Home-style cooking at Two Sisters Restaurant

A long time ago in a job far, far away, I had the most uncomfortable task of administrating a local forum. Most of the time it consisted of deleting spam, banning bots and trying to make all the participants happy (a virtually impossible task), but it also managed to be quite educational and a lot of fun at the same time.

For me, the most important bits of information were New Orleans restaurant recommendations that hailed from both locals and regular visitors like some particularly amiable folks I met on the Essence Festival board.

Long before the federal floods, a large group of friends from all over the country who attend Essence Festival every year arrange meet & greets, share information for newcomers, and chat about days gone by on that same forum. It was more than 6 years ago that one poster had praised the delicious and affordable, home-cooked soul food at Two Sisters Restaurant and I thought it was way past time for me to give it a try.

This was my 76th cheat and I lost one of the pounds I gained last week, putting me at a total loss of 78 pounds. I'm truly hoping to start making real progress again after Mardi Gras...we shall see.

After running a few errands, John and I decided to head to the restaurant with only a general idea of where it was located. We knew it was on N. Derbigny Street in the Treme, but not the exact address and since neither of us own a smart phone, we just decided to wing it. Needless to say, we drove around for a bit, turning around in a complete circle from Basin to Orleans to Esplanade and finally on to Derbigny before we spotted the large, mint green building with a sign touting Two Sisters Kitchen "for the town's best food & lowest prices."

Though we had walked in well after the lunch hour, there were still quite a few diners enjoying a late lunch. We scouted around for an available table and sat down. The dining room is filled with small, glass-topped tables under a fairly low ceiling and the wonderful aromas from the kitchen permeate the whole room. From a simple menu we made our selections, although John had to change his because they had run out. Apparently, there are a few dishes like oxtail and meatloaf that tend to sell out fast, so we made a note next time to arrive early, because there will most definitely be a next time...

Soon after we got our drinks, our server brought out a plate of cornbread muffins slathered with butter and we also each got a side dish of potato salad. A large smile spread across John's face after he took his first bite of the creamy, mustard-rich potato salad. "This tastes exactly like my mom's recipe," he said and proceeded to wolf down the whole dish before I could blink.

It wasn't long before our heavily-laden lunch plates arrived and I couldn't help goggling at the enormous amount of food. I chose the fried chicken with mac & cheese which also came with a large helping of green beans and a big scoop of rice. Both the drumstick and the large thigh were steaming hot, fresh from the fryer, but I couldn't help picking off some of the crispy, well seasoned skin and popping it into my mouth. It was awesome! It was easily some of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted (and I think my own recipe is pretty darn good) and the home-style, Velveeta/margarine macaroni was so tasty that John kept stealing forkfuls from my plate...but not without a fight.

John had his own feast of turkey necks and red beans served over a large pile of rice. The red beans were creamy and heavy with thick slices of delicious andouille sausage. The turkey necks were new to both of us, but we enjoyed the rich, heady flavor and plucked every last morsel from the bones even if he couldn't finish the whole plate. To-go boxes were a must!

Finally, for dessert they had a strawberry cake. It tasted like a simple box cake made with strawberry jello and frosted with a thick, powdered sugar icing. It made me think of family picnics or parties where everything is always good because regardless of whether it is made from scratch, it is still made with love.

It was almost shocking to see the tab come to only a little over $25, especially considering we made a second meal from the leftovers. With such tasty, home-cooked food at those prices, I certainly won't wait so long to come back...