From New Orleans to Savannah

[See pictures here]

Highlights of food from our 12 days trip, from New Orleans and the great River road, to central Florida, and up the eastern coast to Savannah, Georgia.

Croissant D'or [New Orleans]

In the quarter but fairly tranquil, old school tiled decor inside and an almond croissant I wish I can eat every day. Instead of baked crispy and oily, it's more bready, doughy, stuffed with almond paste.




Bayona [New Orleans]
(Lunch)
Any 3 plates for $25

- Tuscan Wedding Soup with Meatballs and Pesto (bit salty)

- Caesar Style salad with Lemon Pickle & Fried Capers

- Pork Belly and Shrimp, Crispy Rice noodle peanut salad, pineapple sambal (lovely shrimp)


- Grilled Mahi Mahi with Angelhair, artichoke sauce and sundried tomato vinaigrette (perfect)


- Rabbit 'n' Dumplin's (rabbit does taste like chicken.. so a proper southern course)


- Smoked Duck, Grilled Onions and Cashew butter in Puff Pastry with Pepper Jelly (house signature, a winner, served as dessert, love pepper jelly)


In the quarter, well known and respected. A solid offering for lunch. Could definitely taste the New Orleans flavors even in the italian-style dishes.
$72


Dante's Kitchen [New Orleans, uptown]
(Dinner)

- 5 inch skillet spoon bread (OMG yum and so unexpected!)


- Grilled Shrimp and Stone Ground Grits, andouille red eye gravy (best of the trip, shrimps to die for, and one of the best grits)


- Red Wine Braised Calamari, housemade pasta, fennel, wild arugula, orange bordelaise (salty but a huge mouthful of flavors)


- Roasted Beets, Balsamic vinegar, green bean pickle relish

- (out of Louisiana Fried Rice, almond, shrimp, egg, too bad)

- Baked stuffed Flounder, crawfish and andouille stuffing, corn, burdock, mushrooms, roast tomato vinaigrette (Such luxury)


- Chicken roasted under a brick, maple glazed, potato and bacon hash cake, fried farm egg (Simple, but fantastic)


- Mexican hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows


We gorged and gorged and could not finish all the food. One could not ask for a better start to a Cajun country trip. To me this is the essence of Cajun food, not really fancy schmancy preparations, no wild ingredient combinations, but just such SOLID, DEEP flavor layering. Definitely worth the $35 roundtrip taxi there.
$100


Marigny Brasserie [New Orleans]
(Lunch)
- Frenchman street poboy: fried gulf shrimp, fried green tomato, green onion mayonnaise
- Portobello mushroom bisque

Recommended by our lovely innkeeper. Slow service but the poboy was pretty good.. I could eat it again now. Sweet succulent shrimps, the tangy green tomato plays off the mayonnaise. Good bread with just enough crust.
$20.41


Latil's Landing [Houma House, Darrow, LA]

The restaurant is pretty fancy, set inside the Houma House, old-world style dining room overlooking garden and fountain. The food is good, but not New Orleans caliber. However, for in the middle of Cajun plantation country, this is the best bet (or rather, the only bet).


- Abita Shrimp, beer battered jumbo gulf shrimp with cheddar cheese grits and tasso cream sauce (yes shrimp again. I would bath myself in these gulf shrimp if I could. Super creamy grits)


- Rabbit and Andouille Gumbo


- Bisque of Curried Pumpkin, crawfish, and corn

- Quail Salad: old fashion southern fried quail, served with pickled quail eggs, cucumber, roma tomatoes and organc greens tossed in a crispy bacon and fig vinaigrette (main-course portion, completely stuffed me)


- Vodka sorbet palate cleanser

- Black Drum Sam: Black-eyed peas crusted filet set on wilted napa cabbage, served with fall vegetables and topped with jumbo lump crab and caper butter sauce (another homerun gulf seafood, black drum was a delicious fish. Massic crab lumps.)


- Lobster and Creole Tomato Risotto: Papaya stuffed lobster tail, fire roasted shrimp and Louisiana crawfish tails on Creole tomato risotto and parmesan broth (by this time I was stuffed silly, southern portions are HUGE!)

$150


Commander's Palace [New Orleans]
(Lunch)

- Melon martini, Blue Curacao martini, 25 CENTS each!

- Spicy Island tomato salad: heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, basil cream, fried plantain, pepper jelly


- Soup 1-1-1: Turtle soup (cooked 16 hours, fairly subtle "turtle" flavor), Creole gumbo, French onion soup (our waiter was heartbroken to hear we didn't think much of the soup)

- Louisiana Blue Crab Cake: Black skillet seared jumbo lump crab, pineapple corn salsa, Creole ravigote and pressed basil oil (more like huge pieces of crab with just enough binder to hold them in a pile! How a crabcake should be)


- Colossal gulf shrimp, pineapple and papaya salad, served in a coconut shell (soooo much shrimp)


- Vol au vent: pulled pork, caramelized onion, pastry shell, pepper jelly

- Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé: Finished tableside with whiskey cream sauce (wasn't my couple of tea, since i like bread pudding for its dense consistency and crust)

- Strawberry shotcake

A New Orleans institution not to be missed. Standout hospitality unlikely any other places we've been. Our waiter, Lorenzo, was brash yet friendly, lively and personable. Food was for the most part excellent, and represents what I imagine is New Orleans style. Their capacious dining halls were nicely filled with local diners who all seemed to be enjoying themselves.




$100


Bud & Alley's Taco Bar [Seaside, Fl]
(Dinner)

- Baya Style Fish taco: grilled fish, shaved cabbage, Pico de Gallo, homemade avocado mayo
- Grilled Shrimp taco: Romaine, charred corn salsa, homemade avocado mayo (not as good as Louisiana shrimps)
- Lemonade
- House made chips and guacamole

Colorful, busy, widely recommended, very proper for the beach town feel. Fresh, but weakly seasoned, and I wish they had hard tacos. The soft ones made eating a mess, especially while sitting at the beach. Apparently they have a sitdown restaurant too.
$17.6


Blue Highway Pizzeria [Micanopy, Fl]
(Dinner)

An all around local place, blue collar environment, friendly people and good grub. All other places in Micanopy were closed for no particular reason. A bit weird many things were served in plastic wares.


- Hummchetta: toasted focaccia, tuscan hummus, bruschetta topping (chewy, crusty toasts)


- Lamb Piadine: roasted lamb, mint pesto aioli, mixed greens, red onion, feta and parmesan, red wine vinaigrette (good lamb roast, big portion)


- Vongole pizza: garlic butter, Cedar Key clams, capers, sliced roasted garlic, Parmesan, Romano, parsley (a thin crust made with nearby local clams that open up during cooking and leak their clammy juice over the whole pie, fantastic!!)


- Keylime pie (meh)

$42


Tusker's Buffet [Disneyworld Animal Kingdom]
(Lunch)



We thought when we get to Disneyworld, the good food run will be over. Surprise! Disneyworld food is overall much better than Disney Land. Tusker exceeded our (admittedly low) expectations the most. Of particular note: friendly service, salmon roast that wasn't over cooked, roasted pork loin with honey espresso sauce, middle eastern rice, many good vegetable dishes, curry chicken and real basmati rice, wide selection of breads, and not that much fried foods. Though, the best part of it all may just have been the "set": the African decor down to the door knobs, the buffet setup in a "marketplace" under a flock of African print fabric, mellowing out the fierce Floridian sun. No one does cultural imitation as perfectly as Disney does.

$54


Hill of Beans Coffee [Disneyworld Epcot Center]
1776 Avenue of the Star

This place actually has a name, and address, except it's not even a real address you can find on a map. No it's just a kiosk in front of the American area of the Epcot center World Showcase, selling only one thing: Funnel cake! Best funnel cake ever, though. Freshly made (the person actually threw out a just-made one that was on a rack when we walked over to order, and made a new one for us, without us asking!), crispy all over, fluffy but gooey inside, perfect amount of powdered sugar.. Of course, it was also SIX dollars, where as the funnel cake place in Magic Kingdom charges 4.25 and gives you strawberry sauce free.. But I'm sure the cheaper one is no good.. yup..




Marrakesh Restaurant [Disneyworld Epcot Center, Moroccan Area]
(Lunch, Dinner)

I loved the Moroccan area the best, it was so damn authentic looking! Of course, hiring actual Morrocan artisans to come hand lay all the tile work helps, as do the hundreds of Moroccan lamps. I love those lamps!



We had lunch here, a Mediterranean triple slider with lamb and beef shwarma and falafel, which were pretty good, and then a strawberry/orange "tropical slushy" to wash it down, which was pretty bad in that my-tongue-is-all-orange way. But we felt sure the big, dark, cool Marrakesh Restaurant in the back of the area would surely be the best option for a decent meal in the park. And we were not wrong.



- Pineapple and strawberry juice with orange water (I quizzed our waitress about the ingredients in this drink, fearing it'd be a repeat of the "slushy", she got all confused, but turned out it was made with real orange water! (like rose water, but with orange flower))

- Chicken bastilla: baked layers of thin pastry filled with minced chicken and almonds, sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar (sweet and savory, very flavorful)


- Seafood bastilla: same description as the chicken bastilla, but with grouper, shrimp and mushroom. However taste was different, more sweet, and with a mint/parsley cream sauce, very delicious
- Harira soup: traditional hearty soup flavored with tomato, lentils and lamb (hearty indeed)


- Couscous M'Rouzia Fassi: braised beef served with caramelized prunes (very tender beef that would otherwise be undistinguished if not for the prunes, however this got monotonous after several bites)


- Roast Lamb Meshoui: roasted lamb shank in natural juices, with 7 vegetable couscous (again, very tender and juicy meat)


- Lemon chicken: braised chicken dark meat with garlic, green olives and preserved lemon sauce (the sauce again makes the dish)


- Baklava plate

For Disney dining, we were happy with the quality. I loved the interior, it could have been in Morocco. All the waiters may have been actually from there; they certainly dressed the parts. Belly dancing and Moroccan music adds to the atmosphere.
$100


Tasting Room [St. Augustine, Fl]
(Dinner)

Rated #1 on yelp, it was ok food. I wouldn't go back unless there were no other choices.






Taverns de Gallo [St. Augustine, Fl]
(Drinks)

This was part of the Historic Spanish Village tour, a really cute looking tavern playing 19c music, with a bartender dressed for the part. The sangria was good, the atmosphere was the best. Pictures didn't do it justice.


OC Whites [St. Augustine, Fl]
(Lunch)

Likely the most unsatisfactory meal of the trip.


Gauffre & Goods [St. Augustine, Fl]
(Pre-dinner)

I can't see the word Gauffre and not check out the place. Turned out it was a polish family run business serving many kinds of perogies (I wasn't aware there were so many kinds before this) and their family recipe waffle, along with Greek, Turkish and Italian fare. Strange combination, but the perogies were great! We got one order, split half and half, beef & pork, and mushroom + sauerkraut, pan fried with fried onions, sour cream on the side. Definitely authentic and delicious. The waffle was ok, imho not as crispy and light/fluffy as Gauffre Bruxelles but better than the standard waffles you can get.



$16


95 cordova [St. Augustine, Fl]
(Dinner)

Well done Persian decor. They had menus that light up when you open them! The hotel Casa Monica, another fine specimen of Henry Flagler establishment, was pretty swank.


- Fried green tomatoes, creamy smoked jalapeno sauce, goat cheese, basil oil (couldn't stomach more fried foods)
- Shrimp and goat cheese grits, smoked paprika and Cajun spiced pink shrimp, prosciutto ham (very good)
- Artichoke bisque, roasted creamy finished with herbs
- Lump crab cake, organic spinach and olive salad, remoulade, grilled lemon
- Butcher's Plate: prosciutto, black forest, aged salami, brie, gouda, cheddar, grain mustard, olives, and cornichon
- Grilled Asparagus (when I asked where they get their asparagus, in the end of May in Florida, the waitress flubbered. but these were as good as cali ones in spring)
- Steak fries with lemon rosemary aioli (we definitely over estimated room left in the stomach)



Gluttons we were, after the pre-dinner, we still ordered 7 items! And southern portions still applied here so we didn't finish everything. We were just happy they were open for Memorial Day.


Cafe Karibo [Amelia Island, Fl]
(Lunch)

Given how lackluster Fernandina Beach (of the Amelia Island) was, I didn't expect much out of this meal. We did our usual thing, walking around town looking through all the eateries, before backtracking our route to this place. Its gorgeous garden shaded by trees and cool blue walls proved irresistible in the rising southern heat. But bless the foodie stars Cafe Karibo actually turned out to be a gem!



- Stewart's Fountain Classics Key Lime Cream Soda (not impressed, especially with the HFCS, though corn being the main ingredient of the cup it came with scored bonus points with me)

- Home made peach ice tea, unsweetened (you hear about southern peach ice teas, but it's not easy finding a good specimen! This was a great specimen, tasted like peach, and tea, and that's all I ask. Sharp contrast vs the peach ice tea yesterday from OC White's, which was yuck)

- Waiters: genuine and easy on the eyes :p

- "The Famous" Veggie Burger, with guacamole, garlic basil mayo (Amnie was determined to eat the most non-stereotypical-southern item on the menu. Either that or he really wanted to test the Famous claim. So unlike him, but man was this good. And he thought so first! Came with cold noodles in spicy Thai sauce)


- Karibrew burger, grilled onion, special sauce, house fries (Definitely one of the best burger to enter the cavern of my face, because one it's perfectly seasoned, two charbroil taste, three just charred on the outside but juicy still inside, and four the fries were half-half normal and sweet potato fries, the latter of which were actually double fried to proper crispiness)e


I love it when a meal turns out great, elevating the mood and setting the tone for the rest of the day. I love it even more when it comes unexpected and unlooked for.


J mac [St Simons Island, Ga]
(Dinner)

Speaking of unexpected gems, holy mackerel did we strike mother lode today. It being Sunday in the south, the day before Memorial's day no less, on St. Simons Island, not even a big town by any stretch of imagination, two out-of-towners were trying to score dinner without any prior research. Down goes the five star Georgian Room @ Sea Island Lodge and the only recommendation I had, Halyards. Tramici has decent review, but closed. Coastal Cuisine, closed. So we were down to the only decent looking option, which happened to be right across from our Inn, J Mac's. It was going to be that or something that ends in Bar & Grill. Boy were we saved.

Upon entering, we approved the decor. A dark and clubby bar area to the right, an intimately moody dining room on the left. A mellow jazz band would entirely be not out of place here. The menu allowed me to hope some more: truffle, foie gras, farm source for ingredients, and multiple mentions of "Georgia Wild Shrimp".

So we dug in. Lamb Lollipops with sour cherry sauce, sweet, savory, tangy, juicy topped with juicy compoted cherries. For me, shrimp and grits of course, a mini size because I know by now how southern portions worked. And my god was it a mighty fine shrimp'n'grits: tight, cheesy creamy grits, a grilled down slice of andouille, and sweet, sweet Georgia wild shrimp, panseared with a little spices. These guys are less briny but sweeter in flavor than the gulf cousins.



They were so good, I ordered their "half pound of shrimp" side order, if you can even legally call it that, to go with my tonight's special of pan roasted local flounder with more creamy grits and squash "spaghetti". I can assure you there wasn't anything left on either plates when I was through.


Another massive treasure of the night was Amnie's Painted Hills Farm Boneless Short Rib, with truffle Sacchetti & Jus. It literally was the best short rib ever, a huge hunk of super moist, super tender meat with a serious just-shy-of-burnt crust on the outside and so much flavor and perfect seasoning on the inside. Paired masterfully with truffle stuffed pasta in a slightly tomatoey sauce. It was unbelievable, not the least of which was that Painted Hills is in Oregon.


Our waitress Jesse, with whom at this point we have firmly established foodie rapport, attributed the divine quality of the short ribs to its provenance. But we've had Painted Hills beef in the Bay Area, and they were of no significant memory. Chef Mary of J Mac must have some secret trick up her toque.

The last item, house made key lime pie, was fairly mundane. Or was the quality bar set so high now it's nigh on unreachable? Regardless, we walked out into the humid 30 degree night air blissfully content.


Southern Soul [St Simons Island, Ga]
(Lunch)

Given the credibility of the adviser (above Jesse of J Mac), and the strength of the recommendation, it was a no-brainer that we sought out Southern Soul for lunch the next day. Obtained directions from the St Simons Lighthouse clerks, we found the East Beach packed with holidaying families already at 11am. Throngs of children marauding the beach, their greasy bodied parents digging themselves into stations in the sand. We made a quick exit to the concession stands, blissfully free of traffic, for now. (Their old placed burn down, Southern Soul was just temporarily roughing it at the concession stand.)

Multiple accounts told of how the shack out of which Southern Soul previously operated was burnt to the ground, and how they just now temporarily setup this outpost at the beach concession while their new dig gets finalized. If the location looks a bit dubious, the food erased any such thoughts. The specialty, pulled pork, served jumbo in a "Soul Sammich", sided by cole slaw and topped with home made spicy bbq sauce. There aren't anything fancy to a pulled pork sandwich, but like the name says, it's soul food, and when it's just right, you know it, even though there ain't much to talk about. And this one was just perfect, and the sauce too. Kudos to Jesse, couldn't have found this ourselves.






Elizabeth on 37th [Savannah, Ga]
(Dinner)

Thus far our short little trip of the south east has been fortuitously long on the list of good eats. So this Memorial evening, in drop dead gorgeous Savannah, we truly did not have high expectations to get lucky again. Our first choice was another rec from Jesse, and also our genial innkeeper (of Catherine Ward House). It was sadly also firmly closed. Then we trekked through a drenching thunderstorm across town to Elizabeth on 37th, just grateful that anyone is even open and taking in poor starving souls like us on this holiday.

What do I order? Why shrimp of course! With shrimps of this quality (Georgian wild shrimp), I want to be called Bubba and wallow in them at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But first, some lovely Southern style cheese drop biscuits, with a little tub of marmalade and pads of butta. Something about warm biscuit with homemade jam that makes you feel the hospitality, especially in this grand yet intimate mansion-restaurant. Chef's amuse showed off a couple PEI mussels enrobed in spicy smoked tomato aioli.



The menu offered so many temptations that we had to choose three appetizers:
- Roasted vidalia onion soup with fennel, served with shrimp, baby leeks & fennel fronds. Velvet smooth, roasty onion sweet on briny shrimp sweet, absolutely fantastic.


- Crab 2 ways: crab cake with green onion & herbs, silver corn & butter tomato sauce; crab salad with prosciutto ham, cucumber, green tomato & basil cream. A busy, busy plate with lots of going on's, but managed to still pull together and show off the crab.


- Half moon river clams simmered with truffles oil, corn Madeleine, country Ham & celery. I love clams, and these had a clean but powerful clam essence that could more than play up to the pungency of the truffle oil. The Madeleines were great for mobbing up the clam jus.


- Cleansing salad w watermelon & feta & garden herbs

Main courses:
- Filet of local red snapper with basil mint cilantro crust, butter bean, acorn bean, country Ham, vidalia & tomatoes, cream corn asiago cheese pudding


- Spicy Savannah Red Rice with Georgia shrimp and Half Moon River clams, sausage, grouper, and okra


Yes more clams in the main course, but they weren't playing title role. Like a sort of jambalaya, the red rice was an ensemble effort. Both courses were delicious.

Desserts:
- Savanna cake: Angle cake folded into Sherry laced custard, molded back to a cake form, served with cream anglaise, raspberry coulis & whipped cream. Seriously, after hearing our (lovely, btw) server repeat this three times to catch all of it, how could you not order this? It was as fabulous as it sounded.


- Coconut cheesecake on Macadamia-coconut crust, pineapple glaze, pineapple slices, sour cream glaze, toasted coconut. Very rich. At this point of the meal I couldn't really finish it, even with the cool, sharp contrast of the pineapple and glaze. Too bad.


Is the caliber of cookery just uniformly high around here, or were the foodie gods watching over our stomachs? All I knew was that we couldn't have imagined a more perfect ending to this trip, a culinary tour de force of truly fresh, local ingredients, representative southern styles, and genuine hospitality. We leave Savannah content, knowing for sure we would return, someday.



$156.39+$21.61=$178