Eating Your Way Through New Orleans

My favorite part of traveling, outside of the overall experience, is food! New Orleans offers up just about anything you could want, from vegan desserts to full on Cajun food (not vegan for sure). Here’s a quick recap of everywhere we ate in New Orleans (and everywhere you should, too!):

Revelator: Paloma Cafe

This corner cafe might look like it’s just a coffee spot but don’t sleep on their happy hour! I liked it so much I went back twice, once with company! Enjoy drinks like the “Gatorade” slushy (their take on the gross Slurpee like grain alcohol concoction you’ll find on Bourbon Street) and the Hibiscus Mule while you munch on a pickle plate or the tostones. Want something a little heartier? The mixed mushroom tacos with homemade escabeche rocked my world. If you need a little gas at the end of your hour (or more!) grab a delicious espresso, served in a sake cup.

Revelator: Paloma Cafe 800 Louisa Street

Quick takeaway: vegan options, happy hour, great drinks

Bistreaux

Located in the Maison Dupuy Hotel in the French Quarter, Bistreaux has a bar along with seated breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are zero options on the menu if you’re vegan but I was able to get the chef to make me a vegan veggie wrap while we were at the bar. It was ok but not memorable. The really enjoyable part of Bistreaux is the bar and the bartenders. The drinks are moderately priced but the staff is friendly and make a great drink!

Bistreaux 1001 Toulouse Street

Quick takeaway: pass unless you’re staying at Maison Dupuy or want a standard, but well made, drink.

St. Roch Market

If I had to choose only one place to eat in New Orleans it would be St. Roch Market! No joke. This food hall (beloved by Travel + Leisure, Zagat, Food & Wine and more!) offers up 12 different vendors, all in a beautiful location. I got roti with tofu, cucumber, cilantro, sprouts and homemade hot sauce and my travel pal grabbed “the best steak sandwich” she’s ever had (that’s a direct quote) along with some oysters. Neither of us had any room for dessert but I’m sure there’s something worth writing about.

St. Roch Market 2381 St. Claude Avenue

Quick takeaway: vegan options, good for groups, must go, great drinks

Auction House Market

Another food hall, similar to St. Roch (above), with similarly delicious offerings. I was also incredibly pleased to find that one of the vendors, Mac & Moon, not only had vegan macarons but also had vegan rolled ice cream. So yeah. I got some jackfruit dumplings, Khao Soi mushroom noodle soup and a yummy apricot cocktail. Then I had an orange creamsicle macaron with my strawberry and chocolate rolled ice cream. I also have zero regrets.

Auction House Market 801 Magazine Street

Quick takeaway: vegan options, good for groups, great drinks

Green Goddess

This small cluster of outdoor tables in the alley way serves a surprisingly creative brunch! Vegan options, blue corn cakes, mimosa honey biscuits and pepper jelly will all be found. A nice stop for outdoor breakfast in what feels like a fairly quiet alcove.

Green Goddess 307 Exchange Place

Quick takeaway: brunch, vegan options

Cafe Beignet

While there are multiple locations of Cafe Beignet in the French Quarter, you should check out Royal Street! They even sell adorable little bottles of bubbles (beignets & bubbles would probably be a good combo, just saying) and have standard breakfast offerings and sandwiches….but we know why you came. Grab a strong coffee and a bag of beignets and congratulate yourself on not waiting in line, in the hot sun, on Decatur.

Cafe Beignet 334 Royal Street

Quick takeaway: beignets, coffee

Mimi’s in the Marigny

We ended our stay in NOLA here and it was a good call! This place is a little bit local, a little bit dive and a lot of fun. They had good music, an interesting snack menu and the bartenders’ “surprise me” drinks were delicious!

Mimi’s in the Marigny 2601 Royal Street

Quick takeaway: great drinks

Pizza Delicious

Who doesn’t love pizza? This place was *ahem* delicious. They have perfect crust and offer vegan options (including a vegan slice so you don’t have to buy the whole pie!), salads, pastas and drinks. I got the vegan peppadew and arugula and would eat it again in a heartbeat. Also, you really have to give a place credit when they have a “no pizza for Nazis” sign up. Cheers!

Pizza Delicious 617 Piety Street

Quick takeaway: pizza, vegan options

G’s Pizza CBD

In all honesty I stumbled across this place in sheer desperation. My first night in NOLA I was in pretty rough shape: I had been up since 4am (my time) to catch my flight, had done a pretty full afternoon at Studio Be and a lot of walking around in the heat once I finally arrived, had a couple of drinks and was generally feeling overwhelmed and gross…..and my counterpart was still flying in that night! I needed to rally but I couldn’t figure my life out at that moment. So what did I do? I pulled up Postmates and found this place – they delivered to my hotel (yay!) and had vegan options on the menu (yay again!). I got an arugula salad with walnuts and a vegan jalapeno cheesy bread and ate my food on my balcony while regaining my humanity. Overall the food was quick, pretty inexpensive and the salad was fresh. The vegan cheesy bread was just as it sounds. And it saved me from having to go out in public and make decisions when I was totally burnt out. Cheers!

G’s Pizza CBD 833 Howard Avenue

Quick takeaway: delivery, vegan options, good drunk food

Bacchanal Wine

Go here! I loved the entire concept of this place. You walk into what appears to be a wine shop and can get assistance selecting a bottle. If you’re staying they will open it for you after you pay and then you go through the back door to the patio area. They have ice, ice buckets and glasses directly outside the door and tons of seating (with fans, lights and umbrellas everywhere). We grabbed a spot in the shade and enjoyed the rose we bought. Make sure to check their calendar if you’re going: they have live jazz music several times per day! They also offer food (tapas style snacks) or a build your own cheese plate but we had just wandered over from eating pizza at Pizza Delicious so food was a no-go for both of us.

Bacchanal Wine 600 Poland Avenue

Quick takeaway: wine, live music, small bites

There were also a few misses but I’ll save the negativity (you can always ask me if you really want to know). Even with a few bad experiences we were still able to eat some incredible food and drink some really, really good drinks. My only other recommendation would be to walk a bit more if you’re going to eat all the things…….let’s just say it’s far too easy to put on some pounds, even in a weekend *ahem*.

If you want to know more about how to spend a long weekend in New Orleans check out my post here!

Where’s your favorite place to eat in New Orleans? I’m always looking for recommendations!