Shreya I was in New Orleans for NYE this year and got the opportunity to try some delicious local cuisine. Here are a few of the dishes I discovered on my food tour. Some I absolutely loved and can’t wait to make some soon like shrimp creole and jambalaya. Some others, like a crawfish étouffée, not so much but I’m glad I tried it anyway!
Every corner of the historic French quarter was so picturesque. I also got to learn about some of the history of the city, how it was almost destroyed by two big fires in the past and most recently by hurricane Katrina. And of course a trip to NOLA can’t be complete without indulging a little in the supernatural. That included visiting the museum of death and taking a guided ghost and legends tour through the streets of the French quarter.
Getting back to the food, here’s my list of dishes you must try when you’re down in New Orleans. I have named the restaurants where I tried them too for your reference.
1. Beignets from Café du monde
If you’ve already booked your flights to NOLA and have started researching about what foods to try, I’m sure beignets fro café du mode must’ve popped up. Beignets are basically fried dough crusted with powdered sugar. You could compare them to funnel cakes. I tried them at 2 different places but the ones from café du mode were worth the 45 minute wait. Little did we know though that this cafe has other branches around New Orleans. When we went to the one in the city park, it barely had a line compared to the one in Jackson square.
Where to try : Cafe du monde – 848 Decatur St.
2. Seafood boil
This is my personal favorite. I love me a good seafood boil and my guilty pleasure is watching seafood boil ASMRs. I’ve had a few over the years but the one in New Orleans at ‘Boil seafood house’ was the absolute best. A friend of mine suggested the place and boy am I glad I tried it. They have a variety of sauces to choose from but I went for the house special and extra spicy. It was a bit too spicy for my taste but I enjoyed it nonetheless. They have different combinations you can get (Lobster, crawfish, shrimp, mussels, etc and comes with a sausage, potatoes and 2 pieces of corn).
Where to try : BOIL seafood house – 3340 Magazine St.
3. Shrimp creole
The food in New Orleans is definitely seafood heavy and for good reason. You can find creole and cajun flavors in ever corner of the city. Find out more about the seafood scene in NOLA in this article. One of the famous dishes is Shrimp creole. The shrimp is cooked in a tomato and pepper based sauce and it gets as spicy as you can handle!
We tried this dish at a Jazz bistro called Arnaud’s in the French quarter where you can enjoy a live Jazz band with your delicious food. And the French 75 is a must try there!
Where to try : Arnaud’s Bistro – 813 Bienville St.
4. Praline
You can find these candies is every corner of the French quarter. They remind me of ‘chikki’ that is a popular Indian sweet except that I tasted a hint of rum in the praline. They were so good though : nutty, melt in the mouth and fresh! You can also buy boxes to bring back home with you.
5. Crawfish étouffée
Étouffée is a process of cooking in Cajun and Creole cuisine, typically with seafood over a bed of rice. Now I’m not a huge fan of crawfish but I absolutely wanted to try this dish because I was seeing it on the menus of every restaurant we were visiting. On our final day in New Orleans, I finally got to try an omelette version and as expected it was too fishy for my taste but I’m glad I tried it!
Where to try : Mother’s Restaurant – 401 Poydras St.
6. Jambalaya
Next, our food tour took us to a breakfast spot in Jackson Square where I tried a Jambalaya omelette. It was an interesting rice dish with seafood, sausages and cajun seasoning. It sure was a hearty breakfast.
Where to try : The corner Oyster house – 500 St. Peter
7. Voodoo Daiquiri
A drink hard to miss in the city along with it’s sister drink ‘Hurricane’. The Voodoo Daiquiri tastes like the color purple (not my words but our guide for the ‘Ghosts and Legends’ tour) and when she said it first, I couldn’t imagine what that would taste like. But as soon as I took a sip, I knew exactly how purple tastes. Its a strong drink, this one but really good!!
I tried this drink at ‘Lafitte’s’ which is the oldest running bar in America! They started in the 1700s and from what I learnt, were operating even during the Prohibition.
Where to try : Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar – 941 Bourbon St.
8. Po-boys
The name might sound like a boy band name but they are actually subs served with a fried filet of either chicken or fish topped with lettuce and tomatoes. Tastes pretty good when fresh and is quite filling if you’re looking for a quick bite to grab. on our food tour, we found this place on Magazine st. where we originally went to try Muffalettas but they only serve that during lunchtime so we ended upsetting Po-boys instead.
Where to try : Mahony’s Po-boys & Seafood – 3454 Magazine St.
Bonus : Cute instaworthy cafe on Magazine St.
If you want to rest your legs for a few as you spend the afternoon on Magazine street looking at the vintage shops and boutiques, try this cute like cafe called Sucré.
Where to try : Sucré – 3025 Magazine St
Although, I tried so many things in my 3 day food tour in the city, there was so much more I didn’t get a chance to like gumbo, muffalettas and banana foster. Well, that gives a chance to go back and explore more!
Writing about all this food has made me hungry now! I’m gonna go heat up a bowl of some leftover French onion soup (recipe here).
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