ESSENTIAL FOOD + COCKTAILS
A vibrant city, there is something for everyone in the Big Easy!
The Troubadour Hotel is perfectly situated near the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, the Civic Theater, the CBD’s best shopping, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Smoothie King Center, and just a 10 minute walk to the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line that can take you to the Garden District and Uptown neighborhoods.
While many associate New Orleans with the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, there is so much more to our great city. For a fun-filled afternoon, hop on the St. Charles Avenue trolley and take it to Washington Avenue where you’ll be within a short walk of the Lafayette Cemetery, one of New Orleans’ most scenic and hauntingly beautiful above ground cemeteries. After, walk further down Washington Avenue until you reach Magazine Street. This street has an endless variety of boutique shops, restaurants, and art galleries that will keep you entertained for hours.
New Orleans Cocktails
For a frothy Ramos gin fizz, a favorite of notorious past governor Huey P. Long, wander to Bar Tonique on Rampart across from Armstrong Park. The innovative Cure bar is in the renovated firehouse on Freret Street. Try the impeccable Sazerac Bar, where the 19th century original recipe made with cognac, Peychaud’s bitters, and Herbsaint Legendre is favored.
Although the Pimm’s Cup is veddy British, Napoleon House popularized it locally. Ticky tacky tiki is the rage at Tiki Tolteca in the Quarter. Try the classic Mai Tai, although the shareable zombie punch is a potent tropical vacation. Proto-tiki concoctions inform the polished menu at Cane+Table, rum, spice and fruit driven recipes that pre-date LA’s surf-driven Tiki wave.
For an old school love potion, Arnaud’s French 75 Bar mixes that namesake drink with Cognac instead of gin. For a cocktail that’s more like dessert, order a grasshopper at Tujague’s, the bar where it was invented.
City Old Guard
Creole grand dames deserve seats at the head of the table, because they preserve culinary traditions while staying relevant to new generations of eaters.
Arnaud’s, celebrating its 100th birthday in 2018, Galatoire’s on Bourbon, the place for Friday lunch, Antoine’s, the oldest French-Creole white tablecloth restaurant in New Orleans and the birthplace of oysters Rockefeller and Brennan’s, a re-imagined classic belonging to one of the city’s favorite food families.
Old Institutions
All of Chef Lagasse’s eateries, from the original Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House to nola, recently revamped in the French Quarter, Emeril’s Delmonico on St. Charles Avenue and the newest addition Meril in the Warehouse District. Chef Donald Link and partner Stephen Stryjewski preside over Herbsaint, Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Peche Seafood Grill and La Boulangerie.
The CBD/Warehouse District
This area is blowing up with new and notable restaurants, places like Willa Jean’s for Southern comfort food, chef Michael Gulotta’s take on contemporary Southeast Asian at Maypop, chef Nina Compton’s Caribbean influenced Compare Lapin and longtime favorite Restaurant August, with its elegant setting and award winning tasting menu.
Uptown, longtime favorites
Brigtsen’s Restaurant, Frank Brigtsen’s intimate seafood-centric restaurant in Riverbed since 1986. Joann Clevenger earned a James Beard Award for her hospitality at Upperline Restaurant, and Clancy’s has been described be some as the Galatoire’s above Jefferson Avenue.
Off the Beaten Track
Places like the chef-driven Kenton’s Food & Bourbon at the end of Magazine Street and Mopho in Mid-City, Creole meets South Asian flavors, another from chef Michael Gullata. Mason Hereford’s Turkey and the Wolf, a simply awesome sandwich shop in the Irish Channel, topped Food & Wine’s list of Best 100 New Restaurants in America in 2017. Lil’ Dizzy’s in Treme' is a family owned spot for fried chicken and gumbo, more fried chicken keeps lines long at nearby Willie Mae’s Scotch House and the beloved Leah Chase still makes some of the best gumbo in town at Dooky Chase.