What about the food?

I've had so many people ask me where I ate in New Orleans, mostly those who are familiar with my "if it swims I don't eat it" mantra, that this morning as I'm going through my nifty @ your library ALA New Orleans conference bag I decided to look at the map and figure out just where I did eat! So, here goes:

• Palace Cafe - Canal Street (Sunday)
  After being disappointed, read turned away, after arriving without a reservation early Friday evening, a fellow library volunteer made reservations for Sunday evening and we dined happily amongst other confernce goers. The menu included many tasty items, some that were not fish, and made it difficult to choose. They were running a $25 dinner special that included salad/soup, main course, and dessert. I had the cafe spinach salad, a wonderful pork selection (not on the menu linked), and Ponchatoula Strawberry Shortcake.
• Bourbon House Seafood and Oyster Bar (Thursday)
  Yes, I was hesitant to go into a place as well known for it's seafood as this place is, but after looking at the menu posted outside it was an easy decision to make. Thursday evening I met a fellow Ohioan from Toledo Public Library and we had dinner here. The menu included a fabulous pepper encrusted pork entree with rice (it's not on the current dinner menu). I have to say it was the largest pork chop I had ever seen and cooked to absolute perfection. Our chipper server recommended dessert, a double chocolate brownie with homemade ice cream AND caramel sauce.
• Bourbon House Seafood and Oyster Bar (Friday)
  No, I am not repeating myself. I am repeating the restaurant. Different dinner companion and the same restaurant after we were unable to get into various establishments without a reservation. Our mistake. Remembering the yummy dessert, I planned to eat light and had a salad and fried eggplant for my entree. Oddly enough the chippper waiter from Thursday evening was our waiter again on Friday. I wasn't sure if I should be embarrassed that he recognized me from the previous evening (I was not at my best after traveling all day and wandering around in the 90+ degree heat) but he was as efficient as before. What about dessert? The second night I had chocolate chunk bread pudding. Divine.
• Le Cafe - Hotel Monteleone (Sunday)
  I decided Sunday morning that I would have breakfast at the hotel cafe. They run a great breakfast buffett, but I'm not that big a breakfast eater. The breakfast menu included some very tempting items, Plantation Cakes and Belgian Waffles, but I stuck with simple fare of eggs, bacon, and toast. The OJ was, naturally, fresh squeezed. It was a nice way to start off Sunday morning.
• Hotel Monteleone - ROOM SERVICE (Saturday)
  Unable to get into the Hunt Grill at the Hotel, probably a blessing in disguise since I was exhausted from meetings, my presentation, and the opening session, I decided to have a late room service dinner. Alas, I also wimped out and had a hamburger (yum). I did treat myself to dessert. They had banana's foster cheesecake. How could I resist.
• Cafe Beignet (Monday)
  At the risk of repeating myself, Monday morning I walked down to the Cafe Beignet to have a lucious order of beignet's for breakfast.
• Harbor Seafood & Oyster (Monday)
  This was the unscheduled restaurant stop Monday evening after the cancelled flight fiasco. Located less than a block from the hotel, this restaurant came highly recommended by the airport shuttle driver and the girl at the hotel desk. I had the roast beef po-boy - and - no dessert. Hey, I was tired and really just wanted a nap.

What about lunches and other breakfasts? It was hard to get away from the conference center craziness to do lunches so I often grabbed something quick from the venue vendors. It was basic conference food fare.

Tags: Palace Cafe, Bourbon House, Hotel Monteleone, Cafe Beignet, New Orleans, New Orleans Restaurants