The Muffaletta at the Central Grocery is out of this world. My wife and I were in New Orleans for four days and the Muffaletta from Central Grocery was the best food we had! And the cheapest! If you crave the savory taste of salami and cheese mingled with the pungeant bite of olives, vinegar and olive oil then give it a try. It is all served/ squeezed between two halves of a delicious sesame seed topped Italian round. We even brought home a quart of the olive spread so we could try and duplicate this delicacy. ($9.95 a quart)You can get a half of a "Muff" for less than six bucks which is ample for two people. (Or a nice meal for one hungry person.) Add sodas from the machine in the back for 75 cents/ each and you've got a savory lunch for under four bucks a head. How are you going to beat that!
The place isn't fancy at all, just some stools along a plain table in the back. But that allows you to devote all of your attention to the wonderful taste! And they all come wrapped to go anyway, so grab one and eat out on Jackson Square and watch the world go by.
They also stock some interesting food items and condiments in the store. For what it is, you can't beat it.
"Everything about a Central Grocery muffuletta is good, but what sends it over the top is the extra-delicious olive salad."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"Pronounced Muff-a-lotta by natives, this mighty sandwich is actually the size of four normal-size sandwiches; accordingly, it is served quartered."
Michael Stern
"Central Market has been a fixture in the French Quarter for nearly a century."
Michael Stern
"It's the spicy, pickly, garlicky olive salad that gives muffalettas their distinctive taste. It is so unctuous that its piquancy seeps right into the bread."
Michael Stern
"Four quarters is plenty of sandwich for two people. Half sandwiches are also available."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
