I have been dreaming about going to New Orleans for years.  But a week in New Orleans is a foodie’s dream-come-true and worst nightmare all at once.  On the one hand, you have so many restaurants with great food to pick from, and on the other hand, you have only one week.

As I would for any new area that we were going to explore, I began my research by making a list of all the foods for which New Orleans is known.  But it’s New Orleans, and the list is long!  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail,” right?  So I started researching what place is known for the best of each thing on my list, and their hours.  Then it was meal-planning time, working out our lunches and dinners for the week.  We missed dinner once or twice because we were still too full from lunch, but we did experience a lot of the list.

We enjoyed the highly acclaimed muffuletta at Central Grocery and Deli.  All sources pointed to this as THE place for a muffuletta.  Rightly so, as this third-generation-run store dating back to 1906, lays claim to the creation of this sandwich.  Aside from a sundry of Italian dry goods, the muffuletta is all there is.  You can either order a whole or half. Don’t miss this quintessential sandwich without good reason!  We loved it so much we bought one on our last day in town, which we ate a few days later.  It was still delicious! (Click HERE if you want to watch Anne unwrap the sandwich and take the first bite.)

So long as we’re discussing sandwiches, you’ll find po’boys offered seemingly everywhere, from restaurants and bars to gas stations.  Before visiting New Orleans, my exposure to them limited these to seafood – shrimp, fried oysters, fried fish.  As it turns out, po’boys are frequently made with roast beef, ham, or a combination of meat and seafood.  We tried several, including the Obama-made-famous Surf & Turf with roast beef and fried shrimp from Parkway Bakery & Tavern, alligator sausage also from Parkway, and the Ferdi Special with baked ham, roast beef, and debris from Mother’s Restaurant.

Speaking of Mother’s, this is the place for jambalaya, Jerry’s Jambalaya, that is! Since it contains tomatoes, it’s a Creole version of this rice dish. Texturally on point, you’ll find it packed with flavor from the Andouille sausage, chicken, and spices with just enough heat to remind you that you’re in the land of hot sauce. While not listed as the city’s best, we opted to have a bowl of the jambalaya and a bowl of crawfish etouffee. We didn’t want to miss a chance to try this classic New Orleans dish while we were in town.

If you’re looking for authentic red beans & rice, check out Joey K’s version.  Traditionally prepared in homes on Mondays, this simple but hearty dish is available daily here.   They serve their red beans and rice as a side dish or as dinner with perfectly-crisped andouille sausage on top.     

We love oysters and are happy to eat them raw on the half shell.  But charbroiled oysters with garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese are a specialty for New Orleans, and nowhere seems to do them better than Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, “home of the original charbroiled oyster.”  On a busy day, they sell over 900 oysters!  Be sure to ask for extra bread so you can sop up all the extra sauce.  We saw loads of oysters served and boxed for carry-out while we were there.

It wouldn’t be a trip to New Orleans without eating gumbo somewhere.  After all, it’s Louisiana’s state cuisine.  And while my sources said to try gumbo at Gabrielle’s Restaurant, The Gumbo Shop, or Galatoire’s, we failed to make it to any of these restaurants.  We did have a fantastic meal at Commander’s Palace, long considered one of the best restaurants in town, where every dish that we tasted, including the gumbo, was delicious. Think about how dark the roux for this gumbo must have been!  

My research also uncovered foods not specific to New Orleans cuisine, like James Beard award-winning Willie Mae’s Scotch House, called “America’s Best Fried Chicken” by the Food Network and Travel Channel.  I’ve never eaten better fried chicken, spicy from soaking, moist inside, and a super crispy, perfectly bronze crust. They’ve been serving it up since 1957.

If desserts are your thing, you’ll find plenty of sweet things to try in New Orleans.  Of course, beignets are a must-try item for the city.  My research showed that tourists go to Café du Monde (its location by the French Market is prime) and locals go to Café Beignet (we visited the one on Bourbon Street).  If you visit both, you can pick which one you prefer.

We fell in love with bread pudding in ways we would never have imagined, especially those served warm and with lots of rum or whiskey sauce to pour on top as you eat it.  I won’t admit all the places where we found ourselves indulging in this creamy piece of heaven, but we found the ones with the booziest of sauces to be our favorites.

We might not have had room to try them while we were in town, but we did pick up a few pralines to go from Southern Candymakers.  These buttery, sugary treats are a New Orleans tradition.  You’ll find praline shops around town.  Luckily, they travel pretty well and will keep for a while after you leave the city. 

With only one week there, we found ourselves full more often than we were hungry!  We left dreaming about future visits to New Orleans.  We hope that COVID restrictions will be lifted by then to enjoy more live music and some of the restaurants that are currently closed due to the pandemic.  We will love to revisit some of the places we found on this stop and already have a list of other places to try when we go back someday.  One thing I’m sure of as I write this, if you leave New Orleans hungry, you haven’t done your research.