Trip report: Heaven on 7
trent
lunch about 3. Uncrowded and not busy. We sat down for a couple of
Voodoo Lagers, which are one malt away from being malt liquor, while we
waited for the latecomers.
We split a Hoppin' John to start, and started to sample the heat. One
of the 'Hot Buns' sauces won the first round. In general they're pretty
generic, but the one we liked used apple vinegar instead of water.
Corn Chowder was next- superior, as usual.
Had some Gumbo (Gombo) as well, since it was included. It was good, but
not great.
Next we had Crawfish Etouffe stuffed Chile Rellenos, the server set the
last one aside for us when he heard us mention it. This might be the
best single dish I've ever had there, it is *highly* recommended. The
poblano was spicy enough to not require much extra heat. It was too
fally-aparty for dippin' but it didn't matter.
Main course, the old standby, Chicken Fried Steak- I saw it in the food
guide on Thursday (orthodox food-guide day) and had to have one. We set
up a hot-sauce dippin' plate, my favorite for the main course was a
Melinda's blend, a yellow spicy mustard-based sauce.
Food was excellent, and I found a new favorite. The service was the
best I've ever had. Grand Salami.
trent
mike
Get over it. It's real great food.
Paul in Uptown/Edgewater wrote in message
<36200f3b...@gail.ripco.com>...
<New Orleans Expert Tourist Pedantry snipped>
>Paul
trent
>
> trent <tr...@wwaXXX.com> wrote:
>
> >we had Crawfish Etouffe stuffed Chile Rellenos,
>
>
> >Main course, the old standby, Chicken Fried Steak
>
>
> I've still not heard anything about Ho7 which will lead me to go there
> to renew my memories of the food experience that can be had in only
> one place: Nawlins.
>
> All reports to this group seem to laud Ho7, and while the food there
> might be good, I hope those of you who have been there don't walk away
> thinking that you've experienced what Cajun Country has to offer.
>
> You can't BELIEVE the food in that area.
Let's see, I've been to NO many times, the food IS great.
By your model K-paul's, Galatoire's, Com-Pal would never innovate.
Chicken Fried Steak not on the menu in NO,
maybe not at McDonalds.
Ho7 works the same way that Paul Bocuse- stretching the limits of French
food, the fact that he's in France is immaterial. BTW, you CAN have an
authentic Cajun experience at Ho7- you wouldn't know that, having not
been. Having been there quite a few times I am free to experiment with
Cajun treatments of non-Cajun foods, Poblanos f'rinstance.
The Ho7 trads have been reviewed here ad-infinitum, I wouldn't even have
posted if I had gone there for an oyster po'boy (unless it had a pearl
int it). Maybe Ho7 will start cooking Nutria, since it's TRULY Cajun.
BTW, please DON'T go to Ho7, it's busy enough w/o you.
trent
Daniel Sniderman
Nola's? Most of what is on that menu you won't find anywhere else in that
town. Jimmy Bannos' first interest in food was southern cooking - not
necessarily Cajun cooking. New Orleans purist also always complain about
the shrimp dishes being served over pasta - you won't find that in New
Orleans either. The Bannos know their market - and what Chicago customers
are looking for. I always order those dishes over rice..
The question is - did you like the meal and have a good dining experience?
Personally, it's my favorite restaurant in Chicago...
BTW - if you are interested in more "traditional" New Orleans - down homey
kind of food - do not fail to check out Old Orleans in Evanston (they also
have killer Ribs and Rib -tips...)
Dan Sniderman
Paul in Uptown/Edgewater wrote in message
<36200f3b...@gail.ripco.com>...
>trent <tr...@wwaXXX.com> wrote:
>
>>we had Crawfish Etouffe stuffed Chile Rellenos,
>
>Huh? This one ain't on any menu in Nawlins. I'd bet money on it.
>
>>Main course, the old standby, Chicken Fried Steak
>
>Nor is that one. In Texas maybe, but not in Nawlins.
>
>I've still not heard anything about Ho7 which will lead me to go there
>to renew my memories of the food experience that can be had in only
>one place: Nawlins.
>
>All reports to this group seem to laud Ho7, and while the food there
>might be good, I hope those of you who have been there don't walk away
>thinking that you've experienced what Cajun Country has to offer.
>
>You can't BELIEVE the food in that area.
>
>Can't even imagine it.
>
>Paul
mike
Daniel Sniderman wrote in message <6vqmag$qoi$1...@supernews.com>...
>necessarily Cajun cooking. New Orleans purist also always complain about
>the shrimp dishes being served over pasta - you won't find that in New
>Orleans either.
Hey Dan,
Good point about the pasta, although Emeril does feature
pasta/shrimp/crawfish dishes on his menu.
Seems to me that the NOLA "purists" are the people who don't live there but
visit frequently and want everyone to know about it. Seems there's very
little to do with the way food actually tastes!
Jim Mensch
- New Orleans isn't IN "Cajun Country"
- "Nawlins" is tourist-talk
- You can find almost any conceivable dish somewhere in N.O.
- Ho7 is a fine restaurant. Just say "Feed me Jimmy" and you'll find out.
$0.02, over.
--
Jim Mensch <j-me...@uchicago.edu>
"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" -Steven Wright
Nasri
Chicken Fried Steak is VERY common in Cajun Country, in the Basin area.
Don't know about it in NO, but from Thibodeaux North to Baton Rouge and
from Baton Rouge to Lafayette ... Chicken Fied Steak is a tradition
On Sun, 11 Oct 1998, Paul in Uptown/Edgewater wrote:
> trent <tr...@wwaXXX.com> wrote:
>
> >we had Crawfish Etouffe stuffed Chile Rellenos,
>
> Huh? This one ain't on any menu in Nawlins. I'd bet money on it.
>
> >Main course, the old standby, Chicken Fried Steak
>
> Nor is that one. In Texas maybe, but not in Nawlins.
>
> I've still not heard anything about Ho7 which will lead me to go there
> to renew my memories of the food experience that can be had in only
> one place: Nawlins.
>
> All reports to this group seem to laud Ho7, and while the food there
> might be good, I hope those of you who have been there don't walk away
> thinking that you've experienced what Cajun Country has to offer.
>
> You can't BELIEVE the food in that area.
>
> Can't even imagine it.
>
> Paul
>
>
Nasri
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Nasri
Completely agree with you. I'm working now in Plaquemine, about 65 mi.
North of New Orleans. we have a lot of folks from the true cajun areas of
the basin. I had their homemade food, I've had the food at the local hole
in the walls around here, and I still haven't found better Jambalaya or
Gumbo in NO. Besides, most of the NO cooking is rather Creole, not Cajun.
In here thay say that the difference between a Cajun Gumbo and a Creole
Gumbo, is that in the creole gumbo you can see the bottom of the cup.
Cajun food, is hard to find in the touristic areas of NO. I just had my
best Gumbo in New Iberia at their annual Gumbo fest ... more than 50 or so
Gumbos to try ... most of them just heavenly !!
If you want come to LA, and want to try a true taste of Cajun food, go to
Hymel's by the Sunshine Bridge (not too many people in NO know about it),
or make sure you schedule it during a good festival, like Festival des
Acadiens in Lafayette, Crawfish Fest in Breaux Bridge, or the Gumbo fest
in New Iberia ...
Laissez les bon temps rouler ...
Nasri
david raoul derbes
>
>Daniel Sniderman wrote in message <6vqmag$qoi$1...@supernews.com>...
>>necessarily Cajun cooking. New Orleans purist also always complain about
>>the shrimp dishes being served over pasta - you won't find that in New
>>Orleans either.
Then you're not looking very hard.
I grew up in Old Metairie, about five minutes' drive from both Veterans
and Airline Highway. Sclafani's on Causeway Boulevard was one of the
standard Sunday restaurants my family would go to after church, as was
Delerno's off Metairie Road. *Both* places (admittedly, both Italian)
had shrimp on fettucine. Delerno's specialized in crawfish, and they
had several crawfish-pasta dishes. Very tasty. This was forty years
ago (sigh...).
Pasta is basically the same as rice, and if you think shrimp and rice
are a bad combination, what the hell are you doin' eatin' Creole
food?!
Copelands (started by the guy that started Popeye's) is a sort of
generic New Orleans diner, not quite as ubiquitous as Popeye's,
but they always have shrimp-pasta dishes.
Good cooking is always going to be organic, mutable, and evolving.
What I grew up with in my mother's kitchen is probably very different
from the cooking of my grandmother (though she taught my Arkansas
born mother to cook), and wildly different from what my younger
cousins still in New Orleans cook. C'est la vie.
Classic dishes change, even if they aren't supposed to.
Anyway, was the Oysters Rockefeller recipe appended to the stone
tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai?
(well, OK, maybe I'll give you the oysters... but certainly *not*
blackened redfish... :-)
Point is, these things were invented, and let's hope creative and
gifted cooks continue to try things out.
>Hey Dan,
>Good point about the pasta, although Emeril does feature
>pasta/shrimp/crawfish dishes on his menu.
>
>Seems to me that the NOLA "purists" are the people who don't live there but
>visit frequently and want everyone to know about it. Seems there's very
>little to do with the way food actually tastes!
I don't care about "purity"; I care about the full experience of eating,
preferably with a bottle and at least one friend.
David Derbes [lo...@midway.uchicago.edu]
Daniel Sniderman
Cajun/Creole/Southern cooking by becoming a regular at Heaven on Seven for
many years when I worked in the Loop. I love the food there and the
restaurant...
I've been to NO about five or six times - so I can't claim to be any sort of
expert on the "authenticity" of NO cooking... I've seen about a dozen or so
posts over the years in chi.eats where people like to "dis-" Heaven's
authenticity and just about EVERY one of them always raises the pasta
issue...
I may not be an expert on the authenticity of the cuisine - but I know what
is good food and I know what I like!
Thanks Again!
Dan
david raoul derbes wrote in message ...
>In article <6vtc2i$ok9$1...@hirame.wwa.com>, mike <mrm...@wwa.com> wrote:
>>
>>Daniel Sniderman wrote in message <6vqmag$qoi$1...@supernews.com>...
>>>necessarily Cajun cooking. New Orleans purist also always complain about
>>>the shrimp dishes being served over pasta - you won't find that in New
>>>Orleans either.
>
>Then you're not looking very hard.
>
>I grew up in Old Metairie, about five minutes' drive from both Veterans
>and Airline Highway. Sclafani's on Causeway Boulevard was one of the
<snip>
Leah Zeldes
> Anyway, was the Oysters Rockefeller recipe appended to the stone
> tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai?
Nsh. Oysters aren't kosher. :)
Leah Z