What It's Like To Eat At Willie Mae's Scotch House In New Orleans

Table Of Content

• 'Willie Mae's Scotch House: A New Orleans Love Story'
• Hungry For More In NOLA?
• Eater NOLA
• Fried Chicken
• What It’s Like To Eat At Willie Mae’s Scotch House In New Orleans
• Willie Mae's restaurant damaged by fire; owner says reopening 'always the plan'
• The Best Restaurants In New Orleans
• Willie Mae’s Releases a Statement Addressing the Monday Morning Fire

Though we somehow missed the queue during our first visit, we got the full experience during our second visit. We had high expectations as we wandered out of the French Quarter, through Louis Armstrong Park and into New Orleans storied Tremé neighborhood, on our way to the famous fried chicken restaurant. Award-winning New Orleans fried chicken restaurant Willie Mae's Scotch House is expanding to Los Angeles, California with a standalone full-service restaurant, according to Eater LA. A long rebuilding effort became a rallying point for a widespread community of supporters.

'Willie Mae's Scotch House: A New Orleans Love Story'

Famous fried chicken of Willie Mae's Scotch House comes to Uptown New Orleans - NOLA.com

Famous fried chicken of Willie Mae's Scotch House comes to Uptown New Orleans.

Posted: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 07:00:00 GMT [source]

On Monday morning, owner Kerry Stewart-Seaton was just beginning to assess the level of damage and next steps, talking with her insurer and getting a contractor out to secure the property. Before expanding, the group collaborated on a fried chicken sandwich with Jerry Greenberg and Lowell Sharron, the founders of HiHo Cheeseburger, a popular cheeseburger restaurant in California. The Los Angeles location will be no different in serving a full Louisiana menu and competing with other popular restaurants in the area like Roscoe's. But instead of welcoming visitors and returning New Orleans natives, the restaurant remains closed as the family contends with a challenging new chapter.

Hungry For More In NOLA?

A New Orleans mourning of Anthony Bourdain? Trip to Willie Mae's seemed fried and fitting - NOLA.com

A New Orleans mourning of Anthony Bourdain? Trip to Willie Mae's seemed fried and fitting.

Posted: Tue, 25 Jun 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Thank you to the amazing first responders for their quick action. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our community. To those who have generously asked how they can help, we have set up a Go Fund Me in which 100% of the proceeds will go towards paying our staff and covering any additional costs not covered by insurance. This is clearly a trick question since fried chicken is obviously the best food to order at Willie Mae’s Scotch House. Open since 1957, Willie Mae’s Scotch House is now run by the founder’s great-granddaughter, Kerry Seaton. The younger Seaton clearly learned well from her great-grandmother (the original Willie Mae) and is making good use of the family recipes.

Eater NOLA

An important tradition vital to the interest of our nation's soul continuing. Get our free guide to eating like a local when you travel. Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website.

Fried Chicken

The cornbread muffins at Willie Mae’s are perfectly flaky as good cornbread should be. We recommend pairing the southern specialty with your Willie Maes fried chicken feast. Daryl smartly honored the New Orleans tradition of red beans on Monday by ordering a side of, you guessed it… red beans and rice. Made using the secret Willie Maes red beans and rice recipe, this side dish was substantial in both size and flavor. Each bite of our fried chicken was a revelation – crispy and slightly salty on the outside while utterly moist and juicy on the inside – during our first lunch at Willie Maes.

We’ll take it one step further and say that eating this fried chicken is a must during any New Orleans itinerary. Willie Mae’s Scotch House is widely acclaimed for its fried chicken, with its crisp, tawny crust and subtly peppery backbeat, and for dishes like smothered veal, lima beans and pork chops. Today, Willie Mae's has run a second restaurant in Los Angeles since 2022, and it ships packages of fried chicken and sides nationally through Goldbelly.

Willie Mae's restaurant damaged by fire; owner says reopening 'always the plan'

Beignets, oysters, and gumbo are all on the Mt. Rushmore of New Orleans’ greatest dishes, and the fourth spot is reserved for the fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House. Located in the Treme, this place is vintage NOLA at its very best and feels more like you’re eating in someone’s house than an actual restaurant. It closes at 5pm daily and waits can be upwards of two hours during the lunch rush, so we recommend going for a late lunch around 3pm. They’re temporarily closed because of a fire, but you can order their chicken for nationwide shipping. We’re not just saying that because of the menu’s description.

It’s common to see a line stretching down the weatherboard flank of the restaurant. Even President Barack Obama stopped in for lunch in 2015, during a visit marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Once she began cooking for her customers, the business evolved into a restaurant. For a long time, it was a low-key neighborhood joint, the epitome of the backstreet Creole eatery. The Treme restaurant was severely damaged by a fire that broke out in the early morning of April 10, and the one-time neighborhood anchor at 2401 St. Ann St. has been closed since.

Willie Mae’s Releases a Statement Addressing the Monday Morning Fire

At 3am Monday morning we woke up to news that Willie Mae’s Scotch House was on fire. After a thorough investigation we know an electrical fire triggered the sprinkler system and both left the restaurant severely damaged. Southern Foodways and its volunteers had done an amazing job.

Pro TipArrive at Willie Mae’s Scotch House as early as possible to guarantee entry into New Orleans’ fried chicken motherland. The restaurant closed the line about 15 minutes before closing time during our most recent visit. It is one of the city's oldest Black-owned restaurants, with a story of community and family running through it. Many travel and food TV shows came calling and the restaurant quickly became a bucket list destination for foodie tourists.

The sides were generously served right next to the chicken. Though not special, both sides provided a soft counterbalance to the chicken’s crunchiness. Plus, the peas reminded us of peas from our childhoods, which is not a bad memory. Discover more of the best fried chicken in America and beyond. The platter was only $10 at the time of first meal and $15 seven years later. Sure, that’s a 50% increase but well worth it for what the menu calls ‘America’s Best Fried Chicken’ plus a side dish.

Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans claims to have America’s best fried chicken. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The Scotch House, pride and joy of both its octogenarian owner, Willie Mae Seaton, as well as anyone who appreciates perfect fried bird, had been flooded and basically destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to the Herculean efforts of the Southern Foodways Alliance, however, it had been rebuilt and was now being run by Willie Mae's great-granddaughter, Kerry Seaton (right). Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.FundingWe self-funded our lunches at Willie Mae’s Scotch House.