To be honest, I am a very poor judge of time. I still consider the Italian Barrel in the Quarter to be a "new place" even though it has probably been there 15 years, just because I remember when my friend ran a smoothie shop in that location for a while pre-Katrina. I am not the "run to a new place" kind of guy as much as an "Oh yeah, I've been there 50 times, let's go again" kind of bore... But I started going to Shift because I knew the chef/owner/waitstaff power couple fro

We love eating. That is far from an original thought in this city. We love talking about food, also not unique. We have whole blog posts about Cajun Seafood, Frady’s, Loretta’s, and St Roch Market. We have interviews with folks who have local food spots like 3 Muses and Shift. I have made my living for almost 2 decades telling stories about the origin and history of neighborhood food. Besides those there are plenty of other places, some talked about plenty and some hardly men

1. Three Muses is always a favorite on Frenchmen, obviously, because you don't make folks choose between a great dinner, a tasty cocktail, and world-class live jazz (along with every other style y'all have playing there)—you mix all three perfectly. How do you manage to keep all three of those creative plates spinning seamlessly every single night? It sounds exhausting to me. Well….. I don’t know exactly how seamless it is these days, lol and it certainly has evolved many tim

I don’t have my future completely mapped out. I know I’ll keep eating, drinking, biking, and talking because those are the things I’m best at. I also doubt I’ll ever end up on death row. But if I ever have to order a last meal, I know exactly where it’s coming from: Cajun Seafood on Claiborne Ave. The whole reason we run our New Orleans Culinary Tour is to show people the incredible quality, variety, and cheap-as-hell brilliance of our neighborhood food. We focus on the Tremé

My whole adult life in New Orleans, I have lived within 10 blocks of the St. Roch Market. I lived walking distance away pre-Katrina when it was still Lama’s, I lived walking distance away when it was an abandoned symbol of a recovery going nowhere in the years that followed, and I still live walking distance now that it is a vibrant international showcase for local chefs. Only one thing has been steady: I’ve liked all of its eras. Oh, and even though it is walking distance, I

I love New Orleans, from the seeing the most obscure swampy corner in our inflatable kayak to the teeming Mardi Gras parades where you can't hide from the millions. You'll find many jaded folks putting down the old school New Orleans treasures, but that's not me. The New Orleanians of the past were right, and here are some of their best. Should we go to Preservation Hall, or is it too touristy? Preservation Hall is absolutely touristy, but only because us locals have been pa

Following my last post's dive into the neighborhood magic of Frady's One Stop, it’s time for another of the many types behind our local food. After 15 years of leading culinary tours on the Creole side of New Orleans, I’ve seen great places pop up, and better places close down. A lot of tasty memories live with my customers and me. Cheezy Cajun will always have a place in my heart with their cheese-filled boudin balls. I still dream about Chef Micah Martello's shrimp and grit

The Map of My Last Meal on Earth There is a lot of joy in my job. If you asked any New Orleanian what they would like to spend an afternoon doing, you would get a huge variety of answers... eating, drinking, socializing, costuming, playing music, second lining, fishing off the canal... our lives are good here... but I'd guess the top answer would be "telling captive strangers where we love to eat." I live the dream. At every stop on our culinary tour, I repeat, "This is one o

Getting our bearings in the beautiful Marigny. Here is why a first-day bike tour is the ultimate way to unlock the rhythm of New Orleans. To paraphrase the old expression: "When was the best time to take a bike tour in New Orleans? On your previous visit. When is the second best time? On the very first day of your next visit." Obviously, I’m biased… but I’ve been riding bikes and guiding long enough to know. I’ve heard it from enough customers who finished a ride and immediat