How to Cram as Much Food as Possible into Your 4-Day New Orleans Visit
- Mian Wei
- Sep 28, 2019
- 10 min read
The saying goes there are only 3 cities in America, New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. New Orleans is a paradise for food lovers, especially if your palate prefers a little more of a kick. The city’s diverse origins lend itself to much more interesting flavors than your typical American cuisine. The territory changed hands between the French and Spanish a few times before finally being purchased by the U.S. and then saw waves of German and Italian immigration. All of that history can be felt in the food.
The best location to stay for tourists is the French Quarter as you will be in close proximity to major streetcar lines and tourist attractions. The city is very walkable so staying in a nice central location is key to being able to eat a lot. However, there are a lot of tourist traps in this area since it is THE prime tourist neighborhood. Do some research before walking into restaurants.
The dilemma with New Orleans is there is actually a lot to do/see and to eat, so if you’re visiting for the first time, planning efficiently is key.
Day 1:
Whenever I first arrive in a new city, I usually like to stay close to the hotel on the first day or half day just to take it easy after a long flight. Start off with a light brunch The Gumbo Shop where you can sample different gumbos and andouilles in small servings or share larger bowls with your traveling companions for a great variety. One of the best things I tried on this trip was their crawfish etouffee (which is like a thicker stew).
Then walk around the French Quarters and just familiarize yourself a little so you can have better efficiency later. Walk about 10 minutes to the famous Café du Monde, where you will undoubtedly see a line forming outside. Don’t be scared off by the line as it moves very fast and there’s always the option of ordering take out if that line is shorter and you’re pressed for time. A café au lait and a plate of beignets make a perfect afternoon snack and you can also listen to a local street jazz band.
For more sweets, check out some of the praline shops in the area. Pralines are a specialty in New Orleans and make great gifts. I really liked Loretta’s Pralines and Leah’s Pralines but you can shop around and sample from many stores. To be honest, pralines and mud pies are generally too sweet for my taste but one or two bites goes well with a dark coffee in the morning.
Another simple and low maintenance activity for a first day is touring one of the historical houses. I did the Historic New Orleans Collection tour because it was free and gave an overall history of the city in an old mansion, but you can also check out the Hermann-Grima House, the Lalaurie Mansion or the Old Ursuline Convent, all within a few blocks of each other.
Then head to Jackson Square where you’ll see the St. Louis Cathedral and more street musicians/performers. Sit on a bench and listen to some jazz. There’s also the nearby Presbytère building, which now houses a museum on Hurricane Katrina. You can also check out Madame John’s Legacy, a creepy little house that features in Interview with a Vampire, or the Tennessee Williams House, where the renowned playwright lived in the city, which you can’t tour but just has a placard. You can also check out Faulkner House Book Store in Pirate’s Alley.
If this happens to be a weekday, head towards the newer business district for some great happy hour spots around 4-6pm. Happy Hour in New Orleans is an absolute steal, especially for oyster lovers as they generally go for 75 cents each. Trenasse and Luke were both fantastic and are across the street from each other, so if one is too busy, try the other. One of my favorite dishes from the whole trip was the crawfish pie over grits from Trenasse.
If Happy Hour doesn’t fill you up, get some more food at the Acme Oyster House where you’ll want to get the Oysters Rockefeller and the Softshell Crab. It is a touristy spot due to its location but the food was honestly very good and reasonably priced and if it’s close to your hotel, it makes a great late dinner.
Day 2:
On your second day, you can venture out a little, hop on a streetcar and tour the gorgeous Garden District. Before starting your tour, grab a doughnut and a cup of coffee at District Donuts.
This neighborhood is known for exquisite old mansions, some of which are currently owned by celebrities. If you’re a football fan, make sure to check out the Manning’s childhood home (still owned by the family). John Goodman and Sandra Bullock also own homes in this area. For more historical significance, check out the Jefferson Davis house, which unfortunately still has a placard that says “Daughters of the Confederacy proudly remembers Jefferson Davis” (um yikes!). Remember you are in the South so you will encounter some uncomfortable Confederate Pride, which is still a thing somehow.
After getting your fill of rich people’s homes, head to the Lafayette Cemetery No 1, which is cool if you’re morbid or a fan of either American Horror Story or Interview with a Vampire.
There’s no shortage of great food in this area, but if you want that iconic oyster loaf, head to Casamento’s, where the line will be extremely long at all times but there’s always the option of getting takeout and eating at a nearby park bench. If you visit during the summer months, you can get a snow ball dessert at the nearby Hansen’s Sno-Blitz, which unfortunately was closed when I visited in December.
Since I couldn’t get my snow cone, I wanted more food after this so we then went to The Rum House for Caribbean inspired tacos. It’s a great place to get something a little different and while busy, the wait wasn’t longer than 20 minutes for lunch.
There are also some famous fine dining restaurants in this neighborhood like Commander’s Palace and Coquette, so if that’s something you’re interested, it would be a good idea to plan that around this day. You’ll want to reserve for upscale places. If that’s not your thing, you can simply walk the distance back to the French Quarter (about 40 minutes) and take a little rest at your hotel maybe since this day involves a lot of walking.
In the evening, you can head out to French Street to check out the jazz clubs. A lot of tourists choose to do Preservation Hall, but I read that French Street is really the more authentic experience and much cheaper. All you need to do is order one drink at the bar and you can stay for a whole set. They are mostly standing room with limited seating. We stayed for two sets at The Spotted Cat and it only cost like $15 per person for drinks.
For a late night snack, you can pop into any one of the many Willie’s Chicken Shacks, which is kind of like Popeyes but BETTER. Their fried chicken is actually really good and they sell giant vessels of frozen margaritas and other frozen alcoholic drinks (and they’re really strong). If you want cheap and quick fried food and/or alcohol, this is as good as it gets.
Day 3:
The beauty of New Orleans isn’t just limited to the city itself. No trip is complete without a venture into the countryside to tour some of the iconic plantations. There are mostly situated about 45 minutes outside the city. If you’re not much for planning/navigating unfamiliar territory, there are tour groups that will take you to usually some combination of two plantations (Oak Alley and Whitney are the two most popular) or one plantation and then a swamp tour. I personally can’t stand tour groups so I rented a car for a day, as there are convenient car rental facilities close to the French Quarter.
Because you’ll want to leave early in the morning for this day trip and will probably return sometime in the late afternoon, start with a BIG breakfast at Jimmy J’s Café. They open at 7am so you’ll also beat the crowds by having a fantastic early breakfast. Then head out!
Driving in the New Orleans metro area is fairly simple. If you’ve driven in any major city before, this should be easy. It’s no NYC or San Francisco. Streets are generally flat straight lines and highways are wide until you get more rural.
My first stop was the Evergreen Plantation, which I chose because Quentin Tarantino used it as a filming location for Django Unchained. The house has a very distinct façade but the interior is quite small. You can check guided tour times on their website to approximate when you’ll want to get there but advanced tickets probably are not necessary unless you’re going at an extremely busy season. Note: you cannot tour the grounds of this plantation on your own so you will have to stick to the guided tour at all times.
After touring Evergreen, it was on to Oak Alley, probably the most iconic plantation in America. For this plantation, you can buy a ticket to get onto the grounds, including the stunning the alley of oak trees, and wander on your own until you want to tour the big house, which runs every 15 minutes or so. I will say, neither Evergreen nor Oak Alley have a particularly strong focus on slavery. They're very aesthetically appealing plantations, but the Whitney Plantation is supposed to be the best one to visit for a more comprehensive and honest look at life on a plantation for a slave.
We got back into the city at around 6pm and were ready for a HUGE dinner since we only ate one meal and a few snacks this entire day. Cochon is located in the warehouse district and is easily walkable from the French Quarter on a nice day but you can also take a streetcar there. You’ll probably want to make a reservation if it’s a weekend but it is a pretty large restaurant. They specialize in Cajun pork but everything here was amazing but especially the fried alligator and the cochon jambalaya.
For dessert, head to Sucre back in the French Quarter for gelato or pastries.
Day 4:
Another must-visit attraction in the greater New Orleans area is a swamp. There are many options to tour a swamp. As previously mentioned, some tour groups will do a planation/swamp combination tour in the same day, so if you’re more pressed for time, that’s your best option. We had more days planned so we actually did a swamp kayak tour. They’re a little more expensive than a boat tour but I found it to be so much more enjoyable and interesting (and I had already done a boat swamp tour in Florida). It’s also more environmentally friendly than the big loud motorboats and it’s easier to spot cool animals without a noisy motor running.
The company I used was New Orleans Kayak Swamp Tours, which you can book on their website. I chose the 11:30am tour because it was winter and the weather is much nicer during midday and it also gave me more time to eat in the morning. I highly recommend just paying extra for the pick-up service because the swamp really is just on a random side of the road, which is difficult to find for drivers.
The tour pick-up is in the French Quarter where you’ll meet up with everyone else and a van will take you to the swamp. Because you do have to walk across the French Quarter to get to the meeting place, this is a great opportunity to get some more food. Stop by Central Grocery and Deli (opens at 9am) to try the original Muffuletta sandwich, a New Orleans version of an Italian sub. Then head over to Loretta’s Authentic Pralines stand in the French Market and try the praline stuffed beignet. It’s so AMAZING, I feel like more people should know about it.
It’s always a good idea to eat a lot before the kayaking because it is very tiring. A lot of the other people in our van hadn’t eaten in the morning and had to pick up gas station food along the way and eat it quickly on the ride. Why do that when you can simply plan a little and have legit good food?
After paddling away for like 2 hours in a swamp (super fun, informative and pretty btw), you will be dropped back to the French Quarter around mid-afternoon and it’s a great time for even more food!
The drop off location is easily walkable to the Treme district and you can pass by the super cool Louis Armstrong Park on the way. Treme was one of the neighborhoods most affected by Hurricane Katrina but the area is nice and safe to stroll through during the daytime.
You’ll see the distinct colorful houses typical of Treme on the way to Willie Mae’s Scotch House (closed Sun). This iconic spot is widely considered to have the best fried chicken in the country. Honestly, the extremely crispy breading is the MVP of this chicken. Lines will be crazy so the better choice is to get a to-go serving to share with your travel companion(s) and eat at a bench in the Lafitte Greenway on a nice day.
If you’re still hungry, walk a little further to Parkway Bakery and Tavern (closed Tues) for magical po’boy sandwiches (surf and turf!) and a delicious rum pound cake. Once you’re full, take the streetcar back to the French Quarter or wherever you’re staying.
I had another half day on my trip so I split the kayak/swamp tour and Treme into two slightly more chill days, but it’s definitely doable in one day if you really want to.
General Tips:
-It’s always best to go with someone who has similar taste in food as you because sharing dishes allows you to try so much more. Also, a lot of walking is involved so make sure your travel buddy is in shape enough to walk and eat a lot. That said, the streetcars are pretty convenient so you can always hop on if you’re tired and/or lazy.
-I would avoid high season (especially Mardi Gras unless you’re specifically here for that) and visit in the fall/winter as weather here is pretty mild. I only encountered one slightly drizzly day in my 5 days there in December. Only downside is a lot of snow cone places are closed (sad) but I still managed to find a really good one at the French Market.
-Reservations are recommended for dinner at more upscale restaurants. Most casual spots don’t even take reservations and you just have to deal with waiting in long lines BUT take out is always an option if you’re pressed for time. There are a lot of benches and parks around the city, so if the weather is nice, you can save yourself 30-90 minutes of waiting if you order to-go.
-I don’t personally like eating crawfish in its original form (too much work for too little meat) so I just tried it in other forms like in the aforementioned pie or etouffee. To try more things, ACME Oyster House does a great sample platter with boudin sausage, gumbo and jambalaya. You’ll never be able to eat everything on one trip so leave some things to look forward to next time.
-The absolute must-eats: Beignets, Oysters (raw, Rockefeller, fried), Jambalaya, Gumbo/Andouille/Etouffee, Boudin (sausage), Po’Boys, Fried Chicken, Crawfish. For drinks: Sazerac (for whisky fans), French 75, Hurricane, Rum-based drinks and anything in frozen form.
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