When it was time to plan the foodie agenda for our trip to New Orleans, there were only two things I knew we had to have: beignets and po’boys. Everything else I learned from the New Orleans section on Joy’s blog, Bon Appetit’s city guide, and some additional googling. Here’s the best of what we ate during our five days in The Big Easy:

• Café du Monde: There was no way our first stop would be anything other than Café du Monde for beignets. There are couple locations, but we went to the original on the edge of the French Quarter. It’s a bit chaotic, and there’s icing sugar covering every surface, but the first bite into a warm beignet makes it absolutely worth it. Beignets are little squares of fried dough that are served warm, with about a half an inch of icing sugar on top, and were the perfect way to begin our trip. I also had a Café au Lait to complete my first NOLA eating experience. We didn’t have to wait in line, but I think they’re usually super busy, and they only take cash. Bring wet wipes, and know you can’t avoid leaving without icing sugar in your hair.

• Sylvain: Joy said on her blog that this is the best restaurant in the French Quarter, so I made reservations here for our first dinner. She also mentioned their burger multiple times, so that’s what I had and it was DELICIOUS. It came with fries and four dipping sauces (I am very passionate about dipping sauces) and was just perfect. I had a Moscow Mule to drink after our waiter sold me on their housemade spicy ginger syrup, and Danielle had the fried chicken sandwich. I’d definitely recommend it; it’s one of the more trendy/hipster places in the French Quarter that doesn’t scream tourist trap.

• Commander’s Palace: This is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in New Orleans, and Joy mentioned on her blog that it’s an institution in the city, since it’s been open for over 100 years. I felt very strongly that we needed to try it, although Danielle had concerns about what we would eat there, since they have kind of a weird, very seafood heavy menu. It was honestly a very odd experience; the wait staff is super intense, they have a dress code, they give you crunchy garlic bread on the table (at brunch) and I could go on. Dani ended up having a crawfish grilled cheese, and I tried shrimp and grits, both of which we had lukewarm feelings about. Our visit was redeemed by a fantastic strawberry shortcake for dessert, with fresh Louisiana strawberries. I could have licked the plate!

• Parkway Tavern: I did a lot of research on the best po’boys in New Orleans, but it was like trying to find the best deep dish in Chicago – everyone has a different favourite. We went with Parkway, because like Commander’s Palace, it’s been around forever. This was a quick Uber ride up to Midtown, and about a 20 minute wait in line (you order at a counter, and then find a place to sit outside). We each had a fried shrimp po’boy, and shared ‘slaw and fried pickles. I have to say, I think I did it wrong. I’m very wary in general of communal condiments (i.e. vats of onions, pickles, hot sauce etc.), so I didn’t add anything to my po’boy and it was missing a little oompf. Still ate the whole thing though! For dessert, we took home little styrofoam containers of banana pudding, which I am definitely going to make this summer.

• Willa Jean: We ventured over to Willa Jean for brunch before our Drake on Cake Workshop, and I fell in love. It’s super cute, very busy, and I wanted to order everything. We split avocado toast, a biscuit with jam and monkey bread with caramel sauce, which was so hot and fresh I couldn’t understand how they did it. We liked everything so much that we went back for dinner the next day, where we shared chicken n’ dumplings, a roasted beet salad, and cornbread with butter and maple syrup. For dessert, we had their warm chocolate chip cookies, which are served with vanilla bean milk and beater of raw cookie dough. Loved everything about this place!

• The Joint: When our day with Joy wrapped up, we took a walk along the Crescent Trail to The Joint. I somehow found this BBQ place through my googling, and it was on a list of the Top 25 BBQ restaurants in America. (Fox Bros. is on there too!). This is another neighbourhood spot where you wait in line to order and then find a place to sit. I had a pulled pork sandwich, Dani had smoked chicken, and we split ‘slaw, potato salad and mac & cheese. I loved EVERYTHING! I also knew this place was meant for me when I saw you could order ONE RIB, which was perfect for me. For dessert we had Peanut Butter Pie that was so light and delicious. I’ll be on a mission to recreate that this summer too!

• Best of the Rest: We picked up some Zapp’s Chips to try, and although the Voodoo flavour seemed scary, it was basically All Dressed. Southern Candy Makers has pralines and other treats to eat or take home. Café Beignet is close to the French Quarter and has great breakfast sandwiches. We tried their beignets too, and Danielle liked them better than Café du Monde!

Other non-foodie related notes:

• We stayed right in the French Quarter at the Omni Royal Orleans. It’s steps away from all the action (which is a blessing and a curse depending on your mood), but the best part is the rooftop pool! We went for a few swims at night to cool off and it was great.
• Bourbon Street is not for the faint of heart. We walked along on our first night at about 6pm, and that was enough for us. Very ‘Spring Break Vibes’. Can’t even imagine it during Mardi Gras.
• We didn’t do a lot of traditional touristy stuff, although there is plenty to do since there is so much history in the city and surrounding areas. The one thing we did do was go to Lafeyette Cemetery. New Orleans is known for it’s above ground cemeteries, and there are lots of creepy nighttime tours you can do, but instead we went during the day so I wouldn’t have nightmares for the rest of my life. Instead of going with a tour group, I just pulled up a self-guided walking tour on my phone and we followed it along and it ended up being pretty interesting. Also, Double Jeopardy filmed it’s scary cemetery scene here! If you think I watched this movie again as soon as I got home, you’re right.
• Magazine Street in the Garden District has lots of cute shops to pop into, but the best one is Lionheart Prints, which I learned about from Joy. I bought so many cute things here: greeting cards, a pair of earrings, ‘Yes Way Rosé’ cups and a print that says ‘To Infinity and Beyonce’. I mean, come on. This store was made for me.