Mr B’s Bistro | Eating With Ziggy

Posts Tagged With: Mr B’s Bistro

Mr B’s Shrimp – Say Hello to My Little Friend

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Ziggy

Some people visit their relatives. Some visit a childhood friend or someone who owes them money. Other folks take a stroll in the quarter while some take a nap. Everybody has their own ritual as far as their first activity in New Orleans. Mine? Mr B’s BBQ Shrimp. Nothing says welcome to foodie heaven New Orleans more than putting on a bib in this semi fancy local institution for these beautiful legendary crustaceans. I said no to that bib once, and paid the price (The dreaded wife look). Never again!

Mr B’s Bistro is one of the jewels in the French Quarters. Although it opened in 1979, in a town filled with institutions such as Commanders Palace, Galatoires, this is one of the new kid on the block. Hurricane Katrina did enough damage to shut it down for 2 years until it was rebuilt to look exactly the same as before. The alumni list that includes Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, the owner (a Brennan family member), its history and look and feel make it seem more ancient than it is.

You take out the legendary prawns from the equation and the signature dish becomes the rich Gumbo Ya Ya. A dark buttery roux with chunks of chicken and Andouille sausages. “Pretty pretty pretty good”. But this is merely the warm-up act to the main event.

The recipe hasn’t changed since its inception. A buttery, peppery dark roux you want to dip anything into. Their terrific bread, shrimp, fingers, room keys (make sure you have a spare), anything. Unpeeling the huge plump gulf shrimp requires some major finger work, which is why its so crucial to have a bib on. Its almost strange to wear a bib in a place like this, but things can get messy. This is as mouthwatering as a dish can get.

But not everything we’ve had here was nearly as satisfying. A somewhat bland blackened redfish, and a less than stellar pasta jambalaya we had in the prior visit, begs the question. What else is good here. Get the prawns!

And finish the deal with the classic bread pudding with Irish whisky. In NYC, the closest I got to the classic NOLA bread pudding is in an Israeli restaurant called Balaboosta. I don’t know why its so hard to get a decent Bread Pudding in NYC. Everyone is trying to be too cute. Another winner was the Chocolate molten cup cake with raspberry sauce.

Mr B’s Bistro
201 Rue Royal
$$$
Recommended Dishes: Get the Shrimp! Gumbo Ya Ya, Bread Pudding

Categories: New Orleans | Tags: BBQ Shrimp, Best food in New Orelans, food, Mr B's Bistro, Mr B's New Orleans, New Orleans, restaurants, Travel | Leave a comment

New Orleans Eats Day 5 – Depression Now Hits Ziggy Clan

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Ziggy

Its our last day in N’oleans. Staring at Nicholas Cage’s future tomb in the St Louis Cemetery and still somehow haunted by the zoo images from yesterday (another example above), a sudden feeling of uneasiness hits. The feeling goes into another mode when I realize at the cemetery that my stomach has transformed into this nicely rounded pregnant like shape. Later on I notice I can no longer see my… shoes. Time for 4 weeks of couscous and kimchee diet after this trip. But first we have some unfinished business… more beignets and revisit Mr 3 sticks of butter (aka Mr B’s Shrimp). Well sort of finished business revisited actually.

Cafe Beignet – More wonderful sugary goodness. Until I had a sudden cough and sprayed sugar all over. These beignets were larger and fuller (less airy) than Cafe Du Monde’s. But if I have to choose one I would go with the legend here. And the legend’s Cafe Late was better.

Mr B’s – As I indicated before this is a major rarity for us to go to the same place twice. Turks and Caicos is the only place where I do this with my favorite restaurant in the world, Caicos Cafe. Started with a wonderful plate of rice and beans which came with some nice and juicy sausages. The same sausages and other meats however were a bit overcooked inside the pasta jambalaya which disappointed overall as it did not have the same kind of explosiveness that we found in so many NO dishes . The seafood gumbo and the famous BBQ Shrimp we enjoyed on day 1 saved the day

The Sweet Palate – A gourmet chocolate gem of a place that definitely entertained our sweet palates. They get their chocolates from a master chocolatier in Barcelona, Oriol Balaguer who used to work for Feran Adria at El Bulli arguably the most famous restaurant in the world when it was open. Feran is the master that invented molecular cooking . These little chocolates were understandably expensive and as expected rich and explosive, especially the one dubbed Pop Rock.

Cochon Butcher – This is not a review. Plenty of locals recommended Butcher as the place to sample the Muffuletta, which is a large round loaf filled with various cold cuts, cheese and an olive salad dressing. Back in the day Italian immigrants who used to work in the French Market used to go to the nearby Central Grocery for lunch to get the cold cuts, cheeses, olive dressings and the Muffuletta bread and eat them all separately until the owner of the store advised them to combine all the ingredients into one and hence the Muffuletta was born. Central Grocery is still there going strong and still according to the locals has one of the best Muffulettas in town. But based on my experience with Cochon Butcher, and this is coming from someone who has a sandwich as his avatar, the Portuguese Francesinha, aka the worlds best sandwich, the Muffuletta is not for me. Partially due to the heavy olive presence. Still, you have to give it a shot while in New Orleans. Pretty sure its the law and you have to fly back with one