Savannah Watson

New Orleans – Food and Drinks 🍽️

New Orleans is a foodie’s paradise. I’m not really a food person; having a dietary restriction limits my options pretty significantly. But even as a non-foodie, there are some foods and drinks that I could have consumed over and over.

One of those was a local staple: red beans and rice. I had it from four different restaurants – Mother’s Restaurant on Poydras St., A Court of Two Sisters on Royal St., Cafe Maspero on Decatur St. (twice actually), and Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Iberville St.. Mother’s Restaurant was my favorite, and I ordered a side of fries to dip in (a killer combination, let me tell you). Everyone makes red beans and rice differently, like macaroni and cheese, but it’s simple and flavorful and a great choice.

Another must-do on the food/drink experience list is quite famous and touristy but for an excellent reason: Café Du Monde (fun fact: that’s French for cafe or coffee of the world, depending on how you translate it). Café Du Monde is world famous for its café au lait (translation: coffee with milk) and beignets. I can’t eat beignets, but I was certainly downing the coffee like it was something to do (and their frozen café au laits and hot chocolates are well worth a taste as well). Make sure you bring cash because Café Du Monde is cash-only.

New Orleans coffee is special for adding chickory to it, which gives it a bold, woody, unique flavor. Another place to get a killer cup of chickory coffee and some great food is the Vampire Cafe on Royal Street. It has a cozy lair atmosphere and really leans into the charm of its vampire theme.

For the 21-year-old-plus visitors, my family made more than a few trips to two different bars. One was Molly’s for their frozen Irish coffees, and the other was Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar (which was literally a blacksmith shop that was converted into a bar – VERY cool) for a spiked eggnog milkshake drink that my father was obsessed with. Also, for a unique sangria experience, order a sangria blood bag from the Vampire Cafe.

There are way more places to enjoy food and drinks – my family certainly visited a ton of them. For a food lover, New Orleans is a MUST-visit location for their unique flavors and soul foods. HAPPY EATING 😋

*Just as a note, there are no sponsorships in my New Orleans travel blog series. These are my own opinions and experiences.

**All photos are my own.

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