Good morning, afternoon, or evening!
Like a lot of people, one of my favorite things to do is travel. I love seeing how others live, eating good food, and truly absorbing the environment. When I retired last year one promise I made to myself was to travel more. I've always been intrigued by the south and its southern hospitality and had been wanting to visit some historic places...and of course eat some great food! Since myself and my significant other are both in the food industry, we decided to make this a "working" vacation.
Our first vacation following retirement included a few days in the beautiful, exquisite, warehouse district of New Orleans, Louisiana. Our hotel was thoughtfully placed within walking distance to a significant amount of restaurants, bars, and other attractions. Transportation was never an issue, as an abundance of Uber and Lyft vehicles were made available. My only complaint is the parking fee for your personal vehicle, which was at least $20.00/daily! This was disappointing since we had decided to drive. However, this was minor in comparison to the rest of the city.
Can I just say that southern hospitality is real?! We never had an interaction with a rude, disrespectful, or unpleasant person in the entire city! Whether it was hotel personnel, an Uber driver, restaurant staff, or a random person on the street, everyone was more than helpful...and nice! It was as if the entire city went through hospitality training. When you consider the people of New Orleans have faced one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history with Hurricane Katrina, the sheer glee of this city is infect. Tenacity and resilience are two words that come to mind when I think of New Orleans.
One thing that we love doing is eating local cuisine while we're in new cities. Let me tell you...the New Orleans did not disappoint...we literally never had a bad meal! Seriously, even the gas station food was incredible! I have listed a few of our favorite restaurants below. It is my hope that if you are ever in New Orleans, that you will take the time to visit these establishments. You will not be disappointed!
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| Briquette (restaurant) |
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| Briquette (restaurant) |
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| Briquette (restaurant) |
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| Briquette (restaurant) |
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| Briquette (restaurant) |
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| Me eating a beignet for the first time from Loretta's Authentic Pralines |
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| Loretta's Authentic Pralines |
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| Johnny Sanchez (restaurant) |
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| Johnny Sanchez (restaurant) |
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| Me at Johnny Sanchez |
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| THE BEST chocolate orange frozen treat at Johnny Sanchez |
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| Us at Johnny Sanchez |
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| Gus's World Famous Hot 7 Spicy Fried Chicken (restaurant) |
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| Gus's World Famous Hot & Spicy Fried Chicken (restaurant) Side Note: this restaurant serves 40 oz. beer 😉 |
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| Tommy G's Coal Fired Pizza (restaurant) |
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| Tommy G's Coal Fired Pizza: Truffle Fries |
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| Alligator Po'Boy at Corporation Bar and Grill |
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| Cafe Du Monde |
Briquette
701 S Peters St, New Orleans, LA 70130
FB: @briquetteNOLA
IG: @briquettenola
Website: www.briquettenola.com
Loretta's Authentic Pralines
13 French Market Pl, New Orleans, LA 70116
FB: @Lorettaspralines
IG: @lorettaspralines
Website: www.lorettaspralines.com
Johnny Sanchez
930 Poydras St Suite 101, New Orleans, LA 70112
FB: @johnnysancheznola
IG: @johnnysanchezrestaurant
Website: www.johnnysancheznola.com
Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116
FB: @cafedumonde
IG: @cafedumonde
Website: www.cafedumonde.com
Gus's World Famous Hot & Spicy Fried Chicken
308 S Diamond St, New Orleans, LA 70130
IG: @gusfriedchicken_nola
Website: www,gusfriedchicken.com
Tommy G's Coal Fired Pizza
901 Convention Center Blvd #115, New Orleans, LA 70130
FB: @tommygsnola
IG: @tommygs_nola
Website: www.tommygscoalfiredpizza
This was the best "working" vacation that we could have taken. It helped us to relax, while re-centering our business efforts. I think we needed to step outside the box and look at what others are doing in a completely separate region. Love and food, and love OF food is such a huge part of New Orleans. It speaks to the people, culture, and overall way of life. I believe we were able to bring some of that love back home to our life and businesses.
Most people who are not familiar with New Orleans, believe that all food coming from there this city will be spicy or Cajun style. This is not the case at all, at least not at the restaurants we visited. The food there is just very well seasoned as opposed to the perceived northern style of cooking. Returning home after having all of that delicious food was sort of difficult. We ordered out upon our return home and it seemed so underwhelming Nothing compared to New Orleans food...or perhaps it was the people...maybe both! Nonetheless, I plan on returning to the city of New Orleans in the very near future to absorb even more of the culture, people and of course, delicious food.
Thank you to the City of New Orleans, Louisiana for your unmatched hospitality, customer service, resilience, and tenacious energy!
Please visit my website: www.royalcottagellc.com
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