Parasols provides great atmosphere, killer food

While walking around taking pictures on a sunny Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I found Parasols in the Garden District. I had heard the name before, but never actually seen the place. The interior seemed too tiny to be functional at first, with barely any room between the bar and the wall across from it. I had heard they served lunch, and there were people sitting around grubbing on sandwiches, but couldn't even fathom where a kitchen might fit into the tiny building. While searching for the bathroom, I found my answer. The door to the right of the bar led to a non-smoking dining area with ample seating and a window for ordering food. Since I was there, I figured I'd stay for lunch. I've been back three times since.

The Good
-Killer onion rings - everything is fried in peanut oil so it all tastes delicious (unless you're allergic to peanuts)
-My grilled cheese was cooked in a garlic butter, which seams to be the way they cook anything with butter. Amazing.
-Decent remoulade.
-The Chicken gumbo looked pretty good (my friend actually drank the dregs, so I'd imagine it was awesome)
-Irish Sundaes = potato salad, roast beef and gravy

The Not So Good
-This is one of those rare times where I have few if any complaints. I heard that the change of ownership (which happened in the past few years) wasn't the most amicable, but I met the new owners and they're great people.


Good to Know
-The bathrooms are clean as hell, ladies. Just so you know though, it's a single room (no stalls) so if the place is busy get ready for a wait.
-Not entirely sure how late they serve but when I went in around 9pm and asked if they were still serving food, the guy at the counter looked at my like I was crazy and replied, "of course we're still serving food! Who told you we weren't?"
-The bar area is in fact smoke friendly and small so if you don't like smoke, you'd do better in the back.

Buffa's - Best Late Night Food in Town

Photo Taken From Buffa's Facebook

I never thought bar food could actually wow me. Buffa's Bar was one of the two bars I went to this weekend that absolutely killed it in the kitchen. Honestly, even without the food I'd probably still want to hang at this spot. The darkly-lit, single small room (side note: there is a non smoking dining area in the back) with a bar, jukebox and a couple tables is my kind of scene.


I showed up with a kid from the neighborhood, and it became clear to me that almost everyone in the bar was also from the neighborhood. The bartenders and patrons were swapping stories about old friends ("Isn't he in jail in Thailand?" etc) and chatting about the weather as they drank. By the time I finished my meal I was sold. You will be hard pressed to find me at any other dive bar when I make it downtown.

The Good
-Where to start? The fries are a gift from God. Crunchy on the outside, melt in your mouth hot on the inside.
-I had one of the best black bean burgers I've ever eaten. That's right fellow vegetarians, a black bean burger in New Orleans. So. Good.
-Aside from Crystal at every table, there were three shelves of hot sauces in the back room.
-Great jukebox selection as well as good people picking the music.

The Not-so-Good
I'm hard pressed to think of anything. I mean, the bathrooms were regular bar bathrooms (welcome to New  Orleans) and the bar stools didn't have cushions.

Good to Know
-As of recently, Buffa's has started taking credit cards. So bust em out and get drunk!
-They do have feta in their selection of sandwich cheese on their menu. I got some on my fries.

Cafe Nino - finally! good pizza

New Orleans lacks in four major areas of delicious food: Mexican food, Deli (po boys are not deli food), Chinese food and Italian pizza parlors. As far as Italian goes, the options are limited to shoddy replicas of New York-style pies, "hipster" pizza(which isn't always bad), healthy cardboard crust pizza, and bs American chain restaurant garbage.

Luckily, one place stands above all of that disappointment. Cafe Nino rivals most of my favorite pizza places up north and puts the rest to shame. The marinara makes the parlor, and Nino's has it covered. Nino, an old Italian dude who runs the place and can be found sitting at the counter most afternoons, listening to Louis Prima and watching soccer on TV.

The building looks like an old, converted Subway sandwich shop. You can grab a slice of pizza, order one of the daily entrees and a side of pasta, or order something off of the menu to be made for you. I usually get a cheese calzone, which is always amazing.

Their selection of wine is as follows: "red" or "white." But for 4.50 you get a 20oz styrofoam cup full - which is a great compliment to the food (and a trip to drink with a lid and straw). (If Nino is working, chat with him. Sometimes he'll give you a little free wine (read: about a normal glass size) "for the digestion.")

What else can I say? Go there. You won't be disappointed.

Dinner at Jacques-Imos is well worth the wait

Every single time someone comes to visit me, I take them to Jacques-Imos on Oak St. The restaurant is packed from 6pm, when it opens, to 11pm when it closes. From outside, you can hear ridiculous pop hits from the 80's and 90's blasting from the outdoor speakers. In front of the restaurant is a painted pickup truck that has a table for two set up on warmer days.

The crowd outside and in the first room may scare you out of putting your name on the list, and if you make it to the hostess, the wait time may scare you even more. Don't walk away! That hour and a half to two hours will fly by, and the food is completely worth it.

Steps to take in order to handle the wait time:
1. Show up really early or really late. They start taking names at 5:30 and stop at 9:30. I'm nocturnal so I show up around 9ish to put my name down. This way you won't get bulked into the middle.
        1a. Make a reservation if your party is larger than four. Parties four and under can't make reservations - sorry folks!
2. Once your name is on the list, grab yourself a drink. Get a double, get it in a Crabby Jack's plastic cup. The bartenders at Jacques are some of the best in the city so feel free to ask for your favorite complicated drink. It will taste good. The bar specialty is a watermelon mojito (I think - I know it's something with watermelon in it) but I prefer a madras to start the night off.
3. Take a walk across the street to Frenchy's gallery. Frenchy is a live painter - that is, he paints events (music concerts, sporting events etc) while they are going on. If you are a music fan, Frenchy has almost definitely painted your favorite band - probably while you were watching them play.
4. Poke your head into the Maple Leaf Bar. If it's earlier in the evening, there's usually something going on for free - Oak Street locals jamming etc.
5. Head back to the restaurant and borrow a menu. The deliciousness of everything can be overwhelming so you might want to do some planning.
6. Only keep half an eye on the time. Usually the wait is a little less than what the hostess says it is, but if you aren't in the restaurant itself, the hostess will come out onto the street and yell until she finds you.

5 Delicious Dishes(apps and entrees):
Carpet-Bagger Steak
Alligator Sausage and Shrimp Cheesecake
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Eggplant Priogue
Fried Green Tomatoes with Shrimp Remoulade


Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly Dish:
Vegetarian Delight -Halved/Cored squash with mixed veggies in a Thai coconut cream sauce with black beans, topped with fried sweet potato slivers