The Espresso Explorer

Coffee shop & eatery reviews for visitors to live like a local.

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Explore Coffee Shops
    • Explore Eateries
    • Explore Coffee Products
  • Recipes
  • About Me
    • Contact Me
  • Home Coffee Bar Essentials

Late Night Eating in Harvey, LA – Big Al’s Seafood & Spirits

October 19, 2018 by Monica Preston Leave a Comment

Just so you know, we may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. We have a full affiliate disclosure that you can find under here.

It’s the second day of our vacation in New Orleans and we are hungry. Since we were just a few minutes from the Gulf, we were excited to continue trying out the seafood in New Orleans. We were staying at a friend’s house in Harvey, LA (a little suburb of New Orleans, pretty cute actually) and had a late lunch at  Suire’s Grocery in Kaplan. It was safe to say we needed to find a place for late night eating since most of the unique, sit down restaurants in Harvey were approaching closing time. When we travel, we try to find unique restaurants we don’t have at home. Makes for better exploring, am I right? We had passed this place a few times called Big Al’s Seafood & Spirits as it sits just off the freeway that runs right through Harvey. I was looking for a place to have an adult beverage while Jacob was swooning over his next Po Boy. (the count so far this trip was 3 and we were there less than 24 hours) Enter Big Al’s Seafood and Spirits.

Welcome to Big Al’s

Driving in, this place looked abandoned. The only hint of life was the bright lights on the building. There were only three cars in the parking lot; more than likely belonging to the three guys playing cards outside the front door on the patio. It was humid and all I could think about was getting inside where it was cooler. How these dudes sat out there and played their card game was beyond me. But they’re used to the humidity; me? Not so much. I’m from the desert; it’s a dry heat. BIG difference. Anyhow, upon entering the very quiet restaurant we meet La La, the bartender. She said we could sit anywhere and we chose the bar because, duh. It wasn’t really hard to choose; we had our choice of ANY seat in the house. The place was empty. Not a good sign, right? Just wait.

The Conversation

La La, and yes, that’s her real name, was a shy with us at first. She asked what we wanted to drink. I ordered a Bay Breeze, Jacob a vodka cranberry. We told her we were from out of state and were in NOLA visiting before boarding our Carnival cruise on that Sunday. Jacob, as he does everywhere we go, even places we’ve been five hundred times, asks “What’s good here?”. La La shares that their Po Boys are the BEST and their seafood platter is amazing. So, that’s what we ordered. We continued to chat with La La (only one person came into the joint while we were there) and learned that Big Al’s has a very popular seafood buffet that happens every Sunday. We would unfortunately miss it just due to the cruise itinerary, but it’s definitely on our radar when we return. La La also spoke about the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left and how the city hasn’t fully recovered. During Katrina, La La lost her home and had to move and she currently travels 30-45 minutes to work at Big Al’s because there is little housing available near her work. While I had seen the devastation on the news and social media, one doesn’t fully comprehend the losses and tragedy until you spend some time there. Many homes still are not rebuilt or repaired and are left abandoned.

The Seafood

Big Al's Seafood & Spirits
Seafood Platter at Big Al’s

La La delivered our food rather quickly. Pretty sure both of our jaws dropped on the floor when we saw the size of the plate. The shrimp Po Boy that was cut in half was enough to feed at least two more people. The seafood platter contained enough shrimp and catfish to feed another two people. Each plate was served with enough seasoned crinkle fries to feed an army. The shrimp Po Boy was served on this soft garlic buttered french roll that had the perfect amount of flakiness on the outside. It was firm enough to hold the mounds of crispy fried shrimp, fresh lettuce, juicy tomato and mayonnaise. This was the first Po Boy besides Suire’s where the roll held up to the ingredients inside. In fact, we took half of it home with us along with the savory crinkle fries along with some catfish and shrimp from the seafood platter. The seafood platter was amazing! The catfish and shrimp were fried to a beautiful reddish brown and crispy. It was flavorful, perfectly seasoned, and the shrimp were large and firm. If I had to count, I’m fairly certain there was at least a dozen shrimp (if not more) and at least six to eight pieces of catfish. Both plates were filling and reminded me of why I love food.

When You Go

If the parking lot is empty, go inside anyway. This is an absolute must visit when in Harvey, LA and don’t worry, Big Al’s is open 24 hours so you can get all the Po Boys and seafood you want. Just be sure you have a place to store your leftovers. Make sure you are following me over on Instagram to catch a glimpse of the rest of the adventures in NOLA!

 

  • Related posts:

    1. Suire’s Grocery & Restaurant: The Local’s Favorite
    2. Breakfast in New Orleans – Mother’s Restaurant
    3. District Donuts Sliders Brew, New Orleans
    4. Café du Monde: A Guide for First Time Visitors

    Filed Under: Explore Eateries Tagged With: food, New Orleans, travel

    « District Donuts Sliders Brew, New Orleans
    How to Make Pumpkin Spice Latté at Home »

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    Coffee Roast and Brew Guide by The Espresso Explorer

    Don’t miss a post!

    Are you tired of sugar filled drinks or burnt tasting coffee? Do you want to learn to make better tasting coffee at home?

    Save your money and sign up for the Coffee Chronicles, a once in a while newsletter delivering coffee shop and eatery highlights PLUS get new recipes and product announcements before anyone else! Your Coffee Roast & Brewing E-Book is waiting!

    Did you click the box just above? If so, your signed copy is just a few moments away! #nowaitinginlinehere

    The Recipe Box

    Recipes from The Espresso Explorer

    Let’s connect online!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    Resources

    Home coffee bar essentials by The Espresso Explorer

    Copyright © 2023 · Delightful theme by Restored 316

    Copyright © 2023 · Delightful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT