Food, NOLA – part 2

There’s nothing like food that really describes the culture of a place. Café du Monde is one place that I’d always thought of when New Orleans came to mind. That 24 hour house of powdered sugary goodness. The mystery of chicory coffee. And, thankfully, it did not disappoint! Café du Monde’s beignets really were melt in your mouth goodness – and I enjoyed every last bite.

Café Fleur-de-Lis was a cute little spot where we enjoyed a breakfast of heavenly blueberry pancakes… Look at that blue compote running over the edges. Mmmm…

Sucré was a surprise find. We’d been riding the street car down St. Charles Avenue. When we got off the car & I went back to get a photo of the street car from the outside, I saw a colorful ad for Sucré that featured one of my favorite things – macarons!And what a delightful find it was! Not only did they have macarons in various colors & flavors, but they had gelato & coffee & chocolates as well.

And of course I needed to take home a box of macarons with eight different flavors.

Refuel was a wonderful morning hangout that seemed quite popular with the locals in the area. They had a bright, cheery atmosphere accented by original abstract paintings. They also made a delicious bacon & egg sandwich on an everything bagel.

Liuzza’s wasn’t my favorite place in New Orleans, but I did like getting my root beer in a frosted mug. And apparently the sign is somewhat of a landmark.

Elizabeth’s was the closest restaurant to Kristina’s Mom’s house that we went to. I loved the vibrant, local flavor. And we had to try the praline bacon – one thing they’re known for. It was interesting… I thought it was pretty good… but the guys said the sweet brown sugar flavor overpowered the bacon. “Where’s the bacon?”

Café Envie in the French Quarter had really great coffee. When Tanner & I find a good coffee place on vacation, we usually make frequent trips back. Café Envie was no different – we had coffee there just about every day we were in New Orleans. Mmmm… yummy coffee. And check out the guy in the top hat? Cool huh?

Café Amelie was another great surprise find. Hidden away in its own cute little garden away from the busyness of the street sat a taste of France. I loved everything about the ambiance, and my salad wasn’t bad either

Loved my salad of spring greens, apples, grapes and pecans in a lemon vinaigrette.

The Irish House was a pub on St. Charles Avenue – and it was probably the nicest pub I’ve ever been to. It had live Irish Music (see previous post), a wonderful (and non-smoking) atmosphere and the most delicious bangers & mash I’ve ever eaten. Yum.

The Carousel Bar was pretty epic. Despite being really packed, I loved seeing a carousel bar with seats that actually moved around – now granted, they moved quite slow, but still, they slowly circled. It was pretty sweet! I also loved the 1920s paintings that adorned the walls…

More to come from NOLA – stay tuned for part 3 coming later this week!