Your guide to food in the Big Easy

To celebrate this year's Fat Tuesday I thought rather than creating something you would find in New Orleans, why not SHOW you what you can find in New Orleans, and offer some suggestions in case you ever find yourself in the neighborhood!  This past year my husband and I spent our honeymoon in New Orleans.  What could be better, right?  The weather was great and the food was outstanding.  We ate so much I'm pretty sure we each gained 5 lbs.  But with all of the walking we did we like to think we worked everything off.  We started the trip off by eating our fair share of Po-Boys. 

Po-Boys are basically, as I like to say, "delicious goodness." It's a thick cut of Italian bread filled with all different things: chicken, shrimp, roast beef & gravy, ham, turkey... you name it they've got it.  Every single one we had, all different, were equally delicious.  I think it would be difficult to find a bad po-boy in New Orleans.  My favorite po-boy was at a place called the Lumpy Dog.  It is an absolute must to visit.  It's located not terribly far from the French Quarter, but closer to the W.W. II Museum.  The first time we were there (yes we went more than once) I had a roast beef & gravy po-boy.  The second time I had a dry rub shrimp po-boy that was the best.  I would definitely have it again given the choice.  Also, if you ever visit the Lumpy Dog you absolutely must get the cole slaw!  It is the best thing I have ever eaten.  Instead of it being mayonnaise based it's balsamic based with a little kick to it.  I would happily stuff my face with it any day.    


For dinner almost every night we ate at our hotel restaurant Domenica, one of a few John Besh restaurants.  It was an absolute treat.  We had the best wait staff, the best atmosphere and the best food.  The first night we ate there we shared an appetizer of cheese, meat, olives and peppers that came out on this beautiful wooden block.  It was a great presentation.  For an entree I had the Risotto with Prosciutto, and Brian had the Lasagna.  Both were outstanding!  We wanted to keep eating but we were so stuffed we felt as though we were going to explode.  But of course we had room for their homemade Limoncello.  It made us feel as good as it tasted.

           

For breakfast it is completely obvious, you have to go to Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter for beignets.  The best donut you will ever have, I mean French donut (pardon me).  For the amount of food you get the price is completely right.  I'm not sure what else to say except you have to try them for yourselves.  They are just too good for words.

     

Finally, if you have the chance, you have to check out the New Orleans School of Cooking.  There, you learn about the culture of New Orleans, the history of not just the city but the food, and you learn how to make 4 signature dishes:  bread pudding, crab chowder, shrimp creole and pralines (pronounced praw-leens).  We had the best time.  We even bought some spices to bring home with us we loved it so much.  It is an absolute must!

Here we are with our teacher.  We called her Paula Deen's sister
because they seriously look alike, and sound alike!

When you go to New Orleans make sure you take the time to stop, look around, and take it all in.  I wasn't even able to mention everything there is to eat in this single post.  There is just too much to say!  It is one of the best cities I have ever been to, and I highly recommend visiting.  So until I see you there, enjoy your Mardi Gras and have a drink on me on Bourbon Street.

Cheers!