T-Bone's. Go there!

There's a new steak and potatoes place in town, and it's called T-Bone's. Located in Covington where the old Semolina's used to be, you will find the most original hamburgers, steaks, dinner, lunch, and breakfast items.

There are so many reasons for giving T-Bone's a visit. The first reason for going to T-Bone's is that you will most likely meet T-Bone himself. If you're a hot head, he'll probably give you a sample of T-Bone's Devil's Spit hot sauce. Number two reason to visit T-Bone's is that you'll have access to the tasty home-made pickle bar. The bar includes home-made sweet and spicy pickles, Tabasco pickles, sour pickles, jalapenos, and even habaneros! The different varieties of pickles are also available for purchase by the jar to take home. A third and my most recently discovered reason why to go to T-bone's is that you can order a ice-cold bottle of Mexican Coke. Yes, tall bottle, real sugar Coca-Cola. If you like the real stuff, T-Bone's is the place to get it, but Mexi-Coke isn't the only legit item at T-Bone's.

Every choice on the menu is the real deal. At T-Bone's you'll find the best burgers in town. One burger on the menu is the Jalapeno Bacon Cheeseburger. Get that bad boy dressed and enter burger euphoria. You will find that the bun has been slightly grilled and generously buttered and speckled with pieces of jalapeno baked inside it. After taking a few bites, you'll discover that that hunk of burger is dressed with T-Bone's home-made pickles and you may find a lucky clove a garlic between the bacon, cheese, and beef.

A wide and unique selection of burgers is only a smart part of the bigger picture of T-Bone's menu. There are T-Bone steaks, sirloins, carne asada, and tacos to choose from, plus classic breakfast plates, pulled pork sandwiches, and a wide selection of sides. You'll find the right side item for every potato-loving palate on T-Bone's menu. You can choose from a baked potato, sweet potato fries, potato skins, and even baked potato salad to compliment your meaty entree.

So, if you're the ultimate meat and potatoes kind of person, then hurry to T-Bone's to satisfy your palate and your stomach. There is no other restaurant like T-Bone's in the area, or will you find the same unique, flavorful food and extra friendly service.

T-Bone's is new, so rush on by before the Bone gets a liquor license, and get free light beer with your meal. That's 20oz of free beer a round and free beer is the best beer and it tastes great with a burger. T-Bone's is a great place to eat at any time of the day and a place you'll want to eat at every day after you're first visit.

Here are some visual reasons to go see T-Bone....


The carne asada with sweet potato fries and baked potato salad.


Double Down Burger


Tbone's Tostada


The Jalapeno Bacon Cheeseburger with baked potato salad.


Steak Tacos

Urban Spoon Link

Best Pizza Pie on the Northshore

Within the past decade there have been many popular and local pizza joint chains popping up along the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. These restaurants include Isabella's Pizzeria, the Italian Pie, and the Mellow Mushroom. These recently local pizza sensations have been popular among hungry teens and local families for their family atmosphere, traditional menu items, and convenient locations.

These pizzerias have been successful in the Northshore area in recent years, but there is one pizza joint known to many locals to be the most unique since 1976.

The Pizza Man restaurant, in Covington, LA, is the Nothshore's oldest independent Pizza Parlor that stands out among the popular local chains of pizzerias in the area. Even though the Pizza Man has been in longer existence than myself, the atmosphere has not seemed to have changed since the year this pizzeria was established. Inside the restaurant, decorated pizza boxes line the walls along the ceiling of the restaurant with original cartoon drawings of the pizza man character making references to local and popular culture. With almost every visit to the Pizza Man, "Puff The Magic Dragon" can be heard playing from the old jukebox. Unlike other pizza joints in the area, the preparation of the pizza at the Pizza man can be witnessed by its customers through a window that reveals the kitchen. At the time when I was a child and to this very day, kids line up along the kitchen window to see red gravy drizzled upon pizza dough into the shape of a smiley face and dry dough thrown at the window by the "pizza man" himself.

Not only is the atmosphere at Pizza Man unique and different from other local pizza chains, the pizza served there is like no other in the area. The crust of Pizza Man pizzas are very thin and eating one of the pies sometimes require a fork on knife. My favorite specialty pizza at the Pizza Man is "The Pizza Palace." The Palace, as the specialty pie is called for short, is heavily topped with mozzarella, thinly sliced pepperoni, Italian sausage, blanched green peppers, home-made meatball, and onions. The eating of a Pizza Palace pizza is a rich pizza experience so good that you'll forget you're eating a pizza. There is probably more toppings, sauce, and cheese than there is pizza dough in a Palace pizza. This pie is also available with a sprinkling of garlic and it can not be compared to any other pizza made in the Northshore or any other pizza I have eaten in my life time. The Palace pizza should be enjoyed with Pizza Man's large Italian tossed salad that is big enough to feed a family of four, and a cold frosted glass mug of local Abita Amber beer from an ice-cold keg.

The Pizza Man is a local hole-in-the-wall legend of Covington, where I have made many fond childhood memories. It is a perfect place to take your kids for a family dinner. Pizza Man is located on 1248 Collins Blvd. and is open 7 nights a week.



The Pizza Palace pizza and a small cheese pizza next to it.


The kitchen window with children looking in with the pizza man inside making pizzas.


The large Italian salad in dim lighting.


Abita Amber in the frosted mug.


Decorated pizza box.


Pizza Man menu.

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/57/777127/restaurant/New-Orleans/Pizza-Man-of-Covington-Covington"><img alt="Pizza Man of Covington on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/777127/biglink.gif" style="border:none;padding:0px;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>

Bob's Barksdale

Bob's Barksdale is probably my favorite place to eat while I was in school in Memphis.

Bob's is a classic hole-in-the-wall, diamond in the rough, plate lunch haven. Located on Cooper in an orange brick building, Bob's is only open for breakfast and lunch but serves both from opening till close at 2pm.

Like a Waffle House menu, Bob's menu has two sides, one for breakfast and the other for lunch. On the breakfast side of the menu, classic breakfast items can be found including egg combination selections including steak and eggs, "hotcakes," reasonably priced omelets, and biscuit and white gravy plates for customers who have the palette for the traditional country dish.

My favorite breakfast meal at Bob's is a simple plate of two fried eggs over medium with homemade hash browns, white toast with jelly, and a side of bacon. What I had and loved to do with this dish is to take Bob's delicious homemade maple syrup and drizzle it over the whole entire plate. I highly recommend eating hash browns drizzled with syrup rather being doused with ketchup. Even as odd as it sounds to some, the sweet maple syrup so magically compliments the crispy, salty hash potatoes to perfection. I can't even eat hash brown without smothering them in syrup. I don't only anoint the hash browns with syrup, but also the eggs, toast, and bacon. As good as the the maple syrup tastes on salty bacon, its extra sweetness soaks into jelly smeared white toast that is then dipped into the egg yoke that floods the plate and is mixed with more syrup. This delicious homemade syrup truly ties this breakfast plate together. So give the syrup a try before snatching that ketchup bottle and giving your hash browns a tomato blood bath.

Now, what I really like about Bob's is its daily plate lunch specials. The lunch plate at Bob's come with one meat, three sides, and cornbread or rolls for under $7. Two different plate lunches and a country fried steak plate lunch is offered on the menu every day. Plate lunches at Bob's include meats such as fried chicken, fried fish, fried liver, beef tips in red gravy and noddles, baked chicken, and the stuffed bell pepper. Sides include delicious homemade coleslaw, new potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, northern beans, baked macaroni, cinnamon apples, and apple sauce.

My utmost favorite plate lunch at Bob's is unquestionably the stuffed bell pepper that is served mainly on Wednesdays. Sometimes stuffed neatly, but mostly a delicious mess, the stuffed green bell pepper is stuffed with ground beef, onions, rice, and topped with red gravy. Though I thoroughly enjoy a Rocky and Carlos and a Di Christiana's stuffed bell pepper, I'd have to say that Bob's is my favorite. It may be because the pepper is sometime almost chopped up with the meat or that it's served with rice, but every time I ordered it, I never wanted to finish eating it. I wish that meal could last forever.

I can't publish this blog without mentioning my sister's favorite part about Bob's. The bread served with the plate lunches are a choice of homemade cornbread or homemade rolls. My sister is crazy about those rolls and I can't blame her. These rolls baked are in a cornbread pan and are slightly sweet but just barely enough so the fresh flavor and dense texture of homemade bread are complemented and just heavenly. A good slathering of butter on a Bob's roll just makes it complete.

As I mentioned, Bob's Barksdale truly is a diamond in the rough. When I say rough, I mean the booth seats are mended with duct tape, going to the bathroom is an adventure down a narrow hall, and the walls are covered with sports memorabilia, pictures of staff, family, and friends, and random art. If you live in Memphis or are just visiting, check out Bob's during the morning or around noon for a true home cooked southern meal.


The stuffed bell pepper with apple sauce, carrots, and new potatoes.

My friend, Jonathan, with the steak and eggs.

The fried chicken plate with mashed potatoes, baked macaroni, cinnamon apples, and rolls.

Beef tips in red gravy on noddles with coleslaw, broccoli, and new potatoes accompanied with a basket of homemade rolls.

The stuffed bell pepper with mashed potatoes, rolls, and northern beans, which tasted similar to white beans and rice. Third side item is not pictured, but was probably either coleslaw or apple sauce.

Sweet's Outdoor Grill

Sweet's Outdoor Grill is a great lunch time place for delicious smoked BBQ with sweet Louisiana flavor.

The most popular items at Sweet's are its smoked brisket, smoked ribs, and smoked chicken. Sweet's BBQ sauce is slightly sweet, slightly tangy, not too thick, but like no other as it perfectly compliments smoked BBQ meat. A wide variety of sides are offered at Sweet's including smoked corn, coleslaw with walnuts and raisins, baked beans with sausage and onions, and the best potato salad I've ever had. I highly recommend ordering a side of potato salad to accompany an order of Sweet's BBQ ribs. The potato salad beautifully compliments the flavor of the large meaty ribs. The potato salad with the ribs ties the meal together as the potato salad is cool, fresh, and perfectly seasoned and the ribs are warm, plump, and full of smokey flavor.

Sweet's Outdoor Grill is located on Government Street in Baton Rouge in a very unique location. There is no indoor seating at Sweet's, only a picnic table outside under an awning and food is ordered through a window.

This is a great place for a quick and satisfying lunch and now it is open till 6PM. The meat is smoked over 12 hours in a large smoker and the service is fast. Plates and sandwiches are served with a piece of white bread and you will be informed with what just came out of the smoker before you order.

The atmosphere of Sweet's is just as unique and enjoyable as its food. The restaurant is basically a shack attached to a plant nursery. By the first day you go, Sweet's outgoing owner, Rod, will make you feel like family.
Every time I go, Sweet's customers all seem to know each other and I'm always greeted with a big warm welcome.


This is Sweet's.

This is the order window with the menu next to it on the right.

The smoked brisket with smoked corn, beans, coleslaw, and white bread.

The smoked ribs slathered in BBQ sauce with beans, and white bread.

The smoked BBQ chicken with beans, coleslaw, potato salad, white bread and a cup of sauce.

La Mexicana

La Mexicana is a Latin food store with a taqueria located in the back of the store. There you can order authentic tacos with carne asada, al pastor, or tongue. The tacos are traditionally prepared on corn tortillas that are slightly grilled with onions and cilantro. And of course the tacos are served with spicy red and green sauce. I think the sauces are homemade because they had a very fresh taste and a blunt spiciness. I went with my sister this past week and we each got two tacos and a tall bottle of Mexican coke. The total for everything was $10.01. It was such a treat to find this taqueria because it is right in Mandeville behind the McDonald's on hwy 22.
I recommend checking it out because it's as cheap or cheaper than Taco Bell and unquestionably a million times better. Oh, and don't forget to squeeze some lime on the tacos that it's served with.

This taqueria is a great authentic Mexican taco experience that can be good for first time taqueria customers and an inexpensive and healthy lunch or dinner option.

Welcome!!

Welcome to my food blog! I will be putting up pictures and info on my favorite places to eat and my favorite dishes!

Most of this restaurants and dishes are located in the Gulf Coast region and Southeast Louisiana, mostly in the Greater New Orleans area, and in parts of Memphis where I attended art school for four years.

I will also occasionally post pictures and description of home cooked food by family and friends.