Last week, I had the privilege of going to New Orleans to attend the March Meeting (which is a huge annual physics conference). Of course, a boy has to eat, so I had the opportunity to try a lot of the local cuisine. Like any good foodie, I looked up the foods that New Orleans was known for before I got there. Wouldn't you know it, the list was extensive . . . but I did my best to eat it all! I did this all on a relatively low budget, but was still not disappointed. Here's what I thought.
Beignets at Café du Monde
Whenever I mentioned to someone that I was going to New Orleans, they immediately told me, "you have to get beignets!" Naturally, that was my first order of business. Café du Monde is a small café in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It opened in the nineteenth century and is well-known as the place to get beignets in New Orleans. First thing in the morning while the city was still sleeping, I hopped over to this wonderful gem to grab some breakfast.
What I didn't know was that they are also known for their café au lait (coffee with milk), which is their own chicory coffee blend mixed with milk. I found out about it while standing in line and listening to other people discuss what they were going to order.
When I got to the front of the line, I naturally ordered one order of beignets (3 is the minimum number, so be it) and a small café au lait. The beignets were light, sweet (but not too sweet), and crispy on the outside. For my first trip to the café, they even came with a baseball-sized ball of sugar (not sure why, but that's fun!). They were excellent. If you're going to get beignets, this is the place to get them. I tried them at another well-known location, but was extremely disappointed . . . extremely. If you like coffee, definitely get the café au lait as well, it's a nice complement to the beignets. Full disclosure: I went here twice during the 3½ days that I was in the city. I recommend going early in the morning if you don't like waiting in line (they're open 24 hours); there's normally a line down the street.
Dining at Mother's
Mother's is a small cafeteria-style restaurant on a corner on Poydras Street, pretty close to Harrah's Casino. Again, I'll recommend that you go during odd hours to avoid standing in long lines. I went twice (both times at 4pm), partially out of convenience, and partially because Mother's is known as one of the top places for certain foods.
During my first visit, I ordered jambalaya—you can't go to New Orleans and not get jambalaya. I've had a few jambalaya recipes (always good), and this is one of the better recipes I've had. It's meaty, flavorful, and very well done. It's certainly worth trying.
On my second visit, I ordered the red beans and rice and a slice of sweet potato pie. The red beans and rice were flavorful and loaded with Mother's famous ham. It was hearty and delicious. The sweet potato pie was equally good, but may have been nice with a dollop of whipped cream on top. My labmate that I was travelling with also loved his seafood gumbo and crawfish etoufée. Overall, Mother's is a great place to try out all manner of New Orleans cuisine, especially on a budget. It's not fancy or pretentious; it's just good, home-style food.
Dinner at Pat O'Brien's
To cap off my first full day in the city, I grabbed some dinner at Pat O'Brien's with a friend. We were actually looking for the piano bar (still not sure where that was), but we ended up eating at the main bar.
They had a nice assortment of dishes to try. We started off with fried catfish strips for an appetizer. The catfish was well-cooked, moist, and tasty; it was served with homemade tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. Definitely a good start.
For dinner, I went for the Shrimp Creole. It was definitely a good choice. It came nicely plated with a large portion of shrimp. The sauce had a spicy kick to it and a great flavor.
Finally, we had to end our meal with slices of pecan pie. You can't take a trip to the south without having some. It was certainly one of the better pecan pies that I had tried, and was served with some great Chantilly whipped cream. All in all, this was a great dinner to cap off our first day in New Orleans.
Fried Chicken at Willie Mae's Scotch House
On my second day in the city, I stopped by Willie Mae's Scotch House for what is undisputedly one of the best fried chicken restaurants in the city. When I was doing my research, Willie Mae's was in the top 5 (usually number 1) on every source I looked at.
It's a long way from the touristy areas. I walked, but I'd suggest driving or taking public transportation. When you get there, Willie Mae's is unremarkable from the outside. It's a small, run-down building in the middle of a neighborhood. I got there at 11am (to avoid the lunch rush), and still had about a 15 minute wait . . . for a party of 1. That's a good sign.
I naturally ordered "America's Best Fried Chicken" with a cornbread muffin and (much to my shame) a side salad. This order comes with three pieces of chicken: a thigh, a wing, and a drum. You can also pay a little bit more to get white meat if that's your preference. The chicken was unique. It was very slightly spicy with a thick but wonderfully crispy layer of breading. I would highly recommend it.
Cake Café
Cake Café is located a few blocks from the French Quarter and is an excellent place to grab a quick breakfast. I was disappointed to hear that I couldn't order one of they're delicious-sounding crab breakfasts, but if crab is out of season, it's out of season. I took the suggestion of the person at the cash register and ordered myself corned beef hash with a biscuit.
Overall, I'd recommend Cake Café. It's quaint, the food is good, and the employees are nice. It has the added benefit of being slightly away from the touristy parts of the French Quarter, so it's a bit less busy, though certainly visited often.
Killer Poboys
Last but not least, no post about New Orleans food would be complete without a po' boy. You can find po' boys at pretty much any restaurant, and they'll probably always be good. While the fillings vary from place to place, they should all have one thing in common (based on what I've heard). The bread should be flaky and crispy on the outside, and light and airy on the inside. To my friends from the Philly area, it's the same as the bread you need for a good cheese steak.
The most common po' boys I saw around the city were some combination of fried oysters, fried shrimp, and thick slabs of meat. There were also a lot of "classy" po' boys that had some more exotic or expensive ingredients. My visit to Killer Poboys (I went to the 219 Dauphine Street location) was halfway between the two. I ordered the shrimp poboy (again at the recommendation of the cashier). It consisted of the perfect bread, sautéed shrimp, sriracha aioli, cucumbers, carrots, lime . . . it was delicious.
If what I've described doesn't strike your fancy, they also have some other interesting types to try like Housemade Chorizo, Glazed Pork Belly, Pecan Butter & Jelly, or Roasted Cauliflower. They even had a venison po' boy special on the day that I visited. There's something for almost anyone here.
