by We only had one day in New Orleans (we’ll be back later in the year), so we made the most of it by doing a food tour in the French Quarter with Taste Bud Tours. No modifications allowed for vegetarians, so I knew I was signing up to live dangerously.
Our first stop was Nola Poboys. A po’ boy is, per Wikipedia, a sandwich consisting of meat (usually roast beef, ham or fried seafood) served on New Orleans French bread, which is known for its crisp crust and fluffy center. A “dressed” po’ boy includes shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced pickles, and mayonnaise.
It’s a traditional New Orleans food, and Doug’s sandwich consisted of roast beef, and was delicious. As a courtesy for me, they hustled out the vegetarian version of a po’boy, which consists of French fries in lieu of meat – that’s right, a French Fry sandwich. Of course, Doug pointed out that the “chip butty” is a common sandwich in the British Isles. I was a bit dubious, but it was actually quite tasty.
We were also served another New Orleans staple, the Muffaletta, which was designed for laborers to be able to take to work without need of refrigeration. It’s made with Italian cured meats and provolone cheese. In lieu of mayonnaise, it’s topped with an olive salad. It’s served on a round sesame bread (hence the triangular shape of one slice). Doug was dubious about the “olive salad”, but in the end found it quite good.
A stop at the New Orleans Creole Cookery for some Gumbo Ya Ya was up next. Gumbo is the official cuisine of Louisiana, and it’s a stew made with strongly flavored stock and meat and/or shellfish. It includes the Creole “holy trinity” of celery, onions and bell peppers. The Gumbo Ya Ya version that Doug had is made with chicken and andouille sausage. Traditionally Gumbo is served over rice, but you can see Doug was just served a dish of it here.
A vegetarian jambalaya was offered to me, which, per their menu, is “a medley of fresh garden veggies smothered with Cajun spices and rice.” It was quite good, but richly tomato-based, so Doug was not as impressed.
At Cornet Restaurant we had Fried Alligator, served with remoulade sauce and grits.
Wait – is alligator meat, or is it seafood? Well, it seems that the answer is not so easy to get, so the New Orleans Archbishop was asked in 2013 if it could be eaten during Lent, when seafood is allowed in the diets of observant Catholics.
His response? ““”Yes, the alligator’s considered in the fish family, and I agree with you — God has created a magnificent creature that is important to the state of Louisiana, and it is considered seafood.”
Though I felt a lot dubious about this claim, I still took a bite, and since I didn’t like it, that settled the question.
Laura’s Candies claims to be the oldest candy shop in New Orleans (established 1913), it was here that we got to try pralines. I love sugary treats, so was excited to try them, but I didn’t make it past one bite.
The Food Network describes a praline as “a sweet, creamy and nutty confection that tastes like caramelized nuts with a soft, fudgy texture,” which sounds awesome to me. But it really just tasted like eating pure sugar. We got both a chocolate version (pictured) and an original, which I think is still in its wrapper somewhere in the van.
Unless you’re a psychopath, you don’t come to New Orleans and not have beignets. The Louisiana-style version is square-shaped and made from leavened dough. They are deep-fried and covered in powdered sugar. You eat them hot, and they are sinfully delicious. If you’ve ever had funnel cake, it’s in the same food group (which is, Don’t Ask About the Calories).
We went to Café Beignet for ours, which is a renowned spot to get them. We attempted to go in the morning, but the line was out the door. After standing in it for several minutes, it had not moved even an inch, so we decided to come back later in the day. So even though we had just finished a food tour, when we saw the line was a fraction of what it had been earlier, we queued up. They were so, so, so good!
