Wednesday, February 02, 2011

New Orleans notes

When a relative can't cancel her hotel reservation and can't use it either, you pretty much have to oblige her by going to NOLA on her behalf, as Mrs TBA and I did last weekend.

Food is never my big thang in NOLA -- I'm there for books and booze, man -- but it seemed disapointing this time. The Mrs loved the spaghetti & meatballs at Irene's; I found the rosemary chicken sitting in a pool of olive oil a bit underwhelming (and would've liked my noodles w/out tomato sauce, but the menu kept that little secret to itself).

Luke -- excuse me, Lüke, like a bad 80s heavy-metal band -- for lunch was pretty to eat in, but my wife was so unhappy with the fried chicken & waffles that I offered to switch: the chicken was very greasy AND included dark meat, a deal-breaker for her. She assured me my burger was very good however. N.b. that, IIRC, the fried chicken & waffles at Mint in Jackson is all-white and much superior. If of course you want to order "chicken & waffles."

Consulting NMC's blog, I tried to order a Papa Double, but learned that the bartender had no clue what this was. So I settled for introducing myself to Arrogant Bastard ale, which was more fitting anyway, even if I am slowly doubling in size.

Went to see The King's Speech at Canal Place, at $14/ticket plus the overwrought pricing for their "dinner cinema." May think twice about going there again unless it's a movie I can't see elsewhere. The flick was all right -- Baldwin's character neither looked nor behaved like him, but I guess the studio figured no one knows who Stanley Baldwin is so what the hey. This NYRB blog post's first paragraph pretty well captures the film.

3 comments:

  1. My last visit to Luke, late last year, was a disappointment, and this seem to be going around. Weirdest thing: I noted then they had forgotten how to make a papa double. What is so weird about that is that one of their bartenders suggested it to my wife in the first place!

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  2. I can't think of a reason to eat there again, though a mid-afternoon seat at the bar might be pleasant.

    Are Besh's other restaurants sliding as well?

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  3. Don't really know; I tried Domenica last time in New Orleans. It was so-so. I've never eaten in August, the one across the lake, American Sector, or the casino steak place. But the length of that list suggests over-extension as a possibility.

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