Myth Busters

Even little know that you can't eat raw meat without getting sick, right? WRONG! Aside from delicious Italian carpaccio, there are hundreds of delicacies from all around the work that serve up raw meat. I' m not talking about sushi, I'm talkin bright red flesh and bone, well maybe not the bone! I know this probably sounds (and looks) disgusting, but it really is spectacular. The lovely thin cuts of beef seen below come from none other than Pho Danh #4 (of course), and do actually lightly cook in the steaming hot bowl of pho. However, this side of meat is served to your table exactly like this. 

However, there are many dishes which involve no cooking at all. The dish below is an incredible Bim Bim Bop from Korea House, our only Korean restaurant in the city. This dish is served with raw beef that has been cured like ceviche, giving it a surprisingly light and refreshing flavor. The cut of meat is soft and easy to chew, not at all as gamey as I would have expected. I was a little on the fence about the whole raw meat thing before I dug in but this dish won me over.

All traditional Bim Bim Bop dishes come with a million types of Kimchee. For those who don't know, Kimchee is Korean pickled vegetables. Usually it is hard to find anything other than Korean pickled cabbage, but this came with all the appropriate fixins for a perfect Bim Bim Bop (my favorite Korean dish). They served pickled potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, radish, sprouts, and even black beans. Bim Bim Bob also is served with a raw egg on top. Usually, when this dish is accompanied by cooked meat, it is served in a hot clay pot that cooks all the ingredients together (including the raw egg). However, because we ordered the raw variation it was served cold... thereby keeping the egg raw as well. Interestingly, the raw egg creeped me out more than the beef. Too many years of my mother telling me I'd get salmonella if I licked the batter bowl!
If you are feeling adventurous definitely check out Korea House in Metairie and give it a shot! It's actually a perfectly tangy and light dish for the summer!

Pho Danh 4

I've written about Pho Danh 4 numerous times, raving about their soothing delicious pho but what you may not know is that they have excellent thai food. Housed in the same building as Hong Kong market, it's no shocker that they have super fresh ingredients and authentic spices and sauces for all their dishes.

My favorite thai dish is their Pad Ki Mao (aka Drunken noodles) with seafood. I've had it with chicken too, but the seafood is way more fun and adventurous. It has shrimp, squid, scallops, and fish cakes. They give a heaping amount of thai basil and juicy red peppers. Add some spicy flat noodles to the mix and you have perfection.

Shellfish Extravaganza

Living in South Louisiana gives me many opportunities to have delicious shellfish caught right off the Gulf of Mexico. With all the fresh seafood many restaurants in the area have incredible dishes for very low prices. Tons of different Asian cuisine joints create traditional dishes with a local flair.

Pho Danh 4 (the best Pho place in the city in my humble opinion) has a special called #24 which is served with pork, chicken and shrimp. You can get a huge bowl of it for less than 6 dollars and then do your shopping next door at Hong Kong Market. Definitely a winner.

But the best Asian seafood soup in the city is Hoshun's Seafood Udon Noodle Soup. It has octopus, squid, shrimp, and an awesome fish broth (not to mention the soft, thick udon noodles). It's a great midnight snack after I get off work. Hoshun is open till 2am so my coworkers and I are big fans.

Then of course there's Sushi. Aside from traditional rolls, Ninja Sushi has a selection of creative crawfish rolls. I recently tried the "Swamp Roll," a roll filled with crawfish and topped with seaweed salad. The name was very fitting, but I think I liked the name better than the roll itself.

And of course you can never go wrong with thai flat noodles, especially when they're paired with fresh caught scallops. This lovely dish is actually not a New Orleans creation, I had the pleasure of eating these scrumptious noodles in Gulf Shores, Alabama (where I went on Spring break). But I highly recommend the combo if you ever see this dish on a menu.

Of course we also have our own seafood cuisine. Gumbo is definitely our most famous, and one of my favorites. And I'm convinced Hank's has the best gumbo I've ever had. Hank's is a pretty sketchy joint in the Bywater on St. Claude. They sell two pieces of fried chicken for 99 cents, enough said. The chicken is a little on the greasy side for me but their gumbo is spot on. They have crab, shrimp, turkey neck and pigs feet cooked right in, shells and all and it is awesome! I highly recommend it.

Then there's always good old raw oysters. I was a little skeptical at first but they are actually really good! I got a dozen at Luke recently and it was absolutely love at first bite (or slurp). I don't really know about the whole aphrodisiac thing but they definitely got me in the mood for some horse radish and cocktail sauce. Now I have to try Drago's famous chargrilled oysters, which are supposed to be phenomenal.

Finally, in honor of the recent Italian American parade I'll highlight one of their best creations: creole shrimp pasta. This particular dish came from Restaurant De Famille, a beautiful restaurant that sits right on the bayou, just 45 minutes from the city. The best part of dining there is the alligator view, but the food is also very tasty. This spaghetti dish came with a crab and shrimp cream sauce. It was definitely on the heavy side, but not bad if you skip dessert! 

And the view was just spectacular. I had never seen an alligator up close and personal before, especially not during dinner. Definitely worth the drive.