A Crowd-Sourced Guide to New Orleans

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I visited New Orleans for the first time last week and it was such a treat! I asked Instagram followers for recommendations for their favorite Nola eateries and sights - thanks, folks! It would be just plain rude to not share the hot tips, so here they are for you. I’m calling out the places Ross and I enjoyed as well as the recommendations that we didn’t have time for but I’m v sure are worthwhile. Check ‘em all out the next time you visit Nola!

Psst: For all of my travel essentials and tips for traveling environmentally friendly, click here.

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Interactive Map of Each Restaurant Recommendation:

Click each blue pin to get the name, address, website, and a photo of each restaurant. You can also click the star icon to save it to your Google maps so you can browse the eateries on the go.

Everywhere we ate:

Note that we’re pescatarians, so everything I recommend is vegetarian or fishy-based. I didn’t try out any of the recommended meat-heavy restaurants, but I left them in the map above. If you want just veggie or vegan food, here’s a good map of those restaurants.

  • Cane & Table - Get the drum escabeche - it’s like avocado toast, but fishy

  • Josephine Estelle - Get the Agnolotti, you won’t be disappointed

  • Bacchanal - Get the build-your-own cheese plate then sit outside to enjoy live music (try sitting in the SW corner and see if the baby opossums come out!)

  • Café Beignet - Gotta do beignet when in town!

  • Seaworthy - I loved the decor here and the food was just as delicious

  • Basin Seafood - We ordered a bunch of different appetizers here to get a taste of some a bunch of good classic Southern food - get the shrimp and grits!

  • Cavan - The BBQ crawfish pain perdue was a confusing mix of sweet and savory while reading the ingredients on the menu, but it was so so good

  • Shaya - We got one hummus and three salatim sauces then ate oodles of fresh hot pita bread to dip - I never say no to fresh bread

  • Magazin Vietnamese Cafe - The spring rolls were the perfect appetizer while we waited for our table at Shaya

  • Mother’s - This is a traditional restaurant for classic Southern food so naturally I went when craving a buttery biscuit

Find all of the recommended restaurants in the map above. Click each pin when you’re in the area, or click that button in the corner for a list of each eatery.

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Things We did:

  • Avoid Bourbon Street!

  • Walk Audubon Park and surrounding neighborhoods

  • Explore the cemeteries

  • Shop and lunch on Magazine Street

  • Walk Royal Street in French Quarter

  • Ride St. Charles Streetcar through Garden District to admire mansions

  • Walk Frenchmen Street and listen to all of the live music

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Things I didn’t do but were recommended:

I only excluded these things because I ran out of time!

  • Walk around Marigny and admire the colorful houses

  • Do a swamp and plantation tour outside the city

  • Take a ghost tour and vampire tour

  • Go to Hotel Peter and Paul to see the renovations

  • Visit City park and Bayou St John

  • Take a walking tour of the mansions in the Garden District

  • Kayak through sculpture garden

  • Explore art in the Bywater

  • Check out the Mississippi river from Crescent Park

  • Admire the street art organized by Nola Mural Project

  • Visit Isle de Jean Charles the first town relocating refugees due to climate change

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