Splurge of the Week: Tamarind opens for Lunch

Starting this thursday, Tamarind Restaurant will be open for lunch!

Located on the edge of Lee Circle, Tamarind offers upscale asian cuisine with french execution. Chef Dominique Macquet is truly creating something very special with ever single dish. Pictured below is Dominique's take on chicken noodle soup aka Pho:

I must say, Tamarind for lunch is not exactly good value, but quality and execution make it my "splurge of the week." The best value i saw on the menu was the chicken vermicelli salad pictured below:

The flavor of this chicken is exceptional and unlike any chicken i have ever been served with vermicelli. Another interesting note on the menu are the Bahn Mi (po-boy) and soup (pho) combos. There are 4-5 options of different vietnamese style po-boys you can order: each of which come with a cup of chicken pho. The po-boy combos run around $14-$15 per plate/combo. I really enjoyed my shrimp Bahn Mi (pictured below). I cant believe chef Dominique is using royal red shrimps = my favorite! Fact of the day, Royal reds are caught in deep waters off the coast of Florida. Chef

Dominique is baking his Bahn Mi bread fresh daily and the sauce he uses to moisten the sandwich is truly remarkable. This very well may have been the best Bahn Mi of my life.

This restaurant is top quality and is positioned for success. If you are in the CBD or Warehouse district looking for a great power lunch, this is your spot. Complimentary valet parking in front. Enjoy!

Magasin Vietnamese Cafe Opens Today

I have been waiting 3 years for a good vietnamese restaurant to open up in Uptown and tonight is the grand opening of Magasin Vietnamese Cafe. Located @ 4201 Magazine, this quaint 1,500 sf space has just undergone a total renovation. This space used to be a dirty corner store that was a nuisance to the neighborhood. Now 4201 Magazine is a charming, hip, modern restaurant. Uptown needs good vietnamese and i have high hopes for Owner Kim Hung's first New Orleans venture. Pho's are $7.50 and up. The menu is comprehensive and authentic. See below. I cant wait to try it out!

Year of the Dragon - Vietnamese New Year!

What a special weekend it was in New Orleans East. Each year, to celebrate the new year, the vietnamese community comes together to throw a huge New Years Party! The festival draws over 10,000 people annually and features the best fair food i know of...

Whether it's a down the line subway style Bahn Mi stand or fresh spring rolls wrapped in front of your eyes, this fair has it all when it comes to vietnamese cuisine. Some crowd favorites include the candied grilled corn on the cob which tasted like a dessert & the suculent beef skewers. There were so many impressive fresh flavors to sample. Value wise, this festival is as good as it gets: $3 po-boys, $3 spring rolls, $3 beef skewers. No admission charge to get in which means you can have a cheaper lunch at the festival than going to a vietnamese restaurant. Feel free to bring a cooler of adult beverages as well. GREAT VALUE!

Another interesting aspect of this party is the live music and games. Kids are running around everywhere, poppers are going off, and spray foam shows up everywhere. All this while classic rock is performed on stage.

The festival runs friday, saturday, and sunday so be on the look out next year.

Slop or Heaven?

You be the judge?

Eat Well Food Mart - Broad & Canal

I get sick of driving to Harahan and Gretna to get vietnamese food. I realize that soon there will be two new vietnamese restaurants on Magazine, but i am always in search of vietnamese food in Orleans Parish.

Recently, through the help of a friend, i found the Eat Well on the North West Corner of Broad & Canal. Yes, across from the Family Dollar. This convenient store is very deceiving. I have observed one family operating this entire operation which is pretty extensive and impressive. The family looks to be of asian decent and each one is extremely friendly. The store is clean and doesn't quite fit the general idea of a convenient store.

The secret is in the rear of the store where the family cooks up delicious vietnamese cuisine. My go to is the chicken vermicelli salad. This tasty entree is plenty of food and only costs $7. Quick tip, add grilled onions. Second quick tip, bring your own cup and choose a drink from their extensive beverage cooler.

There is a small section to eat the food in the shop, but the Eat Well is also a great place to take out. The neighborhood is not the best, but the food well makes up for it.

Try it out!

Vietnamese DIVES

Due to my continued obsession with vietnamese food I am constantly in search of new vietnamese restaurants and cuisine. Most the traditional restaurants like Kim Sun and Pho Tau Bay get old after 5-10 visits. I know, i am husky. This constant eating out and trying to get further out of the box has brought me to more authentic spots for vietnamese cuisine like Tan Dinh and Kim Ahn Noodle House.

But after 40 visits to Tan Dinh, i am ready to start the adventure all over again.

Last week i tried an amazing vietnamese restaurant. Tucked in the exotic and historic Bywater / Marigny neighborhood is the Lost Love Lounge. This hip and happening local bar has comfortable seating, a nice TV, and interesting conversations and people everywhere you look. What is particularly interesting is that in the back of the bar is a dim / quaint vietnamese restaurant.

The prices at the Lost Love Grill were about $1 higher for each item than a traditional vietnamese spot, BUT it was totally worth it. To get a laid back, dark and stormy, bar atmosphere is priceless when the time is right.

All the traditional, made for american, vietnamese dishes were on the menu. The very noticeable chef in the kitchen was most definitely authentic. He had one of those dark Fumanchu beards that he continued to stroke as he tasted the pho broth throughout the night. It reminded me of the sensei in Kill Bill. The springrolls, buns, and pho's were all very tasty and came out fresh and quick. What stood out the most was the guy handling the ordering at the cash register from New Zealand. This guy was fascinating. First of all, how did he end up at the lost love lounge? I dont recall this chaps name but he was extremely friendly and very helpful. I realize this sounds weird, but you will understand once you make to L3.

I hope this post makes you hungry for my next post which will focus on other strange places in the city to find vietnamese.

Ethnic Value

After an impressive night of middle eastern cuisine I thought it would only be appropriate to give my #1 thought in finding value in food:

GO ETHNIC!

Ethnic food (ie. Middle Eastern, Ethipian, Indian, etc…) is by far the best bang for your buck that I know of. The reason for this is that the meats are basic, the vegetables are a large portion of each of the cuisine, and the spices give the food its name and character (not the décor). Of course, there are exceptions to the rule ie. French and Italian which tends to be more on the bistro / tapas line. Just think of countries that would be expensive to visit and one that would not be & that can be your rule of thumb on ethnic dining.

Nothing makes me happier than a huge pile of food for a very little price. For example, Nirvana Sunday night buffet. $10 for all you can eat delicious food! And did you know that you can do take out on the buffet? Three quick tips on the Nirvana buffet. Take it out, ask for a to go soup container, and make your own rice at home in a rice cooker to save room for the important items.

Next week I will attack my tips of the trade for middle eastern.