This’ll be a quick bang out review, since three of us split an oyster po-boy here just to make sure we got some of the local cuisine into our guts.
Here it is!
Unfortunately they forgot to add the sauce and the tomatoes/fixin’s (French style). I was bummed about that, but a little hot sauce went a long way to remedy that.
We also tried the gator sausage.
A bit underwhelming, possibly cut with pork, and it left me with some awful smelling burps until I ate something else. I’m sure you wanted to read that.
JOHNNY’S PO-BOYS
511 St Louis St
New Orleans, LA 70130
Cochon Restaurant and its sister joint “Butcher” are well known in New Orleans for serving some great meaty grub.
My friends and I went in a big group, so we got to try a lot of items. Here’s the full menu (minus the daily specials).
We started with some fried gator.
These bites were excellent. Gator meat, if you haven’t had it before, is like a cross between catfish and chicken in texture: tender but springy. These were spicy and saucy but still fried up nice and crisp on the outside.
Next up, probably one of the best dishes of the meal, braised pork cheeks.
Incredibly tender, and again with a bit of spice. Awesome way to begin the meal. I could eat this over and over.
Next up, a gorgeous charcuterie board.
The standout here was the pork rillette (in the tin cup). So smooth and tasty. But everything else was really nice as well (head cheese, coppa, prosciutto, homemade bologna, and even the pickled veggies).
Liver and onions, also well executed and delicious, is what my wife ordered to start. This had a great pepper jelly that really popped. It went nicely with the fresh mint.
Fried boudin (sausage) and rice balls. These were so soft inside and crispy outside.
For my entree I ordered a rib eye (of course) that was on the list of daily specials. It was essentially the center eye part of the rib eye only – no cap at all.
While this was very small, it was priced accordingly ($28). They misfired my first cut and went over, but they were smart enough not to bring it out to me. The second one, however, was slightly under from medium rare, and it felt rushed.
No matter, though. I’d rather eat a rare steak than a well done steak. The issue for me was that it just wasn’t very good. The sauce didn’t quite do it for me, and it was described as being roasted. I was sort of expecting prime rib given the description. 5/10.
My wife ordered the winning dish here. Ham hock.
It had a delicious dry spice rub on it that was a cross between sweet and spicy, and it was cooked perfectly throughout. The veggies, yogurt and quinoa underneath was a nice touch to make the fully composed dish well rounded and complete.
Their famous dish here, the cochon, was tasty but way too salty for my liking. One or two bites was all I could do. It also wasn’t that pretty so I didn’t bother trying to get a great shot of it.
Their oyster and bacon sandwich was massive.
It was loaded with tons of fried gulf oysters and smoky bacon. And it went nicely with some of their spicy vinegar and hot sauce.
Overall this was a pretty great meal with the exception of the steak. I would definitely go here again.
COCHON RESTAURANT
930 Tchoupitoulas St
Suite A
New Orleans, LA 70130
What can really be said about Commander’s Palace that hasn’t already been said? The sprawling seven dining room Garden District mansion is an American institution of culinary tradition, a birthing place of great chefs, and a damn good place to eat in New Orleans, if not one of the best.
Despite what you might think, however, I do actually have a few negative things to say, but I’ll save those for the end. For now, let’s get down to the meal.
The waiters brought out a sample of the shrimp and tasso henican appetizer. That’s wild Louisiana white shrimp, tasso ham, pickled okra, sweet onions, five pepper jelly and Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc. Certainly one of the best bites of the meal.
I started with a red fish cake. This was essentially a crab cake made with local fish rather than crab meat. It had a nice exterior crust, a good spicy sauce, and a soft, tender inside.
For my main course I had the pecan crusted gulf fish, which is one of the house specialties. This was executed perfectly. The fish tasted like a cross between halibut and catfish.
My wife ordered what I considered to be the star of the meal: dry aged duck breast. This thing packed great flavor, and the fat beneath the crispy skin rendered out perfectly, allowing for a really juicy cut of duck tit.
Now for one of the negatives: the lamb shank was dry as fuck. It did look gorgeous though, and despite the dryness, it still tasted good.
We tried a vast array of desserts, like pecan pie, a massive sundae and a strawberries and cream shortcake.
All were good, but the best of the desserts was their special bread pudding souffle, which one must order with their apps and entrees so that it can be made in time.
While it might look like the pull-out scene of an adult cream pie video on YouPorn, I promise you it tasted better. Wait… I have no experience there, so I can’t really make a fair comparison. In any case it was damn delicious, and the amount of work that goes into this dish (as well as many other dishes) is staggering. It’s no wonder chefs not only learn technique here but are made to excel at them.
This place is awesome. They even sent out a round of shots for us. I forget what was in them, but it was a milky substance that had booze in it.
And speaking of alcohol, you should check out their bar if you get the chance. You will walk through the immaculate kitchen and the chef’s table to get to it, and you can have some of their awesome signature cocktails beside the patio garden.
But here comes the other bad thing: my buddy noticed a small roach on the bar while we were waiting for our other party members to arrive. I’m not sure how that’s possible given the insanely clean kitchen and dining spaces. My only guess is that it came in from outside in the patio area to escape the ungodly cold weather that NOLA was experiencing that weekend. We told the bartender and she was mortified.
Don’t let the two negatives I mentioned stop you from going here though. Every cook has a bad day (dry lamb) and there’s only so much you can do to prevent a bug from getting into an establishment.
UPDATE 2025:
I went back for brunch and had an excellent meal. Starter was a perfectly fried rabbit over a poached egg. Amazing.
The main course was a stew of pork cheeks (a bit salty) with another poached egg. So tasty.
And finally, a huge and smooth banana pudding.
COMMANDER’S PALACE
1403 Washington Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130
This is Nina Compton’s joint, from the New Orleans season of Top Chef. My wife got us a reservation here and we were all pretty excited to try it.
The cocktails here are awesome, and I’m now firmly of the belief that New Orleans is one of the best places for cocktails in the world. Their take on a mule is served in a brass rabbit, and they can only serve 14 at a time, since that’s how many brass rabbit vessels they have.
I had a Louisville Slugger, which was basically a vanilla smoked old fashioned. Delicious.
Now onto the food. First was this board of amazing biscuits with two kinds of butter (sweet and maple bacon).
We started with a nice round of small plates and apps.
Crispy Pig’s Ears
These were awesome. Great Caribbean spice flavor (Nina hails from St. Lucia), crispy outside, and a little chew inside. Just right.
Conch Croquettes
Another nod to Nina’s background, these Caribbean conch fritters were soft inside and perfectly crisp outside.
Tuna Tartare
This was so good. The spice level was nice, but the flavor and quality of the tuna was exceptional. Not to mention that it’s beautiful to look at. My favorite of the apps, and that’s a big win considering what came next.
Steak Tartare
The meat was nicely minced and served with a skim-coat of smoked beef fat. Amazing! My buddy, who is a big steak tartare aficionado, loved this. This shit was way better than the garbage we had at Dickie Brennan’s.
Now onto the main courses.
Jamaican Jerk Drum
Drum is a fish that’s local to the area. It’s white and flakey, kinda like a halibut. This had a nice crisped coating of jerk spices on the exterior, and a super tender and flakey interior. I loved it. What made this dish really pop, though, were the drops of citrus custard that dotted the plate. When you got that pungent hit of lemon curd in with a bite of all the rest, it really came together.
Seafood Scialatielli
This homemade spaetzl-like pasta was perfectly cooked and served with some high quality shrimp and clams. We really liked it.
Curry Goat
I didn’t get a photo of this, but I did get a bite of my friends dish. It was so tender and flavorful. Nina really nailed it.
Dessert: Soursop Semifreddo
Very rare to see the exotic soursop fruit on a menu stateside, so my wife and I jumped at this. It was served in a log shaped semifreddo form, with shaved celery, meringue and shaved cucumber. Really well balanced.
This was easily one of the best meals we had in New Orleans. I highly recommend this joint.
COMPERE LAPIN
The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery
535 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
Of the seven cuts of steak I tried in New Orleans, the rib eye from Galatoire’s was the best.
It may not look like much from that shot, but it had a massive rib cap on it, and it was cooked perfectly from end to end with a great crust.
There was a little bit of bleed out, but it still remained extremely juicy. 9/10
On a second visit, we had to send back the veal because it was borderline rancid. Perhaps over-aged. Way too weird.
Okay now that I got that out of the way, let’s talk about the rest of this kickass meal.
Excellent cocktails here, some signature, and many classic ones that are famous for the Big Easy.
This crab appetizer didn’t look like much either, and from the menu description it sounded like it would have been more than dressed lump crab on top of iceberg lettuce and garnished with tomato. Nonetheless it was delicious.
I tried a few versions of gumbo on my trip to New Orleans, but this one was the best. It was rich and thick, not overly salty, and had perfectly cooked duck and andouille within.
The Oysters Rockefeller were amazing. So much of that delicious “creamless” style creamed spinach. Pro-tip: if you’re going here to mimic a steakhouse meal experience, order this and skip out on getting the oysters app and creamed spinach side separately. This baby fulfills both very well.
The creamed spinach was kind of redundant at that point, but still really fucking tasty:
The Potatoes Au Gratin were excellent as well:
As were these Brabant Potatoes – very crisp:
The broccoli, on the other hand, completely phoned in. Lame. Simply steamed and flavored with some salt or butter.
But let me tell you, this Shrimp Étouffée was outstanding:
The shrimp were perfectly cooked. The sauce was incredible: smooth, perfectly velvety and nicely seasoned.
My wife ordered that, and I think the ultimate meal here would be to get the gumbo to start, the steak and etouffe to share as entrees with a side of Oysters Rockefeller, and you can finish up with this bread pudding for dessert:
I took my wife to The Aviary as an early Christmas present. I booked the five course “Cocktails & Canapes” tasting menu dinner about two weeks in advance with a $100 deposit. The cost is $165pp, with an 18% gratuity added at the end (and tax, of course).
That’s crazy expensive, but this is truly a unique drinking and dining experience. I drank and ate things I never would have even thought about. In hindsight, five cocktails was aggressive (but awesome). I think when I go back, I will just order a la carte.
Here is the entire menu, but I will highlight what was selected for us below in the review:
AMUSE
The first thing to come out was an “amuse” drink – a small shot of tastiness that involved lime, rum, and mint.
A few moments later, our first round of cocktails came out with the first course of food.
COURSE ONE
Drinks: Micahlada (left – and yes, that is spelled correctly) and Zombie Panda (right)
Of these two, the Micahlada was my favorite. This is The Aviary’s take on a michelada (beer, spices and tomato juice), made with soy, coriander, Japanese whisky and Evil Twin beer. The Zombie Panda was tart from the lemon, lychee and pisco, and filled with frozen spheres of raspberry juice to sweeten it up.
Food: Pineapple Two Ways
This was a nice way to get the taste buds popping. That brown stuff at the bottom was a mole sauce. I liked it a lot, but my wife wasn’t too taken with it. The black mint garnish was tasty and went well with the watermelon radish and passion fruit.
COURSE TWO
Drinks: How Does Snoop Dog Use Lemongrass (left) and Mimosa (right)
The mimosa was nice because the fruit juice was frozen into ice cubes, so the drink becomes sweeter and more smooth as it sits.
The idea behind the Snoop drink is that Snoop Dogg ends everything with “-izzle” when he talks/raps, so there is a “swizzle” made out of lemongrass, which is used to mix the drink together:
Food: Kampachi Ceviche
This was bright, light and savory, pulling in southeast asian flavors from Thai green curry, heart of palm and coconut. I really enjoyed the briny broth and the coiled peels of red pepper for spice.
COURSE THREE
Drink: Heart of Stone
This was the best drink of the night, and you get about six glasses out of the container. That container is filled with bourbon, tea, Fresno chili, pistachio and peach. As it sits there, the flavors infuse deeply into the bourbon, so each time you refill the glass it tastes a little different. More spices come out, more sweetness too. Amazing.
Food: Pork Belly Curry
This dish was really good, but it could have been excellent with a crunch element. I think the iceberg lettuce discs were supposed to be that element, but they fell short just a bit. Perhaps a fried shrimp chip or crispy egg roll wrapper would do the trick. But the pork belly curry itself? Awesome. The banana and cashew are excellent compliments to the savory.
FROM THE CHEF
Chawanmushi
They’re experimenting with “all times of day” food here at The Aviary, so this is meant to be a breakfast item. It’s velvety smooth, and the smoked abalone within makes you think you’re eating bacon. The pops of flavor from the pickled huckleberries really brighten and balance this seafood porridge custard dish.
COURSE FOUR
Drink: Memphis Half Step
These glasses come to the table upside down on a charred piece of oak cask, filled with smoke. The aroma is awesome. This absinthe and rye cocktail is super smooth with a hint of sweetness.
Food: A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Rib Eye
Clearly my favorite food item of the night. The meat was buttery soft, and the grilled romaine with puffed rice was a great textural pop to go with it. That yellow sauce is a yuzu mustard. Possibly the greatest mustard ever. 10/10. Wish I had 16 more ounces of this.
COURSE FIVE
Drink: Boom Goes The Dynamite
This was sweet and warm, almost like a port or brandy. It was made with rum, vanilla, violet and rooibos… and dry ice for the smoke.
Food: Blueberry
Milk chocolate, violet and buttermilk sorbet make this dessert extra decadent. There were some more spheres of raspberry ice on the plate too, rounding out the meal with a call back to the very first cocktail (Zombie Panda). Really nice.
THE OFFICE
After dinner, our waiter Preston took us on a short tour of The Office, the speakeasy behind The Aviary bar staging area (which looks more like a kitchen than a bar).
Here’s what the inside of The Office looks like:
They have a cabinet filled with really old spirits that you can order as well. Super rare.
I will definitely be back to try this place, as well as the Aviary again. So many interesting sounding drinks and food items to try, like the “Science AF,” which looks like a chemistry set, or the “Wake & Bake,” which is a pillow filled with smoke and a drink made with orange, everything bagel, coffee and rye. I snapped a photo of it before they opened the bag filled with smoke:
THE AVIARY
Mandarin Oriental
80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street
New York, NY 10023
My wife and I went to Prune for brunch. We started off with some nicely crafted Bloody Mary drinks (which come with a Red Stripe beer back).
Mine was made with gin and garnished with a pickled egg, and my wife got a vodka based one with some southern spices, caper berries and pickled beans. I actually mixed my beer into the bloody when I was about halfway done, to make what was almost like a michelada.
For my entree, I had the famous fried monte cristo sandwich (ham, turkey, and cheese, breaded and deep fried). It was amazing – like a French toast sandwich. It came with two eggs and a berry jelly.
That coil of sausage we ordered as an extra side. Home made lamb sausage to be exact. It was incredible.
While the bill was a bit steep, we were satisfied and the food was delicious.
Incase you’re wondering, those are little licorice schnauzers that come with the bill.
My wife and I stopped into Crave Fishbar for their daily oyster happy hour. From 5pm to 7pm (4pm-6pm on weekends) all oyster varieties are just a buck each. We each tried one of each kind (along with some other snacks and drinks):
As strange as it was, our favorites all contained the word “point” in the name.
The calamari was really nice too. A perfectly dusted and fried batter, and really tender squid inside.
But what really blew me away at this place was their red crab cavatelli. The cavatelli is home made, and is torched/crisped up so that some of the edges are actually crunchy and al dente. Here are the before and after mix shots (beautiful colors):
I highly recommend that dish. It’s pricey, but worth it. If the pasta is all you’re after, they also have another cavatelli pasta dish, without the crab.
Overall, this place is great. We will definitely be back.
CRAVE FISHBAR
428 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10024
I was invited into Ms. Yoo to try their burger and help promote it on Instagram. I brought a couple of food photo people with me as well, so we were able to order a bunch of other stuff in addition to the burger.
Ms Yoo is essentially an American joint, but it incorporates lots of Korean flavors and ingredients into each dish that you really walk away thinking you ate a 100% Korean meal. I guess one could call it “fusion,” but it’s not pretentious and douchey like other “fusion” places can be.
First up was this bowl of nori popcorn to get things started.
The salted seaweed adds a nice natural savory element to the snack.
Next up was the beef carpaccio. This baby was gorgeous, topped with watercress, edible flowers and a cured egg yolk.
Then we tried some mac and cheese made from rice cakes (tteok).
The rice cakes are the perfect texture and vehicle to drive a great, cheesy comfort food like mac abad cheese. This one was made with gruyere and cheddar, and had a panko crust.
This was absolutely delicious, especially since it had copious amounts of bacon in it. That dipping sauce you see there is made with tomatoes and kimchi.
There are two varieties of chicken wing: spicy gochujang and honey soy sesame. The breading was perfectly crisp. While I typically like spicy wings best, the honey soy sesame was my favorite between the two.
We also had some bone marrow, which came with a bacon kimchi onion jam. Yeah – wild!
There’s also a really unique and flavorful hot dog on the menu here, topped with a dynamite grilled jalapeño pepper.
And that’s homemade Korean pork sausage on a pretzel roll with some Yoo sauce to boot (a spicy mayo, I think). Easily one of my favorite dishes of the night.
Oh yeah and the burger! This beauty is 10oz of beefy goodness topped with American cheese, Yoo sauce, and a kimchi bacon onion jam that will make you mouth water for days after tasting it.
I’m really looking forward to going back and eating that burger again, actually. And part of the reason why is because I want this as an encore for dessert:
These are honey-butter chips, and they’re the closest thing that Ms Yoo has on the menu to a dessert at the moment (there will be a dedicated dessert menu in time). These are just fried root veggie chips, like taro, potato and sweet potato, but they’re dressed in a sweet, yet savory and spicy, honey-butter glaze that’ll blow you away. Absolute must try.
UPDATE 6/16/18
Had the delicious pork belly bossam. This is mandatory.
Also tried the flank steak. 7/10 – just needed more seasoning.
The Norm is the restaurant inside the Brooklyn Museum. I was recently invited in to try their burgers and to help promote them on social media.
The space is gorgeous here, and it truly fits with the nice artwork and artifacts on display in the museum.
I browsed the menu while drinking a bloody Mary. This was nice and savory, and had just the right amount of spice to it.
The burgers were delicious. The first one I tried was “The Norman.” Topped with cheddar and bacon, and some house made pickles, lettuce, tomato and onion.
The second one was an interesting Japanese fusion type burger. The patty contained mushrooms as well as beef, and it was glazed with a teriyaki sauce, and topped with caramelized onion, pickled daikon and carrots.
I also tried the pho flavored ramen. This was an interesting fusion of Vietnamese and Japanese soups. The Sun noodles were perfectly cooked, but the addition of too much fish sauce muddied the flavors that were cooked into the broth with the various cuts of beef.
It definitely smelled like pho though, because of the herbs. The soft boiled egg and flank steak on top were also perfectly cooked, like the noodles.
This ramen was indeed tricky. My wife and I both liked it enough to finish it – even after crushing two burgers with fries – but we were perplexed by the competing flavors within. Not bad by any means, just different.
I think the mushroom burger embodied the same feeling, only we loved that one and the ramen we just liked. I’d definitely go back to try more stuff here. They do a great job, and are definitely thinking outside the box.
THE NORM
at The Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Pkwy
Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11238
