Czech in the Kitchen

NOLA – RootSquare

We have done a lot of walking on this vacation.  I would say we average 8 – 10 miles a day going to places like City Park, Palmer Park, down the River Walk, throughout the French Quarter and of course down the famous Magazine Street. We’re at the opposite end of the French Quarter from Magazine Street and so the walk ends up being at least 4 miles each way… that’s just during the day mind you… then we come back shower off and go out to wander the French Quarter…. It’s a wonderful life for sure.

One of the places we’ve been to visit on our hot walks down Magazine Street is Root Square as the timing turned out we were in the neighbourhood at the right time (a senior dinner hour… lol… about 5 pm) we were tired and hot and hungry.  So we decided to check it out.

We opted to dine upstairs on the beautiful wraparound balcony instead of downstairs where the meal options are set and a little pricy for our needs.  When you’ve been walking around the city for a few hours and are hot and sticky it’s not the most opportune time to have a 2 1/2 hour dining experience.

One of the things I’m beginning to notice about the restaurants in NOLA is that if you order a lemonade and it’s ‘fresh’ or made from real lemon juice and not the mix or tap stuff then the food is likely going to be pretty good.

This lemonade was fabulous, a little tart, just how I like it and for my partner in crime who wanted it a bit sweeter the waiter was kind enough to bring out some simple syrup to help it out.


We started with the Coffee and  Strawberry Cured Salmon which was accompanied by several pickled items…. including green strawberries… interesting… and actually better tasting than I had expected, green tomatoes, peaches and heirloom carrots. The salmon was lovely.

P had the Lamb Meatball Rigatoni which was pretty good and it was easy to tell it was all made from scratch.

I had the Tandoori Roasted Monkfish (something I’ve always wanted to try – I’ve heard it described as the less expensive lobster) and it came with a Harissa Yogurt and some pickles… they seem to really love to pickle things here….and they are good at it.

This is a newer restaurant in New Orleans but if you’re ever down Magazine Street it’s definitely worth a try.