Stanley

Stanley

547 Saint Ann Street

New Orleans, LA 70116

(504) 587-0093

We had some time on Friday morning to explore New Orleans before the exhibits officially started. There were a few places on my "visit" list that included Chef Scott Boswell's restaurant, who also operates Stella! (don't you love it? Stanley and Stella!).

Stanley is at the north east corner of Jackson Square, there's tarot card readings, caricature drawings, city tours, and music.

Seat with a view!

There's a great view no matter where you sit. I really love how there are big, tall windows in most restaurants here. Come on in natural light!

I had a tough time choosing what to get, everything sounded good. When it came time to order, I asked for the Breaux Bridge Benedict and the server cheered. An excellent pick!

Isn't it pretty? I love the plating of my breakfast. Charlie T’s Boudin, smoked ham, American cheese, poached eggs (I love poached eggs), and creole hollandaise. YUMMY!!! And you can see that there are hot sauces on the table too.

Howard got a burger for breakfast. Yes, this is normal for him (rolling my eyes). Please meet the Big Stanley: grilled 10oz. certified Angus burger with two slices of American cheese, three strips of smoked bacon, Stanley special sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions, mustard, and ketchup.

A wonderful place to have breakfast/brunch if you're in town. We highly recommend it, and make sure you also check out the po-boys there!

A view of Jackson Square from the river side.

Gumbo Shop

Gumbo Shop

630 Saint Peter Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 525-1486

For our first day in New Orleans, we didn't have any plans aside from setting up our booth at ALA. We were all pretty hungry as our flights had taken up the whole morning and we didn't have lunch. We had checked into Hotel Monteleone and started walking through the French Quarters in search of creole food. That's when we found the Gumbo Shop.

I was lured in by the beautiful garden courtyard, but since it was very warm and humid, we decided to sit inside. The dining room is in a 1795 building with high ceilings and murals along the wall. Some of the scenes are from Mardi Gras and the French Market.

We also noticed that the condiments on each table included Tabasco Sauce, creole seasoning, and perfect pepper blend. While not every restaurant has their own seasonings, we soon learned that most restaurants include Tabasco sauce. If you would like ketchup, you'll have to ask!

To start, we asked the server to recommend an appetizer. He told us that the blackened fish nuggets were his favourite, so we tried it! It instantly became our favourite dish from the entire meal. The seasoning and flavours were bold and delicious.

I had ordered the "complete creole dinner" so I chose the chicken andouille gumbo to start. This was also very good. I believe Howard's exact words were "I could have this gumbo every day."

Howard's entree was the crawfish etouffee. This was crawfish tails simmered in a spicy sauce of onion, bell peppers, celery, garlic, and cayenne pepper - served with rice.

My entree was the creole combination platter which included shrimp creole (top), jambalaya (middle), with red beans and rice (bottom).

For dessert, I had the incredibly rich chocolate brownie pie. The chocolate sauce was warm and gooey and the vanilla ice cream really hit the spot.

Look at that brownie!

Howard didn't pick a dessert (he was quite full already), but my colleague picked the praline sundae. I just had to take a photo of the roasted pralines and caramel sauce - yum!

The service and hospitality here was full of spirit and the casual atmosphere made this dining experience a great start to our trip!