ACME OYSTER HOUSE - NEW ORLEANS, LA

ACME OYSTER HOUSE

NEW ORLEANS, LA

I have never visited New Orleans without one, two or three visits to the Acme Oyster House just off Bourbon Street.  This place serves the freshest and best Oysters, Boiled Crawfish, Po Boy's, Gumbo and Jambalaya.  Absolutely love this place.  The Oysters are shucked only when you order them.  You can taste the freshness.  I always order Crawfish here too.  They are boiled in a slightly spicy seasoning and brought to your table by the pound.  You rip off the tail and then suck the juices out of the head.  This is where the flavor is.  The tail takes some work to get out the small piece of meat.  All the work is worth it as these little crustaceans are delicious.  Everything at Acme Oyster House is good.  You cannot go wrong eating here.

In 1910, before Satchmo had ever formed his first band, the Acme Café was opened on Royal Street in the French Quarter. Acme has been pleasing the palates of discriminating diners ever since.

In 1924, a disastrous fire caused the collapse of the three-story Acme Saloon building. The Café was re-established as Acme Oyster House around the corner at 724 Iberville, where it still operates today.
Acme has been shuckin’ ever since by serving food so good Prohibition wasn’t a problem at prices so low the Great Depression wasn’t all that depressing.
After many decades of success, business had slowed for Acme and many other French Quarter businesses in the early 1980’s. For a while, Acme closed at 4:00 and had only one waitress on staff. This prompted Acme to make the now famous “Waitress available sometimes” neon sign, which is proudly displayed in each restaurant and on the menu.
Despite the lack of business, and staff, native New Orleanian Mike Rodrigue recognized the potential. He bought Acme Oyster House in 1985 and revived the charming New Orleans’ institution without having to make too many changes.
Acme served about 250,000 raw and chargrilled oysters in Mike’s first year. 23 years and four new locations later, Acme shucked well over 3.6 million fresh oysters in 2008. That’s almost 10,000 oysters a day and doesn’t even include the fried ones.
Acme’s key to success is to not get too far from the source. In addition to the original French Quarter location, Acme Oyster Houses are open in Covington, Metairie, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in Sandestin on the Florida panhandle. Each location is a short, refrigerated drive away from where Acme’s oysters are harvested so they are always shucked and served at their freshest.
There has to be more than just great seafood to make a New Orleans’ restaurant famous. For Acme, maybe it’s eating under the glow of neon lights, or the checkerboard tablecloths, or enjoying a good meal with close friends and complete strangers at the same time. Maybe it’s the ice cold beer. Whatever it is, we’re glad you like it. Thanks to everyone for a great first hundred years.

ACME OYSTER HOUSE IS A TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE!

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ACME OYSTER HOUSE

ACME OYSTER HOUSE JUST OFF BOURBON STREET

SIT AT THE OYSTER BAR OR GRAB A TABLE

LARGE SEATING AREA.  PLACE IS ALWAYS BUSY AND
SOMETIMES THERE IS A LINE TO GET IN.

THESE GUYS SHUCK THOUSANDS OF OYSTERS A DAY
AND THEY ARE LIGHTNING FAST.

ONE DOZEN OF THE FRESHEST OYSTERS

LARGE AND MEATY OYSTERS GO DOWN LIKE BUTTER

FRESH CRAWFISH SERVED BY THE POUND

LARGE CRAWFISH IN A SLIGHTLY SPICY 

PULL OFF THE BODY AND SUCK THE JUICES OUT OF THE HEAD

TAKES A BIT OF WORK TO GET THE CRAWFISH
TAIL BUT IT IS WORTH IT!

ACME OYSER HOUSE - NEW ORLEANS

ACME OYSTER HOUSE

NEW ORLEANS, LA

After 24 hours we were ready to return to the Acme Oyster House. Shirley loves the steamed crawfish and fresh shucked oysters. I agree, both of these items are fantastic. We also tried a shrimp po-boy and more seafood gumbo. Keli opted for crab and shrimp balls which were fantastic. Kind of like a round crabcake. FANTASTIC AGAIN.  At Acme, they shuck your oysters so they are the freshest ever. The crawfish are boiled when you order them and served in 1 pound sacks. Fresh and steaming at your table.

Click link below to view another post on Acme Oyster House;

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/05/acme-oyster-house-new-orleans-la.html

ALOHA FROM NEW ORLEANS

Our first day in the Big Easy was wonderful. Arrived at the Ritz Carlton around noon time. The concierge recommended brunch at one of New Orleans most famous restaurants - Brennan's.

Of course, we cleaned up and took the short walk to Brennan's from the hotel.

BRENNAN'S

417 Royal Street

All of the internet and tourist guides boast that a trip to New Orleans is not complete without a dining experience at Brennan's. Well, they are right and wrong. Don't go to Brennan's if you are on a budget or looking for a deal. Brunch for two including two cocktails was over $130 without tip. The service was o.k. Seemed like there were alot of people working but always seemed a little disorganized. Once our waiter settled in, the service got much better. We ordered the recommended three course brunch for $38. This includes appetizer, main dish and dessert. However, there are upcharges for Gumbo and the World Famous Banana's Foster. If you order these items the pre-fix price for each meal goes to $50. This is for breakfast mind you.  I went with the dish that put Brennan's on the map according to the menu. It is called Eggs Hussarde. Simply poached egg on top of canadian bacon and toast with hollindaise sauce. The kicker is a mustard sauce that really did not come through in the dish. The two eggs are served with half of a tomato. My wife ordered the Eggs Owen which is poached egg with beef hash.  Looked like dog food, smelled like dog food and tasted about the same. Enough said.

Both are meals were served with an absolutely awesome crab gumbo ( paid upcharge). The gumbo was filled with lump crab and the highlight of the meal. The Banana's Foster was terrific but due to space constraints they did not do the flaming presentation at our table. They did it out of sight and prepared our order with the table next to ours at the same time. The Crepes Fitz (Strawberries) was a huge hit. This is an awesome dish that I thought was as good as or better than the Banana's Foster.

When you leave a breakfast $150 lighter in the pocket, you would expect alot more. I would go to Brennan's one time to experience all the history for yourself.

ACME OYSTER HOUSE

724 Iberville Street

When you get off the plane in New Orleans, don't walk - RUN to Acme Oyster House.

This place is off the hook great and reasonably priced. We arrived around 7;00 p.m. on a Thursday. The restaurant does not take reservations so we waited in a small line outside.

The wait was short (less than 20 minutes) and we were in. There is a large Oyster Bar down the side of the place. We opted for a table and started our meal with a half dozen oysters on the half shell. They arrived quickly and chilled to perfection. These oysters are fresh. No fish taste or after taste. Just a smooth and silky dissolve in the mouth. Best we have ever had.

The oysters were followed by a pound of fresh crawfish. Served in a pouch and steaming when they arrived. These were absolutely awesome. You could eat 10 pounds and love them.

The crawfish ettoufee was just as good. Served with rice and nice pieces of shrimp and crawfish.

We ordered a medly of gumbo, jambalaya, sausage and red beans and rice. Everything on the plate was delicious. The entire cost for this meal with two beers was $50. Yes $50. Compare that to Brennan's. We did not have room for the po-boys which were going out of the kitchen like crazy. That will be for next trip which is today. WE ARE GOING BACK FOR MORE.

DON'T MISS THE ACME OYSTER HOUSE.