Have you ever noticed how places tend to look creepier in the dark? Even the streets of a gorgeous old city can give off creepy vibes if you turn up at night. Case in point, for us, was the city of New Orleans. Arriving at our French Quarter hostel at 10 in the evening, armed with a cowload of brisket in the boot, we were pretty hesitant to leave our Susan on the street. Of course, in the warm light of day the next morning, our eyes met the glorious French-styled architecture of the Big Easy, and our minds were at ease.
Back at the Rosenberg cook-off, Mike, a former resident of New Orleans, helpfully provided us with a comprehensive list of must-visit eateries in his home town. While we kept the main tourist spots of the city in mind, the days we spent here became a tour, which we shall affectionately name the “Mike eats N’awlins” tour.
Anyone visiting New Orleans will quickly realise that the French Quarter is the area to see here. This pocket of historic streets remains much the same as in its French Colonial days in the 19th century, albeit with a strong touristic overlay. The party vibe is palpable here; in the breakfast hours, the recently emptied bars of Bourbon Street mop their floors and wipe their tables, and the cycle begins again.
First stop of the “Mike eats N’awlins” tour: Cafe du Monde. You might not need a Mike to be aware of this cafe, but it is a classic spot in the French Quarter, at which we picked up a box of beignets and a couple of cafe au laits. As with all of these super-touristy food stops – order the food to go! Life’s too short to wait an hour for a beignet (as tasty as they are).
To work off the thick layer of sugar dredging the beignets, we explored wider New Orleans on foot for the afternoon, first along the River Walk, then up to Canal Street, which all had a more modern, city-like feel than the old French Quarter. Savoury food was then required, so we stopped off at Port of Call for their highly recommended burgers.
The evening beckoned, and, as we were in New Orleans, so did the party. Flashbacks to uni ensued as we pre-lashed at the hostel with our fellow travellers; a night out at Bourbon Street and Frenchman Street was on the cards. For the first time since we landed in America, we met some other Brits – naturally this led to an outpouring of comparisons between the UK and US!
Hopping from bar to bar, the vibe at Bourbon seemed more directly targeted at tourists while Frenchman was a little more edgy and frequented by locals. Either way, the passion for jazz music, dancing and cocktails was evident!
We ventured further from the French district the next day, out to City Park, which was pleasantly less tourist-dense. In the name of science, we had to visit Morning Call, the park cafe, to test out their beignets too- another stop on Mike’s foodie trail.
If you’re visiting New Orleans, I would seriously recommend setting aside a good chunk of time for City Park; it’s easy to stick to the French Quarter, but the outdoor sculptures and botanical gardens are definitely worth the trip.
We were in luck as we arrived at the latter at exactly closing time, but it transpired that a free concert was planned in the gardens for that evening. Spanish guitar drifted through the quads, as we strolled around the gardens in golden dusky sunshine and almost complete solitude. If anything, this showed us a peaceful and, to be honest, more highbrow side of the city, that was in stark contrast to the boisterous party atmosphere it seems to be known for.
Our last stops on Mike’s food tour were R&O’s, a family-run restaurant where we indulged in seafood gumbo, and Brocato’s parlour for dessert. A fitting end to our stay in N’awlins: rolling into bed in a food coma.
The Big Adventure 
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