MoPho - Deconstructed and Delightful

Welcome to the Clarks' Restaurant Rants & Reviews. Here, we'll briefly discuss our thoughts, likes, loves, and less enthusiastic responses to dining out in New Orleans. We are foodies and love to eat. Though we do cook at home quite a bit, we also like to treat ourselves to a nice meal out as well. Most of our choices are reasonably priced places. Sometimes, though, we like to splurge and take it up a notch and dine at a finer establishments. We have loads of visitors and guests to New Orleans and they often ask for recommendations. Sooo, we decided an easier way to accomplish this would be to just blog about our experiences. MoPho Yeah, yeah, the chef was named best up and coming something or other...kuddos to him. For sure. However, this is not the draw for us. It's the food itself and the relaxed vibe that brings us back. If you get the chance, sit out on the back patio. Lots of lush plants, cool lighting and overhead screens that let light in but also keep some out. It's well spaced out, well thought out and with the large smoker out back, the smells are an added bonus. On our most recent trip, Kev ordered the P&J Oyster poboy and declared it, once again, to be his very favorite in the city. There are a TON of oyster poboys in this town and my husband is pretty picky. For him to reaffirm this title means something. Some places kill this kind of poboy with too much blue cheese and not enough herbs. MoPho does it just right. There's a wonderful mix of that good feeling when eating fresh green anything and the herbs hold up, especially considering there's a bunch of bread and fried seafood. The cheese is more of hint, which is a perfect balance in my book. The oysters are wonderful and the bread fresh and there's some pickled carrots and such that add another layer of crisp to the sandwich. Though I generally do not make a first choice a bean dish, our incredibly enthusiastic waiter Casey won me over with his description of the Red Beans and Rice special with pork belly and sweet rice cakes. This dish did not disappoint. It was interesting, flavorful, creative and so, so tasty! A lot of the time I eat quickly (a not so charming result of being the youngest of eight kids) and eat to feel full. With this dish, I took my time to really savor all the flavor. Some sweetness from the rice cakes made the dish enticing and it wasn't so much that it over powered it. The pork belly was divine - crispy, fatty and juicy. There weren't a ton of beans and they were layered over a hummus which brought interest not just in terms of flavor, but also texture. Our server was well informed, charming, personable and attentive, without hovering. The best kind of server! The bill arrived promptly and was resonable, considering we both had a super tasty and satisfying meal. Mid range, $32 -40 for lunch for two .

We definitely recommend this place.