NOLA Favorite Meals

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file’ gumbo

For tonight, I'm a-gonna see my, my cher au mi-oh.

The lines are from the song Jambalaya on the Bayou. Fats Domino’s version is perhaps the best known but there are many including a Western swing style by Asleep at the Wheel.

Food is a big part of New Orleans, and no visit to NOLA is complete without swinging by Cafe Du Monde - which we did Tuesday afternoon. Our waitress brought us fresh beignets and perfect cafe au laits. Lady at the next table ordering a Diet Coke with beignets - why???

Tuesday night we had dinner at Royal Oyster House in the heart of the French Quarter. We had been walking by this place since arriving and it seemed classy and well run. That hunch turned out to be correct and we had hurricanes and great seafood.

Perhaps the most significant meal we had in NOLA was lunch at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant on Wednesday just before leaving. Thanks to Anisha for suggesting this restaurant. It’s a civil rights landmark and was featured in the Green Book. Many of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement ate here and had meetings to organize. Once someone threw a bomb at the building (fortunately little damage). I would have dined here just for the sense of history, but the food is also wonderful. Leah Chase was known as the Queen of Creole cuisine (she died recently) and the restaurant is faithfully carrying on her legacy. Excellent creole spiced fried chicken and creole gumbo (no roux).

Great article on Dooky Chase https://gardenandgun.com/.../green-book-era-legacy-dooky.../