As much as any city in America, New Orleans is a foodie's destination. Is the food in NOLA better than NY, LA, Philly, or Chicago? Perhaps not, but there is more consistency. All of my New Orleans experiences have been like Italy - it's hard to get a bad meal even at the simplest food joints.
With all the celebrated gumbo, crawfish, oysters, po-boy sandwiches, beignets, and jambalaya, you wouldn't think first about seeking out pizza in New Orleans. But I can now testify that it would be a mistake to overlook the pizza here.
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| In the French Quarter |
For example, you can't go wrong with the authentic Neapolitans at Domenica, a full-service Italian restaurant that has spawned two pizza-only "Pizza Domenica" spots in town.
On my most recent visit to NOLA, Paladar 511 came across my radar. Located in the Marigny district just two blocks east of the French Quarter, it was an easy walk for me and my fellow travelers staying in the Central Business District, along the river just west of the Quarter.
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| En route via foot to Paladar 511 |
We made plans to meet there; our party of eight traveled in three different groups. Upon crossing Frenchmen Street at the edge of the French Quarter, we all had the same reaction as the noise faded and we faced a silent, empty, bleak area of broken sidewalks, chain link fences, cranes, and dumpsters. "The GPS must be wrong" is what each of us was thinking at this point.
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| Inside Paladar 511 |
Happily, we all kept going the final two blocks to find a nicely maintained and restored three-story old brick building, formerly home to a sock factory. Housed in a terrific two-story space with 2,100 square feet, the open and airy industrial look is the brainchild of Jack Murphy, Susan Dunn, and Ed Dunn. Murphy hails from San Francisco's Pizetta 211; Ed Dunn has been a chef at Commander's Palace and Emeril's.
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| Mike Massamino is the tall guy! |
As an off-menu bonus, we had a terrific celebrity moment. We were all attending the same conference where, earlier in the day, we had heard an inspiring keynote presentation from Mike Massamino, the NASA astronaut who facilitated a key repair to the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the STS-109 Columbia mission.
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| Risk management pros eating pizza |
As we were seated, we saw Mike was just leaving (with a box of leftover pizza). He graciously greeted us and posed for pictures up in the loft area by our tables.
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| Charred Okra |
There is more on the menu than pizza, and we included some of the appetizers in our group meals (spoiler: the whole experience was so good that I returned the next night with a different group). "Paladar" translates to "palate" in English, and our palates were tempted and treated.
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| Beef tartare |
Over those two nights I sampled the chicken liver mousse, charred okra, shishito peppers, and beef tartare; all were superb. Group dining permits a broad pizza sampling, and I was able to try all five pizzas on the menu:
Each was a generous personal size, and came to the table cut into six slices. Visually, each one was a work of art and instantly conveyed the promise of a well-made pie.
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| The Margherita |
These are Neapolitan hybrids, sporting the traditional leopard spotting and puffy corniciones, but with more crunch and rigidity.
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| The Farm Egg pizza |
The crust, always the crucial element, was beyond reproach. Flavorful on its own, crisp and crunchy yet still chewy, no limp or wet spots despite a generous payload of toppings, delectable all the way through.
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| Underside of the crust |
The toppings matched the quality of the base, too. Across both dining groups, the biggest hit was the pizza made with mascarpone and spicy San Marzano tomatoes.I loved it too, but I was floored by the umami explosion of the roasted mushroom, butter leek, fontina, & rosemary pie.
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| House was full by the time we left |
Even though "white pizza" is decidedly non-traditional, it often works really well on Neapolitan pies because the crust is married to a more manageable moisture load.
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| The mushroom pizza; slice below |
Another pie that really sang to me was the farm egg, bacon, Gruyere, and collard greens combo. The first night, it was magical. I had it again the second night and I felt it was excellent, but that the greens were overpowering the rest of the pie, almost as though kale had been subbed in for the collards.
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| Lamb with tzatsiki sauce |
I applaud the boldness of a pie topped with lamb and tzatsiki, but for me, the sauce overpowered the other terrific elements of this pie. When our group ordered it the second night, we asked for the tzatsiki on the side. But just to show that your mileage may vary, I enjoyed the pie better without the sauce whereas my colleague asked for extra sauce and ate all of it!
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| Spicy San Marzano pizza |
I enjoyed this pizza too much to leave any behind. On both nights, I toted back a few leftover slices to the fridge in my hotel room, and they traveled back to Austin with me, where I enjoyed this great stuff one more time.
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| Leftover slices, reheated in my oven |
This is just remarkably good pizza, an improvement on a traditional Neapolitan. Great setting, great appetizers, and all that good New Orleans mojo.
I went two nights in a row and I'd have gone back again if time allowed. This is a can't-miss pizza place in NOLA, easily one of the best pizzas I've had in 2019.
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