Our New Orleans Trip Review, July 2011...Part 3

This is Part 3 of 4 of my series of reviews on our trip to New Orleans and the south.

Following is link to Part 1 & 2 of my Trip Review...

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-fl-panhandle-new-orleans-trip-july.html

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-new-orleans-trip-july-2011part-2.html

Part 4

http://myhomecookedmeals.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-new-orleans-trip-review-july_23.html

Ham Hock

http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/

Cochon is rated as one of the best restaurants in New Orleans and I  have heard so many rave reviews about it, so was very excited to finally try it because I love pork!  Ughhh, I was so disappointed!  Sometimes when you have too high of expectations it just doesn't pan out.

The Ham Hock was just too salty and just not that exciting.  I know pork is supposed to be salty, but still...

**Sorry about low quality of photos, restaurant was really dark and I used my point & shoot Leica w/out flash, therefore most of my photos were blurry and didn't even make the cut.**

Soft Shell Crab

I really love Soft Shell Crab, but this one was just not that appealing to me.  The main problem was that the breading was too thick.

Cochon w/turnips, cabbage & cracklins

This was also very salty.  I always want to love cracklins and these looked like they would be light and crunchy, but they were just hard & chewy :o(

Abita Root Beer Sorbet & Cochon Cookie

This was the favorite part of the meal.  Abita beer is a local beer brewed near New Orleans.  This sorbet was made with Abita Root Beer!  Loved it...especially the piggy cookie :o)

Commander's Palace

http://www.commanderspalace.com/

Commander's Palace is another quintessential New Orleans restaurant.  They don't have the best food, but I love the atmosphere.  We went to brunch on Saturday and were seated in the Patio Room.  It's a cute little room that is in a separate building from the main building and has a view of the outside patio/garden.  To get to it we walked through the kitchen and saw Chef McPhail & co-owner Ti Adelaide Martin having a powwow!

Me & My Handsome Hubby :o)

Another thing I like about Commander's is that they also have a dress code...no shorts, jackets optional...

Cheapest Martini I've Ever Had...

For lunch they have a "special" 25 cent martini...  You can either get gin, vodka or a mixed one w/Blue Caracao.  Of course I got the straight gin ;o)  We'd been having so many cocktails the night before, so I didn't finish it...I just wanted to order a 25 cent martini...lol

Most Expensive Martini I've Ever Had...

One of our favorite bars is the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Hotel in Paris.  We can't afford to stay in the hotel, but at least we can go to the bar :o)  I think the bartenders were a little disappointed that we ordered a plain martini instead of one of their fancy concoctions.  Cost...$40 per cocktail!!  They do garnish the ladies' ones with beautiful orchids or roses :o)

http://www.ritzparis.com/jump_to.asp?id_lang=2&id_target=1340

Garlic Bread...

Love the garlic bread at Commanders...it oozes with butter! I just love the bread in NOLA, they came up with a special way of making it because of the humidity, so it can't be duplicated elsewhere.

Gumbo!

Like so many dishes in NOLA, this gumbo was on the salty side.  Luckily I had a pot of hot water for my tea, so I added it to thin it down.  Maybe bad manners, but oh well...

Creole Gazapacho

Hubby's soup was delicious!  It was refreshing with a little bit of a kick!

Cochon de Lait w/Grilled Corn

My dish...again, salty.  I always wondered why they called it "Pig of Milk", it has nothing to do with milk.  They traditionally made it with suckling pig that still drank milk.  I did like the corn ;o)

Grilled Sheep's Head Fish w/Crab Boil Veggies

Mrs. Pregger's dish.  She said this was really good, I only tried the Crab Boil Veggies which I really liked and would love to duplicate it.  They basically boil the veggies in the stock from a Crab Boil.  It was really spicy, crunchy & delicious!

Seafood Cakes

D's dish.  I didn't get a chance to try it, but he ate it all up ;o)

Bread Pudding Souffle

Their famous Bread Pudding.  I liked it better this time, I think I had too high expectations the first time I had it.  It's like a bread pudding with meringue on top and then it's served with a whiskey sauce...yum!

Angelo Brocato's

http://www.angelobrocatoicecream.com/

One of my favorite desserts is Spumoni Ice Cream.  I actually looked up on the internet where they had the best in the country and I came up with Angelo Brocato's about a year ago.  They will Fedex it to you, but the minimum order is 24 pieces.  I was very tempted to order it, but I'm glad I didn't because this is another dish that I had high expectations and was disappointed :o(

Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor...

Love the old fashioned feel to the place!

Spumoni

There are really only a few desserts that I like and I don't like things too sweet.  This spumoni was too sweet for me, but so pretty!  Everybody else liked their gelato though...

Krystal Burgers...

http://krystal.com/

LOL....I had to have a Krystal Burger! It was in the French Quarter, so walking distance from our hotel. We don't have Krystal or White Castle near us.  The first time I had heard of White Castle was when I was in Jr High and saw them eating it in the movie "Saturday Night Fever". I was so intrigued by the mini, square burgers that they were wolfing down like dogs...do you remember that scene? I was finally able to try it for the first time a few years ago in St. Louis. The first time I tried it I thought it wasn't that bad..pretty good for what it was...second time I tried it I thought it was a little disgusting;o)

Cheese Krystal

We actually went twice to Krystal within an hour!  The first time I was so excited to try it, so I forgot to take pictures and I thought it was pretty good.  I made everybody go back a second time, so I could take photos...it wasn't as good the second time around...lol  This was also right before going to our dinner for the night!