Father’s Day At Messina’s

For father’s day, I took Navy Seal to a new spot for brunch.  To be honest, I’m kinda mad that I slept on this place for so long because it’s not that far from where I live.

Messina’s Runway  Cafe is located at the Lakefront Airport in New Orleans East.

Man, that brunch was an experience! I tried everything on the menu and every darn dish was great! Add bottomless mimosas to the mix and I was tipsy as hell happy as a tick on a dog.

We had a view of the tarmac where we were sitting. It was cool watching planes land, but I just kept thinking…what if one of these suckers can’t stop? Then I started thinking about how fast I would be able to run to get out of the way.

Those mimosas must have really been getting the best of me.

 

I tried everything on the menu. I didn’t get pics of it all because I was too busy grubbin’. The truffle mac and cheese was the winner for me though. I just wanted to take the entire pan home with me.

The wait staff was excellent. Everyone was so happy and helpful…I was really impressed with this place.

When I got home, I went on Yelp to post a review and it seems that I am not the only person impressed. They have a few bad reviews, but 90% of the reviews are pretty much like mine.

I’m telling ya, if anyone comes to the city and wants to venture out some, head over to the Lakefront Airport and grab a meal. The only downside is that they close early so be sure to check their hours before heading out.

Navy Seal and I have agreed to make it a tradition to have either Mother’s Day or Father’s Day brunch there.

Can’t wait to do it again next year!

 

 

 

A Food and Wine Experience

Well, I’m back on the blog train! My mind was derailed a minute with my dad coming home and all. Being a member of the sandwich generation, having to take care of your  kids and your parent is hard work…that’s another post for another day though.

Today, I’m throwing out a post about the Food and Wine Experience I just had at The Convention Center. The event was the entire week but, NavySeal and I only went to the grand tasting event.  It was truly grand indeed!

Good LAWD!  They had so much food and wine in that place…you really have to pace yourself because your senses go into overload.

The ambiance was awesome. Low lighting, nice music playing, tastefully decorated, the room temp was perfect which was really appreciated because, they were doing some serious cooking in that joint!

When you first arrive, they hand you a wine glass and a small tray for you to put your samples of food on. After that, it’s a free fall…sample as many dishes and wines as your little tummy can handle!

I was like a kid in a candy store!

NavySeal is a wine buff so, he was handling that angle. When I sampled wine, I only took a sip or two and tossed the rest.

Ida been drunk within the first 30 minutes of the experience if I didn’t. The experience was three hours long.

The food on the other hand was another thing!

We sampled so many dishes but, this one here  was exceptional.It’s a pasta with pesto and ravioli from Andrea’s restaurant. The line was long to get it but, it was worth the wait and the lines moved fast.

Here’s  a crawfish salad. The flavors were out of this world and it was so cool and crisp…just what we needed because, it was 95 degrees outside.

This lil trio is Seafood Gumbo;Warm Apple Tarte Tatin (whatever that means) and Bananas Foster Cheesecake;Wood -Grilled Tomahawk Steak with John Folse Blue Cheese and Mushroom.  These are some of the award-winning dishes. The gumbo was really good but, I didn’t like the steak or the desserts.

The only thing the Bananas Foster Cheesecake did was remind me that Brennan’s was in the house with their Bananas Foster!

I headed over there for a  dish and it was slap yo’ momma good!

Nope, no pic of that…I killed it before I could reach for the camera.

So many restaurants with so many dishes.

This is the one event where you want to walk in there starving!

Many of the big name restaurants like Arnaud’s, Mr.B’s Bistro,Commander’s Palace and Galatoire’s participate in this event.

The wines were great as well…I think they had over 1,000 wines there. My favorite  was Chassagne-Montrachet…didn’t toss any of THAT one out!

Now, I know why it’s called  “king of white wines”.

The crowd was huge but, they had enough room for everyone to move around freely. My only suggestion would be to have more places for folks to sit…they could have used a few more chairs in there.

Next year (yes, I’m already planning for next year), we’re going to add a few more days to our experience. I’d like catch a some seminars and attend the grand tasting event Friday as well as Saturday. Some restaurants were only there on Friday and I’ll be able to catch them as well.

There was  a Louisiana Seafood Cook-off going on as well with 10 Chefs competing for the big win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I wish I could tell you who won but, I was too busy grubbin’ to pay attention.

The event isn’t free (this one  was $90 pp) but, the money all goes to charity…it’s more than worth it.  It’s a fabulous way to kill three hours in the city.

Eating and drinking wine…my life in the Big Easy.

My favorite festival,Vieux -To -Do  is in two weeks…the trio of festivals.

The Cajun-Zydeo, La. Seafood and Tomato Fest all in one in the French Quarters.

I got my Zydeco two-step together and I’m ready to go!

Now, I just have to teach the hubby so I can have a partner out there…should be interesting.

Have a great day y’all!

 

A Tale of Two Tony’s

Well, it’s the end of the month already and my favorite blog time is here….

Restaurant of the month!

NavySeal and I were out and about (again) and while heading home, we passed 2 Tony’s in Bucktown. Now, I gotta say, for me..it’s always been hard to go to  II Tony’s.

It’s not that I’d heard anything bad about them but, II Tony’s is walking distance from Deanies Seafood.

It’s hard as hell to pass up Deanies!

But, I did.

I held my head down and passed Deanies and all of that delicious seafood…

and went to  II Tony’s.

and was I ever glad I did!

We arrived before the lunch crowd. The place is small…the atmosphere, really nice.  NavySeal said that, inside of it reminded him of the scene in the Godfather when Michael killed  “The Turk” Virgil Sollozzo and  police Captain McClusky.

yeah, I can see that.

Hey, don’t be surprised that I know the characters in the Godfather off the top of my head( I know the Oracle and Andrea aren’t surprised…lol.) I’ve had a small obsession with The Godfather since  high school.  I read the book in 1978 and have seen both versions of the movie…most people don’t know they’re two versions. They tend not to show the other version which I happen to like because, it’s more detailed. It’s also my “holiday movie” to cook to.  For some reason, whenever I’m cooking for Thanksgiving or Christmas, I end up playing that movie.  I think it’s because part one and part two are so long,  that they keep me company while I’m cooking.

See, this how obsessed I am with the movie.  This pic was taken in 2006. NavySeal and I had gone to Universal Studios in Florida and they have the Genco Olive Oil Company front with Michael Corleone name on it… and I just HAD to take a picture by it.

NavySeal started with a salad and me, well…I had the seafood gumbo.

I usually don’t like my gumbo with Okra in it but, this darned gumbo was so frigging good!  I ate the whole thing and that’s something I don’t usually do because, I like to leave room in my tummy for the “big kahuna” dish.

NavySeal had Veal Parmesan as his big kahuna dish.  The veal was so tender and juicy…I wanted his dish after he let me taste it.

I like the fact that, it’s a nice serving…not too much not too little. NavySeal ain’t trying to bring home no doggie bags if ya know what I mean.

I was torn between two dishes and eventually decided on  the Lasagna. I was surprised that it looked like this. I’m used to my lasagna having more length than bulk. but, after tasting it…who the heck cared? It was delicious!

The wait staff was mediocre but, the food was great.

I had been looking at II Tony’s it seems like forever but, as I’ve said…it’s so hard to pass up Deanies and go somewhere else when you’re right there.

I’m glad I went though.

Would I go again? Probably not.

Why?

Because Deanies will trump them every.single. time.

Resturant of the Month

This is a new feature that will appear in the blog. I love to eat out in this fair city so, I may as well take the time to tell yall about where we’re dining and what’s happening there. Plus, it gives me an excuse to hit up some really great places to eat!

NavySeal was hankering for some “erysters” and since they are really in short supply these days, we went to a place where we knew they’d have some oysters and other fabulous food on the menu.

Which brings me to my restaurant of the month,

Acme Oyster House! We went to the one on Veterans Blvd but, for anyone visiting the city, there’s also one a block behind Canal Street on Iberville.

NavySeal had the oyster po-boy (excuse the fussy pic)and, I had the “swimp” p0-boy dressed(excuse the pepper and Tabasco sauce…I was ready to throw down)

The place is really casual, the service was great and as you can see, the oyster bar is up and running for all you folks who like ’em raw.

We got there before the lunch crowd so, folks were  just arriving.

I love this place.  The only problem I had was, the price of the oyster sandwich….20 bucks!!

Can you believe that?!

$20 for an oyster po-boy…here, in New Orleans!

That’s just crazy.

It had better been great because at $20, I don’t know when he’ll be getting another oyster sandwich.LOL

$20…good googly moo.

Just another effect from the oil-spill *sigh*