Have you been on the hunt for a NOLA noodle house? Look no further than Chill Out Cafe! It is about time I wrote about this spot, as it is one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the city. For my OffBeat column this week I wrote Cheap and Chill at Chill Out Cafe, a rave review of their fabulous noodles and Asian Fusion Fare.
Their Pad Thai (shown above) is always a wonderful option, but nothing compared to their spicy Pad Kee Mao (below).
And their sweet and savory Pad See Ewe will have you day dreaming about noodles for weeks.
Cheap, fresh, affordable, and de-licious! Read more about it here: Cheap and Chill at Chill Out Cafeand tell me what you think!
Though this is technically a food blog, I had to make an exception to share this incredible trick with yall. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I have a few homemaker tricks and shortcuts up my sleeve, especially when it comes to ironing. Like many others, I HATE ironing. It's heavy, annoying, and knowing my clumsiness, dangerous. For years I straightened out my wrinkly blouses with a straightening iron (seriously) until I discovered wrinkle release spray! This wonderful spray bottle holds a magical potion that will make even the most wrinkly shirt presentable, and it only costs a few bucks!
You can easily and safely make this miraculous concoction at home. All you need is water, fabric softener and a spray bottle. Simply drop two capfuls of fabric softener in the spray bottle and fill the rest with water.
Check out what the generic brand looks like in my newest video clip. Enjoy!
After spending a week back in the Mecca of Chicken N Waffles I had a mean hankering for this dynamic duo.
Though in Cali you have to go to the hood to get some of Roscoe's famous Chicken and Waffles, here in Nola you gotta go to Lakeview. Lakeview is just about the antithesis of the hood, so it is pretty ironic that Russell's Marina Grill (a favorite among Metairie elderly) serves up this semi-stigmatized dish. But damn do they do it well! Russel would make Roscoe proud, if he wasn't stealing his business. No need to fly all the way out to LA for this breakfast, we got it in our own back yard! To read more about Russell's fried chicken and waffles check out my article for OffBeat Magazine: Chicken n Waffles: Watch Out, Roscoe.
If you're more or a traditional breakfast person Russell's also has great sausage and poaches their eggs just right!
Not to mention their bangin sweet potato pancakes! I'm drooling just looking at this pic. For more information read Chicken n Waffles: Watch Out, Roscoe.
While back home in Vegas and LA I could not wait to eat good Mexican food again. Though I wanted to take Eric to a legit taco cart we ended up finding ourselves at Loteria Grill in the Farmers Market at the Grove.
The tacos were really good, and definitely more trendy than what you'll find on wheels.
We did get some interesting grub including a Chicharron en Salsa Verde Taco with Pork Rinds in a Spicy Tomatillo Sauce Served With Finely Chopped Onion and Cilantro and Queso Fresco, a Carne deshebrada Taco with Shredded Beef Served with Fresh Guacamole, Salsa Chipotle, and Finely Chopped Onion and Cilantro, and a Mole Poblano con Pollo Taco with Chicken in Mole Poblano Served with Sesame Seeds, Finely Chopped Onion, and Queso Fresco. They were all fabulous, and so was the cactus salad!
But I wish we had gone here instead, 4 burgers, 4 fries, and 4 sodas for only $12.99 - score!!!
But the whole American Food/ Mexican Food thing doesn't sound that appealing, pastrami and burritos? No thanks, I'm stickin to Loteria Grill!
For the past 7 days I have been on the road in the search of the perfect fast food burger.
Though 5 Guys is damn good, I must say that my West Coast roots make me a die-hard In-N-Out Burger fan. Luckily I was back home this week and got to indulge in a Double Double (animal style of course) as well as their spectacular "never frozen" fries.
The healthier, Vegetable Oil fried potato slivers get insanely unhealthy when you get them animal style, but its so hard to resist!
If you're not going to be on the West Coast anytime soon a close second for me (besides 5 Guys, which I don't think is technically fast food) is Whataburger.
To find out more about this Southern fast food chain check out my article for OffBeat Magazine: Say What?
You don't want to miss this gem, it makes Mickey D's and Burger King seem inedible in comparison.
Have you ever watched an episode of the Simpson's and found yourself dying to eat some warm gooey doughnuts? I HAVE. Sometimes there is just nothing better than a soft fluffy cloud of sweet and glorious glazed fried dough. But I had no idea how good doughnuts could be until I discovered The TatoNut Shop.
Located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi (about an hour and a half outside of New Orleans) these doughnuts could turn a personal trainer into a fatty. These heavenly mouthwatering light puffs of fried dough are just absolutely irresistible. There is no doubt in my mind that they are the best doughnuts I have ever had, and I know exactly why. It's not crack (though their addictive quality may lead you to believe it is) it's all about their not-so-secret ingredient: potato flour!
Like the super light and flaky Banh Mi bread (made with rice flour), the non-wheat flour gives TatoNut doughnuts an airy, fluffy quality unmatched by any of its competitors. Add some light sweet glaze and you have a recipe for an incredible breakfast, snack, and food coma.
If you are ever in the area GO! You will not regret it. In fact, if you're ever just bored on a Sunday go into Biloxi for the day and grab a dozen (or 2) of these bad boys. Let me know what you think if you ever get the chance to check em' out!
For my newest OffBeat article, Rice Behind Bars I decided to share one of my favorite corner store delicacies: Shrimp Fried Rice. Since Katrina the city has seen many changes, including a menu shift in most corner stores. With an increase of Vietnamese shop owners, Chinese food seems to have replaced Soul food.
You can't drive down Claiborne for more than 5 minutes without seeing a Chinese and Po Boys sign, and though it may sound like a strange combo, I am a huge fan.
If you want to get some really incredible fried rice and po boys head over to Vicky's Supermarket on Magazine St and General Pershing conveniently across the street from Ms. Maes,
cheap drinks + cheap food = awesome.
To find out more info about Vicky's and these Chinese food deals and steals check out Rice Behind Bars.
You don't want to miss this spot! Read Rice Behind Bars for more details!
According to one of the many Justin Bieber Fan pages the young superstars' favorite food is spaghetti Bolognese, aka spaghetti and meat sauce (not surprising for a preteen).
Though I am not a huge fan of the teenage popstar's music, I can appreciate his favorite dish (and his gender bending stylistic choices). lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com is one of my absolute favorite sites to visit and his mall cardboard cutout has given me a fun diversion now and again, but his meal choice is probably his most redeeming quality.
Pasta and meat sauce is such an easy and delicious meal that can be made for well under $10. To make my version of spaghetti Bolognese all you need is 4 simple ingredients.
For 4 large servings you should purchase:
One medium package of ground beef (usually around $4)
One onion (less than $1)
Your favorite jarred pasta sauce (I like Newman's Own ~$3)
Any type of pasta (~$1)
To prepare the sauce simply chop the onion and saute it for 10 to 15 minutes on low. Meanwhile boil water for your pasta. Once the onions are translucent add the ground beef, as well as salt pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil, and any other seasonings you have have in your pantry.
My secret ingredient for my favorite meat sauce is a dollop of honey and a dash of Cinnamon (seriously)! It makes it have a hint of sweetness and a wonderful aroma. Once the meat is nice and brown add the entire jar of sauce to the mix and season to taste.
Finally, add the pasta to the saucepan and stir until fully coated. You can top with Parmesan or mozzarella and serve with garlic or cheese bread if you'd like. To make some last second garlic/cheese bread just butter each side of a sliced piece of french bread and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Top it off with cheese and stick it in the oven on high until nice and crispy.
So now that you know how to make the Bieb's favorite dish you can tell him what yours is! I'm serious, check out this link I found on youtube, its hilarious!
Nothing is better at chasing away the mopey Monday mornings than a good spicy lunch. And what better than some blackened jerk chicken? If that's sounding good right about now check out my article for OffBeat Magazine: Caribean Carry-Outto learn where to get some slappin jerk chicken from Coco Hut.
This itty bitty restaurant serves up some mean Caribbean food that you do NOT want to miss.
Sorry for the lack of posting as of late, I've been keeping super busy with all the fun summer festivals and free events in the city. This weekend has been particularly busy with White Linen last night and Satchmo Fest.
For those of you who missed White Linen this weekend don't get bummed, Dirty Linen is right around the corner! Make sure to go to Royal Street this Saturday night to check out some awesome galleries (and grab some free booze).
Get excited for some tasty posts that are in the works!
Like McGriddles, the Jersey Shore is another semi-embarrassing vice I thoroughly take pleasure in from time to time. So in honor of the new season, which comes out tomorrow night (you can watch the Season 4 trailer here!) I've put together some mouth watering photos of Italian American, or in this case Italian Creole, cuisine to celebrate the heritage of the rambunctious Jersey Shore characters. Though they are in Italy this season, eating authentic Italian food, they often have episodes which feature their own Italian cooking, which surprisingly usually looks pretty good. These pictures unfortunately are not of Snooki/Pauly D creations, but they are from Joey K's (which now that I think about it kind of has a Guido name, awesome).
Above is the phenomenal Shrimp Magazine Special, featured on Guy Fieri's show: Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and on my food blog! The artichoke - shrimp - angel hair combo is mind blowing. Get it, trust me.
This soft shell crab dish is not nearly as beautiful as the Shrimp Magazine, but it tastes soooo good!
Veal parmesan + angel hair + marinara. Need I say more?
... I didn't think so.
Who needs dessert when you have these crispy golden sweet potato fries?
I'm literally drooling just looking at these photos.
What better way celebrate the season premiere of the Jersey Shore than feasting on a huge Italian meal!!! Bon Appetit!
I'm pretty sure I did a happy dance when I first heard McDonald's started serving fried chicken McGriddles. Not only do I LOVE fried chicken, but I also secretly can't resist a Mcgriddle now and then (so gross, but so good). The thought of sweet syrup infused hot cakes surrounding crispy salty chicken almost brought tears to my eyes.
I had high hopes for this new breakfast item, but unfortunately it was incredibly disappointing. Unlike a traditional McGriddle (which comes with eggs, cheese, hot cakes, and sausage or bacon) this sandwich is just hot cakes and an over-sized chicken nugget. No sauce, cheese, bacon, or sausage.
I ended up just eating the chicken separately from the tiny syrup infused pancakes. Super disappointing. It would be infinitely better with eggs and bacon, but apparently that's not an option.
Plus, it costs more than a regular McGriddle. Not cool, Mickey D's, not cool.
