The city of jazz, sin, & apparently the best food and people you can ever stumble upon. Tayla and I spent the week before Christmas in New Orleans and it was truly one of my favortite adventures to date!
We arrived Sunday evening and were exhausted but ready to get the party started. First stop? FOOD! Thanks to a quick open table search, we landed on
Luke where we treated ourselves to a few lovely cocktails (French 75 FTW) while we gorged on Tuna Tar Tar, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Ricotta Gnocchi, and Shrimp & Crab Etouffee. Whoa, what a way to kick off the trip!
The next morning we headed to Cafe Du Monde for beignets but never quite made it. We DID however hit just about every bar on Royal Street on the way to Bourbon. Included on this boozy tour was
Pere Antoine which was the cutest little restaurant on Royal Street where we enjoyed the very best waiter along with Fried Green Tomatoes (YUM), Mozzarella Sticks, Crab Fingers, and a dangerous cocktail which went down a little too easy.
One of the best parts of NOLA? Every cocktail is "to-go"!
Our next stop was
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the oldest bar in New Orleans. Out of obligation, we ordered the infamous Purple Drink, and it was everything it was cracked up to be! Plus, the bar was adorbs.
As the day went on, the memories became fuzzier... But there was definitely a Grenade (you have to do it, but once is enough), Jackson Square, crab beignets, brisket sliders, more drinks, a fish bowl, live music, and one hell of a hangover to follow.
Cue
Mr. B's Bistro the following morning to cure our prior evening woes. You guys, this place was EVERYTHING. First off, we were seated next to the most delightful couple who we chatted with the whole time. We shared lots of laughs and by the end they had sent us an elaborate list of things to do in NOLA which will forever be refered to as "The List" (one which we referenced frequently throughout our stay). It was perfect. And then there was the shrimp. Oh the shrimp. It was an absolute mess and worth every sloppy second. Truly could have ate that shit with a spoon... Two pieces of bread just were not enough. Other notable Mr. B's items included the Seafood Gumbo, Spiked Coffee, Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, & Free Bread Pudding! By far the best meal of the trip.
Per instruction by our new friends, we headed to The Garden District where we stumbled into
The Blind Pelican which was a darling bar complete with another awesome waiter. He refered to us as Grey Godesses, invited us to his going away party, and bought us shots which he proceeded to take with us. Let me tell you, those shots gave us life!
We spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering Magazine Street and The Garden District which we absolutely loved. The homes, the sites, the people... It was a perfect way to spend the day, cocktails in hand.
Our bartender at The Blind Pelican recomended we stop by
Dat Dog and
The Bulldog while in the area. Both were spot on, and we sang his praise the remainder of the day.
For dinner, we refered to "The List" which lead us to
Trenasse. It was incredible, especially the Happy Hour menu. We treated ourselves to Sangria, Crispy Boudin Balls, & Crawfish pie along with their complementary pork rinds. Everything was great, including the price!
Wendnesday we were feeling refreshed after a good night sleep and were excited to get back on the town! Our first stop, per the list, was
Brennan's. We loved the ambiance & the meal. We shared Huckleberry Crepes with the Fried Porchop and Truffle Grits. Another
mindblowing meal which was made even sweeter with the complementary macaroons. Have I said how incredible NOLA food is yet? Because WOAH! We will pretend I didn't gain 6 pounds from the trip...
Next up? SWAMP TOUR! We loved our non-PC tour guide, the quirky siblings who talked shit with us the whole tour, and the whole
Honey Island experience... But we
hated Carol... There is always a Carol... You know the kind... The know it all that asks questions she already knows the answers to just to hear herself speak.
Freaking Carol!
We finished the afternoon on Frenchmen Street Enjoying all the live music and ended the evening at
Angeline for a light dinner.
Thursday morning we headed back to The Garden District. Our first stop, of course, food! We had a lovely brunch at
Atchafalaya where we enjoyed gumbo with our fried chicken and biscuits on the porch. As usual, we were
starving, and were thrilled with our choice.
Next up was the
Lafayette Cemetary where we took ourselves on
this little self guided tour. We absolutely loved the whole experience and really enjoyed getting all the info at our own pace.
Also, how cute is this little plot where four best friends from elementary school are buried? #squadgoals
We found ourselves on Royal & Bourbon again Thursday evening, so as you can imagine we hardly remember it. When in NOLA, I suppose. From what I do recall, we absolutely loved The Cat's Meow & Bandstand along with all the other random bars along the way.
We spent our final day in the French Quarter, taking it all in. We must have made 10 trips between the French Market & Frenchmen Street, and loved every last one. From the smells and art in the market to the live music and dancing on Frenchmen, I truly could have spent every afternoon with a drink in hand wandering the area.
We finally got our
Cafe Du Monde beignets which we took to go & enjoyed on a bench along with a couple boozy milkshakes from
The Gazebo Cafe. ("The List" also suggested Irish Coffees from
Stanley's Service Bar, but we wanted something cold and refreshing).
We spent our final dinner on a balcony on Bourbon Street taking in all the sights and laughing at all of the belligerent visitors who we resembled the night before. We really only selected the restaurant for the view, but we ended up loving
Cornet. We shared the Alligator Sausage Crostini along with the Blackened Catfish and loved both dishes, plus the ambience was truly unbeatable.
We spent the remainder of the evening wandering Bourbon Street with our final Yard Drink in tow. I don't think either of us were ready for the night to end.
When we finally decided to call it a night, we hit up McDonald's. Maybe it was the booze talking, but I think that was the most satisfying McDouble & Nuggets of my life.
Before we left the next morning, we popped over to the creperie across from our hotel and oh.my.god. Let me just say it was a good thing we didn't discover it until the last day.
The Merchant was the cutest little spot & the crepes and dirty chais were insane. We shared the Cookie Butter & Fig-a-Majig Crepes and did all but lick the plate. Definitely the perfect last meal.
Although we were both exhausted, it was tough to leave that Saturday morning. The city was so lively and full of culture, we felt completely transported. We truly couldn't get enough of the live music, people, food, drinks, architecture, sazeracs, & love the city gave us. Cheers to new cities with old friends!
