New Orleans Getaway: Acme Oyster House
I woke up incredibly well rested following my birthday crash and burn. After spending our last night in New Orleans in bed (and over the toilet), I woke up ready to make the most of our final hours in the Big Easy. We had time for just one more meal in New Orleans before our flight, so we decided to have brunch at Acme Oyster House.
The restaurant opened at 11 a.m. but we were packed and ready long before that. We left our bags with the hotel valet and did some quick souvenir shopping along Bourbon Street. At about 10:45 a.m., we headed to Acme Oyster House’s French Quarter location and saw a small line start to form. At the time, I didn’t realize how popular the restaurant was. Once we started eating, I quickly discovered why.
Acme Oyster House
Acme Oyster House is another one of New Orleans’ classic eateries—a landmark among the city’s restaurants serving briny bivalves. Acme Oyster House has been shucking oysters and feeding hungry diners since 1910. The casual restaurant’s menu features all of the city’s favorite fare, in large portions at a more than reasonable price.
We all started our meal with the soup of the day, Corn and Crab Bisque. Elyse and I also split an order of the Chargrilled Oysters. Chargrilled Oysters are truly a gem within Louisiana cuisine, and it’s been devastating to not have them on a single menu in Coastal Virginia. We were sure to sop up any of the remaining herb butter sauce with the thick slices of bread.
I couldn’t leave Louisiana without having one more po’boy. Acme Oyster House’s po’boys have been ranked on a number of travel and food websites, so there was no way I was missing out on this experience. Elyse ordered the monster Fried Soft Shell Crab Po’boy, while I was torn trying to decide which of the fried seafood po’boys to get. Fortunately, Acme Oyster House gives diners the choice of Half and Half Po’boy, so I was able to get half-sized sandwiches of both shrimp and fish. Their po’boys are served the traditional way, dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayo.
As much as I loved the crispy shrimp inside of the Fried Shrimp Po’boy, the Fried Fish was my favorite. A flaky whitefish is fried to a golden-brown perfection. The first bite into the crispy fried fish was met with a crunch, followed by the moist, tender fillet. I scarfed down my Fried Fish Po’boy and saved what was left of my Fried Shrimp for a pre-flight snack.
Our last meal at Acme Oyster House was the perfect send off to our trip. As I write this, a month after our vacation, I’m missing Louisiana cooking. I’d love to go back to dive further into Cajun and Creole dishes and discover more of the New Orleans dining scene.
Acme Oyster House has two locations in New Orleans and several throughout the southern Gulf.