Willie Mae's NOLA is serving up perfect fried chicken
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A Taste of New Orleans sampler at Willie Mae's NOLA comes with fried chicken, three sides and a cornbread muffin. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios
While New Orleans awaits the reopening of the legendary Tremé restaurant Willie Mae's, we do have the next-best thing: a totally new Willie Mae's now open downtown.
Why it matters: The menu includes the restaurant's beloved fried chicken recipe.
The big picture: Willie Mae's Scotch House has been serving the city since 1957, but Hurricane Katrina forced a two-year closure that started in 2005.
- Then, a fire devastated the family-owned restaurant again in 2023. Rebuilding that location is ongoing, The Times-Picayune reports.
- In the meantime, the Seaton family opened Willie Mae's NOLA on Baronne Street in the modern, bright space vacated by NOLA Caye.
Between the lines: The new location isn't the first time Willie Mae's has been downtown.
- The family previously ran a stand inside the Pythian Market, but that closed when the food hall shut down.
The menu has other options, but it focuses on the family's famous fried chicken.
- You can get it as a platter with a quarter chicken and one or three sides, on a salad or on a chicken sandwich. Platters also come with a cornbread muffin.
What I ordered: I got the quarter chicken with three sides ($24), including cabbage, mac and cheese and sweet potato fries.
- Much to my eternal dismay, the restaurant was out of fried okra that day, but the fries helped to slake my craving for them.
- The chicken was perfect as ever, with the slightly-spicy batter that fries a deep, crunchy, salty golden.
