David Guas - Pastry Chef - Recommendations - Find. Eat. Drink.
Pastry Chef David Guas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Restaurant Recommendations, Vietnamese Restaurants, Local, NOLA, Katrina, Post-Katrina, Traditional, Where to eat in NOLA, Where to dine in New Orleans, Washington DC, King Cakes, Beignets, Snow Cones, Candy, Pralines
AUNT SALLY’S
After a trip to Café du Monde for beignets, I always wander down the river side of the market to Aunt Sally’s Praline Shop, where the smell of caramelizing sugar and pecans lure me into the store. These pralines are still made by hand, the same way they’ve been doing it for over 25 years. Seeing them make these treats by hand always brings me back to my childhood of watching them stir and scoop the sweets.
French Quarter
Candy
Find | Pralines - New Orleans, LA
PRALINES BY JEAN
For pralines.
Central City
Candy
CAMELLIA GRILL
626 South Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118
T: 504.309.2679
For pecan pie.
Uptown
American
Find | Pie & Candy - New Orleans, LA
CLANCY’S
6100 Annunciation Street, New Orleans, LA 70118
T : 504.895.1111
Clancy’s is a super neighborhood-type spot on Annunciation Street frequented by lots of locals, myself included. It’s intimate, and always makes me feel right at home. While we’ll happily listen to the waiter’s dessert specials, our mind is always made up the second we talk through the door: Lemon Icebox Pie. It’s one of the few desserts we actually fight over.
Uptown
Seafood / Cajun / Creole
HUBIG’S PIES
Available at any convenient store at the counter.
Hubig’s hand-made pies are created with a from-scratch piecrust and filled with seasonal and mostly local fruit, ranging from cherries, peaches, sweet potatoes, lemon, apple, and more. They’re a beloved staple of school kids, truck drivers, and legislators alike—heck, even long-term overnighters at the Orleans Parish Jail are fans. It’s always one of the first things I do when I get home—get a Hubig Pie. It just tastes like home.
Multiple Locations
Pie
ROMAN CANDY
It’s easy to take certain things for granted in New Orleans…but there’s one thing, one guy actually, who I don’t take for granted—Ron Kotteman, also known as the Roman Candy Man. Ron sells his grandfather’s taffy-like candy, who started the cart in 1915, most often along St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District. Whenever I see Ron’s cart pulled to the curb or hear him ringing his bell to let people know he’s there, I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Then I pull over and buy one of each flavor.
Uptown
Candy
GAMBINO’S
For King Cake.
Metairie
Bakery
Find | King Cakes - New Orleans, LA
HAYDEL’S BAKERY
For King Cake.
Jefferson
Bakery
LEIDENHEIMER BAKING COMPANY
Are you kidding me, there is only one bread in New Orleans and that’s Leidenheimer.
Central City
Bakery
Find | Bread - New Orleans, LA
COMMANDER’S PALACE
They do a great brandy milk punch, Bread Pudding Souffle.
Garden District
American
Drink | Cocktails - New Orleans, LA
THE SAZERAC BAR
@ ROOSEVELT NEW ORLEANS HOTEL
For a Sazerac.
French Quarter / Central Business District
Cocktail Bar
BRENNAN’S
For Bananas Foster.
French Quarter
Cajun / Creole
Eat | Restaurants - New Orleans, LA
CAFE DU MONDE
For Beignets.
French Quarter
Beignets
930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
T: 504.588.2123 (make a reservation)
Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski are two of the best in New Orleans right now. They have some of the best meat you can find anywhere, and I always know I am going to have an exciting and solid meal.
Warehouse District
Cajun / Creole
PLUM STREET SNOBALL
I can’t imagine a New Orleans summer without the promise of a sno-ball at the end of an endlessly hot day. While there are lots of sno-ball stands in the city, one of my favorites is the Plum Street outfit uptown. Family owned, they serve their sno-balls in Chinese-style takeout containers set into a plastic bag.
Uptown
Snow Cones
333 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
T: 504.378.2840 (make a reservation)
Central Business District
New American
PALACE CAFE
For White Chocolate Bread Pudding.
French Quarter
Creole
RICHARD’S SEAFOOD PATIO
1516 South Henry Street, Abbeville, LA 70510
T: 337.893.1693
Get the Boudin with saltines.
Southwestern Louisiana
Seafood
Eat | Restaurants - New Orleans, LA Area
R & O’S
216 Hammond Highway, Metairie, LA 70005
T: 504.831.1248
For the seafood.
Lakeview / Metairie
Seafood
SHUCK’S
For the seafood.
Abbeville
Seafood
ACADIANA
901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
T: 202.408.8848 (make a reservation)
Being a Louisiana boy I sometimes need a taste of home, and nobody does upscale Louisiana fare like Acadiana. Their Charbroiled Oysters are beyond addicting.
Northwest
Louisiana Cuisine
Eat | Restaurants - Washington, DC Area
BLACK SALT FISH MARKET & RESTAURANT
4883 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Washington, DC 20007
T: 202.342.9101 (make a reservation)
For the seafood.
Palisades
Seafood
BLUE DUCK TAVERN
1201 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
T: 202.419.6755 (make a reservation)
West End
American
BRASSERIE BECK
I head to Brasserie Beck for some of the best casual Belgian fare around. Nothing beats their classic mussels and frites: with garlic, white wine, and vermouth. They also have a killer beer list that always keeps me interested in trying more.
Downtown
French / Belgian
CEIBA
701 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
T: 202.393.3983 (make a reservation)
Their Cuban Sandwiches are one of the best pressed sandwiches in town, with a proper dose of mustard and pickles. Wash it all down with their famous margaritas, and it gives me a taste of my Cuban background.
Downtown
Latin American
Bayou Bakery - Arlington, VA
Pastry Chef David Guas |Recommendations
February 4, 2010
Who
Pastry Chef David Guas is the author of the cookbook: DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth and the owner of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery in Arlington, Virginia.
Why
He creates a unique pastry experience by mixing his New Orleans background with his Cuban heritage.
Cookbook
DamGoodSweet: Desserts to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style [Buy It]
Photo Credit: Scott Suchman
Recommendations
Washington, DC AREA
New orleans, LA Area
PUPATELLA
They have fantastic, authentic Neapolitan pizza, and their Arancini Balls (one with sausage and one with eggplant) are unbelievable. When you walk in and see that classic oven straight from Italy, you know it’s going to be good. And it’s a family joint, which I always have a lot of respect for.
Arlington
Italian / Pizza
THIRSTY BERNIE’S
If I’m craving something hearty and meaty, Thirstie Bernie’s is the way to go. Thirsty Bernie’s has, hands down, the best Reuben Sandwich in town, and all of their sausages and meats—from the beef in the burgers to the Polish sausage in the Kielbasa (by Jamie Stachowski)—just hit the spot. My boys love the Fisherman’s Net, a nirvana for fried seafood lovers with fried calamari, oysters, and rock shrimp.
Arlington
American
PORT OF CALL
It may not be classic New Orleans fare, but it’s a favorite for me. They truly have some of the best burgers I have ever tasted. It’s a great local dive. Just don’t get a Monsoon with it, unless you’re planning on taking the rest of the night off.
Marigny
American
