Author: gatorgirl.outoftheswamp@gmail.com

Mahony’s – New Orleans, LA

There are so many places to eat in New Orleans. To say it’s overwhelming would be an understatement. For this most recent visit I decided to head to Magazine Street and explore this growing area.

Mahony’s was the first restaurant I came to. From the outside it looks like an old house that has been converted into a neighborhood hang out. It blends into the neighborhood nicely.

  

As I walked in I was greeted right away and told to sit anywhere I wanted. It was like being invited into someone’s home.

I was excited to see that Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives had visited. I saw Guy Fieri’s  spray painted signature on the wall.

I started off with the loaded fries. They hand cut the potatoes to make their French fries. Then they smother them with cheddar cheese and tons of roast beef gravy.

They call it debris gravy and it is truly loaded with meat from cooking homemade roast beef. The gravy was full of flavor. There is no way the fries can be eaten without a fork. It would be too messy.

I really wanted to try the crawfish etoufee but they had sold out of it already for the day. So I ordered their gumbo. Apparently the gumbo changes daily. On today’s visit the gumbo was shrimp and andouille sausage.

The shrimp were tender and fresh. The sausage was chopped up into great bite size pieces. The rice added a thickness. The gumbo was full of flavor.

Mahony’s is known for their po’boys, so I will definitely need to make another trip to try those. If you are in the area you should check them out. Visit their website at: http://mahonyspoboys.com/

Enjoy!

T

Hattie B’s – Birmingham, AL

A couple of years ago I wrote about an amazing place for hot chicken in Nashville called Hattie B’s. Over the years there have been many write-ups and television appearances for Hattie B’s, plus hot chicken in general has started to gain national attention. Because of America’s new love of hot chicken, Hattie B’s has started opening more locations, not just in Tennessee but across state lines too. Their newest location can be found in the Lakeview District of Birmingham, Alabama.

It had been a while since I had hot chicken, so I figured that a visit to the new location was long overdue. I could smell the spicy goodness as soon as I walked in. The inside of this new restaurant is much bigger than the Nashville location. I was there a little late at night so finding a seat was not an issue.

I went for the small plate that comes with a breast and a wing. I got a spice level of Hot. I remembered that this level was hot enough for me. It also came with two sides so I ordered the baked beans and the mac & cheese.

The chicken was exactly how I remembered. It was freshly fried so temperature wise it was extremely hot. Once it cooled down I was able to dig in. The breading was nice and crispy. The spiciness is all in the breading. I can’t tell all of the ingredients that make the flavor so hot, but I can definitely taste Cayenne pepper.

The meat itself was moist and tender. The breading helped seal in the juices.

The heat was over powering in my mouth at one point. This is when the mac & cheese came to the rescue. It was extremely creamy and smooth. It helped calm my mouth. It was a great cheesy relief.

I remembered how good the baked beans were so I am glad that I ordered them again. They had a sweet taste. This was an amazing complement to the saltiness from the spicy chicken.

I had a wonderful visit. I was excited to get to Hattie B’s again. They have awesome hot chicken and I am glad they are bringing a Nashville classic to other cities. Check out their website to see if they are opening a location near you. http://hattieb.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Babalu – Birmingham, AL

The Lakeview District of Birmingham has been growing over the last several years. There is a plethora of restaurant choices and each one is diverse and special. Babalu is one of those choices. It is Latin inspired that serves a large selection of tacos and other tapas dishes. It’s the perfect place to go to enjoy drinks and food with friends.

There is a rustic feel to the restaurant, as if it has been there forever. The walls are made from reclaimed wood. There are wooden pallets hanging from the ceiling. The front and side of the restaurant is covered with garage doors. When the weather gets warm I am sure they open these doors up for a nice breeze.

  

The taco selection is impressive. Each option is unique and very non-traditional. The chefs put a lot of care into how they prepare them. All the tacos can be ordered individually or three of the same kind. Since I love tuna I went for the Atun taco. The blue corn tortilla was loaded with diced Saku tuna, a Fresno slaw, Sriracha line crema, ponzu sauce, and topped with crispy tortilla strips.

The fresh, tender tuna was both sweet and spicy. The heat from the Sriracha crema packed a punch. The slaw acted as a calming agent for the heat. The tortilla strips added crunch and I felt that really completed the dish.

The drinks at Babalu were also quiet impressive. I am always excited to see sangrias on the menu. They make all of them with fresh juices. I started with the red sangria. It was sweet and smooth. It was very comparable to other sangrias I have enjoyed.

  

What I was excited to try was the rose sangria. Through all of my travels I have never seen a sangria made with a rose wine. This sangria was also sweet but it was lighter than the red version. It reminded me of a punch. It also paired nicely with the tacos.

For a fun evening out head to Babalu. They have a few locations throughout the South so visit their website at www.eatbabalu.com

Enjoy!

T

 

 

Homewood Diner – Homewood, AL

A few months ago I wrote about the Homewood Diner. I had visited for breakfast and really enjoyed it. I always get excited when I have another opportunity to get to go back somewhere and try something else. It was early morning on a Saturday and I was hungry for a good traditional breakfast. The kind of breakfast that fills me up for almost the whole day. The Homewood Diner popped into my mind.

Since I got there early for a Saturday I was able to get a booth without any problems. My waitress was extremely friendly and brought me fresh coffee right away.

   

After looking over the menu options I went for the ham and cheese omelette. I could get it with American cheese (my favorite to go with eggs) but if you wanted cheddar that was an option too.

The omelette also came with a choice of grits or hash browns and biscuits or toast. I went for the grits because I remembered how buttery they were. I also went for the biscuits because I could not go to a Southern diner without trying their homemade staple. They were very buttery on the outside that I did not need to add any butter on the inside. I got two so the second one I could try with strawberry jelly.

The omelette was pretty big. It was packed with ham. The ham was cut into chunky pieces. It was salty but also had a slight sweet taste too. This was a three egg omelette but it definitely felt like there was more ham than egg.

I am really glad I was able to get another great breakfast at Homewood Diner. If you are in the area make sure you stop by. Check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HomewoodDiner

Enjoy!

T

 

Il Forno – New York, NY

Hell’s Kitchen has become famous for their food thanks to a few cooking shows on television. I figured when I was in New York I should head on over and have a great Italian meal at Il Forno.

I did not have a reservation so I as worried about getting a table. There were several large parties but the hostess was able to find me a table.

The inside was decorated to look like an Italian village. The walls looked like buildings that had windows complete with flower baskets on the window seals.

It smelt great inside because of their big wood oven for their pizza.

I ordered the wild mushroom risotto. It was super creamy, loaded with parmesan cheese and truffles. They added to the creaminess by putting goat cheese on top. The risotto was cooked perfectly – not to hard or soft. The truffles added an earthy taste to the cheese.

I also ordered a side of roasted brussel sprouts. This dish was unique compared to how I normally get brussel sprouts. They shaved their so that they were small, thin slices. They were cooked with thick crispy chunks of bacon, which added a saltiness to the bitter taste of the brussel sprouts. Then they topped them off with ricotta cheese that added a creamy taste.

The risotto was very rich so I had no room left for dessert which was a bummer. From what I could tell, the other guest were loving what they ordered. If you want a great homemade Italian meal in Hell’s Kitchen then you must visit Il Forno, Check them out at http://www.ilfornonyc.com/

Enjoy!

T

Tipsy Parson – New York, NY

Located in the neighborhood of Chelsea sits a cute restaurant called Tipsy Parson.

It is a cozy place that is darkly lite on the inside to help create an intimate mood. The décor also makes you feel like you are dining in someone’s home with wall paper that looks like bookcases.

    

Naturally, I had to start off with a cocktail. I went for a drink named the Tipsy Palmer. It was sweet tea, mint, lemon, and vodka (there was also an option to use bourbon). It was not sweet at all and certainly not overpowering. It was a great choice to go with the flavors of the appetizers that we chose.

The menu has a Southern flare to it so all the appetizers were takes on Southern classics. They all sounded delicious so we ordered one of everything. First out were the deviled eggs, which were piled high with filling, and the hush puppies. The deviled eggs were creamy but not spicy at all. The hush puppies were made with red corn. They were light and fluffy with a ton of flavor.

The fried pickles were made from thick deli style dill pickles that were a little spicy. They were very juicy when I bit in.

The final appetizer were the corn dogs made with Andouille sausage. They had a little heat to them; the sausage were in a natural casing so they had a little snap when I took a bite. They came on sticks just like corn dogs you would get at a state fair. They were pretty addicting to eat.

After tasting all the appetizers, the hush puppies were everyone’s favorite and we ended up getting a second plate of those.

I knew that all the food we started with was going to fill me up pretty quickly, I went lighter on my main dish. I ordered the Aurora salmon. The fresh piece of fish was served with a celery root puree that added an overall creaminess to the dish. It also came with roasted rainbow cauliflower with a celery-horseradish vinaigrette.

The skin of the salmon was cooked to be extra crispy. It added a salty accent to the fish. The cauliflower was perfectly cooked with a little salty taste too. I had no idea that cauliflower came in an array of colors.

For dessert we decided to get two options and just share them among the table. The first one we knew we had to try because it was the name of the restaurant – The Tipsy Parson. It was a bourbon soaked almond cake served in a mason jar. It was loaded with dried fruits which added texture. It was all covered in a “tipsy” whipped cream and toasted almonds. The presentation was beautiful and fun.

The second dessert was the sticky sorghum cake. The cake was covered in a toffee glaze. It was sweet and definitely sticky because of the glaze. It also came with a side of vanilla gelato. The gelato was covered in a powder that reminded me of crushed up ginger snap cookies.

If you are looking for a place to have Southern food made with a New York twist, then head to Tipsy Parson. Go with an empty stomach so you can enjoy everything! http://www.tipsyparson.com/

Enjoy!

T

 

Natsumi – New York, NY

I was in between meetings in the Theater District of New York so I decided to get a quick lunch. I had passed by Natsumi and thought a quick sushi lunch would be perfect.

It was a cute little space with a few tables.

  

There was space at the sushi bar so I grabbed a seat. It is fun for me to watch the chef’s make the sushi.

I started off with a bowl of miso soup. It was the typical soup, nothing special. But it was the perfect way to warm up from being out in the New York cold.

I ordered two rolls for lunch. I got a tuna avocado roll. The tuna was extremely fresh. It melted in my mouth when I took a bite. I ended up adding a little wasabi to make the tuna a little spicier. Then the creamy avocado balanced out the heat.

The other roll I ordered was the eel and avocado roll. I love eel at sushi restaurants. This eel was tender and cooked perfectly. They put a generous amount of the sweet eel sauce on top. It was the perfect complement to the tuna that I made spicy.

Natsumi was a great find on the streets of New York. It’s the perfect example of what New York is known for – the unexpected. If you are in the city, get out there and walk around. You never know what you will find.

Check out Natsumi at http://www.natsuminyc.com/

Enjoy!

T