Eating in NOLA:

So I think this might come as a surprise to a lot of you.  Not every New Orleans food blogger is a "lawyer"  who has a lot of "disposable income" and can "afford" to eat in restaurants.  Some of us are struggling Tulane MBA students who are coming to the end of our loan money and can't afford to eat in restaurants all the time... but do it anyway.

So in hopes of being at least slightly more responsible, this week I am going to focus on places that offer a cheap noontime meal.  I figured a fair limit was $10 (including tax and tip) so that's what I'll be aiming for.  I'll give you the good along with he bad.  We all know that there are places out there were you can get a plate full of awful for under $10.  If that's what I find I'll let you know so you don't make the same mistake.  Thanks to everyone that gave suggestions via Twitta.  I'm looking forward to trying them all out.

So first on the list is the Vietnamese spot, Jazmine Cafe on Carrollton.  Jazmine was a good place to start.  If you decide to stop reading this post right now, stop knowing that Jazmine's lunch special is a pretty good bet.

They offer a 10am-3pm lunch special Tuesday through Saturday and all under $10 including tax and tip (assuming you don't mind drinking water, and you really shouldn't).  They offer ten lunch special options that you can check out here.

Kerry got the Bun Ga Nuong (Grilled Chicken Breast Noodle Salad Bowl).

They start you off with a bowl of soup and then bring this out to you.  You're looking at Grilled chicken breast strips with vermicelli noodles, shredded cucumber, lettuce, pickled carrots, and cilantro.  The cucumber, lettuce, carrots and cilantro are kinda hidden but you can trust that they are there.  It comes with some sweet chili sauce too.  I'm not sure you can tell how much food is there but its a good amount.  Much more than expected.

I had the Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong (Grilled Sliced Pork and Summer Roll Noodle Salad Bowl).

 

As I'm sure you can tell its pretty much the same thing except with pork and a summer roll thrown on top.  I'm telling you, these pictures don't do it justice.  Its a lot of food.  Those are bowls not plates.

So like I said it was a good jumping off point for the series.  Huge success.  It was good enough I wanted it for dinner the next day.  Alright that's it.  Go eat now.

Check in tomorrow for the next post in the series.  I think it is going to be a Sarita's Grill... but I make you no promises.