 "Photo: Kathleen McCann")
Last Friday evening, The Maroon's Life & Times staff had the worst idea ever. No, literally - ever.
We decided it would be fun and informative to do a story that let our readers know where to eat around the clock, from the evening to the wee hours of the morning, all the way until breakfast.
We wanted to prove that New Orleans isn't just full of high-end restaurants and sappy upscale bistros. There are plenty of affordable places around town with great food to eat whether your stomach is growling at 7 p.m. or 7 a.m. We wanted to visit and eat at 12 restaurants in 12 hours.
The original idea for this story came from a similar story we found in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, though with one major difference. They visited 24 restaurants in 24 hours.
We decided we would die after 24 hours and opted for the less vomit-likely option, option B - just 12.
It was a great idea in theory when we started plotting out our adventure, eatery by eatery, one grease pit after another. But it would come back to bite us.
The plan was to get the dish that each place is famous for, a way to get the "full experience" of each restaurant (for example, beignets at Cafe DuMonde). Each participant would have a taste or two of each dish and that would be it.
Needless to say, our eyes were far bigger than our stomachs and by 4:30 a.m., after only nine restaurants in nine hours, we called it quits for the sake of our bodies, our pride and to save us from the embarrassment of vomiting in front of each other.
No wait, by that time, Lindsey Netherly, our news editor, had already thrown up.
Here is an account of our gastrointestinal adventure.
7:03 p.m. Café Nino, 1510 S. Carrolton Ave.
We arrived at our destination, just a five-minute drive from campus, with healthy appetites and hearty optimism, fearless before the world of pain we were about to encounter.
Café Nino has a classic diner feel, with food displayed front-and-center - no frills and nothing fancy, just some of the best Italian home cooking to satisfy the most homesick of Philly-steak-loving Phillies or pizza-craving Brooklynites.
With this student-friendly menu and price range, we couldn't help but start here, if not just for the warm-and-fuzzy vibe and the just-like-home comfort food before our adventure. Our chicken and eggplant Parmesan and a side of lasagna contained a stellar cheese-to-meat ratio, reminding us of immaculate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pizza in all its gooey glory.
These perfectly-sized portions make for the perfect super-casual lunch or dinner for two for less than $20.
8:04 p.m. The Creole Creamery, 4924 Prytania St.
Housed in the original McKenzie's Bakery building, Creole Creamery is the best ice cream parlor in town, fitting nicely in your dinner-and-a-movie budget on a fun date.
Since 2004, the neon McKenzie's sign glowing above Prytania has invited patrons to sample the rotating menu of homemade flavors, from exotic delicacies to the indulgent classics and everywhere in between.
Diners can sit at the old-time soda-fountain counter while checking out the pink-painted walls, checkerboard flooring and children of all ages pressed against the glass ice cream cases.
This was the best-sounding place for a closer on our Italian meal, but we didn't realize until later it may have been too sweet for our stomachs that early on. Dairy that early in the game - so stupid.
An even more ridiculous decision was our choice of ice cream: The Tchoupitoulas Challenge. Combining eight of our favorite flavors, with eight toppings, our Tchoupitoulas was a mountain of sugary death. A sweet, delicious death.
We sold our souls to flavors of strawberry lemonade, toffee chip, bananas foster, red velvet cake, big island chocolate, oatmeal maple cookie, honey pie and burnt sugar gelato. Topped with a ludicrous amount of toppings, we scored a great deal for only $15.
As we ate bite after bite of sugary heaven, everything began melting into what can only be described as ice cream soup. It prompted our photographer and chief copy editor Kathleen McCann to say, "Look at this cherry covered in crap," in surprise to the amount of toppings we added.
Try the Tchoupitoulas challenge next time you visit - but try not to embarrass yourself in front of your date.
Eat the entire Tchoupitoulas bowl without any help and you'll get your name on a plaque in the dining room, where you'll be immortalized for your lack of self-control.
But hey, everybody loves ice cream. Maybe even your date.
8:48 p.m. August Moon, 3635 Prytania St.
We know: We got there too fast. But hey, all that ice cream and no sugar rush or feeling of supremacy? Give us a break, we're professionals.
We opened the doors to this Chinese/Vietnamese hideaway with the confidence of those without abused digestive systems. The contemporary, earthy decor and artwork confused our editor in chief who believed we had stepped into a jungle when he asked "Am I in a rainforest?"
But August Moon's endless menu and polite staff make for one of the best sit-down restaurants when you're tight on cash.
Not only is the food great, the music is so absolutely perfect you'll question your life's purpose. Was it extreme coincidence that the three greatest songs of all time played while we dined? Celine Dion's "All By Myself," Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and Michael Bolton's "How am I Supposed to Live Without You?" Call it luck, but we like to think this was destiny. August Moon, tell us: How are we supposed to live without you?
Our Vietnamese hot and sour soup came with large shrimp, crisp veggies and chunks of juicy pineapple to counter the spice. Our Triple Delight, a combination of beef, shrimp, scallops and vegetables in a garlic sauce made for a hearty meal.
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