Once upon a time there was a good and decent family that owned and operated a local favorite restaurant near the French Market for many, many years, until finally the time came for them to take it easy and they sold the establishment.
But like many people who create something with passion for a living, after a period, they missed it and made a family decision to start all over again, and opened Fiorella’s Cafe in the Gentilly neighborhood of the city.
As the old establishment was known for its exemplary take on fried chicken, so is the new eatery, winning the New Orleans Fried Chicken Festival two years in a row.
The simple neighborhood cafe serves all of Southern Louisiana’s favorites: fried seafood, po boys, Italian specialties, along with daily specials.
All dishes are very fairly priced for the neighborhood, not to extract as many tourist dollars as possible.
The food is exemplary. This is possibly the best fried shrimp I’ve ever had anywhere, crispy fry batter, flavorful Gulf shrimp. The muffaletta is a good one, too many “legendary” places make them in advance, and refrigerate them, and they lose their luster, IMHO. This sandwich moves into being one of my top two in the city.
The chicken lives up to its rep. Nice crust, perfectly fried, juicy on the inside, not greasy. Fresh cut fries, done and seasoned perfectly.
Really, I finished this meal and I wanted to tell Chef that his/her food was art. It exemplifies one of the passions of New Orleans, simple fare, prepared well, with love as one of the ingredients. It’s easy to identify places like this – all the employees are smiling all the time.
I wish the family all the success in the world. They deserve it.
Menu is here and below.
Fiorellas Cafe Review
Fiorellas Cafe Review
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