23New Orleans is a foodie mecca. I once had a professor who said he could never live there because he would be 50 pounds heavier. I whole-heartedly agree that the same would happen to me. So I lived it up while I was there {and have been suffering the consequences upon my return}. For the record, there are no regrets.

You most likely will not have bad food when you are in New Orleans. You just might find some real gems and probably one that will be your least favorite. Still, you can definitely “do” New Orleans on a budget. You do not have to have an expensive meal to get a taste of the city.

Here are some of the other meals we enjoyed while in New Orleans.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

Does this one count? It’s a chain restaurant, of which I’m typically not fond; but I hadn’t been to this one before, so I didn’t know any better. We didn’t dine here in New Orleans, though. It was at the DFW airport on our layover to New Orleans. Despite that we were in Texas, we thought we’d start off Louisiana-style.

This dish was recommended by our server as an appetizer to split. We all knew that Rob wasn’t going to be able to do that. But I ordered it anyway. The menu was pretty expensive for lunch and this was doable.

There is nothing healthy about this fondeaux. {They pronounce it fondue.} But it was well seasoned and just the ticket to get me in the New Orleans state of mind.

Rob ordered some of that garlic bread for himself along with the biggest mozzarella sticks I’ve ever seen in my life.

Seriously, each mozzarella stick was almost the size of a Twinkie.

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Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro

Our first meal in New Orleans was, of all places, in a jazz club on Frenchmen Street. There was no music playing at the time, but it was very dark at the bar.

We ordered some fried mushrooms to start. The batter was so delectable that our friend Javad was trying to guess how it was done. Both he and Rob ordered burgers because they were supposed to be pretty decent here.

I went with a fried shrimp sandwich. I must say that for city that is known for shrimp po’boys, I was surprised for this sandwich to come on your basic bread-y sesame seed bun. This was not a problem, though, I just ate the fried shrimp by themselves in that same yummy batter and all was right with the world.

This is also where I was reminded how baked potato-crazed I am. That is Snug Harbor’s default side item. I just love restaurant baked potatoes, but I don’t eat them very often. So when I do, it’s a special occasion.

What do I know about Snug Harbor? We had excellent service at the bar. I also know that if you come in off the street and request a hot chocolate, they will take the time to make you a gourmet one in a go-cup. Just don’t be mad when they charge you $12 for three of them. Some guy walked off after they made them for him because of the price.

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Adolfo’s

We would have never known about Adolfo’s if it weren’t for our friend Javad. We had dinner there at about 9:30pm on a Friday night. They don’t take reservations, so chances are you will either wait in line or put your name on the list and have a drink down at the Apple Barrel on the lower level. Adolfo’s is the tiny restaurant above, converted from a two bedroom apartment. It’s an intimate little setting.

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Some say that Adolfo’s is worth the wait. So we waited on the stairs as we hoped diners would soon be leaving…

It was 9:30pm and the last thing we had eaten was at our 3-martini lunch at noon. Each time people opened the door to make their way down the stairs toward the exit, we’d ask them how the food was and what they ordered. The overwhelming response was…

“You have to get the Ocean Sauce!”

Wait. What?

This Italian menu is definitely Creole-influenced. But Ocean Sauce is no where to be seen on it. Well, at least I didn’t see it that night. There is a dish called the Veal Ocean. It sounds like everyone seems to want the Ocean Sauce on everything now. My friend Javad says it’s a big seller, despite all of the other excellent items on the menu.

We started with the cannelloni, because it was another item we were told we had to order. The seafood cannelloni was recommended, but I agreed on the spinach and Italian sausage version for Rob’s sake. It was some of the best canneloni I’ve had outside of Italy.

And I did order a steak with that Ocean Sauce. There’s shrimp and crab all up in there!

It was quite rich, yet divine. One last tip: Both Adolfo’s and the Apple Barrel are cash only. There is an ATM on the lower level.

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Krystal

Yeah. Fast food. But it’s southern fast food, right? I needed a little something in my tummy that morning and Krystal was right around the corner. Rob mentioned he wanted to stop there anyway to remind him of his Pensacola days.

If you look closely you’ll see my scrambler has grits on the bottom…

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Wayfare

We didn’t actually eat at Wayfare because it was the stop right after our Company Burger, so perhaps I should have included Wayfare in my cocktail post. The cocktail list was is quite intriguing.

But the simple Raspberry Royale was calling my name…

I texted my brother in Wisconsin and asked him if he would like me to buy him a Pork Belly Bourbon Old Fashioned.

His answer was a resounding , “Yes!” Too bad he wasn’t with us.

Wayfare and The Company Burger are on Freret Street, which is, from what I read, an up-and-coming neighborhood to which our friend Javad was happy to be introduced.

The boys were happy with the beer selection, so that is what they chose.

The menu at Wayfare looks pretty darn special, too. I had to look up some words to know what the dishes were. Like what the heck is Kurobuta Mac & Cheese? Well, apparently, kurobuta is considered some of the best pork in the world.

This is a restaurant I know I want to hit the next time we visit New Orleans. However, it might be hard to tug Rob away from The Company Burger, just a block or so away.

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Sylvain

Thanks to the couple we met at R’evolution, we stopped at Sylvain for a cocktail one evening. I was smitten with the Champagne Cocktail which is really prosecco poured over the top of a lavender-infused sugar cube. Rob was happy to find an IPA.

We had already eaten dinner that night, but I knew it was a restaurant to which we would be returning. I loved the ambiance. And all of the food that was coming out to the tables looked divine. We had a look at the menu, too. The Champagne and Fries makes me laugh! I’ve always found Champagne to go nicely with salty foods.

But the shrimp they kept bringing out had me swooning.

The night that we went there for dinner, I couldn’t make up my mind. Did I want the shrimp that looked so good or their chicken sandwich? It was at this point in the trip that I was craving some southern fried chicken. I asked the bartender and she helped when she said, “Well… You’ve had a chicken sandwich before, right?”

Rob went with… you guessed it – a burger:

He enjoyed every bit of this burger and said that he’d get it again. Second best he had in New Orleans. He did have ordering remorse; however, after he saw the Pappardelle Bolognese delivered to two of our fellow bar diners.

I savored each bite of my sweet, succulent shrimp…

…but I also had ordering remorse. This was only the next day when I that one local bartender rated the Chick-Sylvain the best fried chicken in the city. I knew there would be no way we’d be going to the famed Willie Mae’s, which is considered to be the best fried chicken ever, with Rob’s chicken allergy.

Still, neither of us were disappointed. Far from it, in fact. Let’s suffice to say that this was a top New Orleans meal in my book and that I will be back!

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As I’ve mentioned before, there are over 1500 restaurants in New Orleans, so it’s a good idea to know what you like or what you know you want to experience while you are down there before you arrive. That being said, I don’t want to forget all of the restaurants we have labeled as “where we want to go next time,” so I’m listing them here.

Restaurants We’d Like to Try in New Orleans Next Time:

• Tujaque’s – because the food smelled incredible when we were there for cocktails
• Jacques-Imo’s – because I loved it the last time I was in New Orleans
• Galatoire’s – for a Friday lunch
• Bayona – because it was recommended so many times!
• Green Goddess – after one look at the menu, you won’t even care how many vegetarian dishes are on it.
• Wayfare – see above
• Cochon – because why we didn’t is inexplicable

And there’s just one more place…

You thought I was done, didn’t you?! Until tomorrow…

Do you keep a list of what you’d like to do next time you visit a destination?

New Orleans 2015 Trip Posts:

• The Last Time I was in New Orleans
• NOLA Coffee: With Chicory or Bitters?
• Commander’s Palace: An Experience
• New Orleans: Home of the Cocktail
• NOLA: Sports, Art, Music
• Nola Eats: The Best & The Worst
• NOLA: Irish Pubs & Dive Bars
• NOLA: The Best of the Eating 2015
• The Beautiful Garden District of New Orleans

Cheers~
Carrie