Next week I’ll be back in New Orleans for an annual long weekend holiday with a few friends. I am sure I will be sober and behave maturely the entire visit.
The cliche about it being impossible to find a good restaurant in the Crescent City is almost true. I’ve had a few less-than-stellar meals down there, but I should have been able to predict them based off tell-tale signs such as a lack of other diners in the restaurant, the laminated menu with few options, and an unsettling feeling in my stomach.
Finding great Big Easy-style food outside of the city is a harder task. I once ate at an allegedly Cajun diner in the depths of Maryland, and all I remember of that bowel-disrupting meal is wanting to cry — and they weren’t tears of joy.
Thankfully my adopted hometown of Washington, DC, has at least one good Cajun eatery. Bardia’s New Orleans Cafe is located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. It’s a tiny place you could easily miss, but the handful of tables are often all occupied, with good reason.
I’ve tried several of the dishes including the jambalaya, gumbo, and po’ boy sandwiches and they’ve all been delicious, particularly when washed down with some beers from New Orleans’ own Abita Brewing Company. Excellent place.
Bardia’s doesn’t have a website, but you can find out more about the restaurant on Yelp. Apparently some of the reviewers on that site don’t share my sentiments.