| By ANNETTE SISCO | Staff writer |
Welcome back, New Orleans food fans! This week, Ian McNulty presents nine dishes we really need to try right now. A visit to Acadiana for a Cajun delicacy unfolds into a discovery of food, family and tradition. New Orleans is shut out of the James Beard awards, again. Red Bird, of Covington, now has a second location in Lakeview, serving up a family's take on crispy fried chicken. And a noise lawsuit against Pat O'Brien's is dismissed, after 18 years. Finally, Chef Kevin Belton has great tips for keeping hungry kids satisfied on long summer days, plus recipes for granola bars and cinnamon muffins. 1. Dine on nine. When we’re at New Orleans restaurants, we’re forever talking about the last one we visited or the next on our list. Here are nine dishes that Ian McNulty thinks are especially buzz-worthy, plus one great tasting menu. 2. Tour de Ponce? The boucherie gives us boudin, cracklin’, andouille, tasso and other staples of the Cajun larder. It also gives us "specialty meats" like ponce, or stuffed stomach. It took all day and a little help from new friends, but Ian tracked it down and tells the story here. 3. Wait! There's more. New Orleans had three finalists in the James Beard awards this year, but all missed top honors. Covington's Red Bird expands to Lakeview. And a lawsuit over noise from the French Quarter bar Pat O'Brien's is dismissed, nearly two decades after it was filed. 4. Snack attack! With his boys home for summer, Chef Kevin Belton had to come up with a plan to keep them fed and happy all day — and fast. Check out this dad's smart tips, along with recipes for cinnamon muffins and homemade granola bars. That's it for the food newsletter, but in New Orleans, the food news never stops. Keep up with all the inside info at Where NOLA Eats. P.S.: Want to support local journalism that matters? Subscribe here. It's our best deal! | 