Ian McNulty

No, the photos surfacing again from @beviseafoodco were not throwbacks.

Justin LeBlanc boiled some of the best crawfish in town at his old Bevi shops.

Now he’s back in pop-up form on weekends at the former home of Avo.

I went to check it out.

The Avo dining room still looks ready to serve (the restaurant is closed and for sale), but this pop-up is all for takeout (Audubon Park and the Fly are nearby).

Daiqs are back too, and the pineapple/rum with a snap of ginger in there is a nicely not-too-sweet pairing for the crawfish.

Find him there Sat. and Sun. from 1 p.m.

Link in my bio has the full read

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafoodie #uptownnola #nolafood #nolapopups #crawfish #crawfishboil #louisianafood #louisiana #neworleans Less

You know the @vaucressoncreolecafeanddeli name from Jazz Fest and French Quarter Fest, where the family has served its Creole hot sausage po-boys from the start.

This heritage Creole business has partnered with a rising one, chef Bunny Young and her @eatcrawbabiesnola , to transform the deli with a robust daily menu.

Eating here feels like going back in time, to an era when many more neighborhood Creole joints dotted the city. It’s the kind of New Orleans cooking too often overlooked amid the flash and buzz of new trends.

But it’s the bedrock flavor that gives this city so much of its culinary weight to begin with and is immensely satisfying to see thriving here.

Start with the gumbo, gizzards and all.

Also here:
Smothered okra

Crawfish etouffee

Turnip greens (green change up daily)

The seafood potato Pontchartrain, with a whole fried catfish in there

Homey sides, lovey cake

And still those Vaucresson sausage po-boys on the table too.

Remember, closed Mondays.

Link in my bio has the full read on Bunny, Vaucresson’s and the restaurant today

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafoodie #nolafood #neworleansfood #visitnola #visitneworleans #louisianafood #louisiana #visitlouisiana #louisianatravel #gumbo #creolefood #soulfood #neworleans #nolarestaurant #poboy #poboys #hotsausage Less

Another fab fish & chips find, this one at @porgysnola - a Friday only special during Lent (maybe, hopefully longer?) this time with flounder, mushy peas and curry sauce.

The market/deli is a playground for seafood lovers.

Thai style ceviche, a cast-iron-dark seafood gumbo loaded with enormous shrimp and nice oysters (potato salad optional) and the crawfish roll another special today.

Go talk smack with the “lady mongers” (and the gent mongers too).

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #fishandchips #visitneworleans #visitnola #neworleansfood #nola #midcitynola #fishmongers #fishmonger #seafoodmarket #gulfseafood Less

Corned beef and cabbage is always a Tuesday special at @mandinasrestaurant and, coincidentally, St. Patrick’s Day is Tuesday this year and that’s today!

If you’re headed out to celebrate, padding the belly with something this hearty is just good science.

The idea of chicken parm sharing a menu with shrimp remoulade is perfectly normal at Mandina’s, following its Creole-Italian mode.

So what explains the standing weekly special of the quintessential American-Irish corned beef and cabbage?

“My grandfather really liked it, and wanted it on the menu, so I’m not messing with it,” fourth-generation proprietor Cindy Mandina told me.

Onion rings and Ms Hilda’s extra-strong old fashioned optional.

Air conditioning still advertised, though not needed today.

Link in my bio has my story with more St Patrick’s Day food and drink

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #visitneworleans #visitnola #cornedbeef #cornedbeefandcabbage #neworleansrestaurants #neworleansfood #midcitynola Less

Full Irish breakfast at St. Mary’s Restaurant in Metairie and the aforementioned almost full Irish breakfast sandwich at @finnmccoolsnola.

Both new additions to the pregaming possibilities this year.

That full plate has been the bestseller since St. Mary’s (4445 W. Metairie Ave) opened late last year, and it is served all day. A very good start to whatever a day here in our city’s Patrick’s season might bring your way (note they’re closed this Sunday though for the Metairie parade…).

That sandwich (“breakfast bap”) is served weekend mornings at Finn’s, until they run out, though deeply placed sources at the pub tell me it might be more widely available next week.

Link in my bio has the story on more (more-or-less) Irish, American-Irish and purely St. Patrick’s Day affiliated flavors

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

Part 2 of our chat with @ianmcnultynola & @cgranger to read more visit @nolanews online. We are open today from 11a-6pm. Stop by to get that Williby’s Experience for yourself!

Williby’s Catfish | 4327 Paris Ave

#willibyscatfish #blackowned #familyownedbusiness #neworleansrestaurants #placestoeat Less

If it’s March, then New Orleans people are trying to catch cabbage and craving fish and chips.

I’ve gotten my hands on some great ones lately.

None better though than this new addition at @thebellnola

The beer batter is shatteringly crisp, and the fish is local (puppy drum recently). Mushy peas on the side.

The Bell does not exactly scream St. Patrick’s Day. It is an embassy of Anglophilia in fact.

But however much people associate fish and chips with Irish pubs over here, it is much more of a English institution (even if its roots do go back to Sephardic Jews in Portugal).

Other very strong local contenders:

@finnmccoolsnola , the pan-expat embassy, with a wonderful two-part texture, both puffy and filigreed at the end with darker bits.

@avenuepubneworleans fried in beef fat (just like the tallow tots) for a richer flavor in each crisp bite.

And @delachaisewinebar , where the fish, the chips (and everything else fried here) is cooked in goose fat, with crunchy, puffy, fish-clinging effect.

Link in my bio has the story on more (more-or-less) Irish, American-Irish and purely St. Patrick’s Day affiliated flavors

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafoodie #nolafood #visitnola #visitneworleans #midcitynola Less

The lastest from Alon and Emily Shaya, @saftastable opened this week.

Dubbed “neighborhood Mediterranean,” it’s their most casual and versatile restaurant yet, a counter service, all-day café — part deli, part diner and all fresh and easy.

And there’s a chicken schnitzel pita that has all the makings to become a crosstown destination sandwich. It’s a knock out.

There’s a retro appeal across its clean lines, big windows and smooth curves.

It feels like a mid-century modern eatery adjacent to the city’s mid-century modern Lake Shore/Lake Vista neighborhood.

Some dishes are drawn from the Saba menu, like the hummus and ikra dip, though the range of flavors goes more broadly through the Mediterranean, including Greek and Italian.

The unifying thread is right there in the name.

Safta is Hebrew for grandmother, and Shaya’s own safta, the late Matilda Gerassi, was a foundational inspiration for the chef’s own career. A tribute to her is built into Safta’s Table.

Link in my bio has the full read

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #lakeviewnola #visitnola #visitneworleans #nolabrunch Less

“Everyone talks about how their seafood is fresh and you usually have to trust them; well, here you just have to take a look,” Alvin Williby Jr. told me.

Indeed - just look.

@willibyscatfish has its own indoor catfish pond, sourced from its own farm in Mississippi.

A cinderblock tank roughly the size of a plunge pool just past the register. Its clear surface roils with circulating water and the splashing of hundreds of live catfish.

These are butchered and cleaned in plain view.

Some customers take the fish home to cook themselves. Most leave the cooking to Williby’s, and results are extraordinary.

How does it get here? How do they manage it all? Why does it taste so good and when can I get that crawfish etouffee again?

Answers are in the link in my bio, with the full story on this easy-to-miss, impossible-to-forget seafood joint in Gentilly.

Photos by @cgranger (and a bit by me)

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #southernfood #fishfry #catfish #catchandcook #nolalife #neworleansfood #visitnola #visitneworleans #friedfish #louisiana #louisianafood #louisianalife Less

Sopa for the soul at @tia.marias.kitchen , espressochata for the win.

The menu at this big hearted Honduran restaurant is extensive, plus many specials, but this sopa de pollo consistently calls my name, and I love the espresso-horchata blend.

#wherenolaeats #igersneworleans #nolaeats #nolafood #nolafoodie #sopa #soup #midcitynola Less