Redemption in New Orleans
After our first day in New Orleans went slightly awry, we decided to book an extra night at Fontainebleau State Park to spend a bit more time in the bayou.
We walked through the Spanish moss-draped trees and sipped our coffee on the coast of Lake Ponchartrain, its waves still tumbling in the wake of the storm.
Since we are on a limited budget, we have tight plans for picnic meals that mostly consist of yogurt with granola that was prepared ahead of our trip, avocado smashed on rolls picked up from a local grocery store (we are millennials after all), and shared bagged salad packs. These meals allow us to reserve the main part of our food budget for The Restaurants whose food can’t be missed.
We faced a predicament early on in our trip though, because NOLA will blow your budget with food since, as it turns out, every restaurant is The Restaurant.
In many cities, it’s easy to find one or two items that are the must-try items attributed to that area. In New Orleans, that list is miles long. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Beignets, Pralines, Muffuletta, Cafe au Last, Etouféé, BBQ Shrimp, Po Boys, Bananas Foster, Red Beans and Rice….do I really need to keep going??
We had to limit ourselves on this trip so we narrowed the list down to three of our favorite dishes from our last trip: Gumbo, Muffuletta, and Pralines.
For gumbo, we visited Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop. The steaming bowl of rich, hearty gumbo cured our storm woes.
For muffuletta, we visited Cochon Butcher. Fresh shaved in-house cured meats, topped with cheese, and house-made giardineria (olives and vegetables finely chopped into a pickled spread) stacked neatly into a sesame-crusted round bun makes a muffuletta my perfect sandwich. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Finally, it was praline time. Phil has described these candy treats as fudge cookies loaded with toasted pecans. I personally think the flavor is indescribable. I’m not typically a huge fudge fan, but New Orleans’ pralines are out of this world. We picked up treats from three different spots (Aunt Sally’s, Royal Praline, and my personal favorite Bernard’s Pralines, where they were making the pralines right in front of our eyes). We may or may not have bought a few extras for the road.
Meandering the gorgeous French Quarter, walking the banks of Lake Ponchartrain, and eating delicious NOLA dishes made the second half of our time in New Orleans the perfect start to the road trip.
Onward to Big Bend National Park with a few unexpected stops along the way…