City guide · New Orleans · May 9, 2026
New Orleans
Oysters, alligators, and sunshine oh yeahhhh
With Benny’s last spring break approaching in a week, we reached a unanimous decision that New Orleans would be our first long-ish travel destination together. The draws were clear: cajun spice, brackish water oysters, crawfish, alligators, jazz, sunshine, Sinners(2025) (meh), and daiquiri drive-throughs... It is always nice to escape from the city for a little bit and start missing it a couple of days later.
TLDR
Key Stats:
- Beignets consumed: 14
- Oysters: 18
- Ghosts seen: 0?
- Avg walking speed: 0.1 mph
- Max beignets/day: 11
- Bee stings on Benny’s forehead: 1
Must Try Restaurant/Dishes:
- Pêche
- Ayu Bakehouse
- N7
- Saint Germain
- Charbroiled Oyster
- Crawfish anything
Between Meals:
- Swamp Tour
- Jazz Bar
- Ghost Tour
- Read “Streetcar Named Desire”
- Hop on the city bus?
- DON’T GO TO AUDUBON PARK
A note for our friends:
We made this blog for you to slow down, maybe chuckle a little, and most importantly, ignite your own passion for food. Think about how your meal tastes in words, and that might just brighten your day. We can’t wait to share our New Orleans trip with you :D
Where we stayed
If you are into ghost hunting, day drinking, jazz, and can sleep through a bar fight like a baby, we recommend staying around the French Quarter.
If you are into art, I guess you could stay in the warehouse district with lots of private galleries. It is definitely more niche, but it is easy to overlook when you are stuffed full of Louisiana area 3 oysters.
If you are indie, hippie, or fake indie/hippie but secretly have a trust fund, stay in Bywater Period. Scroll further for explanation.
City rats like us stayed in the outskirts of the French Quarter, close to the river. The center of chaos is within walking distance, and it is just quiet enough to fall asleep at night. We stayed at Loew’s New Orleans and can’t complain about the spacious room and amazing southern hospitality.
FOOD
This was a food-first trip for us, so we will start with that cuz that was the HIGHLIGHT!! We only made one reservation before coming. That was at Emeril’s, the only Michelin two-star restaurant in the American South. This would also be the first-ever Michelin two-star restaurant that either Benny or I have been to. This was by far the most expensive and special meal of our trip, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cool fine dining experience. This one was definitely a splurge, though, since we were looking for something special, so I will cover the highlights of the other places we visited or came across in our research first.
We PLAN our itinerary around FOOD. We think about what to eat for lunch tomorrow after dinner. A recurring conversation between us goes like this:
V: Ugh, I am sooo full
B: Me too. I can’t even walk
(On the stroll back to the hotel in 0.1 mile/h)
V: Sooo, what should we get for lunch tomorrow?
B: That restaurant we passed by that day looks so good
V: Omg yes!!! I want to try…(probably naming too many dishes for both of us to finish)
(Then we research the activities in the neighbourhood. You know, just try to pass our time before we get into the business.)
We have A LOT to say about the food scene in New Orleans, hence this blog. New Orleans is a pretty walk-in-friendly city compared to the City, but there are a few hot ones in town that you should definitely reserve ahead of time for peace of mind. We only made one reservation ahead of time at Emeril’s, and it did not disappoint. This one was definitely a splurge, though, since we were looking for something special, so we will cover the highlights of the other places we visited or came across in our research first.
MUST GO/MUST TRY
When we say MUST GO, we mean we could eat there at least 4 times a week and wouldn’t get tired of the food; we mean the servers would know our names and chit chat with us, and know our regular orders if we lived in the city; we mean you can’t properly claim to have visited the city without trying them first. You get the gist. MUST GO.
Pêche – This is hands down one of the best restaurants in New Orleans. They have the freshest Louisiana Area 3 Oyster in the house. We are talking about ice-cold like you can taste the El Niño effect from the Gulf of Mexico(or America🙄). Slurp one down, and the first thing you feel is not the perfect briny taste but their soft, plump body. It is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing being I got to taste the PHATTEST oyster. The curse being I will never look at an East Coast oyster the same. Those coin-sized New York oysters cannot satisfy me anymore. I WANT TO BE STUFFED DOWN BY SOME GOOD LOUISIANA AREA 3 OYSTERS. Then, you start to taste the ocean along with the freshness of the lemon pulp bursting in your mouth, which transitions into a creamy, buttery taste and ends with a hint of sweet aftertaste that makes you crave more. I just know on a blazing hot summer afternoon in the City, I will be sipping a cold IPA and eating a petite East Coast oyster, but my heart, mind, and soul will be thinking and craving the Louisiana area 3 from Pêche. (Bonus Point: Vivian found a tiny pearl from her oyster, so you might also get new accessories if consumed enough numbers)
We ordered a baked drum for our main. I(Benny) was pretty skeptical about freshwater fish at first. If not prepared well, freshwater fish can have an unwanted muddy taste. But to my surprise, the baked drum was tender, soft, and tasted heavenly in this deep, flavourful, and umami broth. The notes of soy sauce in the broth really brought the whole dish together and connected well with the sweet potato sesame mochi. We were pleasantly surprised that the owner presented the dish with a fusion twist that felt natural rather than forced. The notes unfold in our palate like a symphony. The only regret is not being able to fit more into our stomachs. You might be wondering how 6 oysters and one fish filled two people up. Well, we had 3 pastries and two matchas right before we came to Peche. You might be thinking ooh right before, like 2 hours or so before. NOPE. We had the same Lyft driver picking us up to Ayu Bakehouse and picking us up from Ayu Bakehouse to Peche. It was…a ride of shame with our Lyft driver silently judging.
Ayu Bakehouse – I said it: there is absolutely no point living in a city with no good bakery. I stand by this. Deeply. I want to start my morning with two pastries, two GOOD pastries, at a minimum. Ayu Bakehouse definitely satisfied my moving requirement. We tried the boudin boy, shroom boom, and chocolate babka knot. The pastries were served warm with a side of chili crisp(we suspect it could be 老干妈). Anyone who came up with this pairing deserves an accolade. We dipped all of the pastries in the chili crisp, and all of them felt like a match made in heaven. Shroom boom was flaky with deep umami flavour, which got brought out even more by the little kick of the chili crisp. The chocolate babka knot dipped in chili crisp was my(Benny) personal favorite. Nothing beats a savory and sweet combo. The bakehouse is fire, but I have to say: their matcha tastes like water. Honestly, asking more is dangerous because it might prompt me to move to the Big Easy. Get a coffee and not a matcha.
Charbroiled Oyster – Garlic, butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano, the holy trinity. It is almost impossible to have food that tastes bad when you put these three together. I want you to imagine the golden garlic bits and the hint of sweetness it possesses from frying in that rich butter. Imagine how the sweetness intensifies through contrasting with the umami and nuttiness of the Parmesan cheese. Then, all the notes get tied up with the oyster’s own liquor. The oyster stays tender and minerally underneath it all, but now with smoke, richness, and that deeply savory finish that lingers long after the shell is empty. We tried Maria’s Oyster Bar and Otis Seafood. Both serve incredible charbroiled oysters, but we think they will taste good, probably anywhere, so try them all and tell us your favorite place! If we are coming back to New Orleans again, I think we might just spend one day charbroiled oyster house-hopping. Half a dozen here, half a dozen there, half a dozen around the city, and I will be a happy man.
Honorary Mentions
There are more good restaurants out there, and we tried a lot of them. There are some dishes, not necessarily the restaurant, that stood out to us, and we felt absolutely heartbroken if they couldn’t even earn a place in our blog. So here we go.
Blue Crab Hummus (Saba) – This might be the best hummus I(Benny) have ever had. Not that I am some grand hummus authority, so I am open to challenges. But still. It was silky, buttery, and just garlicky enough, basically everything you would want from a hummus, except better. The generous chunks of blue crab gave it this sweet, briny richness that took it from a very good dip to something genuinely memorable.
Crab Beignets (Rosie on the Roof) – If you are nerds like us and spent the day at the WWII Museum, this is your sign to grab a fresh IPA and head up to the rooftop next door for the crab beignets. These were honestly way better than we expected. The shell was crisp, light, and surprisingly delicate, especially considering how generously packed they were with crab. Thin, airy, and not greasy at all, they felt less like a heavy fried snack and more like a very dangerous thing to keep eating one after another.
Acamaya – Vivian liked the crab tostada and hamachi. It was good, but I put this restaurant on there because of the beer. I got Monstruo de Agua Blanca de Maguey and was blown away. It features unique local ingredients, including agave nectar, bitter orange from Yucatan, and coriander. It is known for its refreshing, light-bodied profile with citrus and herbal notes. Some GOOD GOOD IPA.
Regrets of the Century
N7 – How can I even begin to describe N7? Let me quote their website:
“N7’s name derives from Nationale 7 (N7), the highway that once ran from Paris to the border of Italy. Known as the “Route des Vacances”, vacationing Parisians would take the road on their way South. Along the way, the Michelin Guide would direct them to the mom and pop restaurants, which began to appear in farmhouses and hotels along the way to cater to them. Hence, the origin of the Michelin Star.”
Ohhh, did I mention that it is an ex-horse stable turned tire shop turned Michelin guide restaurant, which is frankly enough to make me reconsider my entire life path. All I want now is to run an ex-horse stable turned tire shop turned Michelin Guide restaurant and source everything locally
We first heard about it because we were doing what we do best: deranged food research on Reddit. We were not even looking for the restaurant itself. We were looking for THE BEST creme brulee in New Orleans, and then someone mentioned a soy sauce creme brulee. I(Benny) have no form of self-control when it comes to creme brulee, let alone SOY SAUCE CREME BRULEE. My curiosity always triumphs.
We showed up, and immediately the place made us feel stupid for not having booked earlier. It was dangerously pretty. The kind of enclosed garden patio with plants, flowers, and fairy lights that makes you feel like everyone there is about to have a better night than you. They were fully booked, which already hurt, but we still tried to salvage the situation by asking if we could just get the creme brulee to go. Just the dessert. Just one tiny life-changing soy sauce creme brulee. The hostess was this close to making our dreams come true before the kitchen shut it down. Honestly, I get it. But also, I have not emotionally moved on. At this point, not getting into N7 feels less like missing dinner and more like a personal failure.
Saint Germain – Saint Germain also made it onto our regret list because, apparently, New Orleans has a whole category of restaurants whose main hobby is being lowkey. This one is tucked inside a house(a literal house, like not a restaurant, a house) near N7, has a Michelin star, serves a tasting menu that changes every day, and refuses to post the menu online like it is above normal human behavior. Which, to be fair, kind of works on us. There is something extremely seductive about a place that gives you no details and still makes you want in. Add natural wine, a cozy little house setup, and that intimate “you are about to have a very curated evening” energy, and now we are fully sold on an experience we have not even had. Some places earn hype because the food is good. Some places earn hype because they make you feel like you are missing out on a secret. Saint Germain feels like both, which is annoying, because now we have to live with that.
Activities
1. Take a swamp tour
We booked the Cajun Encounters (https://www.cajunencounters.com/) swamp tour for $60/person including transportation (bus from New Orleans to the swamps and back). Many tour companies offer bus transportation from the city, which is very convenient if not renting a car. Ubering to the swamps is not recommended since it will be very hard to get an Uber back. Our bus driver doubled as a chill semi-tour guide and he pointed out fun New Orleans sights to see along the way (mainly big graveyard 1 and big graveyard 2. He said the biggest graveyard though is actually the French quarter itself).
New Orleans is built on and surrounded by swamps, so going on a tour to see nature is an activity I would highly recommend. During different seasons you can see some different wildlife and plant life. We saw a lot of alligators, raccoons, and some small snakes. In fall I think you can also see wild boars (fact check).
Our tour guide told us Louisiana is rapidly losing land into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of an acre every 25 minutes, due to levees stopping the Mississippi River from depositing sediment to replenish the land. New Orleans might be underwater in 25 years.
Since the water was cold in the days leading up to our visit, we also learned that alligators get reptile dysfunction when it’s too cold. When the tour guide tried to feed them, the food pellet would go into their mouth on one side and come right back out. They have glands in their throats that expand in the cold and prevent them from swallowing. They usually hibernate for months but can hibernate for years if things are bad. Older ones are affected worse (just like humans).
2. Go on a ghost tour
New Orleans is considered the most haunted city in America, so a ghost tour is a must! We did one at 5pm (booked on Viator) when it was still bright out because I am a weenie. It was a great way to learn about New Orleans history and Louisiana voodoo, the unique religion that developed as a mix of West African traditions and Catholicism. After this tour though I did start getting kind of paranoid when we were walking around at night. There was one street in Bywater where it felt like the sound of wind chimes was following us…
3. Go to a jazz bar
Both the French Quarter and Frenchman street have a lot of jazz bars you can pop into. The most famous jazz club is Preservation Hall, for which you should purchase tickets in advance. We went to the Spotted Cat on Frenchman. I don’t know that much about jazz though and Benny didn’t love the set that was playing that night either so we just left early :P.
4. Don’t go to Audubon park
Unless you want permanent bee trauma.
Itinerary Breakdown by Day
1.
willa jean
french quarter
emeril’s
caesar’s casino (lost $50 on roulette)
2.
saba
audubon park/tree of life
magazine street
otis seafood restaurant
muriel’s (for mid crème brûlée)
3.
pool
hot bennys
maria oyster bar
wwii museum
rosie’s rooftop
ghost tour
sun chong
4.
swamp tour
ayu bakehouse
pêche
gym
acayama
anna’s bar
spotted cat
Notes
Sweetbreads are not bread. They are the intestines of young animals.
Follow @vivianzhang on beli
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