We are a foodie family. It all started with my dad (more on him another time) and I continued the trend with my children. The love of food has blossomed with my son so much that he is now a culinary student. So when he came to visit me here, of course we HAD to go out to eat at different places. A week before he came down, I had lunch at a place called Nolé. I had read about it on a blog called LetDatGirlEat and she made it sound so delicious that I wanted to go try for myself. Well, she wasn’t lying! The food was delicious. And the waitress, Shaile, was so gregarious that even if the food was less than stellar, I would have returned just to have her as my waitress again! We struck up a conversation and I told her about my son visiting and looking for a job in between semesters. Turns out her fiancé is also a chef, who happened to graduate from the same school my son is attending. She told me she would talk to her fiancé and get a list of places for him to apply to for work. She also said to bring him by when he came in town and she would have the list ready. 

Needless to say, we went to Nolé for lunch. I enjoy listening to him critique food mostly because I because it validates that my palate is every bit as stellar as his own. LOL Shaile was there and true to her word, she had a list of places. I was not expecting this because I truly thought she was just being kind and would forget me as soon as I left. She was just as gregarious as the first time and offered many suggestions and insight into NOLA, things to do, and Jazz week which was upon us. She is an almanac of ideas and stories. If you haven’t made her acquaintance, I suggest you go and ask for her. You won’t regret it. Note** I say this with all honesty. I am not being paid to say nice things about her, we are not related and she is not getting any kickbacks from her referrals. I know someone out there is naysaying me but she is sincerely genuine. It’s rare to find these days. 

The restaurant offers small plates and entrees. The small plates are shareable, akin to tapas dishes. Two of the small plates I ordered this time, were what I had previously eaten on my first visit so I waited until now to discuss. No need to repeat myself! We ate Blue Crab street corn which is a tasty dish but isn’t what you would imagine when you hear the name. It is small pieces of corn on the cob, standing upright in a shallow, chunky puddle of cream sauce flavored with shredded blue crab. The corn itself is covered with a sauce and spices and roasted to bring out the flavors. We also ate Duck confrit empanadas. I am picky about my empanadas because it is easy to make the crust thick and hard but these were filled just perfectly with the duck and the crust was flaky. Both visits wielded delicious delicacies that didn’t disappoint. 

The first time I went I was interested in the Latin Nachos, but Shaile warned me they were stacked high and quite a lot of food for one so I held off until my son was with me. I must say, she was right. The Latin Nachos were tall and overflowing with layers upon layers of flavor. We were impressed that there were very few naked nachos, and they were hidden deep. We also ordered Pecan encrusted carnitas tacos. The flavoring was inspirational, causing my son to almost lick his fingers! Instead, he used a small piece of the shell to wipe the last remnants of sauce off the plate (don’t judge us here). We didn’t have dessert during this visit because we were saving the opportunity for later. But I will mention that on my first visit I ordered the olive oil chocolate cake and it did not disappoint. It was so filling and decadent, I had to take half of it home to finish another day. 

I like that the restaurant hands out printed recipe cards with the check. It’s a nice personal touch. 

There were just two things that were a little annoying…. in one of the stalls in the women’s bathroom, the toilet paper roll is mounted so low that I had to bend so far over while sitting just to reach it.  If I didn’t have good balance I would have toppled over. It might be okay for people shorter than five feet tall, but if you are like me and taller than 5’8”, you have been warned of the difficulty. The other annoying little factor is if you sit on the patio, the chairs are metal and small. The backs are attached narrowly at the side and anyone who is larger than size 4 or who has hips will not fit comfortably. Otherwise, Nolé, we will meet again!