Praline Connection. Marigny: 542 Frenchmen. 504-943-3934.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris September 22, 2010 13:31 in

2 Fleur
Average check per person $5-$15
 BreakfastNo Breakfast SundayNo Breakfast MondayNo Breakfast TuesdayNo Breakfast WednesdayNo Breakfast ThursdayNo Breakfast FridayNo Breakfast Saturday
LunchLunch SundayLunch MondayLunch TuesdayLunch WednesdayLunch ThursdayLunch FridayLunch Saturday
DinnerDinner SundayDinner MondayDinner TuesdayDinner WednesdayDinner ThursdayDinner FridayDinner Saturday

Praline Connection

Marigny: 542 Frenchmen. 504-943-3934. Map.
Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The divide between soul food and the rest of New Orleans Creole food is so faint that not much of value comes from trying to detect it. That said, the Praline Connection is unambiguously on the African-American side, cooking many dishes not often found in the mainstream Creole places anymore. And they do indeed make their own excellent pralines.

WHAT'S GOOD
No fussiness or pretension: here is delicious, hearty, fresh, well-seasoned home cooking with an unmistakable New Orleans flavor, served generously and hot. If you like gumbo, beans, greens, fried chicken (or the hard-to-find stewed chicken with brown gravy), here is a good place to find it.

BACKSTORY
Curtis Moore and Cecil Kaigler, lifelong friends and co-workers in the oil industry, opened this corner cafe in the Marigny in 1990. It was a phenomenon from the outset, a restaurant we heard about constantly in those days. A second Praline Connection opened in the Warehouse District, but that went with Katrina.

DINING ROOM
It's a neighborhood cafe, the environment usually defined by the fullness of the dining room. It's usually bustling. The waiters and waitresses wear black fedoras, white shirts and ties, and look as if they'll run out to their music gigs as soon as their shifts end.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
»Fried chicken livers with pepper jelly
Crawfish or shrimp etouffee
Fried soft-shell crawfish
Fried alligator sausage
BBQ oysters
Fried chicken livers
Hog's head cheese
Spicy chicken wings
Fried okra or fried pickles
»Bite-size fried catfish
Filé gumbo
Vegetable soup
»Gumbo Zaire (greens)
Salads
Hot shrimp & tomato
Chicken salad
Chef salad
Beets & onion
Mixed green house salad
»Potato salad
Hot fish salad
Entrees
»»Baked, fried or stewed chicken
Home style meat loaf, brown gravy
Stuffed crab plate
»Fried catfish plate
Fried shrimp plate
Seafood combination platter
Stuffed bell pepper (ground beef, shrimp, brown gravy)
Barbecue ribs
»Jambalaya, side of greens
Crawfish or shrimp etouffee
Spaghetti and meatballs
»"Taste of Soul" platter (filé gumbo, red beans, jambalaya, greens, fried chicken, ribs, catfish, bread pudding)
»Red beans & rice
»White beans & rice
»Green lima beans & rice
»»Crowder peas with okra & rice
Mustard, collard or cabbage greens & rice
Poor boy sandwiches
»Soft-shell crab
Shrimp
»Oyster
Ham & cheese
»Smoked or hot sausage
Roast beef
Meatballs
Desserts
»Bread pudding, praline sauce
»Sweet potato pie
Cheesecake with praline sauce
Peach cobbler, ice cream

FOR BEST RESULTS
Don't come in a hurry. Chicken is cooked to order, and that takes awhile. And don't get too ambitious with your exploration of the menu. The basics are what you want.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The food is a bit inconsistent, but never to point that it fails utterly. Those moments mainly contrast with the more common brilliant performances. When the restaurant is very busy, service can become sub-optimal.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

  • Dining Environment
  • Consistency
  • Service+1
  • Value +1
  • Attitude +1
  • Wine & Bar
  • Hipness +1
  • Local Color +1

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Open Sunday lunch and dinner
  • Open Monday lunch and dinner
  • Open after midnight FR SA
  • Open all afternoon
  • Quick, good meal
  • Good for children