Headed down to nola last week with the wife for a day or so.....had a great time. Weather was fabulous.

Had planned to hit Johnny Sanchez 2 weeks ago, but didnt make it. We went thursday for lunch....were the 1st ones in the restrnt and promptly seated. Decor inside the restrnt is pretty cool. I read that Aarrron' wanted folks to step into Mexico City upon entering.....I wouldnt go that far, but a cool joint.

Waiter made several suggestions....wife was not happy when I told her she was gonna get try some grasshoppers. I was fired up....... Waiter said, "Man, Im sorry to bust your bubble....but we are out. I looked at my wife thinkin she had called the joint to make sure I was told this. NOPE. Out of Crickets. Never had a hankerin for CRICKETs...but was gonna eat them. We got the guac anyway and it was very good. I read a poster here say they did not think it was anything special, but we really liked it. We also ordered habanero ceviche upon the waiters suggestion. It was solid ceviche as well. Had a little bite and was not sweet/fruity. I dont like mangos, oranges, or sugar in my ceviche.

Their chips and salsa were pretty good...nothing special. The darker salsa on the right was preferred by my wife and i - it was a thick smoked verde type salsa. Waiter brought us some fried plantains with it as well....thats a nice combo.

GUACAMOLE - avocado, lime, pico de gallo, cilantro
SHRIMP CEVICHE - grilled habanero vinaigrette, pickled onion

For our meal, we chose tacos....

Wife chose: PESCADO
beer-battered gulf snapper, chipotle, avocado cabbage, jalapeño vinaigrette

They were pretty good. Wish they would grill that fish. The sauce that accompanied was a rich pink cream .... excellent.

I chose: CABRITO

slow-roasted goat, pickled cactus, tomatillo salsa, queso fresco

Odd deal...one of the tacos was super moist and delicious, and one was pretty dry. Dunno. Good flavor tho. I will try them again. Wish you could mix and match tacos.

Overall I like the joint. Alot of items on the menu I want to try. The waiters are educated and adequate. I will go back...probably on my next multi-day in NOLA.

Thursday afternoon were went looking for a light snack.....unlike some other posters "snacks" - we meant a light bite! Ha. Headed to Domenica. Their happy hour was almost over, so we grabbed a couple vinos and a light app. We were going to see Jeremy Davenport play after the snack, before dinner....wife considered getting a pizza and taking the remaining to his band (family), but decided against it. We had the fried kale and some chianti. The kale was awesome.

FRIED TUSCAN KALE - pine nuts, tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano

Chianti -

Dinner. I really dont want to go into this. My wife won a $100 gift certificate to Emerils. I was not too overjoyed, but what the heck...there are worst places to dine. Emerils used to be top notch, but now i view it just like Mothers....a tourist trap. Sad, but reality. Thursday night did nothing to change that opinion. We had 7pm reservations. When we were sat and greeted by our waitress....it was apparent she was waiting on 2 8tops and 2 2tops. She didnt spend much time with us.

Wife ordered the Andouille Crusted Drum. It was good. She enjoyed.
ANDOUILLE CRUSTED DRUM
Grilled Local Vegetables, Shoestring Potatoes, Glazed Pecans, Creole Meuniére

I am usually a special guy in restrnts...but the special they were serving thursday night did not sound appealing atall. The waitress talked me into:
ANCHO GLAZED TWO RUN FARM STRIP STEAK
Veal Cheek Enchiladas, Salsa Fresca, Poblano Sauce

I knew better to 1) order a steak being the meat snob that i am and 2) order enchiladas at emerils. That said, the waitress talked me into it...and if your gonna put it on the menu and push it - its probably a winner.

I ordered it Medium Rare. It came Well Done. I tried the veal cheek enchilada, and it was pretty good. It took the waitress quite a while to come back to the table. When she returned, she saw a steak cut at the end and thru the middle....all gray. My wife was eating and I was not. She said she would have them rush me another at medium rare. I told her that rare was ok, just have the cook sear it and send it to me.

10 min later she said it would be 2 more minutes. 10 more minutes and my wife was done.....the manager came by and said it would be a couple more minutes. I said it was no big deal, just bring me the check. My wife was done and we were ready to leave. He asked if he could send it with me in a to go box. Really? I understand some might want that....but dont ask people that, let them ask you. I left without dinner.

Friday lunch was mucho better. Peche was on the docket and I told my bride, since I had not eaten dinner...I was gonna eat alot for lunch. Gotta admit, its not arse class, but its alot for me.

Curry Mussels: Awesome. 1st time i had these. I could have poured that curry cream on just about anything

Grilled Chicken with White BBQ Sauce: I get this every single time i go. Im addicted. Its great.

Lamb Skewers: Good app. Almost like a lamb sausage.

Wife ordered the Fresh Fish Special:
Grilled Tuna with Olive Salad & Mustard Greens

I tried a bite or 2...it was good. Appreared overpowered with olives, but they were light. Good dish.

I ordered my meal from the raw bar.....

Marinated Purple Onion Blue Crab Claws

Dozen Louisiana Gulf Oysters

As I figured, Johnny Sanchez and Peche - thumbs up
Emeril - Nope.

This post was edited on 10/27/14 at 5:57 pm