Ottawa Foodies

Monster Road Trip [General]

2011 Aug 24

We're about to start our annual MONSTER ROAD TRIP. This year we're loosely following the Mississippi form New Orleans to Chicago over two weeks. We'll be blogging every day. Does anyone have any "can't miss" suggestions for places to eat?

More info in the post:
happymouth.ca

blubarry

2011 Aug 25

I can offer suggestions at both ends.

New Orleans: Bon Ton cafe www.thebontoncafe.com/ - have a rum ramsey. Only one person alive knows how to make them. Great softshell crabs too.

Also Mothers which has great fried oyster poboys. www.mothersrestaurant.net/

If you are heading out to tour the plantations, just about any roadside shack with a lot of trucks parked outside is a safe bet.

Cafe du Monde is on everyone's list for cafe au lait and beignets, but a great place that is off the tourist track is Morning Call in Metairie www.morningcallcoffeestand.com

Chicago:
Burt's place - Morton Grove, north of the city
www.urbanspoon.com We saw this place on "No reservations" and definitely worth a trip. Burt is the guy who invented deep dish pizza, and has given it to all the places he worked in Chicago who now claim to have the best. But if you drive up to his place you won't be disappointed. He and his wife run it, and you need to make a reservation, because he can only cook two pizzas at a time. When we were there we saw people come in to order takeout and he'd tell them to come and pick it up in THREE HOURS, because he has such a limited capacity. I don't think it will be around much longer, so give it a try.

We also loved Jose Garces' Mercat la Planxa in the Blackstone Hotel. www.mercatchicago.com High energy tapas style place with amazing food and really interesting cocktails. Bonus is that because they are in a hotel they serve amazing breakfasts too.

Frontera Grill is well known but also worth the almost 2 hour wait. www.rickbayless.com
It's Rick Bayless' flagship restaurant and has an active bar scene. I think of his tamarind margaritas often and the food is really top notch. The sauces are so complex and unlike anything I've had anywhere else. Loved the duck and the various fish. Picture is of Cazuela of pork. If you don't want to wait, he serves the best food court fare anywhere at Frontera fresca in the food court at Macy's (formerly Marshall Fields).

You definitely need to get some Garrett's popcorn, chicago mix.
www.garrettpopcorn.com/
It's a mixture of cheese corn and nutty caramel corn and it needs to be eaten right away. They are all over town, and there's an outlet at O'Hare which makes it great for the flight back to Ottawa.

Chicago Curry House in the south loop has the best Indian food in town, and I love their cherry stuffed Kashmiri Naan.
www.curryhouseonline.com/

At Macy's on State Street there is an old wood panelled dining room called The Walnut Room www.visitmacyschicago.com Its menu is a throwback: meatloaf, chicken pot pie etc., but it's the kind of old fashioned dept. store dining room experience that doesn't exist any more.

If you were starting in Chicago and heading to NOLA, I'd also tell you to try Heaven on 7 www.heavenonseven.com
It's curiously located on the 7th floor of a high rise office tower, and their cajun specialties are quite good, but definitely not as good as what you'll find in NOLA.

I look forward to hearing about all the places you'll find in between.