New Orleans: Top 10 under $25
I certainly enjoyed going to all these fancy restaurants, but the things we ate around the big meals didn’t stand out any less:
10. Fleur de Lis from Blue Nile
Blue Nile is a bar on Frenchmen St. and a Fleur de Lis is a classic NOLA cocktail made with cucumber, ginger beer, and elderflower liquor.
Unfortunately all I could taste was Meyer’s elderberry handsoap and the pink soap they use in kitchens, but I guess that’s just what elderflower tastes like. I could only muster two.
9. Beignets from Cafe du Monde
I want to specify that we went to the Cafe du Monde at the Riverwalk Outlets. Are the beignets just as good here as they are in the original location? I don’t know. But they were hot and dippable.
Are you?
8. Kaya Bun from Fourth Wall
Fourth Wall was the closest Third Wave coffee shop we had to our AirBnB. The line was long but it moved quickly, and I wish I could have tried everything they had to offer.
This Asian-y, milky bun situation is stuffed with creamy coconut cream and was very yummy. The blueberry elderflower scone was also good but I didn’t like it, see above.
7. Iced Café Au Lait from Emeril’s
Chicory has a woody, herby note and is often found in New Orleans coffee. I know this doesn’t really count but it was part of our complimentary take home treats and was a life saver in the morning, strong like Vietnamese coffee but more mellow in true Creole fasion.
The Gatorade wasn’t bad either.
6. The shrimp on the shrimp po’ boy at Domilise’s and…
Look: sandwiches, like everything else, are either wet or dry. You might think a po’boy is a wet sandwich, but actually I would say it’s dry. A NOLA French loaf is definitely on the dry side as far as bread goes and not very salty. The sandwich itself also doesn’t have as much sauce on it as one might think.
I’m unfortunately a wet sandwich person, but look at all this freshly, fried shrimp for $12. Imagine this + a squeeze of lemon.
… the Crawfish and Tasso Ham Omelette from The Roosevelt
I woke up early and ordered room service to my room, something I always think about but rarely get the opportunity to do. I went for one of their “Signatures” and wasn’t disappointed, it was my first time having crawfish and Tasso ham together and they each bring out something special in the other.
Due to revelry from the night before, I was I only able to eat about half of this omelette before I had to rush to the bathroom where I spent most of my morning. Also this was actually $27 before tip and service fees but it could have also been like $60 fr.
5. Breakfast from Mother’s Restaurant
Mother’s is a meat-n-three that serves amazing po’boys apparently, but we got breakfast.
Ham tastes like what ham should taste like: not that salty, meaty, and not too fatty. Cheese grits are amazing. The biscuit is good but on the dryer side – I think people here just like things kind of dry, maybe to balance out the wet all around.
4. A Sazerac from The Sazerac Bar and…
If The Sazerac Bar is to be believed, the Sazerac is America’s first cocktail. This one is made with rye, Herbsaint, which is an anise liquor, and Peychaud’s bitters, which are made in NOLA and also on the herbaceous side.
It’s kind of like a more flamboyant Old Fashioned. Or is an Old Fashioned just a Protestant Sazerac?
…a Vieux Carré from The Carousel Bar & Lounge
One full rotation around the Carousel Bar lasts 15 min, which is about how long it takes to order this drink if the bar is slammed. But who cares, do you have somewhere else better to be?
No. Shut and drink up.
3. Muffuletta from Cochon Butcher
Although this muffuletta is on the elevated side, it is not trying to be more than a muffuletta.
All the meat is made in house. I would say this sandwich is pleasantly dry. There isn’t a better sandwich sometimes.
2. Wings from Bar Redux, and…
Is “dive bar” really an out-dated term? This is a topic for a future essay perhaps, but there’s nothing “divey” about these incredible chicken wings.
Left are dry cajun-spiced, right are wet spicy BBQ. Both are valid.
…gumbo from Bar Redux, and…
I understand NOLA French bread more after eating it with this gumbo, so dark and made with what tastes like leftover coffee. The fries (top left) are absolutely housemade.
Seriously, what the hell??
…this drink from Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits
I brushed a cockroach that flew onto Dennis’ back right after walking in here. A cat wanders around the outdoor patio. Cocktails are served upstairs.
I don’t remember what this cocktail with rum and vermouth was called, and I’m kind of afraid to find out.
And at No. 1… this free hot dog from B J’s Lounge
We made it to the final bar of the evening an hour before they closed, and I suddenly hear they were giving out free hot dogs. They actually set up a complimentary hot dog bar. I removed a hot dog boiled straight in an Instapot and garnished it with the dregs that were left (it had been out for a while). I don’t want to be that person who insists that “a hot dog is the best thing they ate” or whatever, but it was so satisfying and so unexpected. At least for me, everyone around didn’t even bat an eye, as if this is a totally normal thing.
A band started playing, people started dancing. I stepped outside with my beverage in hand. This is what life should be like. It’s so clear.
