Food Reviews by Fatteh Matteh.

Hey there, fellow food lovers! I love food and I want to share with you all my experiences with said food! I will be posting photos and reviews of all the different kinds of foods and restaurants I encounter through out my life. Also, I am a Yelp Elite(woo!) so I’ll be cross posting everything you see here there, and vice versa. If you’re also on Yelp, feel free to add me as a friend. You can click here to go directly to my Yelp profile to do that. So if you’re a big lover of food, please feel free to hit that follow button to keep updated with all my food devouring adventures. Also, follow my personal blog where I’ll be posting a bit of everything from my life. You can find it here, thanks! See you!

[thefood-blog]

[fattehmatteh]

"Fresh Bar" Review.

Fresh Bar, full of delicious fresh foods with a range of salads, wraps, and soups. Yum!

On Magazine St is this great vegetarian food bar that offers a very large range of salad options, wrap options, and soup options. The set up is easy enough to grasp. You walk in, check out the menu and place your order where you’re able to add or change anything you’d like(think Subway style).

There is only inside seating available with tables and chairs set up along the window and the wall. There is also a free refill station for iced tea to the side also, which is a nice tough.

You can order a salad, a wrap, or a combo which comes with a salad and a choice of soup.

I ordered a Fresh Cobb wrap that came with lettuce(you pick which one you want), tomatoes, egg, bacon, avocado, and your choice of salad dressing. It was pretty nice but the bacon flavoring was a bit too overpowering, which somewhat lessened the appeal of the wrap.

Overall, it’s a great, healthy option for those who want to eat healthy. Definitely check it out!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Starbucks at Loyola" Review - 5/5.

Finally, they build a Starbucks on campus and I am in looooooooove.

Located in the Dana Center of Loyola University, New Orleans is this brand new Starbucks establishment. It's dead center of the university so it's easily accessible from all of the surrounding buildings.

With a wide range of drinks available plus a variety of pastries, you'll be sure to find what you're after. I believe it has the same menu as all other Starbucks so once you know one menu, you know them all.

I've gotten their Iced Chai Lattes multiple times and each time, they've been great. A bit too much ice sometimes though which results in less latte, which saddens me.

I've also had their Pumpkin Spice Latte. This wasn't good. It didn't taste like pumpkin at all and overall, was just really unpleasant.

5 stars though as it's super convenient, the long lines move relatively quick and they serve my delicious Iced Chai Lattes. Yum!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Raising Cane's" Review - 5/5.

Fried chicken. Texas Toast. Fries. Cane's Sauce. Coleslaw. That's basically the menu right there and depending on your meal choice, you may get some or all of these options.

I ordered the Big Box Combo which comes with four chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast, Cane's sauce, and a coleslaw. With this meal, I could try everything once and I am glad I did. I'll now know to swap out the coleslaw for an extra Cane's sauce. The coleslaw is pretty basic and really isn't why you come here. The Cane's sauce is another thing entirely. Words can't really describe the sauce but it is delicious. Dip EVERYTHING into it, the chicken, fries, and Texas toast. You'll thank me later.

The chicken tastes great and the fries are just as good. I really can't complain about those two. The Texas toast is amazing, definitely get a meal with it or just purchase an extra to add to your meal.

There are other combo options available ranging from less chicken fingers to more, one comes with Texas toast and others don't, it's really how ever you want to make a meal when you go there.

So in conclusion. The fried chicken and fries are great, Texas toast is amazing, don't bother with the coleslaw and definitely get an extra Cane's sauce. You'll need it from all the dipping you'll be doing.

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Mojo Coffee House" Review - 4/5.

Mojo Coffee House. Where the walls are orange and the menu options are vast. 

So we've been looking around for a perfect cafe to study in so we decided to try out Mojo Coffee House. We got there roughly mid afternoon so it wasn't too busy, thankfully. I ended up ordering a Strawberry Italian Cream Soda, along with a Very Berry Tea for my partner. The SICS was actually really nice! It was a nice mix of strawberry flavoring with the cream and soda. Unfortunately though, the taste of it went south as I left it there too long. Had to throw about one third of it away because of this. It tastes great but it's not a drink you can enjoy for a while.

The Very Berry Tea was very sweet and as the name suggests, very berry. It tasted nice but I'm not a major fan of tea or overly sweet stuff but if you're into it, then go for it. They also do food too but I didn't take much notice of the options.

Okay so study space. Mojo Coffee House is relatively small with seating opposite the front desk and some more tables further in the venue. It's a decent amount with single table, two tables, and big tables(like a conference table). We had a group of four so we had to take a conference table but we felt kinda awkward taking up so much room. Also, there weren't many power points available to use. They had free wifi though! Don't forget to ask for the password(I'm assuming it would change frequently).

Anyways, my drink was great(but didn't last the entire study time) but as a study space, we'll keep looking. 

Also, check out this review on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Manhattanjack" Review - 4/5.

Manhattanjack, a small cafe located on Prytania St that offers sweets, drinks, breakfast, and lunch items. What else could you want?

The venue itself is quite nice with both indoor(couches, bar style, and tables with chairs) and outdoor(two sets of tables and chairs out the front with views overlooking Prytania St and five sets of table and chairs located in the back in their private courtyard) seating that's decorated nicely with low hanging lights, artwork(that's for sale!) and random products they sell scattered on shelves inside.

On my visits here, I ordered an Iced Chai Latte with a Chinese Chocolate Dot Cookie and a Coconut Macaroon. Well, the Iced Chai Latte is excellent. A perfect blend of chai, milk, and ice to give you a perfect, chilled drink to cool you down. The Chinese Chocolate Dot Cookie features a shortbread type cookie with a dollop of chocolate plopped on top with sprinkles around the edges. I also ordered a Coconut Macaroon, which has both crunchy and gooey coconut in it making it a delectable treat. Both sweets were very tasty!

I found the only downside of this venue was the prices on some of the sweets and sandwiches. They can be a bit hefty on the average college student wage, but if you're unlike me and actually get paid decently, then c'mon down and load up!

All in all, it is a very good cafe/breakfast/lunch place that will leave you satisfied with yourself.

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

Sucre's "The Americana Sundae" Review - 5/5.

I’ve already reviewed Sucre before(5/5, best dessert place I’ve come across in New Orleans) but I wanted to review the Americana Sundae.

It’s fantastic. Berry flavored ice cream lines the bottom of the glass with what I think was bread pudding around the edges. There’s a few fruit pieces too, blueberries and blackberries. Leading up into vanilla ice cream with a ton of fluffy whipped cream with strawberry topping drizzled delicately over the top. To too the delicious treat off, they place wafer pieces, a fresh strawberry, and a strawberry flavored macaroon on top.

If you’re after a sundae from Sucre, I can’t recommend this one enough. The Americana was delightfully sweet and light that satisfied by craving for something cold and something sweet. Absolutely delicious, treat yourself!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Crescent Pie & Sausage Co" Review - 3/5.

For lunch, we decide to try out Crescent Pie and Sausage Co as we have yet to eat many of either of those foods, pies and sausages.

I ordered a Black Bean Jambalaya as an appetizer. It came out fairly quickly, which was nice as I was pretty hungry at this point and didn’t want to wait too long. It was nice, but nothing special. It was a decent size for an appetizer too. The main appeal about it was how quickly it came out after ordering.

For my main course, I ordered a Hot Sausage Po-Boy. Now I consistently order hot sausage wherever I go as I am determined to find one that is actually hot. Today, I was let down..again. The hot sausage, as nice as it was, was simply not hot. I was expecting some kind of spiciness to it but it was just very mild. Also, the sausage was too big for the bun and didn’t allow much else to fit in there. There were three slices of tomatoes, few pieces of lettuce and that’s about it. I ended up removing everything but the sausage and ate it by itself. If the sausage itself was smaller, more dressing could have fit and could have made the po-boy that much better.

Overall, the combination of the appetizer and main course was very satisfying as the serving sizes were good but both the appetizer and main course weren’t as flavorsome as I was hoping.

Next visit, I think I’ll opt for a different appetizer and definitely try one of their sausage platters, they looked great and very filling!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Juan's Flying Burrito" Review - 2/5.

In the mood for burritos, we decided to venture to Juan’s Flying Burrito located on Magazine St. Not feeling in the mood for meat, I opted for the vegetarian option. I thought this would be a fairly simple order that couldn’t be done incorrectly. I was wrong.

I ordered the Veggie Punk which included potatoes, jalapeños, pinto beans, rice, lettuce, salsa, and jack and cheddar cheese. Looking at the ingredient list, it sounded like it would be a tasty, vegetarian option for lunch. Unfortunately though, the potato didn’t taste cooked enough, there were too many jalapeños, and overall, just unpleasant.

I’m not sure if either today was just a bad day for them or their vegetarian offerings aren’t very good but the meal was lackluster at best, which I couldn’t end up finishing.

The venue itself is pretty cool though, with plenty of booth seating around and a full bar, you’ll have plenty of choices for seating and for drinks.

I may have to go back and give them another chance but as for my first visit, I was pretty disappointed.

Check this revie wout on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Charcoal's Gourmet Burger Bar" Review - 4/5.

Very cool burger joint on Magazine St with a wide variety of meats to choose from, definitely worth checking it out!

Located on Magazine St and having two floors to choose to eat on, the venue itself is fantastic. Both floors feature views of Magazine St, have a plethora of seating available, and full bars offering a wide range of drink options.

I ordered the House Beef Burger which had a beef patty, cheese, tomato, ice berg lettuce, and sauce on a plain white bun. The burger was quite nice! The beef party was cooked to my liking. My only dislike was the ice berg lettuce, it’s probably the worst kind of lettuce to exist so I ended up removing it from my burger.

I also ordered a Reese’s Pieces Milkshake. It tasted very strong of Reese’s Pieces, which was great, but after a few sips, it got a bit sickening. I ended up taking it to go in a to go cup, which was nice.

We ate here during Happy Hour which is 3pm-6pm, Monday to Friday. They offer $5 milk shakes, $5 drafts, and $5 house beef burger so my meal was pretty cheap.

Overall, it was a great and filling lunch. Great location, great venue, great service, and great food. I’d just rather a different lettuce in my burger.

Check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Rook Cafe" Review - 4/5.

Freret St homes the Rook Cafe, a cafe featuring a wide range of beverages and board games. Yes, board games!

Featuring a wide range of coffees, lattes, espressos, etc, you’ll find the drink to satisfy your urges. I opted for an Iced Chai Latte as it’s a very warm day. There isn’t much chai flavoring, which is a tad disappointing but it is very smooth and milky and definitely helps beats the heat.

I also ordered a Maple and Patisserie Muffin. The muffins are very large so it’ll either fill you up completely or tie you over for a few hours until it is lunch time. The muffin is topped with flavor whereas the muffin itself is light and fluffy. It is delicious!

Now onto the cafe itself. It has a good selection of seating available, a table in a sun room at the front of the cafe, then tables lining the wall opposite the counter leading all the way to the back room. The back room is where all the board games are held. Tables are available for singles, couples, or even big groups.

The thing that makes Rook Cafe really shine are the available board games. They have Monopoly, Scattegories, Risk, Chess, and Dungeon Lords just to name a few.

I highly recommend coming as a group, ordering a drink and a muffin and play a few games together. The perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Taqueria Corona" Review - 4/5.

Tonight we ventured out and decided to try Taqueira Corona as we have lived one street down for 6 months and have yet to try it so we thought there’s no better time than tonight!

Located on Magazine St between State St and Eleonore St, is the small Mexican themed restaurant/bar featuring a wide range of Mexican foods and drinks. The restaurant itself features only indoor seating with views of Magazine St with both tabled seating or seats lining the bar/kitchen area. We sat at the front to peer out the window. The restaurant is decorated very nicely, with flags, pinatas, inflatable Corona bottle and much more, there is plenty to see!

We started our meal with a serving of guacamole and chips. The guacamole was perfection and the chips were..well..chips. My only complaint about the appetizer is that the serving of guacamole wasn’t enough to cater for the serving of the chips(see image I posted), the guacamole ran out too quickly compared to the chips, which was disappointing.

For the main meal, I ordered the Chicken Taco Pizza which I had no idea what I was actually going to receive. Once it came out, I understood the name. It is literally a soft shell taco that’s filled with whatever your ordering is, that’s flat and covered in cheese. The chicken taco pizza came with chicken, beans, salsa, and cheese. It was quite nicely actually! The flavors of each ingredient mixed well together and was very filling indeed. Though I couldn’t taste the salsa much at all and there was a bit too much cheese.

The only downside I have is that there wasn’t enough guacamole to cater for all the chips and the chicken taco pizza has a bit too much cheese.

Overall, the meal was very satisfying. The chicken taco pizza is a definite like! I’d recommend getting that with the guacamole and chips as a starter. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Buffalo Wild Wings" Review - 3/5.

Buffalo Wild Wings, as the name suggests, specializes in wings! Offering either boned or boneless wings with many, many different sauces available to dip your wings into. They range from mild sauces to excruciatingly hot sauces, so what ever your desired spice level, you’ll be satisfied here. We ordered a small sized serving of the buffalo wings which came with at least 7 pieces. We chose the Spicy Garlic Sauce which ranked somewhat in the middle of the pack but we were surprised with how spicy it actually was. So just a heads up, pick one that you know will be safe or your wings will be inedible and wasted.  I also ordered the Jerk Chicken Sandwich. It came out with a side of fries and the burger came with lettuce, tomato, onion, jerk chicken, bleu cheese, and a sauce(which I’ve forgotten the name of). The size of the burger was very big, actually too big to fit easily in the mouth. Unfortunately, the sauce was applied to thickly and flavored a bit strong which ended up ruining the whole burger.  The restaurant itself has plenty of seating with 20+ TVs located around the room, playing various channels of sport. There’s also a full bar at the back of the restaurant if you’d like to just chuck back a few beers.  Overall, the wings were great(be cautious of the sauce you pick), fries were nice and crisp, but the burger could’ve used less sauce.

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"The Rusty Nail" Review - 4/5.

The Rusty Nail, located on Constance St in New orleans, is a bar with both indoor and outdoor drinking areas. It has a very casual vibe so you can come dressed in any attire, after work or before a business meeting to calm your nerves! 

Inside, they have a full bar with many different drink choices and they usually have a band playing in the corner also. Though, I recommend grabbing a drink from the bar and heading outside to enjoy it as the seating outside is much nicer. Being outside, getting some fresh air makes winding down with a drink much more relaxing. 

I bought an apple martini which was actually quite nice. It was the first time I had ever had an apple martini so I was unsure of what to expect but I quite enjoyed it, very appley and you couldn’t taste much alcohol either.

Overall, I really enjoyed the short time I spent there and my apple martini was very nice. Definitely take advantage of the outdoor seating!

Also, check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"Rue De La Course" Review - 3/5.

Located on Carrolton Avenue, New Orleans, is this beautiful coffee shop serving a wide range of coffee and tea beverages. I ordered a chai latte which was..just okay. It felt too watered down with milk and had a very mild chai flavoring. It definitely wasn’t terrible, but I also definitely had better. 

The real kicker to this place is how beautiful it looks, which makes enjoying your beverage even easier. With a split two story design with many tables and chairs set up on both floors, you’ll have plenty of places to choose to sit and drink. The incredibly high roof with equally as high windows let in so much natural light with amazing gargoyle sculptures topping each of those. The bar where the coffee is served is also original to the building, which looks great.

Overall, the location is fantastic and totally makes the visit worth while but the latte was lacking. 

Check this review out on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"IHOP" Review - 4/5.

To end our 4th of July, we decide to have an easy dinner at IHOP. Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded and the wait for our food was surprisingly quick!  I ordered the Split Decision Breakfast which comes with quite the variety of breakfast foods. Two eggs(served the way you request), two sausages, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of french toast, and two butter pancakes. Everything tasted great. The eggs(I chose scrambled) were fluffy, sausages and bacon were cooked perfectly, french toast and pancakes were delish. All of that for $9.99! It is a big serving size with a great variety of foods so when in doubt, definitely choose this one.  IHOP itself isn’t the most classy place so don’t expect the best but it is still a great restaurant to visit, super cheap too!

Check out this review on Yelp, thanks!

[fattehmatteh]

"District Donuts Sliders & Brew" Review - 5/5.

So tonight we decided to try somewhere new in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana for food and we stumbled upon this place after our first choice was closed down(Yelp hadn’t updated their page, so thanks for that, Yelp!) which ended up being a blessing in disguise! The restaurant itself is quite long and narrow with seating available on the left and the cashier/bar/cooking areas located down the right. Along the side of the bar are bar stools for those who wish to have easy access to drinks/the workers through out their meal. Being able to see the food being prepared right in front of you in a nice touch as if you’re paranoid about food preparation, you’ll see there are no nasty surprises awaiting you. So we(yes, “we”, I didn’t eat all that food myself!) ended up ordering a Cheese Burger Slider, Fried Chicken Slider, and two others(I didn’t eat those) along with a side of fries. The sliders were delicious. A nice crisp bun with well cooked beef(cheese burger) and chicken(fried chicken) with appropriate dressing made the sliders an excellent experience. The fries were also quite good, had a nice crunch to them, no complaints at all. For dessert, we ordered a 7 Layer Donut and an Elvis Donut. The 7 Layer was fantastic. Now, the 7 Layers are actually 7 different toppings but I can’t remember most. What I remember, there was caramel, pecan, and coconut.  It was really delicious! The Elvis Donut..I didn’t think too much of this one. It had caramel, bacon, and bananas. Three things I enjoy but definitely not when put together.  Overall, the meal was very satisfying and very tasty. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the New Orleans area.

Check out this review on Yelp, thanks!