Vegan in New Orleans

Prior to going to New Orleans for ALA, there was a lot of virtual hand wringing on Twitter about where vegans and vegetarians could eat. Many people were concerned they'd find nothing. I understood their concern but I wasn't worried. Prior to ALA in 2006, I was really worried about being a vegetarian in New Orleans. I did some searching online and it seemed like there was damn close to nothing veggie plus it was ten months after Hurricane Katrina. Just because I found a restaurant online that was veggie friendly didn't mean they would even be open or be veggie friendly when I got there. But, you know what? I had no problems. So... I knew if I had no problem being vegetarian in New Orleans ten months after Hurricane Katrina, I would be fine being vegan now.

And it wasn't.

Ruby, Frenchie, and others sent me links and information on vegan restaurants in New Orleans. The site New Orleans in Green was super helpful. So was just asking friends in New Orleans and the area for vegan-friendly suggestions. And, as so many people don't realize, southern hospitality is alive and well in New Orleans. We were company. If there wasn't anything on the menu, they will make something for you. And in the end, Twitter turned out to be wonderful. I would tweet every place I went so other vegans attending ALA knew that plenty of places were vegan-friendly. I also did it to prove that New Orleans is more vegan-friendly than people realize.

I at a lot, and I mean A LOT of food, so this will be a long post.


Green Goddess, French quarter, lunch

This place was on my list of places to go and it was so amazingly good. Seriously. It was my first meal during my trip to New Orleans and it totally set the right mood. Yum yum yum yum. 

Avocado and cucumber soup (cold). This was served with dots of creme fraiche, so I had to ask for a different bowl, but it was no big deal. 

Muhamarra: Syrian dip made from roasted red peppers, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses. Served with apples, roasted red and blue potatoes, roasted carrots, roasted asparagus, and heart of palm.  

B&B Cocktail. I didn't see this on their online menu, but it was yummy. All I remember is cucumbers, ginger and Flor de Cana Rum, and other stuff, too. It was delicious. 

Singha Thai Cafe, Central Business District, dinner
This place was good. I'm not going to jump all over and proclaim it the best Thai food ever, but Thai food is comfort food to me. After a very long day (I took the red eye and arrived in New Orleans about 10:00 am, so I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day), a plate of yellow curry and a couple of Singha beers was just what I needed. And it was right down the street from our hotel. I asked about fish sauce, and at least in their curry, there was no fish sauce.

Yellow curry with veggies and tofu. 

Carmo Cafe, Central Business District, lunch
Lunch on Saturday turned out to be an adventure. I had to spend all day in the Convention Center area, and there aren't a lot of restaurants, nonetheless vegan-friendly restaurants around there. I had planned on going to a sushi place about a block from the Center, but it appeared to be closed. So I walked up Julia Street to the Carmo Cafe, a Caribbean-inspired cafe. There was a short line when I got there, and within minutes the line was out the door. And it was a little place. They had to stop taking orders to catch up and then they were doing to-go orders only. And the woman behind me said, "I don't think they realize that 20 percent of librarians are vegetarian and they are all coming here for lunch." I grabbed my Vegan Rico to go and ate it in the Convention Center (but not before I ran into the blues archivist from Ye Olde University, who I greeted with, "Hey, hippie." He has crazy long hair and is also a vegetarian) I would love to've gone back to Carmo Cafe to try more of their vegan-friendly menu, but I didn't have a chance.

Vegan Rico: A grilled plantain patty toped with melted Vegan Gourmet "cheese" (or you could go with Daiya or nothing, vegan ham (the non-vegan version had pulled pork), salsa fresca and tangy-sweet-spicy "Rico" sauce.

Gumbo Shop, French Quarter, dinner.
Just Jess, Frenchie and I met for dinner Saturday night. We went for a beer while we tried to figure out where to go. I had a list of places, but most of them were pretty far, and I had a big blister on my foot so walking a long distance was not something I really wanted to do. But, after consulting my list, I found out the Gumbo Shop was listed as vegan-friendly. I called from the bar and found out they had vegan gumbo. They do have a daily vegetarian special, but it is not always vegan, but their Gumbo Z'herbes is.

You can't go to New Orleans without drinking a daiquiri. Or two. I had one before during dinner (mine's the lime one), and a strawberry one for desert. 

Gumbo Z'herbes. It's listed under appetizers as being available in  a cup, but you can get a bowl. It was dark in there, so this isn't the best picture. 

Attiki Bar & Grill, French Quarter, lunch
I had a meeting at the Marriott on Canal St that morning and had to be at the Convention Center for a session that afternoon. I had a little over an hour for lunch and didn't feel like going to the Center and then hiking to Carmo. A friend (and librarian and vegan) told me about Attiki Bar & Grill. She and her wife had been there in 2006. So... I went around the corner to Attiki Bar & Grill. It was good and basic and comforting. I asked the waiter about the sesame sauce (tahini, I'm sure) to make sure it was vegan--it usually is, but I thought I should double check. I didn't take the hookah they offered me after lunch, though.

Falafel wrap and fries. Washed down with an Abita Amber. 

Bennachin, French Quarter, dinner
I've been to Bennachin before. I was there in 2006 and it was excellent even though the place was packed and the menu was limited (and they were beginning to run out of things). I met some old friends here for dinner Sunday night and it was the best food I had the entire time I was there. It was so good I could've eaten there every day for the whole time I was in New Orleans. The waitress told me all the vegetable dishes were vegan.

Kone ni Makondo (black-eyed peas in a tomato sauce, coconut rice, and friend plantains). Let me just say this: I love plantains. And black-eyed peas. And coconut rice. This was amazing. Seriously. I can still taste it. I want to have it right now. I could eat it every day. Washed down with two Abita Ambers purchased from the market across the street.

Walking back to the hotel, I stopped in a tourist store to pick up something for a coworker from New Orleans.  I settled on a jar of olive salad for each of us--because it's awesome. As I was telling the cashier who I was buying it for he said, "If I were to ever leave, what I'd miss the most was Crystal Hot Sauce." My first question: "Crystal with a 'C' or Krystal with a 'K,' like the hamburger place?" So down the street from the hotel, I stopped at a minimart and picked up some Crystal Hot Sauce. (Was my coworker happy with her olive salad and Crystal Hot Sauce? Very.)

Olive Salad and Crystal Hot Sauce

While picking up the Crystal Hot Sauce, I decided to grab a beer. What did I find? Lazy Magnolia's Southern Pecan. This and Lazy Magnolia's Blue Heron were my beers of choice in Ye Olde University Town. But back then, you could only get it on tap or in a growler. So, when I saw this, I bought three. And one more the next day. The cashier had never heard of it but swore she'd try it. I forgot to have her open it or to buy a bottle opener, so when I got back to the hotel, the night desk clerk gave me a screwdriver from their top drawer.... which is how I opened my Southern Pecan. A jacked-up bottle opener for a jacked-up hotel (a whole different story). The next night, I told the minimart cashier how I got the other bottles open and she said, "Oh, bless your heart."

Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan

Back to the Garden, Central Business District, lunch
Back to the Garden was a hike from the Convention Center, but it was Monday, and for those who have never been to New Orleans, many restaurants are closed on Mondays--and Carmo Cafe was closed. I was with a friend (and librarian and vegan). We needed to talk about a research project we're working on together, so we hiked down past the WWII museum, past some circle to Howard Street where we found Back to the Garden. It is simple, down to earth, and nothing fancy. I appreciated that. They had several vegetarian choices that could be vegan if made without cheese. The chili had protein crumbles in it. I don't know what brand (not all are vegan), but I decided to go with the ignorance is bliss mentality.

This was the first time while there that I ordered iced tea. For those of you who don't know, ordering iced tea in the south is as complicated as ordering coffee in the Pacific Northwest. First question to ask: sweet or unsweet? I hate sweet tea. Hate it. I was happy that they had unsweet, but I did forget to say no lemon. Because they always put lemon in tea.

Vegetarian chili, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and unsweet tea. What you can't see is the fruit cup. I'm used to eating a lot of fresh fruit, so after several days of no fruit, I was craving any kind of fruit. This was decent. Basic. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was comfort food for sure. I did dump a decent amount of Crystal Hot Sauce on the chili.

Mona's Cafe, Marigny, dinner
I had wanted to go to 13 (which is in the same area), but the kitchen was closed for renovations. I had heard good things about 13, so I was really looking forward to it. But it wasn't meant to be. I met a Facebook Friend for drinks and dinner. We started with a beer at Molly's at the Market and then headed to Mona's. It was yummy, for sure. Like Thai, Middle Eastern food is comfort food to me

The veggie platter: falafel, tabbouleh, hummus, and baba ghanoush. I had the veggie stuffed grape leaves for an appetizer. They came with a creme that I didn't eat. All washed down with an Abita, of course.