Willie Mae's Scotch House: Is It Worth It?

A sleeper on the Willie Mae's menu, a country style fried pork chop.

A place like Willie Mae's Scotch House is tailor made to be a complete bust. Featured on more travel shows than voodoo, Willie Mae's was rebuilt by a cadre of chefs following the federal flood. With such an influx of attention and cameras, one could understand if they began hawking seasoned flours and stovetop chicken fryers on HSN. What's more, Willie Mae Seaton has long since turned the place over  to her granddaughter. It would be very easy for Willie Mae's to cash in on its fifteen minutes, follow the lead of other "World Famous" New Orleans restaurants, and begin buying stamps at a discount rate.

No way in hell that has happened or will happen at Willie Mae's.

This restaurant is so charming I thought it was going to take Lindsay home. The servers have a warmth and personality that will steer you away from say a regular fried pork chop to the country style pork chop, which has a more coarse coating, but a juicier interior. Perhaps it is the fact that your seat may be under a grotto filled with well-wishes from Jesus, but there is something both holy and homey about the food served here.

Red beans are costume de rigueur at the carnival clubs that are New Orleans' neighborhood restaurants. To be clear, the ones at Willie Mae's are an excellent example of the Creole standby. However, pass them up as a side to your fried chicken or pork chop for a plate of the butter beans. They are smoky, rich, and silken like a a bootlegger's smoking jacket. Skip the cornbread and macaroni and cheese; order more beans.

The fried chicken at Willie Mae's could perhaps be the best in the world. The crust is a shade below mahogany and shatters just slightly less than a Christmas ornament dropped on the ground. Break the seal of the crust, and a waft of sultry, fragrant steam floods out as if you had opened the door to a sauna filled with Victoria's Secret models. The interior, juicy and salty, is worthy of an interview with James Lipton. One of the great experiences in this mortal coil is to run a palmful of fried chicken crust through the last bits of butter beans on your plate. A standard order comes with three pieces, you might as well order two.

If you go early, you will deal with crowds, lines, and a long wait for chicken. Go around one and you will waltz right into one of New Orleans' best restaurants.

Willie Mae's Scotch House: Is It Worth It? Absolutely.
2401 St. Ann St
(504) 822-9503
Open daily.

Hungry Thursday

 

Holy Thursday in New Orleans proved to be a day for serious eating. First stop was Dooky Chase's for gumbo z'herbes and fried chicken. Now you probably know the story. You eat gumbo z'herbes on Holy Thursday to fortify yourself for the days of fasting ahead. you use an odd number of greens for good luck/letting you know how many new friends you will make, eating the gumbo means you don't have to go to church on Good Friday. You know, basic Catholic stuff. For another take on Holy Thursday, check out NOLAnotes.

The gumbo is very peppery and pungent, not mind you, spicy. The greens melt into the stock both thickening and flavoring the soup. I could have eaten bowls of this gumbo. Scratch that, I should have eaten bowls of this gumbo. Plus, a 2 piece order of fried chicken hit the spot. The crust on the chicken at Dooky's is some of the finest in town: firm, well-seasoned, and liable to shatter all over your shirt. But this batch of chicken was a little dry and under seasoned in the meat portion. Let's chalk it up to it being their busiest day of the year.

Our fried chicken appetites whet, Lindsay and I headed around the corner to Willie Mae's Scotch House for a bowl of black pepper laced red beans and rice and some more fried chicken.

The fried chicken at Willie Mae's is noticeably different than other genres around town. First off the coating is a bit more luxurious more resembling the wet batter you find on Mandarin chicken. The coating has more heft to it and tends not to crackle and splinter like old paint. The interior of Willie Mae's chicken is very juicy and well-seasoned to the bone.

 

If I could design the perfect piece of fried chicken it would have the crust from Dooky's and the interior of Willie Mae's. But until they merge, I am content to keep eating both.