A New Orleans Food Experience

Having never left my small city life in Portland Oregon, due to being in a large family without the money for big trips with all the kids, meant that I had no idea what to expect when arriving in beautiful old N.O.L.A. However, I had heard so many things about the city throughout my life that I knew I wanted a taste of New Orleans for myself.

When the opportunity arose that I had earned my five week long paid vacation I called a good friend to inquire a visit, since she had moved to Araby, L.A. several years ago and knew the area extremely well, and she immediately said yes.

There were many things we did during my visit, but the point of this story is going to be about our food adventures, as my friend was most eager to share her favorite food and drink spots she'd discovered over the years. I may have also had my own agenda to visit those typical tourist spots in order to say that I had been there too but we made sure to stop everywhere we could.

Our first food adventure was a small, but quaint, hole-in-the-wall bar full of creatively named gastro-delights. I enjoyed the bright colors and comfortable vibe from the bar tender who took our order.

Dat Dog had a variety of fun hot dogs, sausages, chicken wings, and varieties of fries. I was also excited that the drinks were delicious and I could take them TO-GO! Forgive my enthusiasm but in Oregon, where I am from, we are not allowed to take alcohol when we leave the bar. Bar crawls are highly popular in Portland Oregon and it would have been a lot easier to go from location to location with the ability to take a drink to-go rather than trying to drink fast. However, I am getting off the point...

Here is a snapshot of the main Dat Dog bar from where we were sitting and you can even see the bar tender shaking up a drink as I snapped the pic. I don't know about you but I love that adorable pig on the wall hugging the hot dog saying "Embrace Your Bliss." Also Independence Day is on the TV in the corner. Nice.

As we walked along several streets in downtown N.O. and came across many places that looked like fun but there was not enough time to see every single place. I made sure to snap some pictures of a place or two that caught my eye.

Here's another shot of the club entrance. I was enjoying the album covers and concert posters in the window.

Back to the tourist list that was a MUST; Hard Rock Cafe was next.

I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe but knew I wanted to visit during my vacation in New Orleans. The reason being, my mother had traveled to N.O.L.A. as a youth group chaperone for high school kids and, myself as a much younger kid, I wasn't able to tag along. However, mother brought home a few knick-knacks for us kids such as Mardi Gras style feather masks and beads, as well as some kind of alligator head thing for my brother. But the one thing I remembered most was she had gotten herself a cute leather purse/backpack and I wanted something of my own from that same place; So I bought a sweatshirt which seemed fitting for the PNW. Here is a picture of the hat I had purchased for a friend back home that sent me with the money to buy it.

Inside the restaurant there were many things to look at and I felt a little bit like I was back home at a 90's style Red Robin.

The food wasn't anything more special than said Red Robin either. I suppose it was all about the atmosphere and cool memorabilia of famous rock stars hanging on the walls.

Thankfully they were able to get my friend a burger without buns as she was watching her carbohydrate intake. Unlike myself.

Over all this was more fun because of the cool music stuff on the walls. I took plenty of photos of the place to make sure I got my money's worth. Enjoy.

Overall, the Hard Rock Cafe was more for the sake of being able to say you've been there. The next place I visited also has the same level of tourism expectations and I was excited to patron there as well.

The other cliche place I had to hit up was Cafe Du Monde and to try beignets for the first time. My oh my they are delicious! Also I learned French growing up and wanted to enjoy a little taste of the French life in N.O.L.A. even if no one actually spoke French around me.

My friend and I sat at a table inside the cafe for several minutes before deciding to get the goodies to-go. The place was very busy and the waiters were ignoring us. Thankfully there was a to-go window that we could walk up to to order and headed off to the waterfront to see the river.

Thankfully I was able to visit all of the "musts" of New Orleans and was satisfied I didn't miss out on those experiences. However, my friend had a few more secrets up her sleeve and of all places she took me to a Sushi bar. Typically one doesn't think Sushi bar when they think of N.O.L.A. but this place is worth a mention.

I don't like seafood, generally, but my friend insisted that this was her favorite spot to get sushi and promised me there would be other kinds of dishes to chose from. Even though I don't like to eat the sushi I still appreciate how beautiful this plate was that they ordered.

Here's another shot of the same plate. I was amazed by the color combinations to be honest. I wanted to eat it just because they made it look so appetizing. I did not try it but my friend and her fiance loved it so that is good enough for me.

As my friend promised, there were plenty of other choices to choose from and my plate was a bunch of noodles with chicken and veggies with some kind of amazing sauce. Delicious. I would absolutely eat this again. Yaki Soba.

The sign of a great meal? I would definitely return to this place when I go back to N.O.L.A. and order the same thing. Even though I didn't eat any of the sushi I have a feeling most people would enjoy the options provided and my friends highly recommended the sushi.

Since the "Food and Drink" duos go hand in hand when going out in New Orleans I wanted to share my favorite drink of all...Voo Doo.

This delicious concoction is purple and tasted like an otter pop. They called it the Voo Doo. I got a second one after finishing the first because it was just so good. I know not everyone loves grape flavor but this was better than normal grape since it was too delicious to pass up a second one. Side note of fun too was the atmosphere felt like we were in a pirate's pub.

The amount of alcoholic options when trying out places to eat was just as exciting as trying new foods. I would suggest The Voo Doo to anyone.

For the last day in town my friend brought me to her favorite brunch spot! I was able to take a cup home as a souvenir too. Brunch is good in every state and being on vacation I got an Irish coffee with a blend of whiskey added to their fresh brewed coffee at it was highly enjoyable. Portlanders sure do love their brunch.

The food was better then the drink and I wished my stomach was big enough to eat more than just one thing off the menu. Believe me when I say breakfast food is my favorite. I got some kind of bacon, spinach, egg scramble and potatoes on the side with a soft 'n warm homemade biscuit. Yum. Now I want breakfast food again.

Overall, I must not be terribly picky when it comes to eating out and enjoying food, because I loved every single place I went to. As much as I would re-visit each place when I go back, I would ask my friend to take me to some new places too so that I could have new experiences in this wonderful city.

Being in New Orleans was an adventure and the food was excellent. The atmosphere was unlike anything I had experienced as music was playing live around every corner, everywhere you go, was energizing and made me feel connected to the people of the city. The vibrancy of life the people maintain is an entirely separate subject, but one I would love to touch on someday; The history wrapped around New Orleans is incredibly interesting and it means I will just have to write another story about those subject matters for you to read.