Ian McNulty

An institution on Canal Street and the New Orleans dining scene, going back to 1991 , @palacecafenola has closed....at least for now.

Nearing the end of a 35-year lease, with an option to buy, its operators say they were negotiating to to just that. A dispute over its value landed in court, and after a judge ruled for the property owners, the restaurant people say the numbers don’t add up to stay open.

But Dickie Brennan says: “Don’t count us out yet.”

Pending an appeal, Palace Café reopening at its original location is a possibility, and the operators are also “interested in reimagining and reopening Palace Café” elsewhere should the right location arise.

Link in my bio has the story with more detail and photos of Palace Cafe through the years and today at its closing by @davidgrunfeld (couple here showing the grand old place…and that crabmeat cheesecake)

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #neworleans #nolafoodie #nolafood #downtownnola #louisiana #nolalife Less

Thai-style remora , anyone?

No, it isn’t on the menu, nor is it a special.

But when I was visiting @nolatuktuk recently, I was there between shifts, and this came out as the staff meal.

It was bycatch from a charter fishing trip the chefs and their staff took. This hitchhiker came along for the ride and ended up in the pot.

Good texture, very eel like, though the prime attribute was what a Thai kitchen can do with just about anything.

If you want to see some of the wonders of pork belly, stuffed chicken wings and noodles that actually are on this menu, see my earlier post.

Or better yet get the full story via the link in my bio, and thank you @nolanews subscribers.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #metairie #nolaeats #nola #nolafoodie #nolafood #nolalife #seafood #bycatch #weirdfood Less

I’ve been eating lately at @nolatuktuk like I’m making up for lost time, because, in fact, I am. And really I should have known better.

This family had wowed me before, at their old restaurant My Thai on the West Bank.

At first glance, the menu at this newer Metairie spot didn’t seem remarkably different from the Thai take out norm.

But flip past the “rice-and-noodles-add-protein” section to find the chef specials and regional signatures.

The kitchen has a particular love affair with pork - pork belly with Thai kale shows this beautifully, as does the kao moo dang, the red pork, with char siu and pork belly.

And….stuffed chicken wings! Reminiscent of what they long did at NOLA in the Quarter.

Boba tea to drink and yes they’ll spike these at the bar.

Tiny, affordable, full of surprises and deep flavor, this place is a real find.

Link in my bio has the full read.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #metairie #nolaeats #nola #nolafoodie #nolafood #nolalife Less

Again with the clams, little necks on the half shell (plus some oysters), at @waterstreetkitchenbar

And clam casino and clams with nduja butter and linguine and Pt. Judith calamari, because it is the Official State Appetizer of Rhode Island and contrary to attempts on this trip one cannot sustain on raw clams alone.

#clams #rawbar #newenglandfood #newenglandseafood #rhodeisland #seafood #seafoodlove Less

I am here for the clams… well, that and some family time.

At @providenceoysterbar__eg in Rhode Island, a big platter of meaty cherrystones, more demure little necks, and a mixed dozen of local oysters because those are great too.

I always try to get my fill when visiting New England because raw clams are a delight that’s proven highly elusive back home in New Orleans, despite all the other seafood brought in from other waters. Someone help!

Meanwhile, back to those clams.

#clams #rawbar #newenglandfood #newenglandseafood #rhodeisland #seafood #seafoodlove Less

Inspired by @34neworleans back home in New Orleans, I’ve been on a Portuguese food romp up here in New England.

Most things in New England are pretty close, but then you have places that feel like a different country.

That’s Fall River, built on a beautiful waterfront with majestic churches, hard scrabble streets, and very warm hospitality for these curious travelers.

Fall River feels like a portal back to Portugal, and an outpost for the Azores in particular.

This place is classic Azorean Fall River — Tabacaria Acoriana, @tabacaria_acoreana , where everyone but us converses and transacts business in Portuguese.

Decoding the cacoula brought tender shredded pork with paprika and garlic

Then thick grilled octopus legs

And a platter of stickleback chicharros (tiny fried fish, to eat whole, eyes to tall)

With bargain alvarinho to wash it down

#portugal #portugal🇵🇹 #portuguesefood #fallriver #bacalao #igersnewengland #newengland #newenglandfood Less

Dropped into @thebatture last weekend, and naturally an ad hoc eating tour developed around some of the pop-up / food truck offerings.

It was a delight, for the access to a real, live working river (the one that shapes every aspect of the city, after all), the tasty bites and the low-fi, driftwood feel of it all.

Can it keep that easy-breezy, sort of @accidentallywesanderson cool feel as development plans here progress? I sure hope so.

Start with the new “empataco” from @waska_nola , proud drivers of a new food truck.

This is a Colombian fried empanada, split and filled with taco meats (al pastor with cheese, this one). Arepas too, like this ham and cheese, great for the kids.

A very fine, dockside-elegant lobster roll from @thenellshell , complete with tajin-dipped lemon, and nicely butter-crisp bun (see also tinned fish!).

Smoked chicken salad sandwich and watermelon/feta salad from @bootsyschicken , (I hear they’re back to fried chicken sandwiches now).

This is now also the Tuesday location of @crescentcityfarmersmkt , and I hope it stays here forever. Market shopping and noshing is much more fun when the market is riverside.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nola #uptownnola #nolafoodie #nolafood #neworleans #nolalife #neworleansfood #visitnola #riverfront Less

Good news makes you feel good, and it was so gratifying to work this story on the 50th anniversary of @radostasdeli , because of how it is carrying on its own slice of New Orleans character and flavor.

As usual, the great @cgranger captured it like no one else (see previous post for some of his work, link in my bio for the full story).

Here are a few snaps from my own notes.

That softshell crab, just popping and bursting with freshness.

Quite possibly the hottest hot sausage around, seething with a five pepper blend for house-made patties.

The classic roast beef, with gravy and juices seaping into the bread.

And you have to love a po-boy shop with its own recognizable font on those handwritten signs.

Check the link in my bio for the full read on the unorthodox arrangement that is carrying Radosta’s into the next generation

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

Early dinner downtown is rewarded at @dahlarestaurant with happy hour prices (4:30-6:30 pm) on this grapefruit martini, ringing in at five bucks.

I asked for the tiger tears steak salad “spicy” and they understood the assignment!

Sweet sticky rice and mango to wipe away those tears at the end.

This downtown restaurant is closed on weekends through the summer (seasonal slowness not helped a bit by the adjacent street closure), so get them through the week.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolafoodie #nolafood #nolaeats #downtownnola #martini #martinitime 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