We often joke that we eat our way around New Orleans –

But. Y’all. 

We love that regional food. 

Not overly spicy, but with a nice burn at the end = 

Perfection.

  A few weeks ago Craig had a week full of meetings there so I went along...

I found a cool place to do a couple of yoga classes during the week 

[while he was in meetings] 

and it was just across the square from Cafe Du Monde...

So that was my little reward... ha.

For sure, we had our share of etouffee and po boys during the week,

but we also tried a few new places too –

And I’m sharing today since I know I’ve got some friends heading to The Big Easy 

and wanting to know what we think…

[photo cred: google images]

We usually stop in Slidell on our way down and have lunch / dinner at Copeland's. 

They don’t exist in Alabama anymore and it’s a favorite place for crawfish etouffee... and ricochet catfish - although, this dish has changed over the years and I still miss the garlic mashed potatoes that used to come with it. Still, very good. 

 And we always have at least one meal at Deanie’s 

 [corner of Iberville and Dauphine – 

parking on Iberville between Dauphine and Bourbon.]

 – A nice little diner with GREAT food and good prices.

Craig, of course gets the  crawfish etouffee - and I usually get the shrimp po boy and eat it like a shrimp platter -- with the hot potatoes they serve as an appetizer, 

it makes a complete meal. [I love their bread too!]

 During this last trip we also ate at EAT NOLA – 

Farm fresh food that was OUTSTANDING –

 It was just a short walk from our hotel --

I had The Trio - a cup of gumbo, a cup of red bean gumbo, and a stuffed pepper, 

served with rice and a side salad... 

- ALL delicious - and possibly the best red beans we've had... ever...

Craig had the chicken and dumplings with a side of butter beans and shrimp - 

plus a side salad... Equally as good. 

Prepared with meunière sauce.

[photo cred: their website -]

Love the location - an old house on the edge of The French Quarter... 

or, maybe they consider themselves in The Quarter...

 Either way - very pretty...

[photo cred: google images]

 And we finally had a meal at The Bourbon House 

 [attached to the hotel we’ve stayed at a couple of times] 

– BBQ Shrimp Po Boys = little [ha] pockets of deliciousness –

 

and homemade chips sealed the deal. 

Seriously - they hollow out the bread so that it holds 

all the wonderful sauce with little worry of drippage... 

And they are HUGE. I could only eat the bread of one half - 

But, of course, ate all the shrimp....

Again... the sauce was more of a meunière sauce than the traditional spicy butter sauce that I've had with BBQ shrimp at other places...

[photo cred: google images]

In the past we’ve only had time for a quick snack at The Palace Café – 

But this time we enjoyed a little dinner AND dessert – 

But to be clear - we only had an appetizer for our meal. 

We shared a slice of crab cheesecake [above] and shrimp remoulade [below]

 that was served on fried green tomatoes --- 

And honestly? I wasn't a fan of either one - the crab cheesecake was very very egg-y and quiche-like -- I'm not sure what I was expecting... And the shrimp didn't have the traditional remoulade sauce that I was expecting - instead, both of them had the creole meunière sauce —brown butter, chopped parsley, and lemon— that, while delicious, 

I'd had too many times already during this trip...

We ended the meal by sharing the banana's foster [overwhelmingly sweet] and 

white chocolate bread pudding - not sweet at all. 

But we'll concede that it might have been just right if 

we hadn't just had a spoonful of the banana's foster. [SO GOOD.]

[No photos - we ate it all - ha.]

A bonus for The Palace is sitting outside and watching the streetcars at night. 

Always nice.

Y'all know we like the unusual - 

And recently we've noticed a trend of vintage gas stations 

being refurbished into restaurants...

So Craig found 'one of the top 15 gas station restaurants in America' that we had to try --

CowBell on Oak Street

And it did not disappoint.

  This was probably the BEST food I had all week – 

 I had the

It's All Schnitz & Giggles

Oh. My. 

It was a House Smoked Pork Tenderloin prepared like a schniztel with gnocchi, brussel spouts and asparagus... all topped with a little shrimp gravy... Craig had the Carne Asada Tacos al Pastor with  Queso Fresco, Arroz Verde, Black Beans, 

Charred Pineapple Salsa & Corn Tortillas.

DELISH.

 

 And of course, we loved the setting where people tied their horses up  

before coming in to grab a bite to eat... 

 It's across from some stables right on the canal.

There's ample parking for cars too...

. And, lastly - No one should ever, ever go to NOLA 

without stopping in the French Quarter 

for beignets and café au latte at Café Du Monde 

We prefer to go early in the morning before the revelers from the night before awaken – 

Or perhaps we see them dragging home as we are heading in to 

enjoy a sweet little pillow of goodness... or two.. or, okay three...

ALWAYS GOOD.

It's kind of become our tradtional 

'last meal in the city.'

Let us know some of your favorite places to dine --