Foodle

The next stop on the tour was @txispa_restaurant and I am so happy to say that we will be returning here twice over the next year as part of a weekend break in October and my Spain tour next May (link in bio). Nestled in the serene village of Axpe, Txispa is a culinary gem that seamlessly blends Japanese finesse with Basque tradition. Under the guidance of Chef Tetsuro Maeda, a protégé of the renowned Asador Etxebarri (our next stop), Txispa offers a unique dining experience where local ingredients meet time-honored Japanese techniques. The restaurant’s commitment to excellence has been recognised with a Michelin star and a long line of world travelling foodies that hope for a reservation here. We spent a perfect afternoon here with @tetsuro_tetxubarri Tetsuro’s cooking and hospitality really being a highlight of the tour.
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Michelin Guide -⭐️
La Liste -
W50B - 85
Best Chef Awards -
OAD - 62
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#achefabroad #itravelforfood #foodie #foodporn #foodpic #achefabroad #itravelforfood #foodtours #foodies #foodporn #foodpic #foodpics #finedining #michelindining #eats #instafoodie #michelinstar #worlds50bestrestaurants #worlds50best #eater #michelinguide Less

Boudin links from Link (Donald) at @cochonbutchernola , an expressway to the flavor of Cajun Country in downtown #nola.

These remind me strongly of what the chef’s family makes over at @themowatastore outside of Eunice — great rice texture and meat/spice/liver balance — though here with a nice Italian white instead of ice chest beer.

Grilled salmon belly to balance things out.

#wherenolaeats #nolaeats #igersneworleans #nola #nolafoodie #nolafood #boudin #louisiana Less

Two words at @1000figs gets you this — “falafel feast.” Well, three words, “falafel feast please.”

Falafel, crunchy-fresh salad, dips, and garlicky sauces, and that beautiful golden puffy bread. Still a screaming deal at $51.

It is such a fantastic way to eat, which I visited over the weekend with a sidewalk table in the nice weather.

We’ll serve this next-door at @swirlnola , which is where we got the @marytaylorwine rose.

Fun fact: 1000 Figs but it start as the Fat Falafel food truck, often found right outside of Swirl.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #nolalife #midcitynola Less

It’s a beef for the Hogs, and it’s delicious.

Plus, you have to love a dive bar that sells handmade chocolate chip cookies bake sale style alongside the cocktails in tall foam cups.

The World Famous Corporation Bar & Grill is deeply involved with @houseofhogsbbq , and like many cook off teams this one raises funds year round for @hogsforthecause .

A Chicago connection led to this Au-Jus June special all month, with beef brought in from Bari Beef in Chicago.

To dip or to dunk? Is cheese a good addition or heretical? I tired two at once a few different ways to find out.

Is the bread up for all this? The local @leidenheimerbakingco pistolettes have that covered.

The Corp has late night vibes (at any hour), but know that the grill is slinging 11-4 pm these days.

Link in my bio has the story on this and more on a dive bar with a big heart

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafoodie #nolafood #nolalife #downtownnola #sandwich #italianbeef #hogsforthecause #divebar Less

I’m very familiar with this view of the bar, but now the longtime Franklin is the new @evviva.nola , and brings back a some talent in the kitchen that’s familiar too.

It’s pretty much Italian, but not strictly so.

Dropped in and started digging in with :
🔥porgy brandade (on the happy hour menu, 5-7 pm)
🔥peaches with crab, chile and fresh mint
🔥a chorus line of shrimp, simple, tasting of the grill, perfectly cooked with their fresh bounce intact
🔥burly rustic pasta of chicken liver and ham in the rigatoni
🔥a new-to-me @marginswine blend of chenin and vermentino to pair with the range

Of you like an amaro, try it shaken with ice to end, it gets all frothy and silken like an espresso martini. Game changer!

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #nolalife #amaro Less

Dinner and a show?

Dinner was an early reservation at @sylvainneworleans , and the show was a go-cup stroll after to the riverfront as the sun setting behind us painted the moving water and sailing clods and passing vessels in changing color.

“The show” was feee, the payoff of the evening wax renewed appreciation for a restaurant that has always blended a timeless feel with modern style, and also for the evocative poses of our city, perhaps especially so in slower summer.

Start with the four tempers cocktail with rum and snap pea and the Vietnamese @songcaidistillery gin and citrus pho-lomo.

Fried tomatoes cut thin as chips with shrimp remoulade

Green cabbage salad with herbs and peanuts and boiling jalapeño spice

Check the burnished crackling crust in the sea bass with leeks, asparagus and crab

Of course the pappardelle bolognese , on the menu here 15 years now, incredible considering how Sylvain always feels so fresh in a timeless New Orleans setting.

And Sylvain sodas for the go-cup stroll

Link in my bio has the full read

#wherenolaeats #frenchquarter #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nola #nolalife #nolaliving #nolalife #louisiana #neworleans Less

Who does, anyway? There is family love. There are also creative differences and the tensions of running a business together. There’s a shared vision too.

The father-and-son dynamic that brought us a groundbreaking addition to the New Orleans dining scene with @saffronnola has led to another one-of-a-kind restaurant – @thekingswaynola , the new Asian tasting menu restaurant Ashwin created in large measure in homage to his dad.

For Father’s Day, I dug in with Arvinder and Ashwin over mango chutney old fashioneds about what they’re building, where it all came from – the rigor and respect that grounds their working relationship.

“Sometimes fathers don’t say it very boldly, but the reason we still work together is, internally, I feel that way every day,” Arvinder, the dad, told me. “It’s tough love, but the love is always there.”

Link in my bio has their story.

Photo under the headline here by the great @cgranger from the story , and a bunch of snaps by me for a glimpse of The Kingsway, which should be high on your list to try (see my earlier story for the full read on the new restaurant [link in bio, just scroll down a bunch]).

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #nolalife #nolalove #uptownnola #fathersday #chef #cheflife #magazinestreet #nolarestaurant #louisiana Less

They just don’t make ‘em like @radostasdeli anymore.

That’s why it’s so gratifying to see this backstreet classic in Old Metairie marking 50 years this week in very good hands.

When the Radosta family was ready to retire they turned down the offers that would have gutted and transformed the old joint and instead found someone who wanted to keep it the way we love it.

“This has been my dream, not to have a place like Radosta’s, but Radosta’s,” said Rob Case, who with his wife Sandy bought it in 2022.

They also got the Radostas themselves.

Retirement didn’t take, so today Wayne, Don and Joan are back, making the gravy for the roast beef, grilling quite possibly the hottest hot sausage in town, serving old time specials and adding a bright spot to the day for their regulars.

So whose restaurant is it now?

Rob and Sandy are officially the owners, sort of the bosses but also inarguably students learning from the Radostas, absorbing the institutional knowledge of a long-running joint.

“For the first month, I literally just stood in the corner of the kitchen and watched these Sicilian brothers screaming at each other like they’ve done for 48 years,” Rob told me.

Link in my bio has their story, and many more photos like this by @cgranger

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nola #metairie #oldmetairie #poboy #poboys #nolafoodie #nolafood #nolalife #nolalove #louisiana #louisianafood #neworleansfood #neworleansrestaurants #nolafoodies #nolarestaurant Less