Four Day Foodie Trip in NOLA

New Orleans (NOLA) is considered to be one of the top cities in the US for foodies, so of course, I had to do a trip. I had been to New Orleans a few years ago (my annual birthday trip), but that was more of a sightseeing, getting to know the City trip. I had done some due diligence of the “must visit and eat places”, but this time around I was much more focused. Below are some tips and hints as well as places I ate at. Please scroll all the way down for pictures.

Tips and Hints:

· Do not visit May-Sep unless you like heat and humidity!

· Unless you absolutely want to be part of the “party” life try not to stay right on Bourbon. Canal street fairly close by is a good option and should be more cost effective as well

· Google often shows the busiest and best times to visit when looking up a restaurant.

· Most of the popular places with a casual atmosphere do not take reservations.

· Try and walk around as much as possible between food stops. You will need it! The garden district is a nice place to walk around and see the beautiful houses.

· Frenchman Street is known for its music and has a wide variety of food options as well

· Magazine Street-while not as popular as Bourbon Street is definitely worth a visit

Must eats and recommended places:

· Beignets -Café Du Monde

https://www.cafebeignet.com/

· Oysters-Felix’s and Dragos

https://www.felixs.com/

https://www.dragosrestaurant.com/

· Turtle soup-Commanders Palace

https://www.commanderspalace.com/

· Bread pudding-anywhere, but chocolate bread pudding is a must at Red Fish along with the souffle bread pudding at Commanders Palace

· Willie Mae’s Scotch House and Mothers Restaurant (while I did not make it here, if you are a fan of po’boys and fried chicken these are the places to visit)

http://www.williemaesnola.com/

https://www.mothersrestaurant.net/

· French Market-open daily and has a wide variety of food stalls. Loretta’s pralines are to die for!

http://www.frenchmarket.org/dining/restaurants-and-cafes/

· Hurricanes-all throughout Bourbon Street. If it’s your first visit to NOLA, this is a must

· Carousel Bar at Monteleone’s for a quick drink is a unique experience

https://hotelmonteleone.com/entertainment/carousel-bar-2/

Beignets

Where most tourists go-Café Du Monde. Like many of the popular “tourist” spots, you will see people lined up outside. If you absolutely must do this, I suggest going at an off-peak time-like the middle of the afternoon.

My preference-Café Beignet. Shorter lines, and in my opinion, beignets are bigger and tastier. There is seating, but it is smaller than Café Du Monde. Things move quickly, and one of us grabbed a table while the other did the ordering. Lines move pretty quickly.

Oysters

NOLA is known for its oysters. While this is not my favorite food, I was determined to try this since I was in the City that was known for them.

Where most tourists go-Acme Oyster. This is where I visited my first trip. Forget trying to get there on a weekend night at peak dinner time. Lines are too long. We went back late Sun afternoon and got seated relatively quickly. The place has a very casual atmosphere and is not very big. We had a couple of oyster shooters and I had the shrimp po' boy. I was unfortunately not blown away.

My preference-across the street from Acme is Felix’s. Similar atmosphere to Acme, but a bit larger, and I preferred the food here. Charbroiled oysters were excellent (even for me, who as noted above is not a fan). They also had seafood cake appetizer specials which were delicious.

Breakfast

Ruby Slipper is the place to go to for a hearty breakfast. Reservations are not accepted, however, you can go online and add in your name to the waiting list. There are multiple locations in NOLA. The one I visited was on Canal Street.

If you are solo or 2-4 people you might be seated at the “bar concept” table where you get to see what everyone else had ordered and get to know your neighbors as well! Portions are huge, so consider sharing if not solo especially when ordering carb-heavy breakfast foods such as the pancake flight. I was in a food coma after!

Brunch and Lunch

“Brunching’, especially on the weekends, has definitely become more of a trend in recent years, and so is the case in NOLA. Weekend brunches in particular with a jazz band are very popular.

Two well-known options are Antoine’s and Commander's Palace. Both are more on the upscale end so please keep that in mind from a price standpoint. Commanders Palace especially does not allow shorts and jeans, and men have to wear a jacket. Make sure to book reservations.

Unable to get a weekend reservation at Commanders, we opted for Antoine's for Sunday brunch. Beautiful atmosphere, free mimosas, and food was divine.

I recommend Commanders Palace for lunch (make a reservation as much as advance as possible if you want a weekend). They have some excellent lunch deals and .25 martini specials! Turtle soup is a must (believe me it’s blended beautifully so you don’t’ taste anything specific for those of you leery of this). You have to try the champagne poached crab meat-it’s a side, but amazing!

Palace Café-known for its crab meat cheesecake! Both unique and delicious!

Court of Two sisters-I DO NOT recommend this place. They have a nice courtyard, but that’s about it. They have a buffet lunch which does not look appetizing, is quite pricey, and mimosas cost extra. This was the only bad meal I had in New Orleans. Perhaps I had become jaded since it was the end of my trip, but both my friend and I were extremely disappointed since this had come highly recommended from two other friends of ours.

Dinner

We hit Felix’s for dinner our first night there (mentioned above). The rest of the visit which was two other nights, we went to Creole House and Marigny Brasserie. Both were down to earth places with decent food.

NOLA did not disappoint on the food! It’s a must for food lovers out there! Looking forward to the next trip and additional delicious meals. Well worth the few pounds you will gain 😊