Hey friends. How are y’all this morning? I’m great. Just gearing up for a crazy long day at work, followed by a meeting. I love being busy though, probably because I feel so accomplished at the end of the day. What about you?
Lately, I’ve been on a mission to try as many local restaurants as possible. Although I was born and raised in New Orleans, new places are coming and going all the time.
Saturday, Elizabeth and I were going to grab lunch before heading out the shop, which, p.s. probably wasn’t the best idea .. bloated = don’t want to try on. Or maybe its a great idea so it kept me from buying too much? haha.
Speaking of shopping, I’m addicted to asos.com. And they are having a sale right now, so check it out!!
At first we were going to eat at O’Henry’s. As we were parking, I saw La Macarena and asked Elizabeth if she wanted to check it out. She said yes, and we did. Let’s just say it was one of our favorite discoveries ever!!
La Macarena serves home-style Central American cuisine. It was authentic and just amazing! Heads up though, it’s cash only (they have an atm there) and BYOB.
We started with the Fresh Guacamole & Chips. Elizabeth loves salsa, so she asked if they served any. They said they didn’t, but that they would make it for us, if we ordered the guacamole.
Um yea, as you can see both look fresh and amazing … and they were!! The guacamole had a perfect balance of flavors, smooth, fresh and no one flavor over powered. They chef added cucumber and tomato chunks. It was perfect. And the salsa the chef made just for us? Wow. It was fresh and wonderful. He added some peppers to it, which gave it a pretty yummy kick.
Elizabeth’s meal was the Cosmopolitan which consisted of a burrito with eggs, Argentinian chorizo, hash browns & cheese. Black beans and fried plantains were served as a side.
How MOUTH WATERING does that look?? I regretted not ordering the Cosmopolitan after seeing hers, until I saw my meal.
For my meal, I went with the vegetarian Rellenitos de Yuca Especiales. I still have no idea what this was. They described it as dumplings. Maybe this is how Central America does dumplings?
While I have no idea what I ate, I do know that there was a foodgasim in my mouth. I loved every. single. bite. I mean, just look at the inside???
Ahhhh. I want more!!!
Finding new restaurants is my favorite thing to do, especially when I’m totally impressed with the place. I can’t wait to go back! Like I said, it is BYOB, so I’m thinking some kind of sangria next time I go. Ahhh. Love!!
If you’re in the New Orleans area and have not been to La Macarena yet, get your little butt over there, NOW! I’m telling you, you will be impressed!
Do you like to check out new restaurants in your town or city? Do you try to research the restaurant first, or just go in with an open mind?
** These opinions are all my own. We both paid in full for our respective meals. **
Tags: BYOB, Central American Cuisine, La Macarena, New Orleans Restaurants, NoLa Finds
You went to La Macarena and didn’t get the pupusas?!?!?! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!! My mom is from El Salvador so I am very well versed in Salvadoran cuisine, and I must say that Manny (the owner) and his mother make the best pupusas I have ever eaten in my life. Better than the homeland. His grandmother makes the cheese!!! They fly to El Salvador a few times a year and bring back suitcases full. Seriously, call me next time you go. I live like, right there. And yes, their guac is the best. It’s a fairly new menu item, too.
I am a fan of just launching into the unknown, but my husband reads reviews from half a dozen sources first. So it’s never really a total surprise for me anymore (unless I’m traveling for work without him). ;-)
Then again, he’s found us some gems, so I can’t complain! (Best one this year, so far, was Rio Mar @ 800 S Peters St in NOLA)
I love Elizabeth’s meal…so delicious looking, but your look fantastic too..Great post!!!
Don’t you just love fried plantains?! And the vegan meal looks terrific!
Omg…that rellenitos thing looks so good! Talk about cheesy goodness. I may have to hop on a plane and fly down to New Orleans just to get some!
Wow you girls had some meal!! I thought the guac & salsa looked great, then I saw your meals! Yours looked fantastic! Love discovering new places
Holy Goodness! Asos.com is incredible! Thank you for the shopping amazingness! The clothes are so stinking adorable!
I love trying new restaurants! It is so thrilling! We have never lived in one place for more than 2 years and I love it because we get to have so many dining adventures!
I know right?! I *may* have gone overboard with their sale, but I LOVE everything I got … or I think I will love it when it all arrives!!
I wish I lived closer to a Central American restaurant so I could try some authentic dishes like that. Unfortunately the only thing around me is the Americanized Mexican places. And yes – those dumplings look crazy delicious.