Lil Dizzy's in Treme

Blogger's Note: As Rene indicated on Friday, we will be on a much needed vacation for the next 2 weeks. My brain is absolutely fried, so I doubt that whatever I write right now would make any sense. So in lieu of our funny usual selves, we will be sporadically posting a few pictures to tide y'all over till we make our full return.

On a study break over 4th of July weekend, Triple B and I went to Lil' Dizzy's on Esplanade for the lunch buffet. Unfortunately, the lunch buffet only happens on Sundays, so we were restricted to a la carte. Triple B had the fried chicken, which she claims was better than Willie Mae's. Personally, I thought the chicken was a little dry, but the macaroni and cheese was great. No gruyere or shaved truffle in this dish - just straight up soul food.

I was pretty disappointed that the buffet was not available, so I decided to change directions entirely and go with a po-boy. Buried somewhere underneath that curtain of melted neon yellow cheese were several links of excellent hot sausage, which the waitress claimed were "made in-house." I think what she really meant was "made to our specifications by Vaucresson," but that's just splitting hairs.

While the food was good, there were a few things that bothered me about Dizzy's. The tables are cramped very tightly together, so much so that we were constantly being bumped into by either the wait staff or diners sitting next to us. This problem was magnified by the girth of the typical diner at Dizzy's, which (like me) is well above average in size. Also, while the buffet is not available, the buffet server is used by the wait staff to fill orders. Let me explain: the food is cooked in the kitchen and then brought dumped onto to the buffet server in the dining room, and the waitresses pull food directly from there to fill orders. So basically there is a pile of fried chicken and a pan full of mac and cheese sitting 2 feet from your table, but you still wait 20 minutes for the waitress to put it on a plate for you. Just a strange setup.

The entertainment value though was through the roof. Let me set the scene: 4th of July weekend in New Orleans (read: Essence Fest) and the Michael Jackson memorial service on every television. Let's just say that Triple B and I were completely out of our element, but we had a great time. The waitresses had us rolling laughing, complete with a reenactment of MJ's favorite pose - fedora and white latex glove included.

Lil Dizzy's in Treme - Par

For Lunch Today...

Its raining and that makes me think of Irma Thomas. As such something with some body, some meaning, and quintessentially New Orleans to eat would fit the bill. Easy choice here: weather for the ducks calls for Gumbo. I don't care where you go for it. Perhaps you may want to duck into Herbsaint or Cochon and sit at the bar for Chef Link's always amazing Gumbo of the Day. Some critics* of this blog have mentioned my man crush on Donald Link. Fair enough, I won't deny it but his gumbo may be the finest in the city.

Maybe you would like to go Liuzza's By the Track. Perhaps just pop into Lil' Dizzy's. Gumbo Ya-Ya at Mr. B's. Or wait till dinner time and pick up a quart of gumbo from Leah Chase at Dooky Chase's. Your call.

What is your favorite gumbo?

*By critics I mean the 2 of the 4 readers of said blog.