Food Field Trip: New Orleans Tidbits and Treats

If you’ve OD'ed on beignets (not that I am speaking from experience or anything) and have a sweet tooth (again, as if I would know what this is like) Bacco’s ice cream sandwich dessert is the answer.

The homemade cake (in this case a rich red velvet) surrounds La Divina gelato (this time a cream cheese flavor). This is a huge, sharable, well-executed dessert appropriate in every season. Their pastas are also excellent, but the dessert is always the star of the show.



I love the Cajun, Creole, and French-inspired plethora of regional cuisines that New Orleans has to offer, but in order to really appreciate those, I need a break in between jambalaya and Etoufee, since it is NOLA, there is no way I would go for a salad. My go-to spot for something different is Juan’s Flying Burrito, which is on a great little stretch of Magazine Street towards Uptown (about a $10 cab ride from the Quarter).

This hipster, Mexican joint offers reasonably priced, flavorful cuisine, especially the chicken verde enchiladas with huge chunks of grilled chicken, homemade green chili sauce, cheese, sour cream and hot peppers. It is spicy and oh-so-flavorful.

 

The accompanying beans and rice are just okay, but the portions are so big and filling and the margaritas tasty and cheap, that who needs a side anyway? Plus, you are in New Orleans after all which means your next meal can’t be far away.

While we went to the Po’ Boy festival Uptown for the famed sandwich (pictured below is the barbecued oyster version from Redfish Grill)…

...I fell in love with the crabmeat-stuffed fried shrimp from Sammy's Deli.

As big as a fist, these succulent Gulf shrimp were stuffed with a bread and crab mixture and served with a spicy dipping sauce flecked with paprika. A wonderful indulgence and for $6 for 2, the price was right.