Last weekend, I took a trip to the Crescent City… aka New Orleans. Now…if you travel to NOLA just to blatantly eat at chain restaurants, thats just plain disrespectful. I’ll never forgive you! Besides the obvious attractions, you have to experience the savory creole and cajun New Orleans culinary legacy. So next time you find yourself in New Orleans, consider some of the following spots to try out.
Cafe de Monde
Cafe de Monde is a traditional coffee stand, established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. They are best known for their Beignets, French style powdery squares of goodness. The beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and lavishly covered with powdered sugar. Let me tell you one thing, these things are sent from the heavens. Grab some friends and make this one of your first stops while exploring NOLA.
District
Donuts | Sliders | Brew
Our next stop was District: Donuts, Sliders, Brew. They offer seven rotating donuts everyday, and also have over 100 options currently available in their catalog. They make everything from scratch, down to their sprinkles and buns with all natural ingredients! Everyone raves about their donuts… which weren’t that amazing, but their sliders were another story. Talk about DELICIOUS! They have a wide selection of sliders depending on market availability and seasons that include Blackened Chicken Caesar, Beef Belly with honeyed goat cheese crema and crispy onion strings, Oyster with micro-chi kara and caper aioli, or even Shrimp Rangoon with sweet & sour slaw, crispy wonton and 5-spice cream cheese. This is definitely a great spot for lunch and light shopping.
Pictured above: Blackened Chicken Caesar Slider, fresh caesar salad and a vietnamese iced coffee.
Surrey’s Cafe
For our last day in NOLA, we decided we wanted an authentic creole brunch. So we headed over to Surrey’s Cafe and Juice Bar on Magazine Street. First off, this is the best hungover spot because they offer a variety of fresh all natural and organic juices that provide you with the protein and vitamins to any hungover. Especially after a night on Bourbon Street. They also have a savory menu filled with a little bit of something for everyone… even my vegan friends!
Pictured Above: Shrimp and Country Grits with scallions, bacon and tomato based creole sauce.
I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite go to spots in New Orleans, and be on the look out for some Cajun- Creole inspired meals soon. Here are just some extra photos of our trip captured by some of my wonderful friends. Enjoy.
foodbyrich 