Damn! Toups' Meatery Impresses.

Jay takes a shot of Jameson out of a beef bone at Toups' Meatery

You know you're at a uniquely fantastic restaurant when you are requested to take a shot of Irish whiskey using a sawed in half bone out of which you just consumed the marrow. It turns out, the marrow bone works quite well as a whiskey luge and the flavors picked up from the remains of roasted goodness enrich the water of life quite well. Michele took a shot too as we dined at Toups' Meatery, a mid-city New Orleans restaurant that has quickly shot up the charts of not-to-miss dining locations in the Big Easy.

The bone marrow dish, as if the rich marrow followed by a shot of Jameson weren't enough, came topped with escargot and served with chicken liver mousse. We followed that up with some mussels in a white wine chili broth that tasted absolutely incredible. French bread is made for mopping up sauces like this. I also couldn't go to Toups' without indulging in their housemade cracklins. The morsels of pork skin, fat, and muscle are fried twice until they crack in the hot grease. There's nothing wrong with that!

Michele prepares herself for a shot of Jameson with bone marrow remains

Bone marrow with escargot

Mussels, white wine chili broth, grilled bread

Cracklins

We weren't finished at Toups' Meatery just yet. With a bottle of Horrow Show from the Vending Machine Winery to split, Michele and I continued our feast on more meat. We were dining at Toups' Meatery, after all. This is no place for vegans or vegetarians, nor is it a place for a standard cut of meat. You must have at least a slightly adventurous mind and palate to truly appreciate Toups', which is probably why I loved it so much. The Toups' Meatery Board came loaded with a chef's selection of house cured meats. We got more chicken liver mousse, hogs head cheese, sausage, rillons, and a smorgasbord of accoutrements. They were all delicious. Our final course came in the form of duck and pork belly, two of my favorite meats on earth. The confit duck leg and fatty pork belly were accompanied by more sausage and some potatoes and a balsamic duck jus. 

The Menu at Toups' rotates and changes fairly regularly, so while some of the options that I tried may not be available all the time, you can rest assured that whatever new dishes are on the menu, they'll be as unique and fantastic as mine. This is definitely a restaurant in New Orleans that I could see myself going back to over and over again!

Horror Show from the Vending Machine Winery

Meatery Board, selection of house-made fresh and cured meats and condiments

Duck, pork belly, weisswurst, petite potatoes, balsamic duck jus