Dining in NOLA: Willa Jean, Toups Meatery, Restaurant August, Commander's Palace

Willa Jean

Besides a planned anniversary weekend in New Orleans, I also took a spur of the moment trip to see Chris Stapleton with one of my girlfriends on Thursday. We left Lafayette too late to eat before the concert and it was too late to do anything but grab a burger at the Hyatt afterwards. But on Friday morning, we managed to get to Willa Jean for breakfast.

My friend had the Willa Jean Breakfast:




I had the avocado toast. I was trying not to eat anything over the top, because I knew I was heading back to New Orleans on Saturday. This was a good choice. (But a look at those baked goods on the way out of the place ... )



Couldn't finish it all. This was left behind.


I'd love to go again for their lunch menu. And some pastries. :)


Toups Meatery

Due to the fact that our Saturday night dinner reservation for Restaurant August was at 5:15, we had to have an early lunch, so we showed up at Toups Meatery promptly as it opened, at 11:00 am. It was a beautiful day and I should have requested a table outside, but I didn't, mostly because they seated us near the kitchen and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Isaac.

Not long after we ordered, he walked by! I stopped him to congratulate him on his excellent showing on Top Chef. He introduced himself to us (duh) and was very friendly. blah blah blah *fangirl*

My husband had the Chef's Lunch: Boudin, Burger, & Beer (I forgot to take a pic of the beer. This ain't the FBD thread, ya know.)

The boudin was very good. Perfectly seasoned. My husband loved the pork and beef burger and was surprised by how much he liked the pickled squash on the burger.






I've never had foie gras before, so I HAD to try it. Wow. Buttery, rich, decadent. I WILL HAVE FOIE GRAS AGAIN!! Of this, I am certain. The fig & date loaf on the bottom right was a treat, as well.




Gulf Seafood Couvillon with crab fat rice - I must admit that it was the "crab fat rice" in the description that drew me to this dish, but it was the rich and intense stock of the couvillon (courtbouillon) that was the star. I would've been happy with just a bowl of the stock and some good bread for sopping.


I would've ordered the meatery board above all else, but my husband wasn't interested and it's too much food for one (as far as I can tell from pictures). I want to go again and try a few more things. Mostly, all of the small plates.


Restaurant August

Wow. People on this board didn't overhype. My best restaurant experience, ever. Such attentive service! We felt pampered and indulged. I can't say enough. Our server was very informative, helpful, friendly. The food wasn't too shabby, either.

We both chose a drink called a Darkly Stormy. Rum and ginger beer and some other good stuff. Would drink again.

A surprise amuse bouche: (I wish I could recall the details of the description.) There are tiny potato chips on top of a spinach mousse and some kind of potato on the bottom. It was very amoosing to my mouth!!





This. Right here. THIS. My favorite bites of the weekend. Handmade potato gnocchi tossed with blue crab and black truffle. Bring it to my mouf. The server egged me on when I wanted to use bread to get up every last bit. Bad server!


My husband's Wagyu Hangar Steak:


My roasted duckling. Duck, two ways. Roasted breast and duck confit. Duck confit tastes like MOAR!!!! (Another new experience, which bears repeating.)


Yes, yes, I am this damn old. Hush.
(Coconut rice pudding with hot cocoa, crispy meringues and earl grey tea)


And then even more good stuff. I could use a dozen of those macarons about now. Too bad I'm back to low carbing tomorrow.



Commander's Palace

It's Gris Gris's fault that I ordered two things from the first course side and skipped the dessert. In hindsight, I wish I'd skipped the entree and kept with the two first course choices and a dessert. Next time.

Anyway, I knew she'd recommended the shrimp and tasso henican, so I wanted to be sure to get that. But then I saw that there was gnocchi, and it was so good at Restaurant August, I wanted to compare, so I was torn. So I got both.

The shrimp and tasso dish is a work of art!!! And delicious, too. Again with the sopping. I used a little garlic bread to get some extra pepper jelly.



If I'd never had the gnocchi from August, this would've been divine. Instead, it was only excellent.


My husband's favorite of the weekend:


My crawfish cakes with poached eggs: By this time, I was pretty much done with rich food. I took two bites and had them pack it up. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Nothing wrong with the dish, I just over ordered.


My husband ate every bite of the bread pudding souffle (except for the one bite I had). He deemed it excellent.



Great weekend. I'm making progress on my NOLA restaurant list. When I made the reservations, both August and Commander's Palace asked if we were celebrating a special occasion, and both places helped to make it an event.

(I will probably be editing this post as I remember things or need to correct things.)