Willie Mae’s

It’s my two-year blogging anniversary, and I have been thinking about all my culinary adventures. Out of my 71 blog posts I have picked 11 favorites that are worth mentioning again.

November 2015 – Newberry Springs was the last stop on our Route 66 Road Trip. Buffalo Burgers at the Bagdad Café. I loved “Standing on the Corner in Winslow Arizona”. It was very cool even though it had nothing to do with eating. November 2016 – a friend’s birthday celebration at Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills – Elaborate sides and salad bar with waiters serving meats on skewers the size of small swords. February 2017 – The Whiskey Bread Pudding at the Side Door in Corona del mar, served with raisins and whipped cream, is scrumptious. June 2017 – Freshly baked muffins with our coffee at The Butcher, Baker, and the Cappuccino Maker (what a great name) in West Hollywood. The patio was so lovely we could have stayed there all day. Dinner that same day at Rustic Canyon. This gets bolded because we were served one of the best meals I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. Shared plates is a great idea here because everything on the menu sounded so good…… even the luscious lavender almonds served with our cocktails.

November 2017 – Puesto Irvine serves Equisto, a delicious grilled corn with chile, lime, queso and crema. Saint and Second in Belmont Shore in January 2018 was a very pleasant experience from food and service to atmosphere. I especially liked the Apple Pear Shrimp Salad. My lunch on May 21st was a complete surprise. Benji’s is a coffee shop in Tustin that has been in operation for many years. The food was pretty traditional but very good. The Lemon Marscapone Cake the waitress insisted I order was one of the best desserts I have ever tasted!!

April 29 craving something Cuban called for a trip to the Porto’s in Buena Park. Their Chicken Tamales have the lightest, tastiest masa ever!. During my month long birthday celebration on June 9th at Republique on La Brea in Los Angeles, we were surprised that seating was community tables (not my favorite way to enjoy food). It was very noisy, and the service was slow. The food was good though – especially the Prime Dry Aged Ribeye Cap. Shared plates is still very popular.

I must include Willie Mae’s in New Orleans on my list because they really do serve the “best Fried Chicken in the nation!” It certainly is the best I have ever tasted by far!!!

The Other Thing – Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer-prize winning food critic for the Los Angeles Times passed away on Saturday, July 21st. His annual “101 Best Restaurants” has been my guide. I didn’t always agree with him but he always paid attention food trucks and the little mom and pop operations. He wasn’t always a fan of the “snooty” and ridiculously expensive restaurants. I have only tried 10 out of the 101 but I’m working on it. Mr. Gold will be greatly missed.

The last three restaurants we went to before I left for home happened to be our very favorites of the 11 we squeezed into our 7-day itinerary. Tartine and Willie Mae’s were two very highly recommended in previous issues of the Los Angeles Times Travel Section.

Tartine is a tiny unassuming place nestled in a residential/industrial area an Uber drive away. A tartine is a slice of bread with a sweet or savory topping. Kaitlynn’s tartine was with butter, jam and brie! Yum!! I had Baked Eggs in Brioche – 2 poached eggs baked in a bread bowl with herbed cream and topped with gruyere. They were both fairly simple dishes and so very flavorful. This place is definitely on my “Go There Again” list.

Willie Mae’s was established in 1957. In 2005 it received the prestigious James Beard Award for “American’s Classic Restaurant for the Southern Region”. It suddenly went from a local neighborhood eatery to a nationally recognized restaurant. Then came Hurricane Katrina, causing severe damage to the restaurant. With help from local and national organizations, Willie Mae’s was able to reopen in 2007. Then came recognition from the Food Network and the Travel Channel as “America’s Best Fried Chicken”. Willie Mae’s great granddaughter now runs the operation.

The nation’s best fried chicken – that remained to be seen. We both ordered the 3-piece dinner with a choice of sides. Between us we got mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, butter beans and fried okra. Boy, how Southern can you get??!! Now – the best fried chicken? You betcha!!!! I never tasted anything so good, so crispy, such yummy breading. We almost forgot about the chicken (which was very moist and tender) the crisp breading was soooooo good!!

AND their bread pudding (served with white chocolate and rum sauce) is also the best I have ever tasted. The restaurant was full, people waiting outside – many driving miles and miles and some like me = from out of state.

Last but certainly not least is our lunch at the Maple Street Café. If we had known how good it was, it would have been our third visit there instead of our first, and it is so close to Kaitlynn’s apartment. The menu is categorized by Zagat as Mediterranean, but it also has an Italian flare and a flavor of its own.

We started with Homemade Mozzarella and Sliced Tomatoes with roasted garlic, onions, fresh basil and a balsamic vinaigrette. An older couple with lovely Southern accents highly recommended the Chicken Lemon and the white bean soup. Of course, we ordered those dishes as well as the Stuffed Shrimp in phyllo dough with a seafood stuffing and topped with white wine lemon butter. Dessert was key lime pie for me and Baklava for Kaitlynn. Everything was top notch including the never empty glasses of iced tea with lemon and mint. It was a perfect last meal before leaving for home.

There is so much more to my trip than the food. But that will be blogs for another time.

This, That, and The Other Thing

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Food Faves

New Orleans Eats – Part 3 The Grand Finale