A Foodie Review of New Orleans: Where to Eat

I can’t believe it’s November already, where does time go??

As you can see from the title of this post, this is not a recipe. Don’t worry, the recipes will come back, but I’m also going to start posting travel content. Most of you may not have noticed, but my logo says “La Vie Bami, food and travel” because… yes, although I have only been posting recipes for the past few years, this blog was originally meant to be about food and travel.

You may be wondering “so what happened?” Covid happened. I used to travel quite a bit before Covid, but when the pandemic hit, I decided to put things on hold… until now. So please keep an eye out for the new “Travel” window in the menu bar.

Great! Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get on with today’s topic: New Orleans and its food! It has always been a dream of mine to visit New Orleans aka NOLA (which stands for New Orleans, Louisiana): the history and culture of the city, the people the Creole, Cajun and Soul Food cuisines are all reasons why I have always wanted to visit.

I will tell you more about the trip in another article, but today we will focus on the food.
First and foremost, if you love food, NOLA is the place to be!
I’ve had some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life: the quality is good, the seasoning is right, the people are nice and the price is affordable. Easy 10 out of 10, right?

I’ll tell you about the places I’ve eaten at and the ones I didn’t have time to visit but would have liked to.

Lil Dizzy’s Cafe

Location: 1500 Esplanade Ave
Must have: Fried chicken, Trout baquet, Collard greens.

If you only have time to eat at one place in New Orleans, this is the place!
If I had to rate this place out of 10, it would easily be a 20.
The family-run restaurant is located in the Treme neighbourhood, the oldest African-American neighbourhood in the United States.

This meal was the highlight of my trip. The food is amazing: great menu, top quality, the service is fast, professional and warm.

We had the fried chicken, trout baquet, collard greens, gumbo and macaroni and cheese.
I chose the white-meat fried chicken as a test: it is usually the driest part, so if it is moist and tender, you know the place is the real deal… and it was! Not greasy, flavourful but not overpowering.

Another highlight was the trout baquet: pan-fried trout topped with crabmeat in a lemon butter sauce. It’s one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had in my life… I still think about it from time to time. Note that the Trout Baquet is not always on the menu, so don’t be disappointed if it’s not available when you visit.

Café du Monde

Location: 800 Decatur Street
Must have: Beignets

The beignets! Beignets are a Louisiana speciality: beignets and chicory coffee are a breakfast staple in the southern state.
Beignets are French doughnuts covered in powdered sugar: when done well, they should be light, puffy and airy.

There are two main places for beignets in the city: Café du Monde and Café Beignet. I’ve tried both and Café du Monde is the one you want to go to.
Did I think it was overhyped before I went? Yes, I did. Was I wrong? Absolutely.

There are 3 beignets per portion and trust me, you won’t want to share (we didn’t lol).
The terrace is always full, but you can also choose to sit inside: to be honest, I prefer it.

Ps: cash only.

Compère Lapin

Must have: Shrimp and grits

If you’re looking for fine dining, beautiful decor and great service, chef Nina Compton’s flagship restaurant has it all.
We had the French toast with coconut and rum caramel sauce, the fried chicken and the shrimp and grits.
Everything was amazing, but my jaw dropped the moment I tasted the sauce on the shrimp and grits.

ps: book here in advance

Suzie’s Soulhouse Soulfood & Catering

Location: 1205 St Charles Avenue
Must have: Suzie’s fried chicken, Cornbread, Bread pudding

We tried a few of the chef’s signature items: Suzie’s fried chicken, Cornbread, Sautéed corn, Collard greens, St Charles catfish, Rice and Bread pudding.
Everything was tasty and well seasoned, but the Fried chicken and Bread pudding 100% stood out.

If you go there for lunch, don’t plan on having anything more than vegetable soup for dinner, as you’ll probably still be full: great portions!

Next time I’ll definitely try the Fried salmon bites and the Jambalaya.

Ps: strictly to-go at lunchtime, but there are a couple of high tables you can eat at.

Meals From the Heart Café

Location: French Market
Must have: Shrimp and grits

Located in the heart of the famous French Market, M.F.T.H.C. is a family-run, vegan-friendly eatery serving hearty and healthy food. You can expect the traditional Creole and Soul Food classics as well as healthy sandwiches, vegan breakfast and lunch items and natural drinks.

We had the Okra and the Shrimp & Grits: both were great, the dishes were well seasoned yet light and you can tell the ingredients are 100% fresh. I liked their okra the best of all the Okra I had on the trip, but my mum preferred Coop’s Okra cup.

Coop’s Place

Location: 1109 Decatur Street
Must have: Rabbit & Sausage Jambalaya, Seafood Okra

If you don’t like spicy (as in hot spicy) food, this is not the place for you. If you do: keep reading.

We weren’t particularly hungry, so we ordered the Coop’s Taste Plate to share: for just $15.90 you get a cup of Seafood Gumbo, Cajun Fried Chicken, Shrimp Creole, Red Beans & Rice and Rabbit & Sausage Jambalaya.

My mum loved the okra; the jambalaya and the chicken were good, but the rest of the food was a bit underwhelming.

Backatown Coffee Shop

Location: 301 Basin Street, Suite 1
Must have: Rose Pistachio Donut

We started the day with a craving for pastries: we went to Backatown and had the Rose Pistachio Donut, the Blueberry Cake and a hot veverage. The pastries are really good (a little too sweet, but American pastries usually are), the decor is hip and relaxed, and the service is warm. If you’re looking for a place to work remotely, you’ll love this place.

I would try the Sweet Potato Scone, the Turkey Egg Cheese and the ALT (avocado, lettuce, tomato) muffin if I could visit again.

Bonus: free unlimited lemon water all day.

Loretta’s Authentic Pralines

Location: French Market
Must have: Praline

Praline is the quintessential NOLA candy: not to be confused with French pralines, according to Jessica B. Harris, “the name praline refers to candies made with pecans in a brown sugar coating”.

Leah’s and Aunt Sally’s are probably the most famous praline shops in town, but as we were already at the French Market, we decided to give Loretta’s a try… and it didn’t disappoint.

I’m a savory girl at heart, but I have to admit that the pralines were delicious! I had the Authentic and the Coconut ones and I regret not trying the Peanut butter ones.

Places I didn’t have time to visit

Dooky Chase

Location: 2301 Orleans Avenue

Easily one of the most famous restaurants in the city of New Orleans, Dooky Chase is a culinary institution. Stop in for authentic Creole gumbo, Red beans and rice, Fried chicken and Crawfish etouffé.

Neyow’s Creole Café

Location: 3332 Bienville Street

Another Creole institution, this restaurant is known for its File’ gumbo, Fried gulf oysters and Po-boy sandwiches.

NOPSI Hotel’s Public Service Restaurant

Location: 317 Baronne Street

We stayed at the NOPSI during our trip and we LOVED it. We had planned to eat at their restaurant at least once during our trip, but never found the time for it (jet lag kicked in and we went to bed early every night).

If you enjoyed this review, click on the “Travel” tab on the menu for more Travel content 🙂