"It took a long time to get to the table, but it was worth waiting for."
Anne Ritchings
"Willie Mae's chicken is enveloped in a wet batter that turns crisp when it fries. It will flake and fall when you sink your teeth into it, and that is a good thing. Fragility is one of this bird's best qualities, the other being tremendously succulent meat."
Michael Stern
"Chicken is Willie Mae's go-to dish, but if you're allergic to it, you can have a pork chop battered and cooked the same way. While not as tender, the chop has a deep, piggy richness all its own."
Michael Stern
"As rich as filet mignon, these big butter beans give vegetables a good name. They are one of the side dishes that can come with your chicken or they can be ordered a la carte for $5.50."
Michael Stern
"Unlike most New Orleans restaurants, when Willie Mae's says red beans, that is what they mean: no sausage here. Therefore this is a fairly bland dish, but that is not necessarily a bad thing when you are eating very well-spiced meats."
Michael Stern
"If you don't want your main course battered and fried at Willie Mae's, you are not a total loser. This chop is batterless... and alarmingly seasoned."
Michael Stern
"'The Champagne of the South': sweet tea"
Michael Stern
"This humble restaurant has become a destination for all kinds of people. New Orleans' chief of police was dining at a table near ours."
Michael Stern
"A close-up of Willie Mae's fried chicken showcases the skin in all its crunchy glory."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
"The unorthodox potato salad is mostly mashed."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
Willie Mae's got famous for fried chicken. The once-inconspicuous eatery in the Lower Ninth Ward has become a major destination for culinary pilgrims from all over New Orleans and beyond. It was raggedy before Katrina's devastation; the reborn restaurant is bright-white, clean, and welcoming.
