I ranged broadly across the globe during 2016 but 90% of my eating took place right here in New Orleans. This is year seven of my annual retrospective where I look at the previous 12 months of work and issue a broad almanac of what took place here on the Scrumptious Chef site.

Let’s try something new and let the site traffic determine the top story for each month of 2016.

January: We wrote 78 articles in January but our review of Peche was a real heartbreaker. At nearly $90 this meal was an absolute disaster. If only we’d went to Pascal’s Manale.

Thankfully we visited Tag’s Meat Market and had a great hamburger for our 500 Po Boys series.

February: We dialed it down in February and only penned 68 articles. I took a sausage making class taught by Vance Vaucresson who is one of my New Orleans charcuterie heroes. I love that man. And we got to eat.

Have y’all been to Boutte’s Bayou Restaurant? It’s great and the drive down there is one of the prettiest routes in Louisiana

March: We barely managed to get 57 articles up in March but the ones we did were pure gold. Super Sunday is the biggest Mardi Gras Indian party of the entire year. Our gallery proves it.

We flew to Texas Seeking The Last Chili Queen of San Antonio

April: 41 articles were posted on the site and the most popular one concerned itself with the death of Prince. As you know, when a famous musician dies New Orleans throws a massive parade. We shot a photo gallery amidst the tumult.

We found a great, young chef out in Chalmette and availed ourselves of one of his fried catfish po boys.

May: We posted 52 articles in May as we started to gather steam for our always busy Summer eating season. It’s funny, we read plenty blogs from all over the US and many of them are lucky to get 50 articles up in an entire year. I love that the most popular article for this month was on the Eastern Kentucky Chili Bun Trail A chili bun is a chili dog minus the dog, if you were wondering.

and we filed a field report from Butcher’s Tears in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

June: Summer hit and we really slowed down our output. 46 posts. We pondered why Hola Nola flour tortillas turn to shit? They were really putting out a good product for awhile.

and we drove out to Louisiana’s German Coast for an Andouille sausage po boy at Spuddy’s Cajun Foods.

July: 57 articles including an opus on How To Make The Best Fried Chicken You Will Ever Put In Your Mouth plus a visit to Birrieria Jalisco a superb goat taco joint in Lexington, Kentucky. Seriously, they could open in Austin and immediately be one of the best taquerias in the entire city.

August: 46 articles. We make a lot of bacon at the Scrumptious house but in August we debuted our Hog Jowl Bacon Recipe It blew minds. We lost Pete Fountain in August. As you know when a famous musician passes in New Orleans we throw a giant party. Here’s our gallery.

September: 30 posts. If you find yourself in Austin and thirsty for a beer we penned a report on ABGB a brewpub that puts out some of the best brew in USA. And we hit the road for Berea, Kentucky where we partied with eggheads, hillbillies and free radicals at the Appalachian Food Summit

October: 56 articles. Miss Linda Green is an unlikely celebrity chef but the Ya-Ka-Mein Lady puts out some of the best food in all of New Orleans. And she does it on the street corners of our beloved city. Our 500 po boys series visited her for a Shrimp and Crab Dressing Po Boy. I hate writing obituaries. It’s the worst part of this job but it’s exactly what I had to do when my friend Fat Sam died. He was a prince and an excellent cook.

November. 42 articles. I’ve always been intrigued by alligators. They are potent foes, chockablock across Louisiana, and of course, delicious. There are big changes coming to our state’s alligator ranching industry. We filed this report. Have you ever had a pork routee po boy? The form is decidedly hard to come by in New Orleans but if you venture out to Lafourche Parish, a short 45 minute drive away you may eat like a Cajun king.

December is not quite over yet but but at the midway point we’ve published 21 pieces. Our most popular one being an overview of the scandalous boudin controversies out in Acadiana. Some of our favorite sausage parlors behaved less than honorably we’re sad to report. Also, our lead scribe RL Reeves Jr spoke eloquently on beef and how to best select it for your smoking pleasure.

573 articles from Jan 1 thru Nov 30th

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