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Dinner in New Orleans

a plate of food on a table

Luke

Fairly priced, affordable wine list

The first night I arrived, we popped across the street from the Intercontinental to Chef Besh’s Luke restaurant housed in the Hilton. It was 6PM on a Saturday evening and busy but not full.

We got a seat in the back and shortly thereafter our bread arrived swaddled in a napkin. The perfect start to a comfort meal! Especially since the butter was soft.

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The menu had a range of options, from small plates at $9 to entrees ranging from $13-$28, not bad for a New Orleans restaurant at this level. The wine list had a nice affordable array, although heavy on French wines, with which I’m least familiar. The bottles were reasonable and I wasn’t crazy about the by the glass options, so we decided to get a bottle. Our first 3 choices for bubbly were out of stock, so we ordered a bottle of Puydeval Vin de Pays d’Oc Cabernet Franc.

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Comfort beverage secured and bread demolished, we went for some basic options. The Luke Burger and the Croque Monsieur.

The burger is a huge 10oz and well worth the $16.50.

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My Croque Monsieur was a bargain at $13, well coated and toasted in rich cheese and ham. So rich, it was easy to pass up the tempting frites that were included.

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Our waitress was friendly, but we felt a bit rushed when she asked if we wanted the check only half way through our bottle of wine. It got busier by 8PM so when we were ready to go it took a little while to catch her attention. If you do have evening plans, be sure to ask for the check well in advance of when you need to leave. Fortunately my only rush was to get back to the Intercontinental before I fell asleep 🙂

Mother’s Restaurant

Good value; good but not amazing food

The next night we debated on going to a super nice restaurant but couldn’t resist trying out the more affordable and old-school Mother’s Restaurant featuring the World’s Best Baked Ham. You grab your menu on the way in, and apparently you then get in line for the cash register (which we didn’t realize til we had sat down at an empty table for 5 minutes).

The building is small and seating is limited though, given it’s popularity, so you might want to have one person hold down a table while the rest order.

The menu offered a tempting array of southern creole foods, but of course we had to go for something fried!

My friend got the fresh fried chicken, 4 big pieces cooked to order with potato salad, fries, and a biscuit. Some of the chicken was perfect, the other pieces a little dry. The breading was light and crispy though.

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I went with the seafood platter – catfish, shrimp, and oysters – with sides of turnip greens and cabbage (cooked in world famous baked ham). While I’d probably have been happy with the dish in DC, I was a little disappointed. It tasted fresh, but as if it had been fried an hour earlier and sat for awhile.

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We resisted the urge to try the “Famous Bloody Mary†and headed off to Tommy’s Wine Bar.

Drinks in New Orleans
In Search of Praline Bacon
Labor Day Brunch in New Orleans
Hotel Review: Intercontinental New Orleans
Getting from the Airport to Downtown New Orleans 

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Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle mileage runs, elite status, and of course–the perfect travel accessories

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