#southern style
Situated in paradise on the shores of #LakeAtitlan in #Guatemala’s San Pedro La Laguna, #SmokinJoes is not only a mobile weekend American southern-style bbq, but a shop providing the town with much needed access to gourmet imports, southern style homemade bbq sauces, & most importantly clean food.
Stop by the bbq Saturdays in Panajachel or Sunday in San Pedro for perfectly grilled meat comas and a scrumptious selection of sides, or just to hang at the bar, where there are weekly drink specials.
Open til 4pm Tues-Friday, our shop is just 2 doors beyond the bbq location, so stop by for the freshest, widest selection, and check out the catalog on FB: https://www.facebook.com/smokinjoesbbqmeats/
Can you think of a prettier backdrop for chillaxed weekend foodcoma bliss?
*Photo courtesy of LM
Long story as I haven’t blogged in forever but I wound up in Guatemala enjoying THIS fabulous bbq on weekends trying to slow my brain tumor w/clean food. I HAVE lost plenty of weight on the clean food diet and THAT is my view.
Smokin’ Joe’s is not only one of the most delicious things in town but a truly diverse experience and one you can’t miss traveling down here!
I wouldn’t recommend it if i didn’t eat there!
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Hi all! I know, I know… but, I’ve been extremely busy at the start of 2016. Also, I’ve been trying to figure out the direction I would like this blog to take and how to manage it.
When I originally started this, I intended on making it a sort of lifestyle blog as well as featuring photography of the South, particularly New Orleans. Those are two pretty different things, though, and it’s really turned into just a photography blog. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve really enjoyed that. However, I still want to pursue my other interests and write about lifestyle, beauty, fashion, design, food, NOLA, whatever I want… from the perspective of a modern, Southern woman. I know a lot of people probably aren’t following this blog for those things, though. Therein lies my predicament.
I’ve decided to register www.therisingcrescent.com (it wasn’t available before, but suddenly it is in 2016, so maybe it’s fate) instead of therisingcrescent.net, and use the .com as my lifestyle blog. I’m in the process of building that, and I’ll definitely keep you guys posted if you want to follow it. Any articles I write on there about New Orleans I will link to here as well.
As for this blog, I still want to keep it (of course), but I have it now registered under the domain www.risingcrescentphotography.com. Straight to the point, easy to remember. This will stay solely New Orleans/Southern (or wherever my travels also take me) photography based with, like I said, a few articles on NOLA/travel here and there. Since this is in a Tumblr format, it’ll be easy for me to keep up and post photos still instead of keeping up with 2 separate, full websites (if that makes sense).
So – don’t fret, I’ll still be posting my photography here and even a bit on the new blog as well. I’ll definitely be keeping you guys posted on that. I just wanted to better sort out the sites so I don’t have anyone viewing posts they’re not interested in… hopefully, this will work out.
I’m really excited about therisingcrescent.com and establishing a place where I can really experiment with all aspects of my creativity. And, you can always follow me on Instagram (@risingcrescent) for posts about the blog and also, of course, New Orleans. :)
Thank you guys so much for following me the last year and all the wonderful feedback I’ve received. Y’all are awesome.
xx kim
Commander’s Palace in New Orleans
http://www.commanderspalace.com
ORIGINAL PICTURES
REVIEW
(NOTE): some of these dishes will not have the same names as appeared on the menu at the time, and most will not be on the menu if you look it up present day, because they switch out dishes all the time. I believe the three which remain almost always on the menu are the filet mignon, the pecan pie and the creole bread pudding soufflé.
“Ambience”: We think it is really important to highlight how amazing the atmosphere and service are in this restaurant. The waiters are all clean cut, formally dressed, efficient and friendly as well as polite, unlike the cold, detached manner which some waiters at high-end restaurants often end up with. The outside is unassuming, while the dining room is a fairy-lit wonderland. It has a classic, old-fashioned, elegant design and furnishings, while still maintaining a chic, relatable vibe. Our waiter in particular was very charismatic and carried out his job excellently. Unquestionably outstanding service.
Appetizers
Lobster Bisque:
The broth was made from lobster stock (the shells), but didn’t contain any actual lobster meat. It was also not as creamy as we would have expected or liked. The flavor was tasty, but not exactly as expected, since you would want a bisque to be thick and creamy, but this was more of a broth.
Salad:
It was a very tasty, balanced, well dressed salad. But I wouldn’t exactly say it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted, because at the end of the day, it is just a salad. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a refreshing, bright start to the meal.
Entrées
Scallops with Polenta (written by my friend):
Hands down, the best scallops I’ve ever had. Perfectly seared, tender, nestled on a bed of creamy, cheesy polenta that I could take a bath in. The acidity of the pickled vegetables on top made for a perfect bite. Honestly, it was soft, and crispy, and juicy, and creamy all in your mouth having a party. It was delicious.
Filet Mignon of Black Angus Beef:
This was absolutely one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, perhaps rivaled only by the dishes produced in the finer restaurants in Paris. It was cooked perfectly, seasoned delightfully (yes, delightfully), and ridiculously juicy. You might think that there isn’t much you can do to elevate a simple piece of meat, but this steak was obviously treated with a lot of care and love, which is a trademark of creole cooking. This perfect cut of beef was resting on buttery, fluffy, hot mashed potatoes to embody the best pairing of steak and potatoes I’ve ever tasted. The wine which was used to cook the onions and mushrooms on top of the steak permeated it, and the juices from the meat and veggies dripped down into the mash, giving it added depth of flavor and tying the whole dish together. An absolutely wonderful plate of food; would recommend 100% to any steak lover, or basically any non-vegetarian out there (and even if you are a vegetarian, this is the steak to cheat with).
Desserts
Southern Style Pecan Pie:
Crust was overcooked. The filling was ok, but the crust was definitely overdone. Was unimpressive.
Commander’s Bread Pudding Soufflé:
This was not our cup of tea. It was too sweet, we didn’t like the whiskey cream sauce (it was too boozy), the soufflé dome was rather bland, and the bread pudding itself was heavy and syrupy. But again, we’re biased because we don’t like bread pudding in general (not a single one in NOLA). This was just not our taste, but Commander’s Palace is famous for it, and lots of people flock back to the restaurant just for this dessert.
The reason why this is the best overall restaurant in our opinion is because nothing was poorly executed with the exception of the pie crust, and it lived up to its marvelous reputation. Great service, lovely ambience, some examples of truly stellar food, and overall a wonderful experience. A grade-A example of an upper class New Orleans restaurant.
*****/***** five out of five stars
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This is the end of the New Orleans reviews.
SAN FRANCISCO to come!
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