On my return from New Orleans, friends asked, “Did you stay in the French Quarter and party on Bourbon Street?” These days, Netflix thrillers fill my nights, with a bowl of popcorn and a glass of Merlot. On a pre-Katrina trip, I heard jazz at Preservation Hall, shopped in Jackson Square, and took a cemetery and voodoo tour. This time around, I feasted my way across Crescent City, but not all in the French Quarter, spending most of my time in the Warehouse District, Central City, Downtown, and the Garden District.
Warehouse District
Bordered by the French Quarter, the Warehouse or Arts District features galleries in repurposed warehouses, excellent museums, and restaurants of James Beard Award-winning chefs. I spent three nights at the Old No. 77 Chandlery Hotel, conveniently located adjacent to Compère Lapin.
Compère Lapin
Named after a mischievous rabbit from traditional Caribbean and Creole folktales, restaurant Compère Lapin is owned by Chef Nina Compton. Chef Compton blends traditional New Orleans fare, adding influences from her Caribbean home in St. Lucia. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America and was runner-up in Top Chef Season 11. Compton also took home the James Beard Award in 2018 for “Best Chef: South.” I started with the frozen Hurricane Buster, packing a sweet, alcohol-forward passionfruit punch, with a maximum of two per customer.
Chef Compton’s excellent credentials became clear in the small bites, most notably the snapper collar with jerk peanut sauce, tasting sweet and savory. For my main course, I ordered the curried goat with cashews, sweet potato, and gnocchi. The meat was tender with just enough spice, and the curry powder lent depth and warmth. The gnocchi melted in my mouth.
Just a few doors down the street, the Peacock Room hosted singer Robin Barnes.
Peacock Room
The Peacock Room feels like a living room, with royal blue comfy couches and walls adorned with parrots and peacocks. Robin Barnes, named “The Songbird of New Orleans,” belts out “Billie Jean is not my lover” from her repertoire of funk, bounce, and Zydeco music. She walks the room, sharing the microphone with audience members, encouraging them to sing with her. I had my first Sazerac of the trip, considered the original cocktail with Peychaud’s bitters and rye whiskey.
Mother’s Restaurant
A long lineup of eager eaters stared me down at Mother’s Restaurant as I skipped the line (one of the perks of being a travel writer). The restaurant is known for its baked ham. I had a crawfish etouffee omelette with cheese grits. I’d never eaten crawfish before. They are smaller than shrimp and less chewy. The enormous biscuit came with house-made raspberry preserves. I had to pace myself, as more delicious food was coming.
Next up, Deelightful Roux School of Cooking.
Central City
Deelightful Roux School of Cooking
New Orleans Chef Dee Lavigne founded Deelightful Roux School of Cooking, the first Black woman to do so in New Orleans in over 80 years. In 1949, more than a decade before Julia Child’s debut, Chef Lena Richard hosted a cooking show, breaking gender and racial barriers in the kitchen. Chef Lavigne follows in Chef Richard’s footsteps with her recipes. For example, she updates Richard’s original shrimp bisque recipe, using modern tools, keeping the Creole flavors intact. Through her cooking school, Chef Lavigne preserves Black culinary history.
My class prepared Creole jambalaya, smothered okra, and bananas foster. I learned how to smash garlic with a scraper, to toast Cajun spices in the pot before adding liquids, and to flambé bananas for the bananas foster.
My favorite dish was the bananas foster over vanilla ice cream. The caramelized bananas were sweet and buttery, with a hint of spice. It was delish! The school is located inside the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, showcasing the fascinating history of cuisine in the southern states.
The legendary Dew Drop Inn also takes visitors back in time.
Dew Drop Inn
Part of the ‘Chitlin Circuit’, clubs and theatres that welcomed Black Musicians in the 1930s through the 1960s, the Dew Drop Inn also made the Green Book, a guide for Black travellers during segregation. During that time, the club booked performers such as Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Little Richard, and Sam Cooke. Beside a restored red leather barber chair, a full wall shows photos of the nightclub and performers. Also on display is civil rights history.
Each of the 17 bright, beautifully decorated rooms is named for a different musician. At the buffet brunch, I discovered my new favorite dessert, bread pudding (I had 4 pieces!). A band performed rock and roll through the different decades.
Following the Dew Drop Inn, I visited The Jazz Playhouse, where I sampled gator bites (they taste like chicken) and shrimp etouffee fries.
French Quarter
Brennan’s
Founded in 1946, Brennan’s elegant decor mimics that of a French Orangerie (an indoor orange grove) with soft green trellises framing pastel murals of 19th-century aristocrats. A black-and-white checkerboard-patterned floor, white pillars, and deep red leather chairs complete the look. I tried the turtle soup, which was thick with small pieces of meat, and the bananas foster, created at Brennan’s in New Orleans in 1951.
New Orleans shines as a culinary and cocktail destination. Treat your taste buds to all that it has to offer.
If you go:
- Visit Mardi Gras World for an insider’s view of Mardi Gras floats and the best King Cake.
- At Vue Orleans, you’ll learn the history and cultures of New Orleans.
- Check out the Sazerac House for a tour and tasting.
A new Amtrak service takes passengers twice daily between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.
Author’s Note: This trip was sponsored by New Orleans and Company, but all experiences shared in this article are personal.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Have you been to New Orleans or any of the southern states and tried some local bites? Which destination has your favorite foods? Do you favor sweet or savory foods?
