It’s been a while since we went to Nawlins, I think perhaps I wanted the pain of my brother going home to settle a little before I delved deeply into the recent memories of going on a trip with him. Yes, it sounds rather pathetic, but, when you live with someone for five months, upon their leaving, you get sad. It’s that simple.
So, what did we get up to in the ‘most unique’ city in America? Well, where to begin?
As I’ve already told y’all, we spent a little of our trip in Baton Rouge – a place I’m adamant that you should pencil in on your trip to the Bayou state. I think the simplest way to do this blog is to split it into two parts.
Part I: the important part – the food, where to eat and what to eat.
Part II: the attractions, where to go and what to do.
On our first morning in the city, we made a bee-line straight for Decatur street, for breakfast. I’d heard rave reviews from friends and I’d stumbled upon reviews of a wee cafe that I was bursting to try, Cafe du monde. This cafe is pretty much a no-frills cafe, but when you’ve got a good thing goin’ on, it’s best not to mess with it!
It’s essentially an out-door cafe, you’re under a roof, but that’s pretty much it. There are pigeons scavenging around your feet for crumbs – who knew they enjoyed a sugar rush too?
While I sat in this little cafe, listening to the daily musician of choice in the plum spot, (who happened to be the first performer of the trip that I tossed a few bucks to). I got quite emotional, I felt as though I’d been transported to Paris and was sitting enjoying my sugary delight of a breakfast right underneath the Eiffel Tower.
The beignets were everything I’d been led to believe they were, and definitely gave me the sugary-boost I needed to endure walking around the city in the August heat!
Where is it? 800 Decatur Street, New Orleans 70116
What to order? Beignets and cafe au lait. Wear something you’ll not mind getting covered in icing sugar.
When is it open? Open 24 hours a day (closed 6pm December 24 and opens 6am December 26)
After our steamboat tour, we were ravenous! Across the street from where you board the boats, there was a restaurant that caught our attention, Cafe Maspero, ok, so it’s just outside the top 200 places to eat in New Orleans on trip advisor, but we gave it a whirl anyway!
My catfish poboy was bland, soggy and limp, Col’s roast beef was much better, but by far the best meal of all was Row’s muffaletta, a local delicacy that originated among Italian immigrants in New Orleans. It’s comprised of ham, salami, and pastrami piled high on a seeded Italian roll topped with melted Swiss cheese and our famous olive salad, served with French fries.
Row was almost beaten by that sucker!
If you do nothing else while you’re passing this place, grab a $1 daiquiri. I went with the $3 option and was drinking it all day, I was greedy. Don’t you be greedy too!
Where is it? 601 Decatur St New Orleans, LA 70130
When is it open? Sunday – Thursday 11am – 10pm and Friday – Saturday 11am – 11pm
What to order? A muffaletta and a buck margarita
For dinner on our first night, we went to the restaurant ranked #5 out of 989 on Trip Advisor, Zea Rotisserie and Grill. This place came recommended by one of my friends and I was keen to try it out, especially when I saw the menu.
I ordered the ‘rotisserie platter of the day’, which, unfortunately was less of a platter and more of a small plate. (The portion size for all our our meals, was rather underwhelming, especially given the cost per plate.) The platter of the day was rotisserie pork with rosemary garlic glace, the pork was sliced so finely that I barely got a taste and there wasn’t much garlic/rosemary taste to it either. My sides were broccoli (which is pretty hard to get wrong) and the ‘Zea potatoes’, which I could eat every day for the rest of my life!
Col ordered the ribs, which, again were underwhelming and the server recommended a speciality side, the corn grits – which were just ‘ok’, Col was non-plussed.
My brother, ordered a burger, ‘medium well’ he said, and when it came, it looked fine until he got in to the centre, where it was still raw. By then, Col and I had already finished so there was no point in sending it back.
Disappointing sums up this little adventure, and I had such high hopes for this place, especially considering it was filled with delicious smells as we arrived. One other, minor note of botheration for me, is they brought a new straw each time we got a drinks refill. Ugh. No need!
Where is it? 1525 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
What to order? Zea potatoes and the rotisserie chicken at the table next to us looked delicious!
When is it open? Sun-Thurs 11am-10pm and Fri-Sat 11am-10:30pm
Surreys cafe was where we ended up for breakfast on our second day, it came highly recommended from a friend who used to live nearby. I really only need to say one thing about this place, BANANAS FOSTER STUFFED FRENCH TOAST. No, really, that’s it, mine and Rowans breakfasts paled in comparison to Col’s breakfast of champions – oh, and the fruit juice is extortionate!
Where is it? 1418 Magazine Street New Orleans, LA 70130
When is it open? Open 7 days a week from 8am to 3pm
What to order? Didn’t you read about the bananas foster stuffed french toast?
After a morning of WWII education (in, what happened to be one of, if not THE best museum I’ve ever been in), we were, once again, famished. One of our many travel and food apps told us that the Ugly Dog salon was a short walk away – and in Louisiana, in August, short walks are the best kind – if you’ve got to walk at all, of course!
Once again, we had a varied success rate, firstly, the place seemed like a bit of a dive and, for the most part, it’s self service – including putting your plates etc away, and, considering that, it’s overpriced. I’d normally pay that much including a tip for someone to do it for me. It definitely could do with a Ramsay makeover or something!
Food-wise, I didn’t like the herbs on my chicken, though the mac and cheese was absolutely delicious (just like I’d read in reviews!) and if you can’t find it on the menu, check out the specials board up on the bar.
Col’s roast beef po-boy was the best we found on our trip to the Bayou State. I ended up relieving him of that burden (oops!) ’cause it really was deeeelicious!
Where is it? 401 Andrew Higgin’s BLVD New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
When is it open? Their website is so utterly crap I can’t find that information for you!
What to order? Roast beef po-boy with mac and cheese!
For a late-night feeding, which we needed after a night out on the swamp, there’s only one place in town to head to. I texted my friend and said, ‘where’s open for us to eat, we’re hungry’ and her reply was a ‘Travellers choice 2012’ winner on Trip advisor and ranked #14 out of 988 places to eat – The Camelia Grill (I can’t seem to find a website for it) – which was already on our list to do for breakfast. Perfect!
I think this was our collective favourite place to eat during our time in New Orleans, it’s quirky, it’s fun, it’s cheap, it’s bustling with a great atmosphere and our server was excellent. He just hollered our order to the chef, who didn’t write a dang thing down, but got everything spot on – it was impressive to watch!
Where is it? 626 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118
When is it open? Mon-Thu, Sun 8 am – 12 am and Fri-Sat 8 am – 2 am
What to order? Apparently their breakfasts are TO DIE FOR. But none of us got breakfast food so I can’t advise you on that. Col loved his ‘freeze’ and I really thought the ‘Harry’s Yankee’ roast beef po-boy and a large cheese fries was delicious! They must have good gumbo here, a couple came in, he ordered a Reuben, she asked for Gumbo, they’d none left so she got up and left!
For breakfast on our last day, we hit up a cafe within walking distance to our hotel, the Ruby Slipper Cafe, being #34 on the list of restaurants in New Orleans, it couldn’t be too bad at all, right? (Yes, I put an overwhelming amount of faith in Trip Advisor, but it normally doesn’t serve me wrong!)
This time was no different, I ordered the Migas, definitely better than in Surreys cafe, however, I could have done with a tortilla or some breakfast potatoes and could have done without the huge dollop of sour cream or mayonnaise or whatever it was that was stuck on the side of the plate.
Hubby got the pecan maple pancakes – they were good, but they didn’t beat Surreys bananas foster stuffed french toast.
My brother got a chicken sandwich which he enjoyed, and the atmosphere was fun. The service was good and our server was friendly.
Where is it? 200 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
When is it open? Monday – Friday – 7am – 2pm and Saturday 8am – 2pm, Sunday 8am – 3pm
What to order? Something from the specials board, and, if you’re a drinker, try a Bloody Mary or a Bellini, I’m told they are delish!