Posts Tagged Seafood

The Galley Seafood Restaurant

IMG 0585 300x225 The Galley Seafood RestaurantThe Galley is aptly known as a no frills seafood joint.  If you are looking for white linens and other fancy amenities, this is not your place, but if you want great seafood, cold beer, and a home-y atmosphere, this is the place.

Due to the somewhat small dining area, waiting for a table can be very common.  This is especially so during the Lenten season as locals flock to the Metairie Road establishment to chow down on great seafood.

The Galley serves up the typical appetizers of a seafood restaurant.  The crawfish hushpuppies, their twist on the traditional variety, comes with a great crawfish sauce that adds a great layer of flavor to an otherwise normal hushpuppy.

When in season, the boiled seafood is usually the go-to option.  They serve up boiled shrimp, crawfish and crabs.  I generally don’t order boiled seafood from a restaurant because they never seem to be seasoned correctly…either too bland or over salty.  The Galley is the exception…

The crawfish and crabs are always seasoned to perfection with just the right amount of spice and salt to compliment.  Besides the great flavors, the boiled shrimp peel easily signaling that they have been cooked well.  There is nothing worse than getting a bunch of boiled shrimp that are over cooked and a struggle to peel.  No worries at the Galley.

Seafood baskets consisting of fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, softshell crabs, and stuffed crabs are always a good bet too.  These dishes are served with french fries but can be substituted for any side item.  Some of the choices are sweet potato fries, baked macaroni, and corn grits.  I am a sucker for corn grits and they have a pretty good version that is quite creamy with ample amounts of corn.

photo 300x225 The Galley Seafood Restaurant

In the mood for a poboy?  They are whipping out several of the great New Orleans sandwiches…..catfish, oyster, and shrimp.  But the poboy that they are known for is their softshell crab poboy.  If  you have ever been to JazzFest and tried the softshell crab poboy, then you know what I am talking about.  This has been a crowd favorite at JazzFest since 1977.  The first thing I do as soon as I enter the Fair Grounds for JazzFest is to head over to the Galley’s food booth to get one.  No matter how long the line is (and it always the longest of all the food booths), I will always hit it up first.  I can promise you that the end result is worth the wait and it seems to make the music that much better.

jazz fest soft shell close 300x224 The Galley Seafood Restaurant

While waiting for your food to be cooked and served, order yourself an Abita Amber on draft.  Not that the Galley has some special version of this delicious Louisiana brew, it’s just that they serve it in a huge, ice cold frosty goblet that makes the beer taste so much better.

Next time you are in the mood for good seafood and a relaxed child friendly atmosphere, do yourself and your taste buds a favor and head out to Metairie to dine on all the tasty dishes the Galley has to offer.
Galley Seafood on Urbanspoon

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GW Fins- New Orleans Seafood, Redefined

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Recently, I attended a company meeting in New Orleans. Normally our rather large group is crammed into the banquet facilities of a hotel for dinner and served a mass produced meal of questionable inspiration.

This trip however, we were split into several small groups and each group went to a different French Quarter restaurant. From classics like Brennan’s, Galatoire’s and K-Paul’s to new stars like Stella, NOLA and Bayona, my co-workers got to experience New Orleans’ best.

My group drew GW Fins, an establishment that I had long been intrigued by, but one which I had also not heard much about. I was not overly enthused because I knew it meant I would have to break my long held rule of never ordering fish in restaurants (except for sushi). My cynical policy is based on many experiences both in restaurant kitchens and dining rooms alike.

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Palace Cafe

palace cafe2Palace Cafe is located downtown on Canal Street in the historic Werlein’s Music Building.  The restaurant is the creation of Dickie Brennan’s culinary empire with Executive Chef Darin Nesbit dishing out contemporary New Orleans Creole cuisine.

This was probably the first restaurant that I went to when I moved to the city.  A few of my friends worked here at the time and really talked up the place.  Unsure if my friends were just biased or if the food was actually that good, I made my way to Palace Cafe to find out for myself.  Since then I have been back many times.

The turtle soup served at Palace Cafe is one of my favorites in the city.  It has just the right amount of lemon and sherry to go along with an ample amount of turtle meat.  Turtle meat may seem somewhat intimidating if you are not from the South, but I’d encourage anyone to try it. It’s probably the most delicate and delicious meat there is.  The sherry in turtle soup is what makes or breaks the dish.  Too much sherry and the dish will be overpowering, masking the flavors of the other ingredients.  Palace Cafe’s version hits the mark with the perfect amount to complement the dish.

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BIG AL’S – Where It’s At for Seafood in Houma

Big Al'sLocated on the East side of Houma, Big Al’s Seafood is my favorite place to go for boiled seafood around town.

Many people know that I’m indecisive about lots of things in life, but when it comes to food and when I’m hungry, there is absolutely no hope for a decision to be made.  I want a little of everything.  Everything looks and smells so good.  So many choices… it’s just hopeless.

Well – at Big Al’s, we had the most fabulous waitress who saved me from anguish and let me have a little bit of everything!  You can basically customize your own boiled seafood platter! How cool is this? We ordered 2 lbs of boiled shrimp, 1 lb of boiled crawfish, 2 crabs, and the sides of course (potatoes, corn, and sausage).

We were able to order a crab at a time and a pound of crawfish at a time after that when we still just hadn’t had enough.  It was perfect!  Everything was boiled to perfection: easy to peel, juicy, and spicy enough to feel the kick in your mouth, but not too spicy.

I’ve been a loyal fan of Big Al’s for years now, and every visit leaves me 110% satisfied.  They’re never off.  The menu offers a wonderful selection of fried and boiled seafood along with savory sides to compliment the seafood, and they have just about any style pasta and poboy you can imagine.  There’s also a kid-friendly menu.

Everything about Big Al’s makes you feel right at home: the booths and picnic tables, the Cajun ’decor’, the genuine Southern hospitality from the staff, and the always ice cold Abita beer.  (They DO serve Abita Strawberry, which is also a plus!)

Big Al’s original location can be found at 1226 Grand Caillou Road in Houma.  Their second location is on the Westside of Houma at 1377 West Tunnel Blvd.  For those folks in and around New Orleans, check out Big Al’s location on Annunciation Street in Uptown New Orleans.

Big Al's Seafood Market on Urbanspoon

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Pascal’s Manale BBQ Shrimp Recipe straight from New Orleans

Pascal’s Manale New Orleans BBQ Shrimp- the real deal Holyfield (or as close as you are probably going to ever get)!

2-2 1/2 lbs. Jumbo Shrimp, unpeeled (20) shrimp to a pound)
one stick Butter (although rumors are swirling that it may actually be margarine or even half butter, half margarine) emulsified fat
4 ounces of Vegetable Oil
2 ounces Worcestershire Sauce

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Elizabeth’s Restaurant in the Bywater area of New Orleans

Eat here or we both go hungry!Elizabeth’s Restaurant is a funky little shack in the Bywater area of New Orleans serving up some great food and a lot of taglines. Walking up to the front door, you’re greeted with one of them; “Eat here or we both go hungry” is drawn on the side of the building luring people in. If the art doesn’t get you though, maybe their menus will, starting with what is arguably one of the most talked-about appetizers these days – praline bacon!

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90 Years Young, Still Going Strong at Casamento’s in New Orleans

img00119 150x150 90 Years Young, Still Going Strong at Casamentos in New OrleansSo two nights ago, Lindsay and I were prepared to fulfill our lenten penance filled with heaping quantities of fried or boiled seafood (yeah, I know, what a sacrifice).  We quickly narrowed our options down to a couple of choices – Crescent City Brewhouse, Franky & Johnny’s, or Casamento’s.  Luckily for us, we chose the latter.  I saw this restaurant on the Food Network’s show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” and I was very intrigued.  We arrive at Casamento’s at 8:00 p.m. to see a line curling out of the door.  The restaurant is located on Magazine near the corner of Napoleon, right next to Miss Mae’s, which caused a good laugh as one of my friends once offered to buy a pretty young lady there a Milwaukee’s Best Light and – 5 years or so later – now they’re engaged to be married.

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Eat at Joe’s (Dreyfus Store Restaurant)

joes 001 150x150 Eat at Joes (Dreyfus Store Restaurant)Joe’s Dreyfus Store Restaurant, or Joe Dreyfus’ in local language, is just one of those places.  You know, THOSE places.  The places that you love to go through thick and thin, good dishes and bad, for better or for worse.  Set in Livonia, about a half-mile off of 190 between Opelousas and Baton Rouge, Joe’s has had some rough patches in the past. The restaurant has gone through changes of ownership, changing hours of operation, and tidal changes of food quality.  Joe’s is back though, and the little restaurant that could in the middle of nowhere is once again beckoning: Eat at Joe’s!

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Bald Tuesday at Robertos River Road Restaurant

You have to love a place that gives you a discount if you have the guts to mention your receding hairline.  No really,  I subscribe to Roberto’s newsletter and what popped into my inbox?  This thing:

The Bald Tuesday Flyer

The Bald Tuesday Flyer

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