Bourree (New Orleans)

Bourree
8115 Jeanette
New Orleans, LA
504-510-4040

I follow the New Orleans local alt weekly, The Gambit, on Facebook. When I read about Bourree, I knew I had to go.



They have two things on the menu: wings and daiquiris. It's a "wing & daiq shack!"




Okay, the clearly also sell beer and dessert, but they are secondary!

The monkeys (Satchel, 13, and Jiro, 11) and I decided to go on our way into town. I got a little confused finding it since it's in the former location of Boucherie, which is now around the corner on Carrollton. (I believe there will be some more moving around soon.) Anyways, we managed to find it, but we were just a few minutes early. (They are open noon to midnight.) We walked around for a bit while we waited and the somewhat cranky monkeys tried to sway me to eat elsewhere, but I held strong.

We were the very first customers. We were instructed to order at the bar, so we did.



There were three kinds of wings so we decided to try them all (kimchi & lemongrass, sweet mango barbecue, and spicy buffalo). The monkeys got sodas and I got a GT & D (Gin & Tonic Daiquiri). We took a seat and waited for the food.

You can tell it used to be a fancier restaurant. I like the way they tried to make it more casual with little touches.





My daiquiri came out (in a go cup, natch) and it was very interesting. Basically a frozen gin & tonic. It wasn't sweet at all, but I liked it.



And soon the wings came out.



The monkeys cheered up immediately and dug in.



Surprisingly, Jiro liked the kimchi ones the best. Satchel liked the mango barbecue.



I thought they were all damn tasty.



We thought about getting more, but we were in Nola, and had a lot more eating to do! I definitely think Bourree is a must stop for wing lovers.

Pizza Delicious (New Orleans)

Pizza Delicious
617 Piety
New Orleans, LA
504-676-8482

I'm totally cheating here. I spent a week in New Orleans without the monkeys, but I ate at so many good places that is hard not to share. I know many of you may be headed to New Orleans for Spring Break, and would I hate for you to miss out on Pizza Delicious!



It's in the Bywater neighborhood, which is about a 1-2 mile walk straight down Chartres from the Quarter, depending on where you are staying. (You can also get there by taxi, pedicab, or your own car. Parking is way easier in the Bywater than the Quarter.)

The Bywater is a little like Cooper-Young. It's home to many young families and many (new) restaurants. It's very residential, but there are a few fun activities like visiting Dr. Bob's folk art museum and studio (3027 Chartres). Marky's Park is just down the street at the intersection with Royal for little monkeys who need to get their ya-ya's out.

Ok, back to the pizza deliciousness. It started out as a pop up by two Tulane grads and has recently become a full blown restaurant. The menu is not huge. There are 2-3 special pizzas a day, a pasta of the day, a few salads, a few sides and desserts, and a nice beer selection. They also sell by the slice.



You can see the crew making the pizzas in the kitchen, which I love.



Some friends and I went the day before the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon to carbo load. At 5pm on a Saturday, it was not busy at all. (By 7pm it was full of families and hipsters, so we totally beat the rush.)



The decor is stark but artsy.



There is also a small courtyard with a few tables for outdoor dining.

We ordered a couple of salads, a big pizza to share, a few beers, and a small dessert. The salads were very impressive.




The Nola Hopitoulas was nice and smooth.



The pizza was ridiculous. I know good pizza. Jeremy Denno has single-handedly spoiled me (and all Memphians) with his Rock-n-Dough, but Pizza Delicious is a serious contender. The dough is insanely thin, chewy, and crispy. YUM. These dudes are the Jeremy Dennos of Nola.



We got half Margherita and half pepperoni.



Sooooo freaking good.

Somehow we had leftovers. I blame Shannon and her tiny appetite. We packed them and she eventually gave them to a pedi-cab driver who was stoked!



For dessert we tried some sort of cookie. It was fancy.



There are more exciting dessert options nearby. I will definitely plan my next visit to coincide with the business hours of Piety Street Sno-Balls directly across the street.

You bus your own table.



The bathroom is clean and lovely, but no changing table.

GO! With or without the kids!



For other New Orleans reviews, click here.

Satsuma Cafe (New Orleans)

Satsuma Café
3218 Dauphine Street
New Orleans, LA 70117
(504) 304-5962

On my second trip to New Orleans this month (I had three total), I went to Satsuma Cafe for breakfast by myself...since you know, I was by myself and it was around the corner from where I was staying. I had read about it in last month's Food & Wine Magazine. (The article was about healthy eating in other cities! Woot!) Like all Bywater restaurants, it has a funky feel.



See? Cute, right?



And it is totally normal to see tons of bikes parked everywhere in the Bywater, Marigny, and the French Quarter.



My Monday morning breakfast was pretty subdued since there were not a lot of people there at 9:30am, but it was nice. I had a coffee, beet juice, and the one eyed jack (toast with fried egg and avocado). Simple, fresh, tasty. Oh, and healthy!



They don't have a very big kitchen at all, but they definitely have plenty of space to make the magic happen.



I noticed a couple of people with babies when I was eating, and later when I visited the "lounge" I was very impressed with their cozy baby changing station.



So, on my third and final trip to New Orleans, I insisted that Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) join me, Amy, John, & Leo (our Nola friends) for Sunday brunch.

Brunch is definitely pretty happening at Satsuma Cafe, but that didn't stop us from scoring a nice, big table on the patio.



One of my favorite things about New Orleans is the patios. I especially like the hidden courtyards tucked away in the French Quarter.

The guys took a quick look at the menu board and then left Amy & I to order. Warren and John both claimed to only want juice, but there were so many yummy offerings, Amy & I made the executive decision to order them food anyway.



After placing the order, we joined the guys back at the table. It was a lovely day and it was nice just hanging out. Our juices came uot first, then the food. Everything looked delicious.

Satchel scarfed down every bite of his egg and cheese biscuit.



Jiro was stoked that I got him a strawberry chocolate chip pancake to go with his side of bacon.



Warren was secretly thrilled when he found out I went ahead and got the portabello bahn mi he briefly considered.



My quinoa salad was super tasty. Warren was jealous, so I eventually agreed to halfsies. (If quinoa is on the menu, I have to order it!)



I didn't want to freak out John & Amy by insisting on taking pictures of their food, but I can assure you that they cleaned their plates. Satsuma is awesome in every way! It is also totally worth a special trip to the Bywater. Although once there, you will find plenty of other great places to eat and shop. There's even a recently opened a VINYL record store, called Euclid. Seriously.



If you haven't been to the Bywater, make it a must. (Other places of note: Bacchanal Wine & Spirits and Maurepas Foods.)

Oh, and I hear Satsuma Cafe also makes delicious small plates at dinner time. Woot!

The Joint (New Orleans)

The Joint
701 Mazant Street
New Orleans, LA 70117
(504) 949-3232

For various reasons, I ended up spending the last three weekends in New Orleans. I have a good friend there, Amy, who lives in the Bywater area. She mentioned going to The Joint several times to eat some barbeque, but being a Memphis girl, I kept coming up with other things I'd rather eat. I mean, I can eat ribs in Memphis anytime, right?

Well, finally on my third visit, I figured I better humor her. Look how cute this place is!



What finally sold me was the fact that Amy's eight month old son, Leo, apparently loves to suck on the rib bones. I was NOT going to miss that.

The Joint, like most places in the Bywater, has a very laid back vibe. We arrived around 7pm on a Saturday and managed to score a nice picnic table on the patio.



Amy's husband, John, got Leo buckled in and we perused the menu. There were all of the standard offerings--ribs, sandwiches, etc. We decided to split a rack of ribs and two sides. Amy & I went inside to order from the nice dude at the bar.



I noticed a Memphis in May poster on the wall inside, so that definitely gave them some cred. John says the owner used to live in Virginia, and that's where he learned to bbq.

We got a few beers and went outside to wait. There were several other tables with small children, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.



The food came out amazingly fast and we dug right in.



The ribs were really, really good. Juicy and full of flavor, they came right off of the bone. There was a nice sauce on the table that I slathered mine in. It was a little more vinegary and less tomato-y than what we have here, and it didn't have a lot of heat, but it was tasty.

As you can see from the picture, the sides were a little more fancy than what you'd find in Memphis, but that was fine by me.

We all cleaned our plates, and Leo cleaned our bones.



The Joint is definitely worth a visit if you are a serious bbq fan.

Parkway Bakery & Tavern (New Orleans)

Parkway Bakery & Tavern
538 Hagan Ave.
New Orleans, LA
504-482-3047


The Parkway Bakery & Tavern is in the Mid-City section of New Orleans. It's pretty much open all of the time, except Tuesday, which is when we tried to go the last time we were in town. (I blame them for our decision to then go to the nearby park where my niece ultimately chipped her tooth causing us not to eat dinner until almost 11pm.)



The Parkway has a HUGE backyard with TONS of seating. When we arrived, we weren't quite sure what to do, so we went in the front door and wandered around a bit. A nice woman informed us that we needed to go out back and wait in line, place our order at the counter, then sit down and wait for our name to be called. Ok, easy enough.



The line was fairly huge, so I offered to stand in it while the guys played with their respective electronic devices and Bionicles. Luckily it was a nice day, so sitting outside was a treat. I liked the way they decorated the patio with ziplocks filled with water. (To keep the flies away.)

The inside is decorated with local memorabilia--softball t-shirts, mardi gras beads, old signs, etc. It has a very fun, family feel.

While in line I had plenty of time to peruse the menu. Satchel had already requested gumbo, so I didn't have to worry about him, and Jiro wanted a burger, which they had, so he was clear too. I just had to figure out what to get myself and Warren. Torn between the catfish and fried shrimp, I asked Warren (via text message) if he wanted to split a combination po'boy which had both. He agreed. When I noticed that they had something called the Parkway Surf & Turf with roast beef, fried shrimp, and roast beef gravy, I doubled checked to see if he wanted that instead. Surprisingly he said no. (And I could see the yuck face he made across the yard.) As I watched other people get their food, I was tempted to tack on an order of fries covered in cheese, chili, and/or gravy, but I resisted.



While in line (I was there for quite awhile--maybe 30 minutes), I also realized that everyone was giving fake names when they placed their order. (i.e. Benny and the Jets, Angelina Jolie, etc.) This resulted in more back and forth texts between me and Warren (and the kids by proxy) to see what our name should be.

When I finally made it to the counter, I figured the kids must be starved. I ordered a couple of bags of chips that I could have right away, and went ahead and got the drinks. back at the table with the guys I figured waiting in line was the worst part and that our food would come out pretty quick, and I was right. They called our name just as we ate the last Zapp. The kids got a good giggle when they called out Peter Griffin.



Satchel loved the homemade turkey and alligator sausage gumbo. I decided to just start calling him Mr. Gumbo.




Jiro, who had wolfed down a bag of Zapp's and most of a Barq's Root Beer was more interested in his toy than his burger & fries. The burger wasn't anything special, but it was tasty. (I had to at least taste it!) In the end, he ate about half of it and we all helped with the fries.



Our combo po'boy was HUGE. It was fresh and hot and really, really good. Obviously people line up here for a reason. It was a tad on the dry side, and I was a little bummed neither of us tried the roast beef and gravy since it was the house specialty. (They even sell just gravy po'boys!) So we'll have to do that next time.

While we were there, I made several trips to the bathroom. Once with Jiro and twice with Satchel. The bathrooms were very clean. No changing table I don't think, but I liked that the handicapped stall had its own sink.

Lots of people were there with kids and it has a great laid-back vibe. It's also close to City park which is gorgeous and has a great playground. (Watch your teeth!)