New Orleans Specialty

Fat Boy Pantry curates everything we ever want to eat under one roof…in sandwich form. Ice cream (served in sweet buns), fried oysters, and ground lamb all get sandwiched between two carb-y slabs. The clean, all-white décor, La Marzocco coffee machine, and scoops of homemade ice cream all contribute to the modern soda fountain feel. Come for breakfast, come for lunch, come for dessert—the juice is always fresh, and the vibe fun.

While most of us are familiar with affogato—the Italian pick-me-up of ice cream “drowned” in hot espresso—we’ve never encountered a café solely dedicated to this one thing. The flavor combinations here are endless, though we especially love the bananas Foster, the tiramisu, and the matcha (but you can’t go wrong with the classic vanilla-and-espresso combination). Ice cream aside, the coffee holds its own. Skip dessert at whatever restaurant you’re eating dinner at and come here.

Each location of French Truck—there are three, though the Uptown outpost is our favorite—is wonderfully cheerful, decked out in bright shades of yellow and blue. The coffee is directly sourced from farms throughout Africa and South America, the fresh beans are roasted in small batches for better flavor, and the milk comes from a local dairy. Every detail of the experience is carefully considered. Pick up a few bags of beans to stash in your freezer on the way out—it makes a great memento of your trip.

Snow balls are a big deal in New Orleans, and there are a handful that stand-out as rightful heirs to the throne. One of these is Hansen's Sno-Bliz, which is still owned and operated by the Hansen family. In fact, Ernest Hansen invented the first ice shaving machine back in 1939, while his wife Mary got busy concocting flavors (it's a complicated dance of ice, syrup, ice, syrup, etc.).

This adorable corner market specializes in pretty much everything you need to host a great cocktail party from caviar, charcuteries, and cheese, to olives, salts, New Orleans-specific spirits, and excellent wines. They also cater.

The macaron craze sweeping the nation is undeniably best represented in New Orleans by Sucre, a burgeoning local chainlet that turns them out in every conceivable shade and color. They haven't abandoned their local heritage, though, because they also do a mean King Cake, made from Creole cream cheese and Danish pastry. If you need more of an incentive to stop by, little ones go nuts for their gelato, and they make great coffee. There's also a location in the Garden District.

The macaron craze sweeping the nation is undeniably best represented in New Orleans by Sucre, a burgeoning local chainlet that turns them out in every conceivable shade and color. They haven't abandoned their local heritage, though, because they also do a mean King Cake, made from Creole cream cheese and Danish pastry. If you need more of an incentive to stop by, little ones go nuts for their gelato, and they make great coffee. There's also a location in the French Quarter.

The mission of this volunteer-driven, sustainability-minded urban farm is to provide easy access to fresh produce—sourced from backyard growers and local micro-farms—to anyone who wants it via a cooperative market or a twenty-five-dollar weekly produce box. The farm itself is open to visitors and serves as training ground for anyone looking to start a community garden or farm of their own.

This history-rich space offers a stable of exciting vendors (fresh produce from local farms, cold-pressed juice, prepared foods) all under one roof. St. Roch Market is a pretty rad gourmet destination.

Here’s what you need to know about a Mahoney’s Po’Boy: The ingredients (there are 20 or so different combinations) are always fresh, the bread is exclusively from Leidenheimer bakery, and they come in two sizes—regular and large. They also taste amazing, and when paired with one (...or all) of the traditional Southern sides—fried tomatoes and Creole slaw are fan favorites—are next level awesome.