Emeril's Delmonico - New Orleans

Photo Credit: ZIM Instagram.

With way over a thousand restaurants, I’ve known New Orleans to be a hub for spectacular food and an authentic cuisine. This weekend, the Big Easy didn’t let down. I visited several several restaurants, among them Drago’s and Landry’s Seafood House (for which you can find pictures on ZIM’s Instagram! Click here). However, one jewel stood among them, Emeril’s Delmonico. This particular restaurant has been standing in St. Charles Avenue for over 120 years, but was acquired a few years back by Emeril Lagasse, renowned American chef. I was aware Delmonico was considered practically an icon, still standing in the same corner throughout the years, but I didn’t think it would stand out in my mind amid so much good food. One visit, however, soon changed that. Let me start off by saying, this is the type of restaurant for which you want to make sure you have a good appetite. It’s the type of place where you want to have enough space to order appetizers, an entrée, and desert. And I’m absolutely serious. There are so many things to choose from, the more you can try the better! I began my meal with Louisiana Crawfish Beignets. They were three small balls of a mix of ground and thick chunks of crawfish, fried on the outside, topped with thin slices of red onion and laid on a bed of avocado (see side picture). For the main dish, I had the Gulf Fish of the Day,

Photo Credit: ZIM Instagram.

which for me was a Red Snapper. It was topped with three shrimp, and was soaked with bouillabaisse broth and surrounded by veggies. The veggies were SO good. They had really taken up the broth’s flavor and it filled your mouth with deliciousness. I can even say I ate them all (mom would be proud!). To finish, I ordered the Vanilla Crème Brûlée. WOW. It was amazing. I felt like I was going to explode with so much food, but if they had placed a second one in front of me, I would’ve probably eaten it. It was topped with raspberries and blueberries and had what appeared to be an oats-and-chocolate cookie. To share, we also order the Bananas Foster desert, which was a spectacle all on its own. They brought out the ingredients and prepared it right before the table. I don’t even really need to emphasize how good it was. You can probably imagine it already. So if you’re ever in New Orleans, take a look at Delmonico—and watch out for the check!