Our recent trip to New Orleans to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary was without kids, which meant us adults had free range to eat what ever we wanted. It also meant that our near year long living as vegans process was temporarily put on hold while we attempted to eat and drink our way through New Orleans like any good tourist would.

We had opted to spend our anniversary at the Intercontinental New Orleans, which put us in an ideal location to get to any vantage point in the city within minutes.

Our first stop was to find a place to eat near Bourbon Street. Having just gotten off the place and checked into our hotel, perhaps Bourbon Street was not the most ideal place to give us our first impression of the city.

Various adjectives could be chosen to describe Bourbon Street on our afternoon walk, but in talking with locals, we quickly established that Felix’s Restaurant would be how we kicked off this gastronomic journey.

Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Address: 739 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Located on the corner of Bourbon Street and Iberville, what Felix’s lacks in decor is made up for in tremendous hospitality and fantastic oysters no matter how you cook them.

We opted for the char-grilled oysters and the Felix Special Po-Boy sandwich.

To say we were impressed would be an understatement! The char-grilled oysters are open flamed and served piping hot. The flavor was absolutely incredible.

Also not to be missed was the po-boy, which was packed full of oysters and also delicious. Having eaten several po-boys in my lifetime, starting off with Felix’s version changed the way I look at the sandwich forever.

Also make sure to try any of the oysters with the Crystal brand hot sauce (affiliate link) on each table. We loved it so much we immediately had some shipped to our home.

Carousel Bar & Lounge

Address: 214 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Located inside Hotel Monteleone, the Carousel Bar offers a special treat of experiencing a rotating bar themed to an old carousel.

While the cocktails are pricey, getting out of the sweltering heat to enjoy one of the freshest pina colada’s I have ever enjoyed was quite worth the rotation around the bar.

The bartenders were all miserable to deal with at the Carousel bar, but it was a fun experience none-the-less.

Shaya

Address: 4213 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Thanks to a special recommendation from Phil Rosenthal, we made an advanced reservation to try out the James Beard award winning Shaya Restaurant.

Shaya presents a modern Israeli cuisine that is simply a delight for your taste buds.

This was one meal where we opted for our traditional vegetarian/vegan options given their accessibility.

We opted for the salatim starter that included Lutenitsa (roasted pepper, eggplant, tomato, garlic), Tabouleh (parsley and bulgar wheat salad, red onion, toasted pecans, lemon), and the tomato dish which I can not recall what it is named.

For our main meal we opted for small plates of roasted cauliflower (olive oil, sea salt) and Persian rice (golden crust, cherries, brown butter).

Absolutely fantastic from beginning to end. Our only complaint was they were very picky with bringing over more Israeli bread, which is kind of the whole point of enjoying the various dips.

We ended the meal with desserts of “milk and honey” (cheesecake, mixed nut granola, pomegranate caramel burnt honey gelato) and warm cinnamon babka (wood roasted peaches, sweet cream gelato, baharat peach butter, cookie brittle).

The cheesecake was far superior to the babka, but glad we were able to try both.

Shaya in general was an absolute delight!

Morning Call vs Cafe du Monde

Post an unpopular opinion: I am not a fan of beignets.

Coming into New Orleans, I knew it was inevitable that I would be required to eat some beignets, the classic French donut doused in powdered sugar. However, I was lot enthralled with the idea of having white all over my cloths for the entire day.

However, to my delight, both Morning Call and Cafe du Monde allow you, the guest, to put as little or as much powdered sugar as you want on the beignets. Jackpot!

The New Orleans beignets were way better than I even imagined! Having tried both Morning Call and Cafe du Monde, personally, I much rather enjoyed the Morning Call version. However, the wife preferred Cafe du Monde.

No matter what, my opinion is forever changed and I have joined the masses with enjoying beignets!

Farmers Market

Address: 1100 N. Peters Street

We can not recommend the Farmers Market enough in New Orleans. Not only were there some good food options, but the flea market allows guests to pick up souvenirs at a fraction of the price of any of the stores within New Orleans. Trust us, we price shopped. Plus you can negotiate the prices.

For food, on one visit we tried some fresh seafood from J’s Seafood Dock.

We opted for some fried oyster breads and a crawfish empanada. Both were relatively good.

On a subsequent visit, we opted to eat breakfast at Meals From the Heart Cafe. I can not stress enough how much we LOVED this place! The owner and staff were the absolute best and they provide many homemade vegan options that are incredible!

I opted for the homemade crab cake po-boy and WOW! Made from artichokes and chickpeas, this is a dish I could come back and eat every week! I have yet to ever try a crab cake that was good in my entire life, and this vegetable version absolutely accomplished it.

Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29

Address: 321 N Peters St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Nestled inside the Bienville House Hotel, Latitude 29 is a classic tiki bar featuring hand-crafted cocktails and an impressive menu that is far from casual bar food.

While the drinks are really pricey, the food, at least during our lunch visit, was rather affordable.

We opted for a fried shrimp banh mi sandwich with roasted green beans and side of island macaroni salad.

The drinks were good as well as the atmosphere, but the food was fantastic! Simple, yet really flavorful. Instantly took me back to my times in Hawaii!

Mulate’s Original Cajun Restaurant

Address: 201 Julia St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Near the end of the trip, and on the drive back from a visit to Mardi Gras World, we made our Uber driver pull over when we saw Mulate’s. The idea of trying some authentic Cajun style food caught our eye and we knew we could not go home without trying some.

We tried the Mardi Gras Shrimp (Golden fried popcorn shrimp tossed in a Cajun spiced honey mustard), a bowl of seafood gumbo, and Jumbo Lump Crabmeat AuGratin (Jumbo Lump crabmeat in a spicy blend of cheese and cream baked to a bubbly perfection. Served with homemade cole slaw and a twice-baked potato).

The shrimp was good. The gumbo was good. The Crabmeat AuGratin…was…OUTSTANDING!

Again our daily lives eliminate cheese and meat, including seafood. The AuGratin was incredibly rich and flavorful! It paired EXCELLENT with the twice baked potato.

Thank you Mulate’s for introducing us to some incredible Cajun cuisine!

Also on this trip, at the recommendation of our Uber driver, we tried the original muffaletta sandwich from Central Grocery. While we could see the appeal to many, I am not a fan of olives, nor do I eat any meat in normal everyday life, so I was not the biggest fan.