Happy Thanksgiving! In the spirit of delicious food....

One of the obvious highlights of New Orleans is the food. Oh the food. I would have carried an extra, external stomach around me to fill if it was socially acceptable.  So I went to Emeril's twice for lunch, because it was good and super close to the convention center.

A 3 course lunch is $22.50, which I'm sure sounds pricey if you are used to cheap food, but since DC is expensive (and adds a 10% tax, cough), $22.50 sounded just about right for 3 courses.

The highlights?  Let's start with an oyster bacon bisque (above). Creamy, tender oysters (I hate chewy oysters in soup), thick bacon with obviously lots of fat, a touch of corn, and I'm sure pounds of cream and butter. So good.

Also delicious was the bucatini nero with gulf shrimp. Bucatini is a hollow noodle, and this was black, so I'm assuming it was made with squid ink as I'm not sure how else you can get noodles that pitch night color. The noodles were good, but the highlight was the delicious sauce, gulf shrimp, and of course, the local chanterelles. Have I mentioned I just love chanterelles? I need to start looking for them...maybe for a risotto?

The crème brulee was good--nothing wrong with it at all, but I'm more of a savory person and would have had another bowl of soup. Nonetheless, I of course finished the whole dish. That caramelized sugar on top just makes me keep eating. 

Can you really go to New Orleans without some gumbo? Of course not, and Emeril's was offering an Andouille/seafood combo. Flavor was absolutely perfect, though the shrimp were just a touch mushy for my liking--though I realize it's hard to keep shrimp unmushy in gumbo which needs to simmer all day. The Andouille was really flavorful. I need to try my hand at gumbo making at home...

Finally, an angel hair pasta with many delicious crawfish and smoked mushrooms really topped it off.  I am usually not a pasta person in restaurants, but I really wanted crawfish and the rest of the ingredients were too delectable to pass up. There actually was just a handful of pasta, and it paired nicely with the crawfish and other items.

If you are in to fancy cocktails, with creative twists, there are plenty of offerings. A seasonal pumpkin spice martini looked delectable, but I stuck to beer as I didn't need any extra sugar after the beignets at Café du Monde.

I really need to get back to New Orleans for more food, pronto. I also didn't have time to go to the World War II Museum, which I haven't been to for about 15 years or so.

Where is your favorite place to eat in New Orleans?