Yesterday, Grandpère and I drove to New Orleans to have lunch at the Maple Street Café. Although we had dined at the restaurant some years ago, we had a little trouble finding it, and we ended up about two blocks away. GP went into the building which we'd thought might be the restaurant, but it was a gym. Anyway, he asked directions and was told it was two blocks up the street. We decided to leave the car where it was, since parking is scarce in the area, and walk to the Café. The sidewalks are badly uneven and even broken in some spots because of oak tree roots, and GP kept hurrrying me along on the uneven sidewalks, until I finally told him, "I'm doing the best I can! Stop it, or I will make a scene in the street!" And I would have, but he stopped. Men!
The interior of the restaurant, which is no more than une petite boîte, is attractively decorated. The Google Earth view of the exterior is pictured above. I wanted to take my own pictures but the battery on my camera was dead, after taking pictures of my daughter's newest pet, a black kitten named Paco. The Virtual Tourist has a much better photo, along with all sorts of dire warnings about copyright infringement, so I can only link.
As the first course, GP had the spring mix salad, and I had creamed soup with portobello mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. For an entrée, GP ordered Angel Hair Ziad - Fresh Gulf shrimp sautéed with wild mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes in a light olive oil and garlic sauce, which he said was delicious. I chose Duck Jameel - Pan seared boneless pepper crusted duck breast served with a blueberry sauce, along with a vegetable selection of red cabbage, sliced turnips, and broccoli, and new potatoes. The duck with blueberry sauce was to die for, along with the cabbage, and even the turnips were tasty, and turnips are not, by any means, my favorite vegetable.
To top the meal off, although we'd both had our fill, we sinfully ordered dessert, and I had coffee. Tom ordered the pie of all pies, for him, Key lime, and I had bread pudding with a white chocolate sauce. You should know that I am a white chocolate junkie.
A fine meal and well worth the trip. We'll definitely go there again.
That sounds sooo elegant, tasty and plain good...thanks for escorting us along with you...makes me hungry for the wonders of New Orleans and all of you extra-hospitalable people in that ¨neck of the woods!¨ VIVA NEW ORLEANS and Mimi and GP too!
ReplyDeleteLeonardo, as you see, the restaurant is small, a converted shotgun, I believe. Maple Street is a mixed commercial/residential area with shops and a good many restaurants. We talked with our server about all the other restaurants and the competition, but she said that they were pleased to have other restaurants, because they brought people to the neighborhood, and the folks who came for one restaurant noted the others and often returned to the neighborhood to try something different.
ReplyDeleteThe Café is just the kind of little jewel of a place that can be found all over New Orleans and is mostly patronized by locals and not full of tourists.
Paco, I want to see Paco! :)
ReplyDeleteCaminante, Paco's pictures are coming tomorrow. I promise. He is adorable.
ReplyDeleteI want to see Paco too!!!
ReplyDeleteMimi, your meal sounds so yummy (and it is heartening to see you can still order fresh Gulf shrimp). Thank you for writing about it, oh I love reading about food. On the subject of white chocolate, I have made these for people and they were yummy:
http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/popular-ingredients/chocolate/zebra-mousse-recipe_p_1.html
The white chocolate bit tastes ever so gently of coffee and the dark chocolate bit is just pure chocolate hit.
PS I'm only mentioning the zebra mousse because if you are a white choc fan you should ask Tom nicely to make them for you, Mimi - you would like them.
ReplyDeleteKey lime pie is also delicious though not sure I've ever really had a proper version.
It sounds like such a nice little restaurant.
wv - pinkinc! Pink ink sounds like something it would be fun to play with.
(and it is heartening to see you can still order fresh Gulf shrimp)
ReplyDeleteYes, but I wonder for how long.
Cathy, the chocolate mousse recipe sounds delicious.
We've had Key lime pie in Key West, so that's the standard we judge by. Around here, I believe that most restaurants don't make their own but rather buy the pie from a source known for doing it right.
Pictures of Paco are posted.
Mimi, thanks for the virtual slice of Maple St. ambience and the Maple St. Cafe. Sounds delicious! Lots of good memories on that street for me, too. Years ago a friend ran a health food store out of that same building, and I worked there part-time for a while. Maple St. was like a village in those days, especially when the Maple St. Bookshop was in full flower. And I swear that I remember seeing Lucinda Williams in a coffehouse on Maple St., circa 1970, when she was still a student at Franklin (when it was down the street on Carrollton).
ReplyDeleteHi ginny. So you worked in the building! Maple St. is still pretty neat. The Maple Street Book Shop was a huge attraction back in the day. A good many folks wouldn't buy a book anywhere else.
ReplyDeletePost-Katrina while working with the ERD, the Deacon's wife and I made what we called the "Bread Pudding Tour" of New Orleans. We ordered bread pudding everywhere we ate out for the entire time we were there--from elegant dining to total dumps. There were some surprising results. Price and status were not, in some cases, the best indicators of the best pudding. If we had stayed one more week, I could have not zipped up anything I owned.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I notice that you were speaking of the Maple Street Book Shop in the past tense. I hope it is not gone the way of other independent book stores.
Price and status were not, in some cases, the best indicators of the best pudding.
ReplyDeleteQuite true, BooCat. I've found that to be the case.
The Maple Street Book Shop is still very much a presence, but the big chains and internet sales take a toll.