This is the fourth and final review in my New Orleans series. Please see my previous reviews on The Frenchmen Hotel, Snug Harbor Jazz, and New Orleans live jazz.

Another interesting place we came upon in the Marigny district was The Praline Connection. Known for their “down home” Cajun-Creole style ‘Soul Food’ at affordable prices, they have been written up in Elle, Southern Living, Travel and Leisure and others, and having received numerous awards as displayed on the wall.

We were not in need of a full meal, looking only for a snack as well as a place to get warm; it was now rather late into the evening having just attended one of the parades. Every one dining inside was enjoying themselves immensely while the wait staff all appeared to be having fun right along with them. We couldn’t help but be drawn into the place, having passed by it the previous evening.

Our charming waiter, Derrick, wearing a spiffy black fedora hat, black pants, white shirt and tie, the attire of all the waiters, arrived with a spirited jaunt to warmly greet us. He had personality plus, and even though the place was packed to the brim, he treated us as if we were his only customer.

Looking at the appetizers, we both choose an order of Fried Chicken Livers with Sweet Hot Pepper Jelly @$6.95, and a side of French Fries @$2.00. Derrick advised that we order only one side French Fries, stating it was a very large order that came on a big platter. We each choose a local Amber beer at $3.00.

Out the food came, and that platter of French Fries had to be enough to feed a family! I’ve never seen such a bargain! Each order of Chicken Livers arrived on a platter too. Not at all over cooked, and accentuated with the unusual jelly condiment, they were a rare treat. One order would have been more than plenty for the both of us. They were delicious and we ate every morsel, but leaving at least two-thirds the order of fries. This left us with no room for tasting their Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce $4.00, the Cheesecake with Praline Sauce $4.00 or the famous Pralines made on site.

Needless to say there are many places left for me to explore in New Orleans and this will not be final visit.

This is the third review in the New Orleans series. Please see my previous reviews on Crawfish Etouffee at Snug Harbor Jazz and The Frenchmen Hotel.

Every one in the dining area at Snug Harbor seemed to be having a great time enjoying their food and drink, and the separate bar location was now filled to over flowing with a well behaved crowd; a lot of martini’s were seen. Over hearing the music while in the dining room, we went in to explore, finding that the live jazz performance was in a separate location behind the bar/restaurant. We were allowed to take a peak inside, and while admission at $20 per person was well within range for the quality of entertainment, but having driven from Dallas that day into the evening, we were ready to call it a night and head back to our room. Check out the calendar on their website for their New Orleans live jazz lineup.

While walking back to our hotel, we came upon several other bars with jazz performances. Some were so-so, giving some of the locals a chance to show off their talents. As always in New Orleans, every one seemed to know each other making one wonder how many locals were there, or if just the over all atmosphere of this city seems to make every one friendly to each other. I was already feeling a part of this neighborhood, and I’d just arrived.

Stopping in at one of the bars, we were treated to a dance lesson between sets, open to any one willing to join in. It provided a great deal of entertainment as several of the participants had no rhythm at all. The instructor had quite a move going on, and was getting some what irritated with several of the participants acting crazy. He took his position rather seriously. Cozying up at the bar, drinking some local beer, I struck up a conversation with the bartender (always a fun thing to do), and learned more about the entertainment and location.

Stay tuned for the next review in my New Orleans series. Next up, The Praline Connection. Yum.

If you are a fan of Top Chef this is one of the coolest contests ever! I almost didn’t share it here so I had a better chance of winning but my nicer side gave in.

You can enter at topchefweekend.com for a chance to win a “Top Chef Weekend for 2 in Dallas”:

• Meet Casey Thompson, fan favorite from Top Chef season 3 and CJ from Top Chef season 3
• Welcome reception including a private tour of Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio’s restaurant, Craft
• Exclusive Top Chef Cookbook signing event hosted at Casey Thompson’s restaurant Shinsei
• Two nights at the W Hotel Dallas
• Tickets to the JFK Museum

From the official rules:

One (1) Grand Prize is available. The Grand Prize consists of:

A two-nights hotel accommodations at the W Hotel Dallas Victory Park for winner and one (1) guest, a Sponsor designated spa treatment at Bliss Spa in Dallas, two (2) admission tickets to the JKF Museum, an invitation to a welcome reception at the W, and invitation to a VIP reception at Shinsei, the opportunity for a meet and greet with Casey and CJ of Top Chef (subject to availability) and an autographed copy of the Top Chef Cookbook (Approximate retail value $1,500)

But don’t even bother entering because I already know I am going to win. I promise I’ll write a follow up blog post to let you all know how it went. Erh…I mean, Good Luck!

This is my second review in the New Orleans series. Please see my first review on The Frenchmen Hotel here.

Although we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the fine dining in New Orleans, and looking for a more laid back stop over, recommended by the front desk absolutely by far, we ventured down a block on Frenchmen Street to Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro.

Snug Harbor is a restaurant, bar, and music club featuring world class jazz music every night of the week. Snug Harbor is not a dinner theater; the dining room is separate from the music club. Little did we know how popular and well known this club was for renowned jazz performances.

With old original brick walls, the dining area was exactly what one would expect in this location. The menu included seafood, steaks and Classic Creole cuisine. BBQ Shrimp, Yellowfin Tuna, Shrimp Creole, Crawfish Etouffee, Beef Filet, Ribeye and Strip, the choices were all calling ‘order me’.

Asking the vivacious, efficient and knowledgeable server for her recommendations, she highly touted their version of the Crawfish Etouffee. Now having had more than my share of Etouffee in prior trips to New Orleans, I was prepared to try something else, but her description of their version with lemon infusion enticed me to once again order the standby.

I must say it was by far the best I’ve ever tasted. The flavors were so fresh and light, the lemon giving a definite but different and refreshing twist, taking it a level above anything ordinary.

Her recommendation of wine to complement the citrus was right on target. Having inquired about the featured wines listed on a wall board (which were not by any means cheap), she was not recommending them for quality compared to some others on their more than adequate regular list. Now this is what I admire in a server, and expect. Someone who goes above and beyond the take and order function that is so common today.

During a previous five day stay for Mardi Gras one year, I was on a mission to try as many versions as I could. It always amazes me as to how each establishment in New Orleans has their own unique version of this delicious treat.

Stay tuned for the next review in my New Orleans series. Next I review live jazz in New Orleans.

In January my husband and I traveled to one of my favorite of cities, New Orleans. I just love their food. One can go to a hole in the wall and get well executed meals with out spending a lot of money. But one can never go wrong with Antoine’s, Commander’s Palace, Emeril’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, or K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen among many other well known locations.

We spent two nights there prior to boarding a cruise with Norwegian. Having stayed directly in the French Quarter before, this time we stayed in the Faubourg Marigny district, one of the city’s best kept secrets.

The Frenchmen Hotel with its tropical brick lined courtyard, each of the 27 rooms are individually decorated with period furnishings reminiscent of the refined New Orleans homes of the 1850s was a perfect location to experience the ambiance of New Orleans without all the crazy tourist activity of the French Quarter.

Located on Frenchmen Street right on the edge of Esplanade Ave, one of the French Quarter’s most famous streets, with its ancient live oaks and frequent sightings of horse-drawn carriages, Esplanade is a bounding street of the Quarter, so you are steps away from the action, without sleeping in the middle of it. What a unique eclectic little neighborhood this was! Jazz clubs, restaurants, and neighborhood bars (including a hookah bar), all on this funky street within a block or two of our room.

Now our room had to be the smallest room I have ever stayed in, with the door barely skimming past the edge of the queen size bed, and a bit of creative maneuvering to get the luggage inside, but cozy it was. With night’s quite chilly outside, inside the room we were warm as toast. The room opened directly onto the courtyard, and included a complementary continental breakfast with fresh pastries delivered from a local bakery.

We located a great deal on www.bookit.com, and while parking is at a premium, through bookit.com it even included free on site gated parking. While parking can generally run around $25 per night, we felt we had snagged quite a deal. We definitely will be back again – and the price was right! Why would any one want to stay in one of those shiny new hotels when one can experience the true essence of New Orleans? Since we were there two weeks prior to Fat Tuesday, there were parades, and one came right in front of our hotel.

Another hotel worth looking into is The Lamothe House, located right on beautiful Esplanade Street.

Welcome to Dallas Dining Divas! I’m so glad you’re here.

For my inaugural post I’ve decided to make a list of places I hope to review this year. I am really excited about writing reviews on old favorites and discovering new favorites as MamaJo and I try out many different restaurants and share our thoughts here. Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of traveling and eating out as much as MamaJo, so I haven’t really been anywhere to review lately. I didn’t think Steak N’ Shake or Taco Bueno reviews would be very popular.

So here’s my top 10 favorites I hope to review this year. Be sure to check back throughout the year to see where I’ve been. If you’re particularly looking forward to a specific restaurant, send me a request and a gift certificate! Thank you, you’re nice.

1. St. Martin’s Wine Bistro
   This has been a long time favorite restaurant of mine, I’m sure they’ll get a raving review! The “velvet soup” (that’s what I all it anyway) is simply amazing!
2. Sambuca
   It’s been a long time since I’ve dined here, but from what I remember they had tasty food and great music.
3. Truluck’s
   Again, I’ve been here before but not in the last few years. I seem to remember steak and crab that made me melt.
4. Houston’s
   A somewhat regular dining spot for MamaJo Diva and I but they do have the best salads EVER!
5. Deep Ellum Cafe (MamaJo just told me they closed. Boo.)
   I used to work at this restaurant while I was in school and loved it so much. It’s re-opened under new ownership. I hope the food is as good as I remember!
6. Fogo de Chao
   Yes, I know this one’s a chain restaurant and blah blah blah. I don’t care it’s yummy. Mmmm…meat.
7. La Paesana
   Acutally, I never heard of this restaurant until just now. I was looking for La Trattoria Lombardi but apparently that has closed and the owners have opened a new place. With gnocchi and risotto on the menu I’m already salivating.
8. Terilli’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar
   Crab Claws and Calamari are to die for here, and that’s just appetizers. I’ve always enjoyed my dining experiences here and can’t wait to go back.
9. Kobe Steaks Japanese Restaurant
   I’ve only been here once and have been wanting to go back. I’m not sure that they even have Kobe beef or not, but the hibachi was yum.
10. Ziziki’s Greek Restaurant
    It’s Greek and it’s yummy. That’s good enough for me.

~Kimber

My husband loves to travel, and I can’t say that I object too much now that we are retired with flexibility to go when ever the opportunity presents itself. My only concern is for our Himalayan kitten, ‘Emma Lena Louise’. If several months go by and we haven’t gone any place, he gets antsy and I just know that he will present me with an itinerary.

Thankfully, my husband has expanded his childhood love for canned peas and creamed corn! Since he married a food junkie, he will now try most anything but for oysters, sushi and catfish. Oh and he ‘thinks’ he hates spinach! If he only knew how much of it he actually consumed.

Having grown up in Wisconsin, he did his fair share of hunting as well as fishing in the many wonderful lakes in the area. Catfish and dogfish were discarded and he can’t relate to the farm raised catfish that are on the menus. Lake fishing has now been replaced during our travels with deep sea fishing in the Hawaiian Islands and Mexico. And hunting? Let’s just say I don’t miss having to wait for all the wild life to get freezer burn. And of course I don’t miss the cold and snow either.

I’ll be sharing some of our travel experiences here in the Travel column concerning resorts, cruises, as well as just ordinary car jaunts where we have the occasion to participate in local, regional and international cuisine.

MamaJo

We are a for ‘real’ mother and daughter, who together and separately enjoy a passion for foods.

There was a time that we had plans to some day have our own restaurant.We have seen so many blunders along the way that are obvious as to why so many establishments come and go.Our dream was designed from the décor, type of food and service we would provide.Dallas is known to be a very difficult location to survive in, and knowing that, our dream went on the far back burner.With our hobby of critiquing, came the idea of our mother daughter adventure, from a two generation stint experience.Not only do we intend to cover the local dining scene, but that encountered in travel as well, cookbooks, recipe reviews, chef - owner interviews, dining tips, etc. Most any thing associated with food might become a column.It will only be restricted by our financial limitations. We hope you enjoy our journey.

When we moved from the Midwest to the Dallas area in 1995, driving on Beltline in Addison, it didn’t take long for us to recognize that we were in a dining area unlike any thing we had ever seen before.Weekends were spent checking out various dining locations in Dallas, and searching for the best margarita as well. We found ourselves constantly critiquing the restaurants from the moment we stepped inside, from the greeting we received, the look and feel of the menu (Kimber Diva seeming to always find an obvious typo, even in the swankiest of establishments), and the décor from floor to ceiling. Then it is on to the food, analyzing it and deciphering the ingredients used, often times attempting to recreate it at home. It ends with how the table clean up and presentation of bill is provided. Friends that would join us would wonder what was going on as we both would carry on a conversation that became so detailed between us. It was something we did without even recognizing it.

Both of us have also done our share of working in the dining industry during our younger years. Mama Jo Diva started out at the sweet age of sixteen in a major truck stop, serving truckers and tourists; going on to wait tables during summer college breaks at an upscale super club in tourist infested Wisconsin Dells. Kimber Diva had her at a Shake N Steak in Indianapolis, going on to serve in upscale restaurants in Indianapolis, Destin Florida and Dallas while going to college. With that experience together with our food knowledge, it allows us to look at dining from several different angles.