My main reason for taking a trip down to New Orleans was to eat the food.

Unlike the challenges to finish exceedingly high numbers of food items (like Adam Richman in Man vs. Food: New Orleans), my culinary goal was a bit less ambitious. I did however want to eat some of the most amazing food that New Orleans is known for.

I was told before I traveled to NOLA that I could never have a bad meal in the city. After a couple of recommendations from friends and travel bloggers, I decided to embark on the famous food scene.

Two full days in New Orleans did not give me nearly enough time to visit all the places I wanted to eat at, however, I was able to try some really amazing food in the Big Easy.

Po’ Boys at Johnny’s Po-Boys

Address: 511 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Shrimp Po’ Boy at Johnny’s

My first meal in New Orleans was to Johnny’s Po-Boys (commonly referred to as Johnny’s).

Established in 1950, Johnny’s is the worlds oldest family owned Po-Boy restaurant and is located in the heart of the French Quarter. It was recommended to me by a friend-turned-local and I decided to go try it out.

When I entered the restaurant, there was a long line stretched to the back of the restaurant and out of the door. Every seat in the restaurant was full of people eagerly munching on the famous Po’ Boys. Having no idea what to order, I checked in on FourSquare to see what people recommended. There were a lot of recommendations for the 1/2 Po-Boy and Gumbo Special, so I decided to go with it. Both the shrimp Po-Boy and gumbo were absolutely delicious, and worth every cent

[these pictures taken with my iPhone can’t do the food any justice].

Beignets at Café du Monde

Address: 800 Decatur Street, New Orleans 70116

Beignets Cafe Du Monde

Beignets covered in powdery goodness

Located on Decatur Street, Café du Monde is a fairly popular restaurant known for their beignets and cafe’ au lait that I found out about on the travel blog Travel With Bender.

When I arrived there I was not sure how to go about ordering, so I stood in the line I saw stretched out of the right side of the building. I came to find out that it was the take-out line, and if I wanted to order I had to just find a vacant table, sit down, and wait for a waiter to arrive. I probably should have just stayed on the take-out line. The service was incredibly slow but in the end the beignets were worth it.

In case you don’t know what a beignet is (I just learned about it during my trip planning for NOLA), it is a light, crispy, warm pastry covered in powdered sugar (see picture below). Word to the wise: avoid wearing black and going on a windy day, or you will be bathing in powdered sugar.

Po’Boys and Jambalaya at Mother’s

Address: 401 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Jambalaya from Mother’s Restaurant

Mother’s Restaurant is also another famous Po’Boy restaurant in NOLA.

Mother’s is most famous for their Debris Po’Boy, which I found out about in the episode of Man vs. Food – New Orleans.

What is debris? It is beef cooked in beef stock for about 13 hours until it falls off of the bone, which it makes it extremely soft and tender. The Debris Po’Boy consists of the debris, mayonnaise, different kinds of mustard, and vegetables.

I also tried the jambalaya, which is rice cooked with chicken, homemade andouille (an-doo-wee) sausage, vegetables, herbs and seasonings. Both were delicious! [Debris not pictured here].

As aforementioned, I only spent two full days in NOLA and I was not nearly able to eat all of the food that I wanted to and I will definitely have to return to NOLA so I can eat some more and write v.2 of this post.

In the meantime, check out the sites these other travel bloggers to get ideas on what to eat when you visit the Big Easy. Happy Eating!