Menu

New Orleans Girls Trip

New Orleans has got to be one of the coolest travel destinations with some of the best food ever! You’ll definitely want to add the delicious food I tried there to your bucket list!Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Where to Eat in New Orleans

Right after I got back from LA with Kristen, I turned around and hopped back on a plane to New Orleans with my amazing friend Lauren. She has a wildly popular recipe blog at Lauren’s Latest, where she turns everyday ingredients into extraordinary meals. At the last minute, another one of my friends from New Orleans invited us to come stay with her for a few days, and since Kevin was still out of town, and Lauren had never been to New Orleans, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a quick girls getaway. :)

You guys. We found some incredible food in New Orleans. I cannot stress this enough. I was blown away. I honestly had two of the BEST things I have ever eaten in my entire life on this trip. Seriously, put these “must try at least once before you die” list. Keep reading for our can’t-miss New Orleans restaurant recommendations!! :)

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Appetizers

Lauren wouldn’t be getting in until later that night, so when I arrived in New Orleans that afternoon, the first thing my friend Allison and I did was go out for appetizers at Cane and Table in the French Quarter. We got the Squash Blossom Cangrejitos, these rangoon-style dumplings stuffed with fresh, sweet Louisiana Blue Crab, and drizzled with their famous General Joe’s Sauce. LOVED the sauce — it was sweet, citrusy, and phenomenal. SO good!! Definitely the best crab rangoon I’ve ever had. :)

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Dinner

For dinner, we moved on to the two-time James Beard award-winning restaurant Peche in the artsy Warehouse District of New Orleans. The above beer-battered fried fish filets and house-made tartar sauce may not look like much — they’re labeled as simply “fish sticks” on the menu — but hands down, this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. They were just unbelievable. If you are ever anywhere near New Orleans, put this restaurant on your must try list!!! Be sure to make reservations.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Plus they have some super fun desserts!! We sat at the oyster bar and got to see all the desserts being made. This resulted in us wanting to order one of each! Here’s their chocolate, peanut butter, and banana pie, topped with crushed Butterfingers and drizzled with salty caramel.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Their fabulous keylime pie.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

They even offer several house-made ice cream flavors with buttery shortbread. Fabulous. Peche is a must in New Orleans!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

The next day Lauren and I enjoyed a quiet morning in our private courtyard in the French Quarter. The apartments where we stayed were the film location for several New Orleans based movies — The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid, Runaway Jury with John Cusack, and yes, the ever-classic Britney Spears movie, Crossroads. ;)

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Breakfast

After a lazy morning, we finally decided to grab brunch at The Ruby Slipper Cafe. I got their signature item, the Eggs Cochon, which was two buttermilk biscuits topped with slow-cooked apple-braised pork, poached eggs and hollandaise. Lauren got something similar but with bacon, and we both loved the bacon!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Beignets

Since we were in New Orleans, we obviously had to have beignets. Our first stop was Cafe Beignet. We were served up a basket with three pillowy puffs of fried dough smothered in powdered sugar. Incredible!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Then we tried the famous Cafe Du Monde beignets. Would you get a load of all that powdered sugar??! They were loaded with it!! We both preferred the beignets from Cafe Beignet, but Cafe Du Monde is a New Orleans institution, and a must visit if you’ve never been. :)

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

That night for dinner, we concluded our beignet tour at La Petite Grocery with these savory Louisiana Blue Crab Beignets.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

You guys.. These are a MUST TRY BEFORE YOU DIE!!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Oh my word. Honestly one of the best things I’ve ever had in my entire life. They were SO good! I am still dreaming about them. I could’ve eaten an entire plate entirely by myself. They were so, so, so, so, SO good. Make these happen in your life ASAP!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

They also had incredible desserts. We were with a group, so of course we got one of everything to try. ;)

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

My favorite was the Butterscotch Pudding with Vanilla Bean Cream in a cute little mason jar.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

The next day we made some fun new friends at Söpö, an ultra stylish boutique in the 7th Ward. Söpö is Finnish for “cute” and stands for Southern Posh.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

They brought in delicious baked goods from Pagoda Cafe for us, like these Strawberry Basil Muffins and Nutella Banana Bread.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Love!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

They had seriously the cutest stuff. How fun is this backpack / travel bag?? It even has a padded pocket for your laptop!! Need!!!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Gorgeous jewelry.

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Even sparkly gold twine!

Best Restaurants in New Orleans. #travel #neworleans #nola #restaurants

Lauren and I were dying over the Krewe sunglasses!! Such a fun morning shopping at Söpö.

That afternoon we went to one of the most amazing bakeries I’ve ever been to. They do it all — chocolates, pastries, cupcakes, macarons, gelato — and they make it ALL themselves. It is definitely a New Orleans must. Stayed tuned for the next post!! :) xoxo

You May Also Like:

17 Responses
  1. Mary Lea

    Ok Amanda….you do NEED one of the Herschel back-packs…my daughter and I each got one…(she’d be about your age I’m thinking) for travelling in Provence last summer. They are smashing let me tell you!! You can fit a ton of clothes and other stuff…besides your lap-top or I-pad in the padded pocket…AND they come in such fun colors!! Here is a link…(from E Bags…but you can find them other places!!) http://www.ebags.com/category/backpacks/b/herschel?lastSearchTerm=herschel+supply+co.+backpacks&pl=hdr_srch_as_l1 I think what you want if the “Little America” one!!

  2. Sue

    Just moved to NOLA 3 weeks ago. We’ve had the best food ever since we’ve been here! Try Evangaline on Decatur St. On your next visit. Great food, not your normal pub food… We eat at a different place in the French Quarter every few days… Went to Emerils last night, the Taste of Summer was phenomenal!!!

  3. Denise

    Hi Amanda! I’ve noticed lately that you take a lot of pictures with your phone. Have you stopped taking your DSLR when you travel? It is inconvenient sometimes to lug around a bulky camera, but one has so much more creative control than when using a phone. Wondered what your thoughts were. Love your blog, BTW; I’ve been a follower for years.

  4. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

    What a great trip! Loved watching you two on IG, need to add those restaurants to my bucket list!

  5. Courtney

    NOLA native here….thanks for coming to visit the Big Easy! So glad y’all enjoyed your time here. My brother’s rehearsal dinner was at La Petite Grocery; we LOVE that place. I still haven’t made it to Peche, but it’s on my list to try. And based on your hints at the end of this post, I’m guessing the bakery you’re talking about is Sucre. SO many things to choose from. Can’t wait to read your next recap. Come back and visit again soon!

  6. Yvonne

    We just moved to Baton Rouge, LA a year ago and keep finding new treasures every time we get a chance to go down to NOLA (only an hour away). I will be adding some of these to my must list! THANKS!!

  7. Jen

    I LOVE Cafe Beignet. We tried going to Cafe Du Monde, but there was a line spilling out of the building and around the corner. We wound up discovering Cafe Beignet, and it was so much fun! For those who haven’t been, they’re in a little courtyard with statues of famous jazz musicians, they have a stage with live music playing, and the setting was just so fun.

  8. Super Stamp Girl

    OMG, I want to eat it ALL! Every little last bit of it! Yum. I’ve had the beignets at Cafe du Monde before, but the Louisiana Blue Crab beignets would be fun to try!

  9. Alice

    I am amazed at how thin you stay! I would be the size of a barn! Your pictures and descriptions are fabulous!
    Thank you !
    Smiles, Alice

  10. Heather @ Shards of Lavender

    Looks like an amazing trip! I’ve never been to New Orleans, so thanks for sharing pictures of all that delicious food and great shopping. I’m sure I’ll visit someday:)

  11. Anele @ Success Along the Weigh

    Look at you, jetsetter! ;-) Must have that pie or if I don’t make my way down there, try to duplicate it.

    If you ever go to San Francisco, go to Brenda’s French Soul Food and get their beignet flight (regular, apple, dark chocolate and crawfish). I don’t know if they stack up to NOLA but awesome enough if anyone tried to take them from me, they’d be missing a limb.

  12. Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness

    Looks like you had a blast! We stopped in New Orleans on our drive from Washington to Florida when we moved. Beignets were our favorite..but I wish we would have had the banana, peanut butter pie dealio. I die.

Do you have a question or comment?

Meet Kevin & Amanda

Kevin and Amanda

We love to travel and to eat! Here we share our favorite quick and easy recipes, plus travel tips and guides for our favorite places around the world. If you have any questions about what camera I use or how I edit my photos, check out my photography tutorials.

READ MORE

Subscribe via Email: