The best places to eat in a large varnish. New Orleans!

New Orleans is one of the great American cities. The city is one of the only ones in the country that combines Southern culture, French colonial aesthetics and African American energy to create a city that differs in lifestyle, culture and food landscape.

The city of New Orleans began its European history with French fur traders in the 1600s. The territory was “New France” and stretched from the city of Quebec in the north to Newfoundland in the east and all the way down the Mississippi and Ohio valleys to Louisiana in the south. The only thing bordering on it were the American colonies in the eastern United States and the prairies in the west. Louisiana was named after King Louis XIV of France, and by 1803 it had been purchased by the Americans. Even in the early 19th century, the city was a large solution of people, and New Orleans’s main port city also contributed to a diverse mix of residents and visitors.

I have a long history with New Orleans and I have traveled there both for work and for pleasure many times. The pleasure is much more fun. And eating there is a favorite pastime. New Orleans is still a hive of diversity, history and entertainment, and is one of the largest food cities in the country. So while you’re at the big snack, check out some of these amazing places to eat cult food from New Orleans.

Johnny’s Po’Boys

Po’Boy is a sandwich that is synonymous with classic New Orleans cuisine. The sandwich is a working class invention and a genius of southern cuisine. Inspired by the country’s food and the people who founded the city a long time ago, Po’Boy was as much a sandwich as New Orleans could get. The Po’Boys were invented to feed striking workers on trams in 1929, providing unpaid, striking workers with something to eat on the picket line (hence the name.) The sandwich is usually filled with crispy French bread and includes beef and fried seafood, usually shrimp. then topped with lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and sometimes onions.

Johnny’s Po’Boys has been a Po’Boy institution in the French Quarter since the 50s and has always been a family destination. The place is a little more than a counter to take away, so it’s a great place to stop by if you’re looking for a taste of history and getting going. On top of Po’Boy, they serve other New Orleans classics like buttons and jambalaja.

Barrow’s catfish

Catfish has always been a popular choice of fish meat in the South, and Barrow’s Catfish is a legendary place with some of the best fried catfish in the state. The story of the restaurant begins in the 1940s when William “cap” Barrow and his wife May founded the original “Barrow’s Shady Inn” restaurant. Serving fried catfish plates from the back, the Inn became popular mainly because of its catfish and they have since opened a full-fledged restaurant with a bar and jukebox that played hits.

Barrow’s Shady Inn remained until 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit and they had to relocate locations. Now Barrow has opened Barrow’s Catfish using the same great recipes that the original Barrow’s had complete with a new and improved dining space filled with souvenirs and delicious New Orleans-like dishes. Po’boys, and of course, scaly and delicious fried catfish.

Commander’s Palace

When it comes to the history of the New Orleans culinary scene, there are few places that have the same background as the Commandant’s Palace. Located on a tree-lined street in the Garden District, Commander’s Palace is a place of size. It has been a catering facility since 1880, making it one of the oldest restaurants in the city, and on its doorstep it has seen people like famous chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse.

The restaurant was award-winning, showing an insight into New Orleans cooking history with high southern food that brought them seven James Beard Awards. The iconic Victorian villa is hard to miss, whether you’re looking for a romantic dinner for two or celebrating something with a big crowd, the atmosphere here is energetic and the food incredibly delicious.

A piece of meat

Located in Mid City, this restaurant offers a Southern barbecue for your money. As the name suggests, meat is what’s on the menu here, but it’s more than a place where you can stuff salty meat delicacies, but also a place that pays homage to the craft. Piece Of Meat is also a butcher shop that produces meat butchers on site and comes from local farms with sustainable sources. It is a butcher shop of old schools with new school ideas and gathers to provide something amazing. Steaks, breasts, ribs and carrots are plentiful here and everything is cooked to perfection.

Addis Nola

As proof of the city’s growing and far-reaching diversity, Addis Nola brings a little taste of Africa to the big city. The small town opened in 2019, but is already creating a big name for those in town who want to explore something new. Ethiopian cuisine is slowly making its way into American cuisine, and Addis Nola is a place in New Orleans if you want to explore and try something new. Chef Samuel Shiferaw offers a wide range of stews and fries that are amazing, filling and vegetarian. Piles of piles of red lentils, chickpeas, cabbage and carrots go great with freshly baked injera (Ethiopian flatbread).

Coffee world

If there’s any restaurant in town that has seen it all, it’s Café du Monde. The location of the café in the French Quarter has its origins even before the settlement of the area. The area of ​​the nearby market was a popular place for the natives of Choctaw to trade their wares. When the French settled the area, they established a market here and the French Quarter grew. In 1862, the Café du Monde opened upright in the middle of the action.

Café du Monde itself is a testament to the spirit of the city. Nothing can stop it. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and closes only for Christmas and the occasional hurricane. The restaurant has appeared in numerous novels and books, TV shows like The Simpsons and Tremé, and movies like Now You See Me and Chef.

But what sets it apart from any cafe in town? When the French settled the area they brought with them, and during the Civil War coffee mixed with chicory became a popular product because it provided a chocolate-like taste and allowed the expansion of the coffee bean supply under short coffee goods. beans. Café du Monde continued to sell this and it became a hit. Furthermore, after the Acadians were forcibly relocated, many ended up in Louisiana (and became Cajuns). They brought with them the French tradition of Beignet, which is probably the most interesting item in the Café du Monde. A piece of square-shaped fried dough is similar to a donut, but has no hole in the middle and is served covered with a thick layer of powdered sugar.

The menu of the Café du Monde is a monument of simplicity. It is a living proof of the saying “if it is not broken, do not repair it”. The menu has barely changed in over 100 years, offering black coffee or “au lait”, white or chocolate milk, orange juice and of course their legendary bagels.

Mother’s restaurant

Mother’s Restaurant is another place that is so essential to New Orleans that you wouldn’t even know it. The place has been open since 1938 and when they say “they don’t make them like before”, it refers to the mother’s restaurant. The mother was basically based on selling copious and cheap meals to everyone, from the longer shores, to lawyers and Marines. Located between the waterfront and the courthouse, people looking for Po’Boy on the go or stuffing with red beans and rice would stop by their mother’s. In fact, legendary New Orleans jazz musician Louis Armstrong adored red beans and rice so much that he signed his letters “red beans and rice yours”.

Although Mother’s Restaurant has aged, it has never forgotten its working class origins and still serves affordable and fresh food that locals love like jambalaja, gumbo and of course red beans and rice, all made the same way as before the 40s .

Dooky Chase

Dooky Chase, started by the infamous Leah Chase, matriarch of Creole cuisine, is a place that fills the stomach as much as the soul. In 1946, Case married jazz trumpeter Edgar “Dooky” Chase II, whose parents owned a small shop selling lottery tickets and po’boy sandwiches in Treme. Until the 50s, Chase worked in a restaurant with her husband and eventually changed it to a sedentary establishment, changing the menu to reflect her Creole origins and serving people who would otherwise be forbidden to dine only in the “white state” of the establishment. As such, Dooky Chase became a focal point for civil rights leaders, as it was one of the few places where African-American leaders could meet and discuss strategies. Chase will soon find himself in the service of people like Martin Luther King Jr., Freedom Rider and AP Tureaud.

After Katrina, her restaurant was flooded, but soon after it reopened for a number of accolades, including the James Beard Award and a visit by Presidents Bush and Obama. Dooky Chase served people from James Baldwin, Hank Aaron and Ray Charles (who mentions the restaurant in his song Early morning blues).

Today, Dooky Chase still remains strong with her grandson, educated in Paris, Edgar Chase who takes the helm in the kitchen. Chase’s fried chicken, gumbo z’herbes and Clemenceau prawns are still served just like Leah Chase.

Jacques-Imos

For almost 20 years, this restaurant has also been a kind of “anti” restaurant. Noticeable by the large sign outside that says “hot beer, bad food and bad service,” you may be pressed to wonder why you would ever want to go inside. Well, just don’t listen to the sign and do it anyway. There is a reason why this place has existed for two decades and that is because the food is just not bad. Serving some of the best blackened red fish and other Creole classics like boudin sausage, Jacques-Imos is a staple in the community for reasons other than wise jokes.

Central Grocery

The Italian-American community of New Orleans has a long history. As the country brought many immigrants to manual labor in the early 20th century, affordable stuffing was necessary. Enter Central Grocery. It is located in the French Quarter down the street from Café du Monde, the Italian grocery store and the Central Grocery restaurant. It was started in 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, who sold slices, olives, cheese and vegetables, primarily to Italian farm workers. Noticing that eating all these things separately proved awkward, he placed it on two slices of Sicilian sesame seed bread and named it Muffuletta. The salty-meaty texture of the meat and cheese, topped with the salinity of olives and pickled vegetables, is soaked in bread and made into one delicious sandwich that is more New Orleans than Italian.

Our final word

Food in New Orleans is probably one of the most varied and eclectic in the country. It is influenced by so many things and so many people who have all left a mark in the city and its food landscape. Although the dish may eventually have come from some special culture, it eventually became New Orleansian.