New Orleans to Go

New Orleans to Go is my new favorite restaurant. It has it all, great food, amazing atmosphere and the best customer service. I have been there back to back weeks now, they usually come downtown Wednesday-Friday every week. You can follow them on twitter or facebook to know exactly where they are or where they will be on any given day. I saw one tweet saying that they will soon be going to Eden Park on Sunday's for brunch, I can't wait to try that out with my family.

The first time I went I got a fry and gravy with debris (shredded pot roast) with a bbq glaze and lettuce, tomato and mayo poboy. Even though I am a picky eater, I still ate it as is and it was very good. Some of the flavors threw me off since I simply don't usually get them or like them all that much, like the mayo. The BBQ glaze also had some mustard taste to it or something that threw my taste buds off. All in all it was a good sandwich and the flavors were different with each bite.



I got stuck under the truck that day because it started to pour down rain as soon as I put my order in. But it ended up being a good thing because I got to talk to some of the nicest people while I ate the food they cooked for me. I also kept getting fed more and more food that they wanted me to try, including the fried shrimp with a honey glaze (which they bottle and sell) that was so good. I asked to buy some today to take on my upcoming vacation, but they didn't have any in the truck, but they promised me some when I returned.  By far the fried shrimp with that honey glaze is my favorite thing that I have had from the truck so far. They also fed me some more of the debris with just the gravy which was very good on its own without all the other flavors getting in the way.



I also lucked out that day because it was Fireside Pizza's last day there and with a purchase of $5 or more from any food truck you got to take home a freshly made pizza out of their fire brick oven. I had to try a piece while I waited for my poboy to be made and it was very good. I actually served the rest of it and my other half of the poboy to my family for dinner that night and they all loved it and ate it all up.  I hope to go back for some other styles of pizza they sell at local farmers markets around town.  You can also follow them on facebook and twitter to catch them out and about.

Since my first experience was so good, I had to take my co-workers back for our Thursday lunch. This time I knew to get it without all the fixins and just get it with what I wanted.



This time I chose to get a half buffalo chicken half honey glazed fried shrimp with bacon poboy and cheese fries. It is now my new favorite thing. It was so good and right on the money. They also gave me some fried shrimp on the side to share with my co-workers. The buffalo sauce had a good kick to it, definitely the spiciest of the sauces (had me sweating), then the honey glaze (my favorite) has the best flavor and still a little bite to it and then the BBQ sauce which is my least favorite because of the mustard flavor I thought I tasted the first time I went (yet I was told it had no mustard in it).



They also sell things like jambalaya and catfish etouffee and basically anything you would find down in New Orleans. Did I mention that they get everything shipping in straight from New Orleans?

I have never been to New Orleans but every time I go to this food truck, I desperately want to go for a trip. From everything I have seen on TV or heard about, it reminds me of an adult Disney World. It just seems so happy and upbeat. I would be shocked to see people not having a good time or people not being friendly down there. The music alone puts me in a good mood. I asked them what the music was that plays outside their truck and they told me it was a Pandora station called Rockin' Sidney. Take a listen to what you might hear when you go there for some food (and you MUST go).



I have never seen or tasted anything like what they are doing at New Orleans to Go and it is hard to put into words (I hope I painted a pretty good picture). So you just have to go and check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

New Orleans to Go Ratings

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Taco Azul

Lately I have been hitting up a lot of the Food Trucks here in Cincinnati. I don't know what it is about them, maybe the personal feel to them and the tweeting back and fourth with the people that will be serving you the food that day. Whatever it is, it has me hooked right now.



Today I went to Taco Azul a taco truck (obviously). When I got to the truck there were already about 10 people hovered around it. Most of them had already ordered so I didn't have to wait in much of a line to put my order in. I decided to go with three different tacos since I had never been there before and knew I would be writing about it later. I got the chicken, carnitas and the al pastor. I got cheese and guac on all three of them and some pico de gallo on the side. The guac was $.50 extra per taco (yet it seems like they only charge this sometimes, per my friend who got his for free).



We waited to get our food for a good amount of time, but not to the point where I was getting mad about it. To ease the pain, they offered up some free chips and salsa in small dishes to people waiting in line. I'm glad they did because I got to try some and it was really good. It had just the right amount of kick to it without being overbearing. One thing I did want to note to them was that the truck is so loud that they really need to speak up, I had a very hard time even hearing my own name. I had to keep leaning into them to hear what they were asking or telling me. This also caused a problem with the music, I couldn't hear it unless I was right next to it and even then it was hard to hear. It didn't bother me too much, it was just more of an FYI for them.





We got our food and went to a near by bench to eat it. I reached in and grabbed my first taco, which happened to be the al pastor. First thing I noticed when I opened it up was that they most likely were all going to be served on corn tortillas rather than flour (which I expected). The tacos were good, but the main taste I had in my mouth was the tortillas. Next time, I might ask if they can just use one instead of two to maybe cut down on the taste of them. The guac wasn't the best and didn't add much flavor. I did add some pico de gallo to it to try and add some more flavor and juice, which seemed to help a little. I still enjoyed Taqueria Mercado more, but it is tough to beat the price.



The next taco I pulled out happened to be the carnitas, which happened to be my favorite of the three. It had the most flavor and was the juiciest. I didn't even need to add any of the pico de gallo since it was good on its own. I would probably just get two of these next time, yet they don't always sell this taco (bummer).



My third taco was the chicken. Most chicken tacos I get from Mexican restaurants (except Nada) seem to always be the driest tacos, this was no exception. I added the rest of my pico de gallo to help, but it didn't do much. The guac didn't help much and when I opened the taco up to see where everything was, I pulled out basically 1/4 of an avocado. The guac was so hard (due to this avocado) that I couldn't even put my finger through it. I enjoy more of a paste like guacamole. The good thing about this was the fact that I could tell that they were making the guac right there on the truck and that it was as fresh as it could be. But I still think that the guac is the area they need to work on the most.



All in all I did enjoy the meal and for $8.50 for 3 tacos, guac and a drink, I didn't think it was that bad. Next time I go (and there will be a next time) I will most likely just get two tacos for $2/each and then a drink for $1 and leave there only spending $5 and have plenty of food to fill me for lunch. I have heard great things about the steak (within the few hours AFTER I ate here) and supposedly they are always running out of it, so that should tell you something. I usually don't get the steak tacos anywhere because they seem to always be very chewy. So I need to try them the next time I go.

Taco Azul Ratings

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Nada

I have been to Nada twice now. At first I thought I would never go there since I heard how fancy and expensive it was. Once I went, I was pleasantly surprised on the pricing and the atmosphere. It was still more upscale than I am use to, but for a date night with the wife, it is perfect! I figure it is cheaper than the boat house and about the same as going to an outback or olive garden, but so much better.

The first trip there was with a co-worker for lunch where I got the chicken tacos, chips, guac and salsa. Everything was very good. The chicken tacos were probably the best chicken tacos I have ever eaten. Most chicken tacos I get have dry chicken, but theirs were very juicy and tender. The cheese they paired it with was also amazing. I had never heard of the cheese, but it is called chihuahua cheese. The guac and homemade chips were also very good and fresh. I love that put their guac on almost every one of their tacos. The only negative thing I can take away from that trip was the dessert we got. I believe we got some sort of chocolate cream type dessert (I can't think of the name for it, but I could have done without it). They also let us try something fried (I believe it was a fried churro) which didn't do anything for me either. It was decent, but almost like eating nothing.

The second time I went was with my wife. I was told to get the fish tacos, which I had never had anywhere before. So my wife got the fish tacos while I got the carnitas tacos and we would just share. I have to admit, I am addicted to the fish tacos now and I want to try them everywhere to see if it is just Nada's or fish tacos in general that I love. The carnitas I could have done without. Out of the 3 different kinds of tacos I have had there, the carnitas are by far the worst, but not bad. When I go back I will probably do some sort of mix between the fish and chicken tacos.

WHEN I go back I will have to take some more pictures since I only have the one of my carnitas from the last time I went.

Nada Ratings

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BagPipes

BagPipes just recently closed down on 7th street, which seems to be pretty common with new restaurants downtown, especially on the corner of 7th and Race. I wanted to still write a review because I truly felt like I was their #1 customer.

The reason I went so much was for one reason only, their fish sandwich special on Friday. On Friday they would have a fish sandwich, fries and ANY draft beer you wanted for only $8. For downtown, that is a GREAT price! Most good drafts would cost you around $4 or $5 and a fish sandwich meal would be easily over $6. So getting them both for only $8, it was a no-brainer for me.

Luckily for me, my friends enjoyed meeting me down there every Friday for this deal. And it wasn't just because it was cheap, the fish wasn't that bad. We never left wanting more food, that's for sure. The sandwich was very large and the fries were good too. The only thing I would say bad about the fish is that it didn't seem too fresh and a lot of the time I would take a bite and would come up with just breading and no fish. I was also happy that they would let me swap my tartar sauce for some BBQ sauce for the fish, but mainly for my fries.

The biggest downfall for this place, I think, would have to be the service. I was probably there around 7 or 8 times during the 2 month stand and it never seemed like the waiters knew what they were doing. When we finally did get one that had a clue, she was apologizing for everyone else. Getting our food quickly was never a problem because I don't think they ever stopped making the fish on Fridays since it seemed like everyone who went there that day was going for the special. The one thing that drove me crazy about the place was that they APPEARED to have so many beers on tap, but it would take me 10 minutes to choose my beer because I would settle on one to find out that it was not being served at that time or "just ran out." If you have 20 draft beers on your menu and 20 taps on the bar, you should really try and keep them in stock or at least have half for sale. It was pretty amazing going through 5 or 6 different beers to find them all out at that moment.

In the end, I will still miss the $8 fish special, but I am sure I will find something to replace it. I actually went to Washington Platform last Friday and the fish was much better and if you go with a friend you can always do the buy one fish get the second for only $1! I think you will be seeing a new blog post soon with my new Friday fish place.

It is pretty amazing that I went there so many times and never took a picture of the fish, I only took a picture of my first visit which was a not so good burger. It was way over cooked and literally burnt on the outside. This might have been the only burger I have not finished due to taste in my life.

BagPipes Ratings

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