Kraig and I spent our one year wedding anniversary in New Orleans. We stayed at La Belle Esplanade which is walking distance to the French Quarter and City Park.

We checked in late in the afternoon on Friday , so we decided to have dinner nearby at  Cafe Degas.  The walk along Esplanade Avenue is so beautiful with gas lit lamps illuminating the outside of houses along the street.

The next day we walked over to The French Quarter to do as most tourists do in New Orleans.

We went to the open air market for drinks and a spontaneous order of oysters. We walked around the area for a bit and then took a trolley ride and Uber to Avenue Pub for some beers and lunch.

Dinner that night was at Lola’s.   This is another restaurant that’s walking distance to where we were staying.The next day was our 1 year anniversary. We walked over to The Morning Call Coffee Stand to get beignets.We did not go to Cafe Du Monde because the line was out of control when we were walking by it.   Our bNb owners told us that The Morning Call Coffee Stand is just as good. It’s located in a park and there were a lot of local young families there enjoying their Sunday Morning.We went to Dat Dog for lunch and it was the best hot dog I’ve eaten in my life. I usually eat about one-two hot dogs a year around the 4th of July. If I lived in New Orleans, I would definitely be eating them more.Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly eat another thing we coincidentally walked by District Donuts which was on my list of places to eat at while in New Orleans. So you know, this happened too. Drool. A strawberry lemonade donut. I liked this place a lot more than the donut shops around here in Massachusetts.  They even have donut sandwiches.We had dinner at Atchafalaya for our anniversary.  It was so good and had great service. It was recommended to us by two different locals of the city.The day after we walked around the Garden District and saw some beautiful mansions in the city. It was the first day during our visit that the sun came out and the temperatures were very hot. Lunch was at the St. James Cheese Company followed by dessert at The Creole Creamery next door. We also grabbed a beer on the outdoor patio at The Bulldug Pub before we went back to the inn to freshen up for the evening.  

Dinner that night started with a cocktail or two at Bar Tonique before our meal at SoBou. We went to The Spotted Cat Music Club after dinner to catch some tunes.On our last day in New Orleans we ventured out to the Bywater area to eat a BBQ lunch at The Joint. I really loved my meal here. I’ve never been to Austin, Texas to compare it.  However, it is WAY better than anything  BBQ in Massachusetts you will eat.We also checked out one of the graveyards while we were in New Orleans, but I can’t remember which day this fell on.My favorite thing about New Orleans is the food. Boy is it good! I have to say that the all of these food places were great. We did not have one disappointing meal on our trip.  The people are friendly and there is a laid back atmosphere. I was surprised how many hipster looking people live there that look like they’re straight out of Somerville.

Another great thing about New Orleans is the music. I think we saw three parades during our visit and one of them was Treme Festival.

I really loved the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at. The innkeepers were great hosts and they served a doughnut from a different bakery in New Orleans daily. I have to admit I’ve never been really big on this whole donut craze. Donuts are like the new cupcakes and I don’t like when a place gets too fancy and sell green tea flavored donuts. Give me chocolate that is not spicy or wrapped in jalapenos. I’m getting off track here, my point is that the donuts they served at breakfast every morning were delicious. The standouts to me were a french chocolate eclair one morning (it’s basically a donut in a different shape) and then the other was a more traditional flavored chocolate glazed donut, but not the standard shape. So all it took was a trip to New Orleans to become a donut lover in life again. I was not a fan of the plain beignets, but I can see the appeal it sparks for other people.

We had a blast visiting New Orleans and I would definitely go back.