When We Gonna Eat?

Food is always on the minds of New Orleanians. Food is our community.

I just marked my 1st anniversary of writing a food column and creating this food & travel blog. It is virtually impossible to eat at every restaurant in this town and then write about it. But ... lucky for you, there are numerous good food blogs written by an eclectic group of New Orleanians.

Here's a list, in alphabetical order, of my favorite New Orleans food blogs. If you read Native Palate and these regularly, you, my friends, will be in the know about all things foodie in town!

Appetites, Bite & Booze, Blackened Out, Bouille, Dickie Brennan's Kitchens, Eat Drink Nola, Fleur Delicious, Gourmet & Gourmand, He Said/She Said NOLA, Lorin Gaudin's Tasty Blog, Mere Mortal's Guide, NewOrleans.com, NOLA Eats, Suck the Heads, The Cajun Foodie, The Kingfish Menu, This Ain't Julia, Child, and Yat Cuisine.

Bon appetit, y'all!

p.s. If you know of other locally written food blogs, drop me a line.

Happy New Year!

I had a great and busy holiday season. I spent Thanksgiving in San Francisco with good friends. Christmas and New Year's were a whirlwind of celebratory gatherings with family and friends. The Saints made it to the play-offs but ended the season sooner than we had all hoped. But what a fun season! Finally back in to the post-holiday shuffle at work. And here it is ... almost February ... with the Carnival season -- and King Cakes -- in full swing. Where does the time go?

I have lots to write about. So check back in a week or so - I will be back to sharing my dining experiences with you soon. Here's to more wonderful dining and travel experiences in 2011!

The Union of Two Classic New Orleans Desserts

Two quintessential New Orleans desserts are bread pudding and bananas foster. Over the years, I have tweaked a recipe for bananas foster bread pudding given out at a local chef's charity event 10 years ago. I serve the warm pudding with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream both topped with the warm sauce. It is a real crowd-pleaser!

BANANAS FOSTER BREAD PUDDING

1 loaf stale French bread, broken

3 cups whipping cream

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

½ lb. Butter, melted

1 cup cream de banana

4 bananas, cut up

2 cups chopped pecans

1 tblsp. Cinnamon

2 tblsp. Vanilla

Combine all ingredients and let stand until all liquid is absorbed by the broken stale bread. Place in buttered 9 x 12 pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

SAUCE

¼ lb. Butter

2 cups dark brown sugar

4 oz. Cream de banana

4 oz. Dark rum

Melt butter and add brown sugar to form a creamy paste. Let mixture caramelize over heat for 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream de banana and rum. Stir mixture for 2-4 minutes. Pour over bread pudding and vanilla ice cream.

Bon appetit!

Pho Hoa | Great Pho, For Real

I am a big fan of the Vietnamese staple, pho. For those of you not familiar with Vietnamese food, pho is soup. Pho is served with chicken, pork or beef, either rice noodles or vermicelli, and accompanied by a side plate of assorted fresh herbs including basil leaves, cilantro leaves, sliced green chile pepper, bean sprouts, and a lime wedge. The broths are rich and bursting with flavor.

Lately, my pho of choice is at Pho Hoa located at 1308 Manhattan Boulevard in Harvey (directly across from Petsmart). The regular (versus large) bowl of pho is $5.50 and is a meal in itself. Today I had the Pho Ga (chicken soup) and it was delicious. Pho Hoa's chicken broth is rich, but not heavy, and includes what I believe to be a hint of thinly sliced fennel. The smells and flavors rising up from the steaming bowl are intoxicating. Kathy had the pho with rare beef and brisket which was also excellent.

You get to control how much of all seasonings go into your pho. I always add a dab of Sriracha (aka Rooster sauce) to my pho for a nice kick. Be careful – it’s hot and a little goes a long way.

We also split an order of Vietnamese spring rolls with shrimp & pork served with spicy peanut sauce. Vietnamese spring rolls include sliced pork and shrimp rolled in rice paper with fresh cilantro and vermicelli. While I enjoy fried Vietnamese egg rolls, I like the fresh, delicate tastes of the spring rolls. Pho Hoa's spring rolls are very good and I liked that the shrimp was still a little warm.

Pho Hoa is open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Their phone number is (504) 302-2094.

Each time I've been to Pho Hoa, the place has been full of mostly Vietnamese diners. That to me is a sign of the quality of Pho Hoa's food and it's commitment to serving traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

We're #1!!

Travel + Leisure's list of favorite cities is out. And New Orleans rated #1 in neighborhood joints & cafes, cocktail hour, people-watching, singles/bar scene, and New Year's Eve. Who Dat?!

Save Our Sandwich: New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival

Bring your appetites to Oak Street on Sunday, November 14, 2010 to take part in the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival. Over 30 local restaurants will serve up their best po-boys. In one spot you can sample Parkway Bakery's roast beef, Dickie Brennan's alligator sausage, Gattuso's fried shrimp, Boucherie's BBQ shrimp, Crescent Pie's hot sausage, GW Fins' fried Maine lobster, Jack Dempsey's veal cutlet, Ye Olde College Inn's fried bread pudding po-boy, and so many more!

Of course, there's music - this is a New Orleans festival after all. There will be 3 stages with acts including Papa Grows Funk, Rebirth Brass Band, Jon Cleary, and the Radiators.

The Saints have a bye on the 14th so there's no reason not to get out and celebrate our beloved po-boys while strolling along Oak Street. The festival hours are 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. See ya there!

"Serious Eats" gives props to Angelo Brocato's

Serious Eats is a web site and blog dedicated to good food. In Road Trip: Brocato Gotcha Gelato, Austin author and food writer Katie Walsh features Mid-City treasure, Angelo Brocato's. Thank you, Ms. Walsh!