If you have been following my New Orleans stories, you’ll know that our group visit Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico before dinner at Commander’s Palace. Our mission is to eat some BBQ shrimp beforehand and boy do we eat some BBQ shrimp!
Before I walk up the stairs to a private room on the second floor, I take a quick glance around the dining room where the staff are setting up for dinner service. Maybe on the next visit to NOLA, I’ll eat an entire meal here.
Champagne is already waiting for us, but I opt for water instead. BBQ shrimp soon comes around. I count several, as they are eaten up quickly, one platter after another.
The shrimp possess a good snap, but the sauce they are bathed in is just average. The sauce is rich in color and consistency, but its flavor is neither here nor there.
We then visit Mr B’s Bistro in the French Quarter where we are to taste a handful of dishes before moving on to another restaurant. The BBQ Shrimp here arrives with head and shell intact. The sauce is peppery and bursting with flavor. I peel the head off and suck on it, a messy feat, but a worthwhile one. Since I am not able to eat the oysters everyone else is partaking in, I eat my fair share of the BBQ shrimp.
We also try the shrimp and grits — plump shrimp wrapped with bacon — but the BBQ shrimp win hands down in comparison.
To get to our last stop of the night, (a Chowzter editor) and I share a pedicab to get us there. It is foggy and damp with a temperature of around 42 degrees and I am freezing. The 10-15 minute ride takes us to Drago where the table soon fills up with oysters and more. I only have room for a couple of BBQ shrimp and a bowl of sauteed spinach (which raises a ton of eyebrows at the table, but I don’t care).
The shrimp here are my least favorite. The sauce is one dimensional in flavor and the only thing I detect is salt and some spices. There is no natural umami from the shrimp. I’m high suspicious that these are frozen shrimp — not worth the trouble really.
I am sure there are other respectable BBQ shrimp dishes in the city, and if you have any recommendations, please let me know. I’ll bookmark them should I be in NOLA again.
Emeril’s Delmonico Restaurant
1300 St Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70130
Tel: 504-525-4937
Mr B’s Bistro
201 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Tel: 504-523-2078
Drago’s Seafood Restaurant
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
2 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Tel: 504-584-3911
When I lived there, Pascal Manale’s Uptown was the place, but that was years ago. I’ve always liked Mr. B’s Bistro; liked it back in the 80s, and enjoyed it a couple years ago when my wife and I returned after a long absence.
Deenie’s BBQ Shrimp is my favorite!!! I’m a foodie and never, ever leave NOLA without enjoying it!