GREAT EATS HAWAII

Friday, May 4, 2012

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!

Click link below to view another post on Acme Oyster House

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2007/12/back-to-acme-oyser-house.html

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!

CENTRAL GROCERY MUFFULETTA - NEW ORLEANS, LA

CENTRAL GROCERY

MUFFULETTA

NEW ORLEANS, LA

Just like Cafe Du Monde, Central Grocery is a must stop on any trip to New Orleans. The small grocery store is home to the World Famous Italian Muffuletta Sandwich. A perfect combination of meats, cheese and a delicious olive mixture make this one great sandwich. We ordered half a sandwich for around $8.

Central Grocery is a small, old-fashioned Italian-American grocery store with asandwich counter located at 923 Decatur Street, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant. He operated it until 1946 when he retired and his son-in-law Frank Tusa took over the operation. Today it is owned by Salvatore T. Tusa, Salvatore's grandson, and two cousins. The store was one of many family owned, neighborhood grocery stores during the early 20th century, when the French Quarter was still predominantly a residential area. Though tourists are more common in Central now, it has retained much of its old world market feel.

It is famous as the home of the New Orleans muffuletta sandwich invented by Salvatore Lupo,^[1] to feed the Sicilian truck farmers who sold their produce at the Farmer's Market on Decatur Street in the French Quarter.^[2] The Muffuletta was only locally known until the late 1960s. Now, it has international fame. The Central sells not only the sandwiches as take-out or eat-in, but also the ingredients of the muffuletta—including olive salad by the jar—for people who want to make the sandwich at home. Because of the muffuletta, they were featured on the PBS special Sandwiches That You Will Like and The Today Show [five best sandwiches series].

Central Grocery also sells Italian, Greek, French, Spanish, and Creole table delicacies. They also carry less mainstream selections, such as chocolate covered grasshoppers and bumble bees in soy sauce, which are perennially displayed in the store front windows. Marie Lupo Tusa, Salvatore's daughter, is author of the cookbook "Marie's Melting Pot," which has hundreds of Sicilian, French and Creole style recipes.

CENTRAL GROCERY

CENTRAL GROCERY IS JUST A FEW BLOCKS
DOWN FROM CAFE DU MONDE

SMALL GROCERY STORE AND DELI

MUFFULETTA SEATING AREA IN BACK OF STORE

HALF ORDER OF MUFFULETTA

THE WORLD FAMOUS MUFFULETTA

MEATS, CHEESE AND OLIVE MIXTURE

EVEN MOLTO MARIO EATS THE CENTRAL GROCERY MUFFULETTA

CAFE DU MONDE - NEW ORLEANS, LA

CAFE DU MONDE

NEW ORLEANS, LA

A trip to New Orleans would not be complete without a stop at Cafe Du Monde. I love the menu here. Beignets and Coffee and that is it. Simple and delicious. An order of (3) Beignets is $2.42. Coffee is $2.50 to $3.50 depending on size. Beignets are nothing more than fried dough covered in powdered sugar. The fact that the cafe stays open 24 hours a day, seven days a week is a testament to its success. People line up to get into this place. Tables are turned quickly by the staff who are all business. Not much chit chat. Just take the order and get it on the table as fast as possible. As you enter Cafe Du Monde it is every man for himself. This means that if you see an open table - grab it!

The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.

Beignets were also brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. These were fried fritters, sometimes filled with fruit. Today, the beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar. They are served in orders of three.

The taste for coffee and chicory was developed by the French during their civil war. Coffee was scarce during those times, and they found that chicory added body and flavor to the brew. The Acadians from Nova Scotia brought this taste and many other french customs (heritage) to Louisiana. Chicory is the root of the endive plant. Endive is a type of lettuce. The root of the plant is roasted and ground. It is added to the coffee to soften the bitter edge of the dark roasted coffee. It adds an almost chocolate flavor to the Cafe Au Lait served at Cafe Du Monde.

CAFE DU MONDE

CAFE DU MONDE OPENED IN 1862 AND IS OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY,
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. ONLY CLOSES ON CHRISTMAS

LARGE OPEN AIR SEATING AREA IS GREAT FOR PEOPLE WATCHING

SIMPLE MENU OF BEIGNETS AND COFFEE

WAITERS AND WAITRESSES LINED UP WITH ORDERS

IF YOU SEE AN OPEN TABLE - GRAB IT!

THE WORLD FAMOUS BEIGNETS

LIGHT ON THE INSIDE

CAFE DU MONDE CHICORY COFFEE

URBAN TACO - DALLAS/FT. WORTH AIRPORT

URBAN TACO

DALLAS AIRPORT

TERMINAL C-22

Was delighted to find a Taco joint at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. Urban Taco is an award wining chain with several locations in Dallas. They claim to be "direct from Mexico City". I tried the Three Taco Plate with Beans and Rice ($9.99). Went for the Arrachera Steak, Chicken al Carbon and Chicken Tinga. Loved the Steak Taco best. You can really taste the marinade and flavors. The two different Chicken Tacos tasted about the same. Very good. Chips and Salsa will set you back $3.25. Served with your choice of salsas. I am a Taco guy and these are good tacos. Hope I have another layover in Terminal C real soon.

Taqueria

Al Pastor- rotisserie spit chile rubbed pork, roasted pineapple, guajillo piquin salsa, onions & cilantro 2.99
a la Tuma + 1.5
Arrachera Steak- adobo marinated steak, rajas, cilantro, guajillo piquin salsa & queso fresco 2.99
XX Amber Barbacoa - beer and chile braised tender beef, black bean & roasted
corn pico, pickled red onions 2.99
Ahi Tuna- guajillo pepper crusted ahi tuna,
pico de pina, cilantro & avocado lime crema 3.25
Chicken al Carbon- garlic mojo grilled chicken, tomatillo serrano salsa verde, manchego cheese
& pico de gallo 2.99
Chicken Tinga- adobo-spiked braised chicken
& potatoes, queso fresco & avocado lime crema 2.99
Pollo con Mole- savory chicken, homemade mole sauce, crema, pickled red onions & queso fresco 2.99 *mole sauce contains peanuts
Red Snapper- tomatillo serrano salsa verde, avocado lime crema & pico de gallo 3.25
Potato Zucchini- roasted potato & zucchini, crema, queso fresco, rajas, guajillo piquin salsa & cilantro 2.79
Roasted Corn Con Lime- guacamole, pico de gallo, queso fresco & cilantro 2.79
Carnitas DF- orange slow roasted pork, onions,2.25 cilantro & salsa roja

URBAN TACO

THREE TACOS WITH RICE AND BEANS.
CHICKEN al CARBON, CHICKEN TINGA AND ARRACHERA STEAK

STEAK TACO WAS MY FAVORITE

CHICKEN TINGA TACO

BEANS LOOKED TERRIBLE BUT WERE ACTUALLY GOOD

NOT YOUR NORMAL MEXICAN RICE

HOT SAUCE AND TOMATILLO SERRANO

COLTON'S STEAK HOUSE & GRILL - POPLAR BLUFF, MO

COLTON'S STEAK HOUSE

POPLAR BLUFF, MO

Had a great business lunch at Colton's Steak House in Poplar Bluff, MO. This multi State chain really delivered on food, price and service. The staff here is very friendly and no less than three different employees came by our table to ask if everything was o.k. Everyone here seemed to understand the importance of the customer. Very well managed. I went with a 6 oz Sirloin ($8.29). Served with your choice of side. I went for the Green Beans and was not disappointed. Probably the best Green Beans I have eaten in ages. Fresh, crisp and buttery good. My steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and delivered a smokey mesquite taste that was delicious. Great steak lunch for 8 bucks! Also enjoyed the bucket of salted peanuts served at every table. You can crack open the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor.

COLTON'S STEAK HOUSE & GRILL

COLTON'S IS CHAIN IN MIDWEST AND SOUTH

UNLIMITED SALTED PEANUTS ON EVERY TABLE.
CRACK THEM OPEN AND THROW SHELLS ON THE FLOOR

FRESHLY BAKED ROLLS WITH BUTTER AND HONEY

BEST $8 STEAK I HAVE EVER EATEN.
COOKED TO PERFECTION AND FULL OF FLAVOR

COLTON'S STEAK AND POTATO

JOE BUCK'S BBQ - ST. LOUIS, MO

JOE BUCK'S BBQ

ST. LOUIS, MO

Had some pretty forgettable BBQ at Joe Buck's in St. Louis. Our waiter was terrible. Started with the "Award Winning" Chicken Wings. Award Winning? These were bland and tasteless wings. Not even the hot sauce could save these wings. Had a waiter with the personality of a fly. Guy was just not all there. Loved the cornbread. Moist on the inside and a nice crunch on the top. The Brisket, Ribs and Pulled Pork were fair at best.