The owner of Galatoire’s recommends a bistro that does “the best mussels in town”, one of New Orleans’s great old-time restaurants and his favourite grocery store
EATING OUT
La Crêpe Nanou
1410 Robert St, New Orleans, LA 70115; 1 504-899-2670, www.lacrepenanou.com
Very traditional French bistro in the Uptown neighborhood serving moules frites, escargots and local whole grilled fish as well as crêpes. “We can walk there, it’s just a couple of blocks away, and they probably have the best mussels in town.” – Bill
Clancy’s
6100 Annunciation St, New Orleans, LA 70118; +1 504-895-1111, www.clancysneworleans.com
Elegant restaurant serving classic Creole cuisine (sample dishes: veal schnitzel with fettuccine Alfredo, speckled trout, lemon icebox pie). “Clancy’s is such a wonderful restaurant, one of our favourites.”
Shaya
4213 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115; +1 504-891-4213, www.shayarestaurant.com
“Our restaurant scene used to be fairly monolithic but we have really diversified in the last 10 years. This new Israeli restaurant from [local restaurateur] John Beche has been doing remarkably well.”
Commander’s Palace
1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130; +1 504-899-8221, www.commanderspalace.com
One of New Orleans’s legendary old-time restaurants, going since 1880: think chandeliers, jazz brunches and turtle soup. “It’s a special place. The owner is a dear friend of ours. While we’re maybe in competition, I don’t view them as competitors – it’s more of a fraternity than anything else.”
New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co.
3005 Veterans Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002; +1 504-644-4130, www.nocbc.com
When discussion turns to where to get the best beignet (a type of fritter made from deep-fried choux pastry), the sparks start to fly a little. “It’s like swallowing a golf ball,” Karyn says of the average New Orleans beignet, “but at C&B they use water instead of milk, so you can eat a few of them.” Bill is slightly taken aback by this: “If you’re gonna eat a beignet you can’t worry about that stuff. They’re supposed to be unhealthy!”
BUYING IN
Leidenheimer Baking Company
1501 Simon Bolivar Ave, New Orleans, LA 70113; +1 504-525-1575, www.leidenheimer.com
Legendary bakery established in 1896. “Leidenheimer’s is the most famous bakery in the city. It’s the one that all the old-time restaurants have been using for decades.” – Karyn
Langenstein’s
1330 Arabella St, New Orleans, LA 70115; +1 504-899-9283, www.langensteins.com
“This is my local grocery store. It’s a very small neighbourhood place but they have beautiful cuts of meat and always have fresh fish and shrimp.” – Karyn
Crescent City Farmers’ Market
200 Broadway Street, New Orleans, LA 70118; +1 504-861-4488, www.crescentcityfarmersmarket.org (Open Tuesdays 9am to 1pm)
This is the Uptown branch of the city’s main farmers’ market – see website for other locations around New Orleans. “I’ll stop here on the way home from work to get fruit or vegetables.” – Karyn
Hollygrove Market
8301 Olive St, New Orleans, LA 70118; +1 504-483-7037, www.hollygrovemarket.com
“There’s really special place. It’s like a farmer’s co-op; they have beautiful cheeses, fresh vegetables and really good meats.” – Karyn