Yes, it is located on Bourbon Street, no that does not make this a tourist trap and yes, you get both Cajun and Creole food. There, I said it. Google around and there are multiple opinions about Bourbon Street. Immaterial of what you read, if you are in New Orleans, Bourbon Street is a must visit, though, the same cannot be said about eating at the restaurants on the street. While it is great for an evening to watch the proceedings go by, the street is no longer super popular for food. Oceana is an exception.
Let's start with the gumbo, a dish that I didn’t post a picture of simply because it tastes a lot better than it looks. By a big margin! For someone who is traveling from across the planet, I can't place a finger on how to describe it, so I guess, it is best described as Cajun, simply because it is a cuisine of its own. If I had to describe it, I would think of it being an Italian-Chinese fusion soup! Though the menu did not mention it, this seemed more Cajun than Creole to me.
And the dish I've been waiting to eat, the Crawfish Étouffée is everything it is touted to be. A southern Cajun stew is the simplest way to describe such a complex dish, served with rice in the centre. The stew reminded of Indian curries, quite complex with no single ingredient standing out, but all of them coming together perfectly and like the Indian curries, it goes perfectly with rice.
And finally, I've ticked off a mini bucket list, to eat a real Cajun Pasta. Ours was a fettuccine, tossed in Alfredo sauce with Cajun flavoured prawns thrown in. Simple and comforting. While not as popular the Jack Po Boy, the shrimp Po Boy here wasn't far behind, served with a healthy helping of french fries.
While we stumbled onto Oceana because we were hungry, we later figured out that they rank high on ratings and I couldn't argue with that! If you had one restaurant to try all of New Orleans dishes, this is it!
Let's start with the gumbo, a dish that I didn’t post a picture of simply because it tastes a lot better than it looks. By a big margin! For someone who is traveling from across the planet, I can't place a finger on how to describe it, so I guess, it is best described as Cajun, simply because it is a cuisine of its own. If I had to describe it, I would think of it being an Italian-Chinese fusion soup! Though the menu did not mention it, this seemed more Cajun than Creole to me.
And the dish I've been waiting to eat, the Crawfish Étouffée is everything it is touted to be. A southern Cajun stew is the simplest way to describe such a complex dish, served with rice in the centre. The stew reminded of Indian curries, quite complex with no single ingredient standing out, but all of them coming together perfectly and like the Indian curries, it goes perfectly with rice.
And finally, I've ticked off a mini bucket list, to eat a real Cajun Pasta. Ours was a fettuccine, tossed in Alfredo sauce with Cajun flavoured prawns thrown in. Simple and comforting. While not as popular the Jack Po Boy, the shrimp Po Boy here wasn't far behind, served with a healthy helping of french fries.
While we stumbled onto Oceana because we were hungry, we later figured out that they rank high on ratings and I couldn't argue with that! If you had one restaurant to try all of New Orleans dishes, this is it!
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