It was July 26, 2018. I was frustrated with work, as I usually am. My roommate was frustrated that she hadn’t traveled for her birthday (we did have fun renting a boat and spending the day at Disappearing Island though!). Then comes Spirit with the flight deals: a roundtrip flight to New Orleans, LA for just over $100 per person for my birthday weekend in December. It was purchased after less than two minutes of discussion.
I still can’t believe we actually booked the flight. I had experienced money issues since the beginning of the year, mainly due to my own poor choices and lack of planning. I had a big trip planned to Hong Kong and Taiwan in September, and was stressing about the logistics and finances of the trip. It seemed silly to book a flight nearly five months away. And yet it made sense. Anyone can afford a short weekend trip with that much notice. My roommate said we’ll book now and figure out the details later, which turned out surprisingly well.
We booked our Air BnB in the Garden District. I spent several hours researching safe and quiet neighborhoods in New Orleans that were still a short distance to the French Quarter. I chose our home based on its proximity to the Historic St. Charles Streetcar Line and the assumption that it would be quiet so we could actually get to sleep. I’ve always had wonderful experiences with Air Bnb, and this was no exception.
I am a big fan of Adventurous Kate, a trailblazer of the solo female travel variety who provides down-to-earth advice and recommendations to purveyors of her blog. She’s written a few posts about New Orleans, including a detailed and very helpful explanation of what to eat (https://www.adventurouskate.com/what-to-eat-in-new-orleans/).
Of note: my travel priorities are FOOD and MORE FOOD. I love to cook, and I love to eat, and the presence of good dining establishments is my number one criteria for a destination. I think it’s no secret that New Orleans is known for its food and drink scene. I loved Adventurous Kate’s idea of a food and cocktail tour, but my bank account didn’t agree. Also of note: I am not an all-you-can-eat type of person. I eat several times throughout the day, but my meals tend to be smaller. Luckily my roommate eats the same way, so I was lucky to have someone with whom to share New Orleans’ classic dishes. Considering this situation, I decided to create a Self-Guided Food & Cocktail Tour of New Orleans. I used my handy dandy bullet journal to keep track of restaurant recommendations, iconic cocktails, and local cuisine, which were numerous.
Our trip began on a rather stressful note: I woke up 30 minutes late, left my ID in my bedroom, and couldn’t pull up the boarding passes on my phone. Luckily TSA Pre-Check came to my rescue and we boarded our flight just on time. We arrived to New Orleans amidst December’s fog and drizzle in the early morning hours. We hopped on two city buses to drop off our stuff at our Air BnB. We only did this to save money, but the airport isn’t located too far from the city itself. I would choose a ride-share service on any return trips for the convenience factor.
Our first destination seemed obvious: Cafe Du Monde for chicory coffee and beignets. Although this is a major tourist destination, it is not to be missed. Skipping Cafe Du Monde is like going to Orlando and not visiting Mickey Mouse! We used the trolley to get to the French Quarter, then walked to Jackson Square, which looked ethereal in a dense layer of fog. 
Cafe Du Monde is conveniently located at the eastern corner of Jackson Square, across the street and right by the river. There was a small line, possibly due to the bad weather and early hour, but it didn’t deter us. We are Floridian girls after all, so we can equipped with raincoats and umbrellas. We were seated in the covered outdoor porch, which was full of camera-wielding tourists, powdered sugar mountains, and opportunistic birds. Their menu is very limited, which appears to be an asset based on the number of customers they serve. We both ordered the traditional Cafe Au Lait which consists of a coffee and chicory mix with hot milk and a plate of beignets. Chicory is a local ingredient that is used to round out the bitter flavor of coffee. Our coffee was earthy and hot, and the beignets were as powder sugar-covered as I could imagine. It was impossible not to leave sugar dust on every inch of fabric covering my front. Our bill was less than $10.
It was still cold and rainy, so we found shelter in the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. Admission is only $5 for adults. New Orleans is home to the first licensed pharmacist in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES! The first floor has displays related to various medical treatments that were popular in the past. It was astounding what they used to consider helpful; it’s no wonder that so many people never made it to age 50. The second floor has seasonal displays. In December 2018, they had an exhibition on medical interventions for women, which was both fascinating and horrifying.
We stopped at Gumbo Shop for a mid-afternoon bite to eat. We ordered boudin (a local pork sausage) with creole mustard and two types of gumbo. We both agreed the seafood okra gumbo was superior to the chicken andouille version, but the real standout was the boudin. Gump Shop is well-known by tourists and has received a variety of accolades, but it didn’t scream New Orleans to us, whatever that means.
We joined ghost tour hosted by Witches Brew Tours. This was a must-do item on our lists, and I found half-priced tickets on Groupon. Our guide was a paranormal enthusiast and self-described voodoo priest who led us through the French Quarter’s most historic and potentially haunted sites. Although we didn’t see any ghosts or ghouls, we did catch a second line wedding parade and learned about New Orleans historic figures. We walked through Bourbon Street on our way to the trolley for some people-watching. I definitely wanted to see this infamous street without partaking in its associated nefarious activities.
We were lucky to be in town during LUNA Fête in 2018, part of the tricentennial celebration. The Arts Council New Orleans produces this event annually. They use historic architecture as a screen for motion graphics and light and sound installations. We watched the show for about ten minutes, then perused the market stalls nearby. We ended up buying overlay photographs from a local artist.
We intended to have oysters at Seaworthy, but they were all booked up. We chose the nearly-adjacent Balise Tavern, and we were not disappointed with our high-brow cocktails, broiled oysters, and cobb salad (it had one of the best dressings I’ve ever had).
We began Sunday morning with the intention of diving into our self-guided food and cocktail tour. We started with breakfast at Cafe Beignet, another highly-recommended beignet establishment. This place was much more intimate than Cafe Du Monde, and as such I preferred it. We ordered beignets out of obligation and found they were even more delicious than those at Cafe Du Monde–they were lighter and fluffier, and I managed to keep my clothing power-free. We also shared a pecan waffle because we needed more filler than fried dough and powdered sugar.
It was very chilly this morning, so we headed to the Museum of Death to warm up (this seems counter-productive as I write this sentence). Cameras were not allowed, but I only wanted to reach for it a handful of times. The museum is divided into taxidermy, serial killer paraphernalia, antique funeral and coroner wares, crime scene photos, shrunken heads, and more. We spent most of our time reading about serial killers, most of whom were familiar and some who were not and were even more nightmare-inducing. The visit was morbid but unique.
Our first stop on our self-guided tour was Arnaud’s. I didn’t realize the menu was prix fixe, so we kindly ran out of there as quickly as possible and headed to their adjacent French 75 Bar. We ordered a French 75, which differs from the traditional cocktail in that it contains Courvoisier instead of gin. It was refreshing, faintly sweet and tart, and potent. It was almost too easy to throw back a few of these, but luckily the late 1800s bar was closing and prevented us from sitting there all afternoon.
Our next stop was the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone. The hotel itself was decorated for Christmas and was absolutely beautiful. Google said we were at the correct address, but we couldn’t find the entrance. The doorman must have this question a lot, and directed us to a building across the street that was under construction. After a good laugh, he pointed out the entrance we had just walked past.
The Carousel Bar itself has very limited seating, and all seats were a hot commodity around the revolving bar. We snapped some photos and instead option for a quieter seat in the back of the room. I ordered a Fleur de Lis, which features cucumber, gin, and ginger beer.
We went to the Roosevelt Hotel for their famous Christmas decorations and The Sazerac Bar. We arrived just as a couple was leaving. We shared our table with two women in their 40s/50s who had been best friends in high school but lost touch over the years. They recently had a high school reunion and reconnected, and they decided to meet in New Orleans for a girls trip that was similar to ours–focused on eating and drinking around the city. I ordered a Sazerac to say I’d tried one, but I quickly learned that I do not like rye whiskey. Next time, I’m ordering a Pimm’s cup!
Full of alcohol and empty of food, we made our way to Acme Oyster House based on several recommendations. Although this was clearly frequented by tourists, it seemed completely justified. We ordered oyster shooters, chargrilled oysters, and a fried shrimp po-boy. I tried to take the advice of the patrons next to us (“drink a little of the vodka first, the oyster will go down a little easier) but my oyster was a rather large and stubborn fellow. The vodka was gone, and I used to fork to fish him out of the shot glass. I can add oyster shooter to my list of “things I’ve tried and don’t want to try again.” The chargrilled oysters were absolutely wonderful. The garlic butter sauce was worth licking off the tray, and they were perfectly cooked–they didn’t even have the normal boogery texture of oysters! My shrimp po-boy was adequate–the bread helped sop up the alcohol in my system, but overall it wasn’t anything special. Our biggest regret is ordering only a half-order of the oysters.
We headed to Frenchman Street based on recommendations I received online and from the bartender at Balise Tavern. Our first stop was The Spotted Cat Music Club, where I ordered a lukewarm French 75 in a plastic cup in an attempt to stick with clear liquors for the night. We listened for a few songs, then headed to The Maison for a burlesque show. We were early, so we went downstairs to eat some much-needed food. I recommend the Chef’s Trio for a taste of gator and crawfish bites with a cup of gumbo. This gumbo blew Gumbo Shop out of the water! It was so much more flavorful. Our burlesque show was entertaining but didn’t contain the most sought-after performers. It was nice for a laugh and to take a break from walking and dancing to music. We headed to Three Muses on the recommendation of our tablemates at the Sazerac Bar. It was an absolutely beautiful cocktail bar where we made a few friends and shared a few drinks. We were about to finish the night when my roommate started talking to the bartender about her tattoo. She ended up giving us free drinks to the bar next door, Cafe Negril. This ended up being my favorite jazz club of the night! The atmosphere was great, and the band was lively and got everyone to dance. We probably had a whole weekend’s worth of drinks in one day, so we headed home around 1am. We ended up missing the last trolley, so I called my friend Uber to take us home which ended up costing less than $15 and saved us from walking the whole way back.
We awoke the next day just before check out and before our hangovers had completely kicked in. We stumbled over to a cafe we had seen while riding the trolley. We had a satisfying breakfast/lunch of Gracious Bakery–the name seemed fitting enough to fix our self-induced ailments.
Our final stop on our New Orleans weekend extravaganza was the World War II Museum. When I first found this museum while I was doing my research, I was surprised that such a museum would find a home in New Orleans. As an almost act of predetermination, NPR was showing a special on the importance of New Orleans in shipbuilding during the war. Louisiana workers at the Higgins ship building company managed to build 20,000 boats during US involvement in the war–a truly unbelievable number. This effort played a vital role in ending the European front and proving the Allies victorious against the Nazis.
The museum begins with a train ride through history to be acquainted with an individual involved in the war effort. The idea is you’ll go around the museum learning about the intricacies of war and gathering knowledge about your individual. I never actually figured out how this works, so I didn’t learn anything about my individual. Despite there, there is an overwhelming about of information available to digest. We spent four hours there and saw last than half of the space. We were lucky to be there during a special exhibition on Bob Hope. There were also areas designated for European, African, and Pacific fronts, war efforts by minority Americans, live at home… the list is nearly endless. I could have easily spent two full days reading everything and watching all the movies. If you are remotely interested in WWII history, this is not to be overlooked.
We had just under 60 hours in New Orleans–just enough to realize the city has many different faces. There is great local food, unique cocktails, beautiful architecture, and over 300 years of history to satiate any appetite. We found locals were friendly and happy to give their recommendations for dining, imbibing, and dancing. New Orleans puts a little jazzy pep in your step, even if you’re weighed down by a few too many Sazeracs.
PLANNING A TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS
ACCOMMODATION–I prefer to stay in Air Bnbs to get a true taste for an area. I know there are conflicting reports on the ethics of Air BnBs, mainly due to difficulties caused by tight rental markets and rising housing prices. We stayed in one room of someone’s home, which to me seems better than taking that rental space from a local. There are a variety of hotels available as well if you prefer. I chose accommodation in the Garden District based on factors that are important to me (safe, quiet, historic, convenient, and well-priced); I also looked in the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny.
TRANSPORTATION–I recommend buying a day pass for $3, which lasts for exactly 24 hours from the time of purchase. We were able to time our pass purchases perfectly so we only bought two passes for our three-day trip. You can purchase passes from the trolley operators in cash, or you can purchase them from local Walgreens. We had a hard time finding 1-day passes as they all seemed to be sold out. I recommend ride-share services such as Uber or Lyft for after-hours rides. We could have realistically walked back to our Air BnB from Frenchman St., but it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry, especially in a city notorious for its crime in some areas. I wouldn’t recommend driving a car. Our Air BnB had a parking place (I think), but parking was extremely limited in downtown. Any parking places we saw were full of banged-up cars.
EATING AND DRINKING–Everybody I talked to, visitors and locals alike, had their favorite restaurant or bar. My advice? Choose a combination of touristy restaurants and local places you pass on the street to compare them. You can’t appreciate a good gumbo if you haven’t had a boring one. You can’t appreciate a French 75 if you didn’t have one in a plastic cup…
BUDGET–We paid about $1000 for two people, all expenses included (Uber to MCO, public transportation, Air BnB, all food and drink, museum entrance fees, souvenirs). We also ate mostly appetizers or split entrees so we can sample as much food as possible. New Orleans certainly isn’t a cheap destination, but it doesn’t need to be an exorbitant trip either.
Emily's Epiphany 