Hot Stuff — Restaurant in New Orleans

The food was not bad, but I wouldn’t say that any particular dish was a standout, especially if you have ever eaten a grocery store southern deli meal for $15. It was $60 for my partner and I to eat a proper “meat and three” plus one drink for me and a tip. Now that I’m reading the reviews I realize they already have a 15% tip built in to the charge but I wasn’t informed so they got a 35% tip from me 😣. I’m all for supporting service industry workers in New Orleans but that was a bit much especially since there’s no table service.

I have an allergy so asked about one specific dish and the person serving our food didn’t know how any dishes were made or what the ingredients were so they had to go back to the kitchen to ask. I was happy to find out their fried chicken isn’t made with an egg batter though like most places!

Between everything mentioned above and the fact that so much work went into creating the classic southern deli experience, I left feeling gaslit… or rather like I was part of a social experiment to see how much white uptowners would pay for food that has been traditionally and historically prepared to be affordable for the working class. Turns out, a lot!

The Nola news article where the chef responds to an accusation that his green beans are from a can (and $5, in addition to being labeled “miso green beans” 🙄) by saying they ARE from a can because canned is best kind of feels like being mansplained southern food by someone from Oregon.

Two stars because it’s still comfort food at the end of the day, even if you...

It's alright. Maybe I came in on a bad day. Got the stew chicken, which I'll say was very homey and hearty but nothing special. The sides were better. Collared greens were tangy, Mac and cheese was good, black eyed peas as well, reminded me of my dad's. Bread roll was good, buttery. Thought the stew chicken would be the star of the show but maybe another entree will be upon revisit. The hot stuff hot sauce is NOT hot. Tastes like crystal, maybe they repackaged it? I like crystal, but for BBQ? Give me something with a little kick. Wouod have been nice if they had some basic BBQ sauce as well to dip bread in. I'll say after a main plate, three side plates, and a roll, i was more than satiated. As far as price? Pretty misleading. It's cafeteria style, so after you get your scoop of food you pay, and they add a 15% service charge. If it's for credit card fee, that's a little steep. Maybe I'll come in with cash next time. If it's as a tip, where was my service? I get it, I worked in restaurants before, but it was under the pretense of serving guests food, refilling drinks, answering questions about the menu, cleaning after customers, etc. The people behind the counter were nice, but otherwise I refilled my own drink and bussed my own tray. So why add a service fee to what is essentially a boutique cafeteria? Personally would rather see it built into the price so I know what I'm getting into. Overall, will give it one more chance, and maybe...

This modern cafeteria is generally a go-to every time I’m in town. If I were Uptown, it would be a daily visit, yet I still think it’s a worthy trek from several neighborhoods away. It’s not that cafeteria experience you grew up with; it’s much more delicious and interesting.

The setup isn’t very user friendly, with the names of the daily items listed on the opposite wall from the food, so you may find yourself trying to memorize them before getting in line. Likewise, the prices are listed on that same wall near the entrance. I don’t think they realize how inconvenient that is rather than having all the info on the side of the room that people actually face to order.

Yes, as the name suggests, they have some spicy items. Ask if you aren’t sure. The item names themselves don’t generally disclose the heat.

Be sure to request a punch card if you think you’ll be back (and yeah, you will). That will earn you a dessert after five visits and a meat after ten. For some reason they don’t promote these and also don’t proactively offer them. I just happened to hear them punching one on my eighth visit and inquired.

If you somehow leave hungry, well, it’s a miracle. But also, don’t do that! You’re missing out...