joefontenot/blog » Man Lunch

Willie Mae’s

jOe — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:46:22 +0000

If you’re from New Orleans you’ve undoubtedly heard of Willie Mae’s, one of the cities seminal, neighborhood restaurants. As a matter of fact after being badly damaged from Hurricane Katrina, many of the local, well-known chefs helped pitch in to restore and bring it back to life. As I was sitting in the corner table I noticed the stark contrast between the old walls that look they must have survived the first flood and the new home-depot 12×12 tile flooring. Don’t get me wrong–I’m not complaining. These small dichotomies are usually what I remember about places like this. Oh, and the food. With a little salt the beans and rice were wonderful. Not that hard to mess up, but I’ve been victimized a few times. And, since I wasn’t sure when I’d be back there again, I would have felt remiss without trying the fried chicken. After all, some food channel critic did rate their fried chicken the best in the country. Go figure.

P.S. Don’t eat the crackers. I think they’ve been open for a very long time.

MAN-LUNCH? Is that you?

jOe — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:51:26 +0000

An Old Man-Lunch Favorite: Taqueria Corona

jOe — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:23:50 +0000

Best tacos [almost] ever!

Rating: 5/5

Taqueria Corona has absolutely wonderful tacos. Okay, I can’t say they’re the best and leave it at that, because I’m really too afraid to commit on that kind of level. I’ve heard the other stuff is good too, but I just can’t help ordering tacos when I go.

Side note: I did try a burrito once. It was good, but it was the size of a small bus. I didn’t know what to do when they brought it out: eat it or take pictures.

I took pictures.

Taqueria Corona has sort of been the go-to for Man-Lunch when we really can’t think of anywhere else. It’s not too small, but it always gets packed around lunch time. It’s on Magazine between Eleanor and State, so it’s only a minute from the office.

I don’t have any Mexican friends, but if I did, I think they would tell me, “this place is pretty good.”

(That would be an exact quote.)

Man-Lunch: Rivershack Tavern

jOe — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:57:19 +0000

With the catch phrase, “Home of the Tacky Ashtray,” how could we pass this up?

Rating: 4/5

Map:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=3449+River+Rd,+New+Orleans,+LA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=52.152749,66.09375&ie=UTF8&z=17&iwloc=A

The food wasn’t bad. I had a burger with extra carbon. But what really gave it 4 stars was the combination of the Road House feel and bar stools with people legs. I always enjoys the residents patrons who shake the hand of the bar tender as they leave (as if to say, I’ll be in 30, keep my chair).

What was it missing? Other than a blind guy in a cage playing Angel Eyes,

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ Guy Fieri rated the Turtle Soup as the best thing on the menu. Waitress: “Uh, the chef just kind of makes what he wants when he feels like it.” So, Guy might have been right, but we’ll never know.

Man-Lunch: Mona's

jOe — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:05:15 +0000

Henry @ Nirvana. (Indian's been better)

jOe — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:40:53 +0000

Jack's new car and some Man-Lunch to boot

jOe — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:55:27 +0000

MAN-LUNCH with my camera phone

jOe — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:28:55 +0000

Back on schedule with…MAN-LUNCH!

jOe — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:39:02 +0000

Man-Lunch

jOe — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:51:22 +0000