween weekend so we all got to dress up, it was so much fun.
It was freezing, almost to the point of being miserable. The only time we were warm was when we were huddled around random people like penguins in the middle of a giant crowd. I was supposed to be workout Barbie but ended up looking like a 13 year old from the 80s wearing a leotard and tights while it’s 40 degrees outside, so of course I didn’t want to leave the very warm crowd long enough to get any festival food. You live and you learn I guess; I’ll bring pants next time.
The third day arrived and I was in desperate need of some étouffée or gumbo, pronto. The day before, one of the girls in our group, Kate, had mentioned a restaurant named Mothers, saying that it was really good home cooking that makes you feel like you are in the heart of New Orleans, so I mentioned it that morning. It was indeed in the heart of New Orleans; the French Quarter.
Naturally, there was a line out the door that resulted in at least a 15-20 minute wait, but what awaited us inside was well worth it. At first it seemed like a really small restaurant, but once you get into the back it goes on forever, taking up three massive rooms for seating. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It wasn’t a sit down and order kind of restaurant, but instead you wait in line, look at the menu and then order at the front. I was expecting it to be more like an actual kitchen, but it reminded me a bit more like a Louisiana style Panera bread. Be that as it may, the style of ordering had no effect on taste.
It was fresh and cooked just right early that morning, probably by mother herself, and brought to serve. It may have seemed like fast food, but it was anything but. I got all my cravings and didn’t hold back in the slightest. I ordered the crawfish étouffée (left), chicken and sausage gumbo (right), turnip greens, and sweet potato pie to really bring it home.
I was so taken back by how homey it felt. The people were so nice and the food felt like real southern home cooking; the overall experience was exactly what I was looking for. The étouffée was rich and creamy, the gumbo was spot on with that andouille sausage, the greens were salty and sweet with big chunks of tender pork, and the sweet potato pie was so sweet yet decadent and subtle you could eat a whole pie and not even realize it. Unlike Domilise’s, Mother’s is a bigger, more well known place but it still gives you that hometown vibe.
That night after the festival we decided it wouldn’t be a successful trip to New Orleans if we didn’t make it to Bourbon Street, so we got an Uber straight from the festival to Bourbon. Bourbon is the home of the famous hand grenades and Cafe du Monde beignets. We partied a little, got a few masks from a voodoo shop, and of course I had to get some beads thrown to me from a balcony Mardi Gras style.
Most importantly, lets talk about those beignets. I’ve always heard about Cafe du Monde and their beignets, but didn’t think they would be so good. Think about a sopapilla but instead of it being hollow it’s filled with soft doughy bread and covered in a mound of powdered sugar. I could have rolled around and made snow angles in all that powdered sugar. I still have dreams about these and wish I would have ordered more than just 3; I’m thinking more like 30 next time.
As the last and final day came to, the vacation blues really started to sink in. At that point, I was one bowl of gumbo away from packing up my things and moving there. Everyday we said we were going to eat festival food and we never did. If I had any regrets from this weekend it would be that. Like I mentioned in my previous ACL post, I love all the local restaurants coming together in one place, giving me an opportunity to try it all. I can’t complain too much because we did eat lots of amazing food and I can’t wait to return next year; making this a tradition for sure! If you ever find yourself in the New Orleans area, stop by these places and try them out or there are countless other restaurants to visit while you’re there. Keep your eyes and nose ready to sniff out those good finds, they are every where.
Totally Tay 