The New Orleans Chronicles: Original Sammy's

I was in the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street.  My friends and I had been drinking beers and smoking cigars, as it was a colleague’s birthday.  We had just left a bar with some live music, a cover band of great talent, when it was decided that we needed some real food for the night.  This is where the Original Sammy’s Restaurant came into the picture.  We were walking by the restaurant as it was about to close up, when a waiter popped his head out of the door and beckoned us into the restaurant to be the last table of the evening.  How can you say no to that kind of service?  So in we went. 

The waiter told his staff that he wanted to wait on us and they could start getting their stuff together to leave.  Our waiter kept the restaurant open late just for us.  I could tell that we were in for a treat.  First, we had a round of drinks, and Sammy’s had an extensive bar with liquor, wine, beer and specialty drinks.  They did not have Midori, as one of my friends tried to get a Midori sour, but other than that, seemed pretty standard.  For appetizers, there was a good selection of fried foods, and being in Louisiana, I had to try the alligator.  Alligator has the texture of chicken, but tastes a bit smoky and is greasier.  It was ok, but not the highlight of my meal.  When we ordered our entrées, our waiter, whose name was Walter, found out that it was my colleague’s birthday.  As the New Orleans tradition goes, the birthday girl get dollars pinned on them for luck and prosperity in their new year, so Walter proceeded to pin on a dollar as well.  This was a good photo op for everybody, as well as great service.  The group ordered after Walter went over the menu with us, highlighting the best dishes.  He told the birthday girl that he would have the kitchen make her a special dish not on the menu as a birthday surprise.  The meal for the b-day girl was a crab-stuffed lobster, which was big, juicy and decadent, and everyone else had steaks, seafood, or crab-stuffed shrimp.  I had jambalaya, and let me tell you, it was the BEST jambalaya that I have ever had.  Nothing was over cooked or undercooked, and the flavors tasted full and complex, spicy and smoky.  It was awesome.  The crab-stuffed shrimp were the best food that I tried in New Orleans hands down, and I ate a lot of good Southern food.  They were twice the size of a jumbo shrimp, being stuffed so full of the crab stuffing, and then breaded and deep-fried.  Unbelievable.  After our dinner, we all left a big tip and headed out, with jubilant thanks from Walter.

All told, the dinner was good, some parts of it real good.  If you are looking for something healthy to eat, this is not the place for you, as the only thing not breaded on the menu was the iceberg salad or the jambalaya.  If you are looking for delicious, decadent food and the best service in New Orleans, ask for Walter at the Original Sammy’s Restaurant at 627 Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans.  You won’t be sorry.