If you’re a regular reader here, you may have wondered where the Tuesday Travel Tips posts have gone.  They are continuing, only as a new series on BootsnAll called RTW Wednesdays.  Be sure to check out my inaugural article today!

Even if my first couple trips to New Orleans didn’t revolve around food, I’ve more than made up for it in the last few visits.  One of the best parts about traveling to the Big Easy is its incredibly delicious cuisine.  Cajun, seafood, and po boys are just a few of the wonderful things this city has to offer when it comes to culinary treats.

The last two times we visited New Orleans, the focus was on the food.  While there were some ups and downs this time around, we still tasted and tried some amazing food at some great restaurants.  The best food experience we had, ironically, was probably one of the cheapest and one that we researched least.

If you’re heading to NOLA any time soon, be sure to check out some of these great restaurants.

Johnny’s Po Boys

About three years ago when we last visited New Orleans, this was one of our favorite spots.  Located in the French Quarter not far from Jackson Square, Johnny’s usually has a line out the door.  With countless options to choose from, including shrimp, crawfish, soft shell crab, and any combination of the usual meat staples, there’s a lot of options here.

My take: Back in 2008, this was one of our favorites, and this time Johnny’s was the first place we ate in NOLA.  I was extremely excited, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  We got one shrimp po boy, one crawfish po boy, and one soda, and it was about $30.  A bit high for two sandwiches and a drink, I thought.  And while the seafood was good, there wasn’t a lot of shrimp in the shrimp po boy (compared with the overflowing crawfish in the other sandwich, and the bread was a bit chewier than I remembered.  I like my french bread crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, but this had a chewiness that neither of us were huge fans of.  I’m sure I’ll give it another try on another trip, but we had better while here, and I’m sure there’s better options outside the Quarter.

Bootlegger’s

On our first night in town, yet to check into our hotel, and after an afternoon of wandering the Quarter and drinking beers while watching the NCAA tournament, we were starving.  We were in the mood for some traditional NOLA food, gumbo, crawfish etouffee, barbecued shrimp, or some combination of those. We were heading towards another place based on good reviews, but it was closed.  So we wandered around a bit more before stumbling into this little divey type bar.  We were lucky we did.

My take: We ordered a BBQ shrimp po boy (served with sweet potato fries), an order of gumbo, and a bowl of shrimp bisque and split it all.  The gumbo was the only thing that wasn’t top notch (though it was still quite good).  The shrimp bisque was outstanding, with a delicious, flavorful, and creamy broth surrounding the succulent shrimp.  The po boy, now this is what I was wanting at Johnny’s.  The bread and shrimp were both perfect, and then there was the dipping sauce.  A perfect blend of buttery, spicy, tasty, rich goodness in a bowl.  I could have drank the sauce, but alas, I wasn’t quite drunk enough, so I settled for dipping my sandwich in it instead.

Evelyn’s Place

This was where we hoped to have dinner the previous night, but they were closed.  Located in the French Quarter right off Canal Street, Evelyn’s Place was billed as a bit of a dive that served good, cheap New Orleans style food.

My take: We loved the atmosphere at lunch time as it was fairly empty with two employees (looked like a man and wife, maybe Evelyn herself?) that were very nice and friendly, as most people from New Orleans are.  The food was super cheap (about $6 each for both gumbo and red beans and rice), but it wasn’t my favorite.  It wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t stand out.  The gumbo was a bit watery and bland for my tastes, though it did seem to get better as the meal went on.  It was the broth that could have used some work, in my opinion, as it wasn’t as rich and flavorful as I like the broth in my gumbo to be.  Red beans and rice is admittedly not my favorite cajun dish, though Megan loves it, so while I wasn’t a huge fan of it, she did seem to enjoy it.  Again, not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Cajun Seafood

I stumbled upon the Cajun Seafood Market, located outside of the downtown touristy areas, while perusing the internet waiting for Megan to get ready.  And boy, I’m so glad I did.  Nothing more than a big warehouse housing all types of seafood and a few long, cafeteria-type tables, Cajun Seafood is the place to go if you’re looking for good, fresh, cheap fish.

My take: We ordered a pound each of steamed shrimp and crawfish, all for a whopping total of $11.50.  We took said seafood out to Audubon Park, found an empty picnic table, and devoured.  Then we ate more.  Then more.  Then it was gone.  We were sad.  These delicious bags of shrimp and crawfish were steamed perfectly and seasoned with some heat, giving them that extra little New Orleans flavor.  This was perhaps our favorite part of the trip, our seafood picnic in Audubon Park, and it was completed with an afternoon of laying on a blanket, reading, and watching the world go by.  A glorious afternoon.

Cafe Negril

Located on Frenchman Street, known for it’s conglomerate of live music venues that used to be off the tourist radar, Cafe Negril is a reggae bar with a taco stand in the back.  Keeping it simple by serving tacos and burritos for cheap (1 for $3, 2 for $5), this is a great place to grab a quick bite to eat early before hitting up some of the other music clubs, or late night when you’re starving and on your way back to the hotel.

My take: We were here early when no music was playing, so I can’t comment on the entertainment, but the food was quite good.  Simple, very well seasoned and cooked, and for a great price, this was an great place to grab a quick bit before moving on.  We had one chicken and one beef taco, and both were quite tasty.  They had several sauces to add, and the pico on the tacos was freshly made and tasted great.

Luke

When reviewing restaurants while heading down to NOLA, this was near the top of our list.  Located in the business district on St. Charles in between Poydras and Canal, we decided to hit up Luke for a late lunch to take advantage of their 50 cent oysters and half price drinks for happy hour.

My take: I’m torn on Luke.  The oysters were fantastic, and at 50 cents a piece, you can’t beat it.  The rest of the meal was a combination of a bad order on my part and one poorly executed piece by the cook on the other dish.  We ordered the pressed sandwich of whole roast “cochon de lait” (suckling pig), which was their take on a cuban sandwich, and the BLT, which was a normal BLT, but with crab added to it.  I should have asked about the crab, because it was a few pieces of fried soft shell crab, which is not what I had in mind.  My fault.  The brioche bread was outstanding though, as was the bacon, but I’m just not a big fan of fried soft shell crab, so again, a bad order on my part.  The cochon de lait would have been the best thing we ate all week, except they BURNED THE BREAD.  We should have sent it back (since it was an $15 sandwich, but we didn’t.  The service was great, and the pork and ham on that sandwich was mouth-wateringly delicious.  But I simply couldn’t get past the burnt bread.  All in all, it was a good meal, and I’d love to try it again, but for a $65 lunch, not really worth it, in my opinion.

Bullet’s Sports Bar

We ended up at Bullet’s on our final night, a Tuesday, to see local New Orleans musician Kermit Ruffins perform at his weekly spot.  Outside of Bullet’s was a food truck selling barbecue and all manner of fried seafood.  For a mere $9, we ordered the friend shrimp with fries and a salad, and went into the bar and had a seat.  About 20 minutes later a man came with a big bag of food, looking for me,  as he told me I’d be easy to find as I was “the guy with the gold hat.”

My take: Hell yeah!  This is what I’m talking about when it comes to visiting a city I’ve been to several times.  Here we were, miles outside downtown and the Quarter, in a neighborhood bar seeing a fantastic musician and eating food from a food truck.  The styrofoam container was bursting at the seams with shrimp and french fries.  The shrimp were oh so tasty, with a light, perfectly textured batter that was super flavorful but complemented rather than overpowered the shrimp.  I love fried shrimp, but I’m picky about them, which is why I hardly order them anymore.  Too many places screw them up by putting a too-thick batter on them or overcooking them.  These were absolutely perfect and amongst the best I ever had.

Surrey Cafe and Juice Bar

While packing up our last morning in the Big Easy amidst a massive rainstorm, we decided to go for one more meal before leaving town.  It was breakfast time, so I simply typed “breakfast” into Yelp.  Surrey was the first place that came up, and after reading two reviews then looking at the menu, I made an executive decision and stated that we were heading here before leaving town.  This quaint little Garden District cafe was just what the doctor ordered.

My take: In what was perhaps our best all around meal from top to bottom while in NOLA, I have been dreaming of Surrey since we returned to St. Louis.  Megan ordered the crab cakes benedict (that’s right, crab cakes instead of an english muffin), while I ordered the crab meat omelette.  Both dishes were masterfully done.  The eggs on my omelette were fluffy and delicious, and it was stuffed with avocado and brie cheese, with a creamy lump crab sauce on top.  The crab was amazing and you could taste it perfectly within the creamy sauce.  Megan’s crab cakes benedict was one of the better breakfast meals I’ve eaten.  I’m also picky about crab cakes, and nothing irks me more than a too-thick batter.  These were assembled and cooked perfectly, along with wonderfully poached eggs and a scrumptious hollandaise sauce slathered on top.  The side order of grits was equally impressive, and even the biscuits as a side were perfectly done.  Just a spectacular meal to send us off right from one of our favorite culinary cities.

This particular trip to New Orleans had its ups and downs as far as food, but the delicious meals we had far outweighed the disappointments.  Have you ever been to New Orleans?  What were some of your favorite dishes and places to eat them?  Comment below!