The allure of Mandina’s

I've always had average meals there.

My dad loves the place. Hits them up for the liver and onions.

I went there for the first time back in 82 or so. I’ve never been wowed by the food but I do stop there every time I am in town for red beans and an old fashioned

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Or is it one of those places (like Moscas) that’s popularity is based largely on nostalgia?

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I'm with you on Mandina's, never been a big fan. But I'll happily make the trek to Mosca's.

There are dishes at Mandina's I enjoy. They're not the best out there, but they're good. I like the nostalgia and neighborhood feel. When I was in school, we would sometimes go on Saturday afternoons when the old regulars were there BSing at the bar. They used to serve seafood stuffed mushrooms only on Saturdays and we liked those. I don't know if they have them anymore.

The last time I ate there I had some of the best fried oysters I've had in a long time. I like the poboys there, as well. I love the warm crab claws. Also, the soft shell crab.

I like the place.

I like it too. I try to go on Thursdays because they have brucciloni then. The red gravy with that dish is out of this world. Long slow cooking gives it a very tasty sauce.

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What’s so great about it?

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Who ever claimed it "great"? It is what it is and pretty much what it's always been. In other words, it has its place, but that's never been seen as something "great" by anyone that I'm aware of.

IDK, man - I've seen it talked about quite a bit on here, usually in a very positive way, and I just don't see anything all that special about it. I mean, I have some places that I used to frequent in my younger days that I think are great that I'm sure some of you wouldn't get, either. Heck, Mandina's was even mentioned in the recent "Top 6 Restaurants in New Orleans" thread. That's just ridiculous.

That information is in the thread not far below this one.

LINK /

You can read the report on this site as well. It shows that in April, for example, those critical violations were corrected on site.

LINK

This was my Top 6

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6 Best:
Commander's
Brigtsen's
Clancy's
Brennan's
Coquette
Compere Lapin

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Dude you had a fricking bbq joint in your top 6

That’s fine, I’m all about “to each his own,” but why is it ok for him to criticize my list, but I can’t say anything about his? He’s just mad because I don’t like Mosca’s. I’ll just say that about 15 years ago my gf & I went to New Orleans to visit a friend for the weekend, and had no clue where he was taking us to eat. Friday night we went to Mosca’s. The next night we went to Sal and Judy’s. It was like comparing a high school football player to an all-pro. Not only that, S&J was cheaper. Went back to Mosca’s a few years ago to try it again - the crab salad, the oysters, the chicken, and all the other hyped “must-haves” I was told - and once again, it was merely OK. That’s what solidified my belief that much of its hype - like Mandina’s - is nostalgia. I find both to be average places, or maybe slightly above average, whose admirers have a lot of fond memories of. And there's nothing wrong with that.