NOLA stands for New Orleans, Louisiana, and only Emeril Lagasse could call a restaurant NOLA and ride with it. NOLA (facade pictured here) is located on St. Louis St.

Although the NOLA site states that the restaurant is “funky” and informal, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can wear jeans to dinner. NOLA is a step up from K-Paul’s Louisiana kitchen, and the service is about three steps up. Three individuals waited on us throughout our two-hour gorge, and that doesn’t count the people who cleared our plates and who continuously filled our glasses with sparkling water.

If you’re not savvy to the rules of our New Orleans eating tour, read about our Friday night dinner at K-Paul’s first. Then return here to read what we ate at NOLA. More importantly, those rules will explain WHY we attempted to eat so much! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by beanybabe at 12:36 AM PST

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After we enjoyed ourselves at Cafe Du Monde, Hugh and my daughter and I walked down to the French Market where we shopped ourselves silly. This is where you can purchase anything you see at any New Orleans tourist shop for 1/2 the price. Yes, we bought some silly gifts, but we also snagged a few choice items.

After a quick trip back to the hotel to drop off our bags, my daughter and I went shopping again for another three hours while Hugh stayed at the hotel and meditated. Sometime about 2pm, my daughter and I decided that another cup of coffee was in order. So we stopped at the French Market Oyster Bar. We sat at the bar and ordered two cups of coffee and a half dozen raw oysters from a bartender who was in her sixties. Her fingernails were a point of interest, as she had peacock feathers painted on them in Christmas colors.

My daughter had an oyster once upon a time, but she wanted to try one again. This time it was the real thing, loaded onto a saltine with spicy cocktail sauce and a dab of horseradish. She decided that oysters were tasteless and she didn’t want to waste her time with them. So I was thrilled to knock down the other five oysters and polish off my coffee. It continued to be a beautiful day with the first blue skies in weeks (according to one resident who regaled us with local weather conditions). Warm, pleasant breeze, and we took advantage of the day by staying outside and walking up and down just about every street in the French Quarter. Tomorrow it’s supposed to pour down rain.

Posted by beanybabe at 11:36 PM PST

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How can you stay in New Orleans for even one day and not visit Cafe Du Monde? We were early enough to snag a table outside by the sidewalk - it promised to be a beautiful day. Blue skies, just a slight chill in the air, and a bright, bright sun. We ordered two lattes (my daughter wanted hot chocolate) and a plate of beignets covered with enough powdered sugar to choke a horse.

My daughter had the beignet experience before, as she was seasoned enough to remark, “Don’t breathe in while you take a bite.” The powdered sugar, as I mentioned previously, was enough to choke a…well, you catch my drift. The trick is to carefully cradle that beignet over to the rim of your coffee cup, shake off a little sugar into the (best) coffee (in New Orleans), and then dunk the donut into the steaming latte. Still, you will manage to wear half the sugar on your face and clothes. Don’t wear black.

We soon were joined by a traveling gospel singer who set up camp on the sidewalk beside our table. He proceeded to play his horn and to sing gospel in a sweet, high voice. He was definitely enthusiastic. We all hit it off great. We went through at least ten dollars in tips today between this guy and all the other performers and people who gathered change for the homeless. But, it was well worth it. One Salvation Army guy, who hailed originally from Nebraska, serenaded us with the loveliest rendition of “I’ll be home for Christmas” after we dropped a dollar into his bucket.

Posted by beanybabe at 11:15 PM PST

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I needed a place to post our menu selections while in the Big Easy so that friends and family could become insanely jealous. I figured that Coffee Bean Shop would be the most appropriate blog to post our New Orleans restaurant experiences. After all, we’re still focused on coffee, at least after every meal…

We arrived in New Orleans on Friday evening, just in time to relax a bit, unpack and freshen up after driving for two days in pouring rain. Our first stop on our eat-till-you-drop tour was K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, located on Chartres St. For those not in-the-know, this is Paul Prudhomme’s place. We heard we missed meeting him by one day, but we sensed his spirit throughout the meal. Everything was spicy, spicy - even the martinis, a Prudhomme specialty. The recipe is simple - take a bottle of gin or vodka, cut up a jalepeno pepper, and drop it in the bottle. Let the alcohol sit in the sun for a day or two and voila! A hot martini! This drink was Hugh’s suggestion as he had one years ago, and his choice fit the meal perfectly.

To understand our menu selections, it might help to know that: 1) three people are eating; 2) one rule is to choose a menu item that is different from the other two choices; 3) each person must choose an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert - but, none of us have to eat everything that’s served up on the plates. Of course, when you’re at a place like K-Paul’s, it’s difficult to not lick the plate… Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by beanybabe at 10:33 PM PST

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The coffee news has slowed to a trickle, like the drip from a leaky pot. So I’m going to head to New Orleans for the holidays, where I’ll stuff my face with some of the best food in the country. Oh, yeah - and listen to some awesome music as well.

You all have a safe and happy holidays. I’ll see you before the New Year.

Posted by beanybabe at 10:53 PM PST

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