A Beginner’s Foodie Guide to New Orleans

 Hi everyone!

This morning, my girlfriend Paisley texted me, sending a pic of herself standing in the snow, clad in a stylish pink fur lined parka, complete with a hat and gloves. 

“Come play in the snow with me!” She said. I sent her a back a selfie I took yesterday. Your author,  the slender Black and Tan furred dachshund lounging by the hotel pool, wearing a handsome straw fedora, sunglasses and a floral shirt replying, “Do I look like I’m ready for snow?” But I had to clarify, “You do look stunning in that parka though!”

The truth is, I’m not really looking forward to going home to Boston and to the snow right now. I've got to work on my tan a little more,of course. 

Seriously though, I’ve been having a lot of fun here. I've spent the last week in New Orleans, exploring the city and sampling all of its culinary wonders.

As a culinary critic and magazine writer, this current trip was on behalf of my editor to seek out new and undiscovered restaurants. Now that I'm finished with my work, I am spending the rest of the week here in New Orleans. 

This is my first time to New Orleans, and even after reading and seeing so much about it, it was still even better than I imagined. 

The very first thing I undoubtedly had to try was one of the famous beignets at the equally famous Cafe du Monde. 

I don’t know what the heck kind of service they offer, though, because my first beignet was served with two huge bites already taken out of it! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life! You bet your butt that I had a strong word to say to the waiter the next time he came around … I wanted a fresh one brought out!

Once that was sorted, I took a bite, and at once, I understood why he couldn't resist a little nibble - it was absolutely divine! I looked skywards, certain this little deep fried doughnut fell from heaven! It’s light, airy, and coated with powdered sugar. If you try this, you’ll be licking sugar off your nose all day, just like I did.

Out front of the cafe, a local street performer  was entertaining the guests with some jazzy tunes on his keyboard. I also noticed people were giving him money for it! So I figured, heck, if he didn't mind, I could  join him for a couple minutes and it’ll pay for another beignet, right? Luckily, I always keep my saxophone close by for such occasions. 

All week, I pretty much did everything all the New Orleans locals do. Eat, drink, eat some more, and walk around. 

I visited the Bulldog beer tavern for some tasty local brews and they insisted that I try their beer-battered chicken and rosemary sweet potato wedges. 

Had a hot dog at Dat Dog with all the fixings … something they called a Southwestern Dog, piled high with savory mesquite grilled onions, sweet mango salsa, and spicy jalapeno relish! 

I turned up the heat with some honey sriracha on a chicken tender sandwich at Biscuits and Buns. 

I then ended things on a sweet note with Bananas Foster from Brennan’s. This devilishly decadent dessert is flambéd tableside and served with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, rum, and  vanilla bean ice cream.

If you’re a foodie, then New Orlean’s gastronomic delights will definitely have you salivating! This vibrant city has so much to offer, including several fine tailors. One of which mended a loose waist button on a certain author’s dress trousers. 

I can't believe I have to go back to the cold already. Maybe I can convince my editor to start my next assignment a couple days early?

Until next time,

Eat Well, Travel Often, and Lick that Spoon!