Man Bites Food Blog

Happy Mardi Gras and laissez les bon temps rouler! The editors of LocalEats adore New Orleans. And though some of us may have been known to partake of the occasional hurricane, Huge Ass Beer (to go!) or frozen Irish coffee from Molly's on the Market - perhaps the most refreshing drink ever concocted - our primary indulgence is the sublime cuisine. It's an unparalleled food culture. We've compiled a list of the best New Orleans restaurants for all your Mardi Gras dining needs. And for the uninitiated, here's a list of a few must-try Crescent City dishes to make your Tuesday just a bit fatter. 

Debris-topped po'boy at Mother's ( the Famous Ferdi Special)

Barbecue shrimp at Pascal's Manale

Alligator cheesecake at Jacques-Imo's

The boucherie plate and fried boudin at Cochon (or anything else pigcentric from the restaurant or butcher shop)

Mussels and pommes frites at Luke

Beignets at Cafe du Monde

Oysters on the half shell at Felix's

Oyster loaf at Casamento's

Fried chicken at Willie Mae's Scotch House

Gumbo at the Gumbo Shop

Brunch at Commander's Palace

Oysters en Brouchette at Galatoire's

Fried Oysters at Dick and Jenny's (po-boys available at lunch)

Bananas Foster prepared tableside at Brennan's (a bit touristy, but worth it for the history lesson/atmosphere)

Blackened drum at K-Paul's Louisiana Cuisine

I'll stop there for now as pangs of hunger and jealousy will not allow me to continue. In the meantime, I'll be daydreaming of oyster po-boys, unbelievable coffee and a swine smorgasbord from Cochon. 

Happy Presidents' Day! The magnifying glass on the commander in chief has allowed us much insight into the dietary habits of our presidents over the years. For instance, there's Bush Sr.'s hatred of broccoli, LBJ's love of Fresca, Obama's chili recipe and Reagan's obsession with jelly beans (even the much-maligned licorice ones). In honor of Presidents' Day, here are a handful of links on presidents and dining.

Eater NY maps out the restaurants visited by U.S. presidents in " The Guide to Presidential Dining in New York City." Obama and Clinton seem to have a lot in common (Red Rooster, Il Mulino), as did Reagan and Nixon (Le Perigord). Rugged individualist Teddy Roosevelt did his manly dining at Delmonico's. Other restaurants of presidential pedigree rounding out the list include Blue Hill, Daniel, 21 Club and Gabriel's.

Robert Sietsema of The Village Voice ranks " America's Five Greatest Foodie Presidents." Somewhat suprising: wiry and generally unpleasant Andrew Jackson's love of cheese and lavish banquets. Less suprising: Taft was into food.

Serious Eats Chicago gives a thorough rundown of " How to Eat (And Drink) Like President Obama in Chicago." The commander in chief's favorite spots include Manny's Deli, Rick Bayless's Topolobampo and  Valois Cafeteria. 

Delish.com explores presidents finicky about their food with " Plate of the Union: Picky Presidential Palate."

David Faries of The Dallas Observer conducts a fictional foodcentric interview with former presidents.

And for your viewing edification, Bill Clinton (played by the late Phil Hartman) takes a few moments to mingle with the people at McDonald's near the White House on Saturday Night Live. INTERCEPTED. WARLORDS!

Haggis does not command a lot of respect in the food world. Its primary uses seem to be frightening children, acting as a conversation piece and Scotch sponge at (Robert) Burns Suppers, and perpetuating the tired old idea that there's no good cookery to be found in the British Isles. And to be fair, its traditional description does not paint a pretty picture: a pudding of "sheep's pluck" (lungs, liver and heart) mixed with oats, onions, spices and encased in a sheep's stomach. On a recent trip to Edinburgh, I decided to taste for myself what all the fuss was about. 

And the verdict: not ghastly at all. It's hearty, generally heavy on the oats, and at worst, not particularly remarkable. Lamb lungs are no longer in the equation these days, and most of the renditions my travelling companions and I encountered were not stuffed in a sheep's stomach, but encased more like sausage. The first haggis we confronted at The Royal Macgregor on the Royal Mile was beginner friendly. Though traditional in title: "haggis, neeps and tatties," this version was noticeably upscale. Of the vertical food variety, it consisted of haggis topped with billowy mashed potatoes, "bashed" turnip with red onion and rosemary gravy. All in all, a decidedly unscary, pleasant meal with complex texture.

Truly, this was not the haggis of the people, though it was a good way to ease ourselves into the idea. The next morning, we sampled a more conventional haggis alongside our traditional Scottish breakfasts. It fit right in with the morning meal. We were surprised at the amount of oats, rendering it a hearty start to the day, like a meaty side of granola - not particularly flavorful, but relatively inoffensive. There was more haggis to be had, however. We wandered down the Leith Walk to The Mermaid, a fish and chips takeout known for its prowess with a deep fryer. One particular item in the glass case caught our attention: deep-fried haggis. This substantial hunk o' haggis is apparently one of their top selling items. "Brown sauce," one of our group's most beloved discoveries on this trip, went a long way towards helping out the haggis this time. It must be noted that The Mermaid's fish and chips were battered and fried to perfection.

After sampling traditional Scottish cuisine for a multiple meals in a row, our tastebuds eventually required a change-up. So we ate what any sensible UK tourist would: Indian food.  

The week's most profound food and restaurant thoughts expressed in 142 characters or less. As always, feel free to follow us on Twitter at LocalEats for dining news, LocalEats happenings and horrible food puns. 

Comedian/actor/comic book enthusiast Patton Oswalt (@PattonOswalt) initiated a series of amusing tweets under the "hippie threats" hashtag: "I have come here to kick ass and eat locally. And these mung beans are from outside a 50 mile radius #hippiethreats." 

Zach Zamboni (@zachzamboni), a cameraman for Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, offers entertaining behind-the-scenes insights about the show. He had a bit of a close call with a cobra in Malaysia:"Escaped death by cobra, ran a kilometer backwards, sweated like a bastard, ate a fish head, drank beer. This is life with @NoReservations." How close? Take a look. 

Foodimentary (@Foodimentary) is full of fun food facts and quality food quotes. On the 200th birthday of one Charles Dickens, Foodimentary scored points with this reflection on literature and chips (fries): "Charles Dickens was 1st to mention chips in a book 'Husky chips of potatoes, fried' Tale of 2 Cities, 1859."

The only fictional Twitter persona to win a James Beard Award, Ruth Bourdain (@RuthBourdain) is an unholy mashup of Ruth Reichl and Tony Bourdain. Here's one of the tamer entries: "Fat isn't bad, stupid is bad. And yet, this braised pork belly is stupid phat."

The Twitterverse had plenty of commentary to offer on Valentine's day and restaurants. Carly Castle (@CarlyCastle): "My plans for tonight involve going to fancy restaurants & slipping fake engagement rings into a lotta girls' champagne glasses." Sixth Form Poet (@sixthformpoet): "On Valentine's Day, restaurants are like chess clubs; tables for two, agonising silence, psychological warfare and far too many stalemates."

Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBRien) spent the week describing and taking pictures of his lunch. A few highlights: "Today's lunch: Turkey patty, garlic broccolini, and roasted veggies. Not pictured: Boston cream pie with mayo." and "Today's lunch: a chicken tostada salad and homemade sangria I poured into a Vitamin Water bottle." With slightly terrifying photo.

It wouldn't be Twitter without repetition of trending topics ad nauseum. Gothamist (@Gothamist) fuels a nation's rabid Linsanity with a report that "Shake Shack has gone LINsane! They're now serving up Jeremy Lin-Mint shakes." Full story here. 

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen Twitterbird? 

We've revised, updated and expanded our list of the best restaurants in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Award-winning restaurants new to our Top 100 list include Ciro's Speakeasy and Supper Club (Best Gastropub), The Lobster Pot (Best Lobster), The Independent Bar and Grill (Best Burgers), The Refinery (Best Farm to Table) Taco Bus (Best Late-night), TC Choy's Asian Bistro (Best Dim Sum) and Cafe Largo (Best French).

Other great locally owned restaurants added to the list include 220 East, Alesia, Bernini, Columbia Cafe, Ella's Americana Folk Art Cafe, Habana Cafe, La Tropicana Cafe, The Laughing Cat Bistro, Queenshead Eurobar, Maritana Grill, Parkshore Grill, The Pearl, Red Mesa Cantina, Restaurant BT, Sunday's Fine Dining, Walt'z Fish Shak. and Wood Fired Pizza Wine Bar. 

In addition to hand-selecting the country's best independently owned restaurants, we also like to highlight the best food and dining restaurant blogs. The new additions to our blog family from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area are Lekas Eats, Carlos Eats, Dena Loves Food, Scallywag Journeys Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Food Monster, and Taylor Eason.