Best food and drinks in New Orleans

My guide to best food and drinks in New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the most fascinating cities I have ever visited. Wait… I am lying. New Orleans is by far the most fascinating city I have ever visited. The southern hospitality, the music, the history, pretty buildings… and the most important thing - great food and drinks! New Orleans deserves to be described in great detail, so I will write more blog posts about it in the future, but in this entry, I will describe best food and drinks that you can try in this amazing city, also called "The Big Easy".

Must-try foods in The Big Easy

• Beignets at Cafe du Monde

Do not even think of leaving New Orleans without trying the beignets at this iconic spot right next to the Mississippi river, called Cafe du Monde. No, seriously, Now Orleans locals say that it does not count you have been to New Orleans if you have not tried the beignets. And do not forget to order some cafe au lait on the side. Oh, and a glass of water - you will be super thirsty after all that sugar.

Beignets are basically just a fried dough, covered with powdered sugar. And by covered, I mean you will not be able to see the dough. I was able to ate one beignet with all the sugar on top, but I had to shake it off of the rest. In some of the stores, you can also buy beignet mix and make them at home, but I doubt they would be as good as the real ones.

Just look at all that powdered sugar!

• Muffuletta at Central Grocery

If you think the word ‘muffuletta’ sounds Italian, you are right. Muffuletta is an Italian - style sandwich that you can only get at this famous location - the Central Grocery. And this is the meatiest sandwich I have ever had. It is filled with different meats (that you can pick), vegetables and a special sauce, and it is really messy to eat, but delicious. You can get muffulettas in several locations in New Orleans, but the one at Central Grocery is apparently the most iconic one.

The special sauce I am talking about, is the olive sauce, and it is the best thing ever. I have (unsuccessfully) tried to recreate it at home several times so far. I mean, it was not entirely unsuccessful because it tasted pretty good, but, it was also not nearly as good as the one in New Orleans.

• Shrimp Po’Boy

Po’boy does not sound very English, does it? I did not think so either, until someone explained to me that po’boy is actually a ‘poor boy’ - a sandwich that poor workers used to eat because they could not afford anything else. But do not be fooled, nowadays, po’boys will come loaded with so many toppings that you will have some serious trouble biting into them. My favourite one was definitely the shrimp po’boy.

Apparently, this is a portion for one person. Good thing that I was hungry - I was actually able to finish it.

• Sno’balls

Sno’balls are just a shaved ice, but better. And you can find sno’balls food stands all across New Orleans, but unfortunately, none of them close to the centre. But trust me, it is worth walking in the hot sun for almost two miles just to get to a sno’balls stand. That is, if you are cheap and do not feel like paying for a taxi, just like me.

When ordering a sno’ball, you can choose from several different flavours, and you can combine up to three flavours on the same sno’ball. Do not skip lavender, strawberry and dark chocolate. Well, these are the three that I tried and they do not mix very well together, so just try to eat them separately.

• Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a typical Now Orleans dish, and it is basically just rice with sausage and vegetables. If you are a vegetarian, it will be difficult to find a vegetarian version, because the meat is supposed to be cooked in with the vegetables for better flavour, but I overheard a couple at the table next to me asking for a vegetarian version, and the server told them just to pick the sausage pieces out while eating.

• Bread pudding

The name ‘bread pudding’ sounded pretty unappealing to me before I tried it. But I am glad I did, because bread pudding is pure deliciousness. Bread pudding consists of a few days old bread, combined with eggs, milk and sugar. Apparently, the best bread pudding in New Orleans is served at Mother’s Restaurant. You can get it at most New Orleans’s restaurants, but Mother’s Restaurant definitely takes the lead in serving the best bread pudding in the city.

• Bananas foster

Bread, maple syrup, raisins, bananas and rum set on fire in front of your own eyes? Yes, that is exactly what bananas foster are. They are flambeed, extremely sweet, and delicious. Well, except the raisins. I really do not like raisins. I tried bananas foster for the first time in a restaurant just outside New Orleans’s French quarter, called Ruby Slippers, and, while expensive, I found this to be a perfect breakfast (or brunch) dish, even better than French toast. The portions are pretty generous, too.

In most restaurants in New Orleans, you will get enormous portions of food.

Must-try drinks

If I wanted to try all the drinks that sounded good while I was in New Orleans, I would probably die from kidney failure. So I only decided to try the most iconic ones. And there is a lot of iconic ones, and I must admit that the combination of two alcoholic drinks every day and the Louisiana humidity in the middle of summer was not the best idea, but hey, you only live once! So these are the drinks that I tried. And, surprise, surprise, I loved all of them!

• Absinthe

Absinthe was forbidden for a long time in New Orleans. But not anymore, and supposedly, the best one is served at Jean Laffitte’s blacksmith Shop in the French quarter. Well, I cannot judge whether it is the best or not, because I only tried it at that one place, but I have to say that it was pretty powerful. And just a friendly advice - try absinthe at the end of the day, because it will knock you out. From what I heard, absinthe sometimes causes hallucinations, so make sure you are with someone you trust when you are trying it.

• The hurricane drink at Pat O’Brien’s

This is the New Orleans’s signature drink, meaning you have to try it. And they only serve it at one restaurant (which has two locations in the French quarter), called Pat O’Brien’s. The drink comes in a generously sized glass and it is bright red. When drinking it, I did not even feel the alcohol in it, but once I stood up, I was pretty dizzy, and it got even worse once I left the air conditioned restaurant and stepped outside in the hot summer sun.

The one and only place for the hurricane drink in New Orleans.

You can keep the souvenir glass- they will put it in a box for you so it will not get destroyed during the journey home. The price of the cup (a few dollars) is already included in the price of the drink, and if you decide not to keep the souvenir glass, you will get that money back.

The hurricane drink tastes fruity, so it is perfect for hot summer days.

• Sazerac

This is supposed to be New Orleans’s second signature drink, the other one being the Hurricane. I am not even sure how to pronounce the word ‘sazerac’ correctly, but I know that this drink is delicious. This is, in fact, a cocktail, and there are several different variations. The one that I tried, consisted of absinthe, a generous portion of rye whiskey, and brown sugar.

• Alcoholic slushies

Alcoholic slushies are a very refreshing way to get drunk fast. And they sell them all over the French quarter. And the best thing about all the places that sell alcoholic slushies - you can ask for free samples. I tried six of them, because I simply could not decide which one sounded the best, and the bartender gladly gave me generous samples, and I was tipsy just after trying the samples.

At the end, I decided to go with the Electric lemonade, which was bright blue colour, and it tasted the most refreshing. One of the slushies tasted just like the Mango flavoured Fat Tuesday in Las Vegas, but I forgot the name of it. (It is the drink’s fault! )

• Hand grenade at Tropical Isle

Probably the most famous drink in New Orleans, served in a plastic souvenir cup, shaped like a hand grenade. The cup makes a cool souvenir, and you do not have to pay extra to keep it. As far as the hand grenade drink goes, it is delicious and fruity, and the taste reminded me of something, but I could not remember what exactly. This is not the best drink to have on a hot summer day in New Orleans, because its high alcohol volume will make you dehydrated, and that is the last thing you want on your vacation.

A few words for the end…

If you are only spending a few days in New Orleans, it can be really hard to pick which food and drinks you would like to try. If you are travelling with a group of friends, it will be easier to try more foods, because you can share the meal (and/or the drinks) and order more different things. But one thing is for sure - you will love New Orleans!

Photo gallery