Subscribe To The
Five-Star Edition!

Shrimp remoulade.

This review originally appeared in the New Orleans Menu Daily, which brings out a full, up-to-date restaurant review every weekday. Along with local restaurant news, top-ten lists, recipes, and Tom Fitzmorris's Dining Diary. All of it is original and current, illustrated with lots of photos of New Orleans restaurants, chefs, and their food.

The price of a subscription is whatever number of dollars seems right to you. For that amount, you get full access to the daily newsletter online, an e-mail bulletin version every day, and archives of everything published since Hurricane Katrina.

If you're still not convinced, do two things: 1. Know that I'll refund all your money if you're not happy. 2. Take a look at this sample edition. Then. . .

Thank you!

Tastefully yours,
Tom Fitzmorris

Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

starstar
pricebar

VooDoo BBQ

Barbecue.
Lee Circle Area: 1510 St. Charles Ave.. 504-522-4647. Map.
Mandeville: 2999 Highway 190, 985-629-2021. Map.
River Parishes: 100 James Dr East, St. Rose, 504-464-1880. Map.
Harahan: 5110 Jefferson Hwy. (In Wal-Mart). 504-729-2442. Map.
Lunch and dinner continuously seven days.
Very Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The four New Orleans locations of VooDoo are among the most convenient and reliable vendors of real barbecue in the area. The menu is more extensive than those of most other barbecue joints. Although some of the barbecue is less than thrilling (there's never quite enough smoke flavor and crusty "bark" for my tastes), the food impresses me more with every visit.

WHY IT'S GOOD
A lot of the food at VooDoo comes from a central commissary. This is a good thing, because the consistency of flavor and seasoning is nearly perfect. It's all slowly smoked--no faking anything there. The three sauces offer interesting contrasts. You get major red pepper from the "mojo" sauce, the thickest of the three. The mango sauce has the expected sweet heat. And the vinegar sauce gives a flavor of the Carolinas for those who like that (and I do). Across the menu, the pepper levels are higher than average. The side dishes are the best offered by any barbecue outfit in the area.

BACKSTORY
VooDoo BBQ was a spinoff, in 2002, of the short-lived Hyde Park Grill, an upscale steakhouse on St. Charles Avenue (where Zea is now). The owners started VooDoo in the old McKenzie's on the corner of St. Charles and Martin Luther King, and set up a major smokehouse operation a block away. Other locations opened and closed over the years, including a substantial number in the Baton Rouge area. The original St. Charles Avenue VooDoo seems to be golden. Some locations are franchises.

DINING ROOM
Each location is different, but all have assisted self-service (you order and pay at the counter and fetch your own drinks, then they bring the food to you). The St. Charles Avenue VooDoo is the most cramped; the one in Mandeville the most spacious.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Barbecue brisket.
Barbecue pulled pork.
Caribbean jerk chicken.
Bone-in barbecue chicken or tenders.
Cajun smoked sausage.
St. Louis ribs.
BBQ shrimp.
Sandwiches of any of the above.
Hamburger.
Barbecue-stuffed baked potato.
Caesar salad.
Beans.
Corn pudding.
Gris-gris greens.
Cole slaw.
Potato salad.
Macaroni and cheese.
Cheesecake.
White chocolate bread pudding.

FOR BEST RESULTS
Brisket is the best of the offerings. Chicken--available in three different styles--is better than in most barbecue shops. Get extra sides; the corn pudding and the greens are especially tasty.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Ribs are just okay, and the low point of the menu. (Not tight enough.) The hamburger is strictly for kids who eat nothing else.

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

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 12/28/2009.

 

A list of all 300 full, current reviews is here.