Johnny Sanchez, New Orleans

On a recent trip to New Orleans, my friend Sara and I could not miss the opportunity to eat at Aaron Sanchez’s restaurant, of Food Network fame. Johnny Sanchez is beautiful, with a huge colorful El Dia de los Muertos-inspired mural on one entire wall. The chairs are all different colors, and fun light fixtures in the lofty ceiling give the whole place a distinctive fiesta vibe.

Sara and I both ordered the Johnny Sanchez Margarita to start with, and I loved it. Very classic margarita. They also had a bunch of other really interesting variations that I would have loved to try, but you know how it is in New Orleans….. I was kind of pacing myself after a few days in the French Quarter.  The chips and salsa that came out were fun. The salsa was lightly smoky and satisfying, and it had a savory richness that paired beautifully with the fried plantains that were crisped to perfection. Those were my favorite part. Honestly the tortilla chips didn’t really sing to me, and I thought they kinda tasted like Tostidos right out of the bag, but believe me, I ate them anyway. The salsa needed a vehicle.

I ordered the carnitas burrito and was very impressed! There were lots of fun flavors inside, and on top, and it had the perfect amount of queso and crema to accompany every bite. I loved how it came with a huge knife for cutting easily into the tightly packed tortilla wrap. The Mexican street corn was Sara’s and she was gobsmacked by it, and kept insisting that I try it. I eventually did, and WOW. So creamy, juicy, fragrant….. it could have been a meal just by itself!

I had such big plans of ordering a huge feast at Johnny Sanchez but I didn’t try nearly as many things as I intended to, which makes me SAD. A few other things that caught my eye: the brussels sprouts, queso fundido, fajitas, empanadas, and flautas. I would not hesitate one second to go back and eat (and drink) so much more. They have great happy hour specials…. just saying…..