For our anniversary, Ke and I decided to go to New Orleans! Neither of us had ever been and we were both so excited to stuff our faces with cajun food. Warning before you continue, this post is mostly about food 😀 I ate so much in New Orleans that I started craving broccoli by the end of the trip.
Food
Cafe du Monde
Our very first stop in New Orleans was Cafe du Monde for their famous beignets. On a Thursday morning, Cafe du Monde was pretty empty so it was easy to grab a seat. On the weekend, we got to witness the long lines for both waiter service and take out. Throughout the weekend, I grabbed beignets here maybe 5 times.
Erin Rose/Killer PoBoys
The second thing on my list to eat was po’ boys! For lunch we grabbed drinks and food at Erin Rose. Within the bar is Killer PoBoys’ popup. We tried the shrimp and pork belly po’ boy, both delicious! The pork belly one had nice asian flavors to it while the shrimp one had some classic cajun flavors.
Lil Dizzy’s Cafe
For breakfast the next day, we went to Lil Dizzy’s Cafe. This place was probaby my favorite restaurant we went to. Lil Dizzy’s had great “home-cooked” southern food, I felt like I was home here. The staff was amazing and as a tourist, it was easy to tell this was a super popular local spot. Highly recommended.
Cochon
After breakfast we headed downtown to visit the WWII museum. We spent a couple of hours there and then grabbed a small meal at Cochon to save room for dinner. I really enjoyed this place and wish we had more stomach room to try their “fancy” take on popular cajun ingredients.
Jacques-Imos Cafe
For dinner we had delicious southern food from Jacques-Imos Cafe. My favorite dish was their sweet cornbread drenched in garlic butter! I can’t wait to make this at home. I also had their blackened red fish with mashed potatoes and collard greens. I wish I could have tried everything on the menu. This place and Lil Dizzy’s are a must try!
Peche Seafood Grill
The next day we went to Peche for lunch for a seafood fix. We ordered their seafood platter to get a sampling of oysters and different seafood salads and dips. My favorite was the smoked tuna dip. We also tried their crab claws, catfish, and had some delicious hushpuppies 😀
Commander’s Palace
For our anniversary dinner, we went to Commander’s Palace. This place is famous for their brunch so I would love to come back and eat here again but their dinner was delicious as well.
We started the meal with some cocktails and their Breakfast “Foie” Dinner appetizer. As a huge fan of “breakfast for dinner” and foie gras, I absolutely loved this dish. It consisted of seared foie gras with grilled corn spoonbread, a bacon marmalade, and a sunny side up quail egg served with their housemade “Breakfast Bourbon Cocktail.” My only complaint was I wanted more on the plate!
We ordered their quail and bay shrimp dish for our main dishes, both delicious. For dessert, I tried their Creole bread pudding soufflé that was topped with some sweet bourbon sauce. It was sooo sweet and delicious, maybe a little too sweet, but I still finished the whole thing.
Lula Restaurant Distillery
On Sunday Morning, we checked out Lula’s Distillery for brunch and football. This place was awesome! The food was absolutely delicious, they had screens everywhere to watch the games, and had an all you can drink gin bar. We unfortunately were all too exhausted to drink more alcohol but I happily stuffed my face with biscuits and cheesy grits.
Drinks
Throughout the weekend in New Orleans, we also hit up some super cool bars and took a small walking tour to learn more about New Orleans’ history while sampling local cocktails. We visited the Napoleon House, Antoine’s Restaurant & Bar, and the Old Absinthe House where I tried real absinthe for the first time 😀
I personally didn’t hang out around Bourbon Street at night but Ke and our friends had a blast there. I really enjoyed the bars not on Bourbon street. My favorite bar we went to was the Carousel Bar! It is such a classy looking bar in a hotel with live music and a rotating bar!
Music
It’s not hard to find amazing live music in New Orleans. We saw musicians playing on the sidewalks and in bars every where we went. My favorite experience was getting to see the Preservation Hall jazz band. The show takes place in a very intimate theatre with a few rows of seats and standing room. The band was great and even played the tourist favorites.
We hung out on Frenchman St. one night as well for drinks and live music. All of the locals I encountered highly recommended Frenchman St. It’s a small area but packed with bars, food, and even some art shops open late, definitely worth checking out.
Sights
In between eating and drinking, we also took some time to just walk around and soak up the sights, especially the architecture. We walked around the French Quarter almost every day, visited the Garden District to admire the homes (even saw Beyonce’s house), and spent some time at the National WWII Museum.
The French Quarter
The Garden District
The National WWII Museum
A Delicious Weekend
I’m so happy I got the chance to visit New Orleans and the chance to celebrate our anniversary here. We got super lucky with clear blue skies and no humidity the entire time too! After visiting, I finally understand why people are so obsessed with this amazing city. The food is out of this world, the people are so incredibly nice, the history the architecture, the music, the partying, the list goes on. There is just so much to love. I truly can’t wait to come back!
