Good morning from Austin while I wait for my connecting flight in 30min. I am so sad this NOLA trip is coming to a quick in but it was such a good trip!! This is definitely one of my favorite cities in America because it is such a cajun foodie haven!

On the last day of NOLA, we started out early morning with picking up a rental car to drive to the swamp for an alligator tour. We then grabbed coffee and a super light breakfast at a local swamp cafe called J’aime Le cafe. It’s a cute little coffee shop in the middle of a plaza that has some basic coffees and breakfast items in small portions, but deliciously good.

Full Breakfast Special (2 eggs, grits, sausage) and White Chocolate Mocha. We shared this between the two of us. So little but it was just what we wanted! The grits was good (looks like porridge) and the sausage was so juicy and savory.

Then we went to the Jean LaFitte National Historic Park to meet with Louisiana Tour Company for our swamp tour. I originally booked a basic ferry boat for the tour but we got a free upgrade to the large airboat for the tour! YAY! That’s like $20pp extra! Hehe. My boyfriend was super stoked. He likes airboats because he thinks it’s cool being moved by a big fan.

The large airboats can go as fast as 50mph but with a boat full of about 17 of us, we probably went as fast as 30mph. It felt way faster though because we had to wear noise-cancelling headphones to block out the loud air fan. The boat wind was whipping everything so fast. It even rained so thank god for the ponchos!!!!

Spotter a baby alligator! Marsh animals eat marshmallows apparently.

I ate you yesterday 😬. Our tour guide let us hold his babe alligator. It’s about a year old. The skin felt surprisingly soft and smooth.

Then we went to New Orleans Boulder Lounge. We asked the front desk where was a good fried chicken that is walking distance from the gym. She showed us a hidden foodie gem. It’s called the St Roch Market in a big building. It’s full of little pop-up eateries indoors.

Fried cajun chicken with andouille sausage from Fete Au Fete. He sausage was deliciously juicy and savory. The fried chicken was moist and well seasoned and very tender.

Shrimp and grits from Fete Au Fete also! The grits were soft and chewy. The shrimp was plentiful. The sausage was a delight surprise. The sauce was savory and decadent and creamy.

Chargrilled oysters from Elysian Seafood. They were cheesy, buttery and heavy but goooooood.

We walked back to the French Quarter because we discovered it was less than a mile away. We might as well take advantage of our free parking spot!!

We wanted to eat some boiled shrimp at J’s Seafood Dock in the French Market area but they were already sold out at 4pm! So we headed over across the street to Coop’s Place for some delicious fried chicken and a drink. I had a glass of white wine. He had a beer.

3-piece cajun fried chicken seasoned with Coop’s bayou blend served with rabbit and sausage jambalaya and coleslaw. Now let me tell you something.. I think anywhere you go in New Orleans, you’re gonna get food fried chicken. You’re gonna get good shrimp and grits anywhere. It’s just what they’re known for and it’s their local food. Everyone knows how to cook it and they do it well. They might have a. Tweaked family recipe or a different style, but it’s gonna be bomb. This chicken was so tender and delicious. You can never beat cajun fried chicken!!!! The coleslaw was AMAZING. I normally don’t like coleslaw as a side but this was so good and creamy and refreshing. And the jambalaya? Was off the hook!!!!! It was just soo savory and that spicy kick. This jambalaya was just full of rich flavor and texture and depth. I was blown away by this plate!

Afterwards, we walked around French Quarter again for the last time. Oh! I forgot to mention that this weekend also happened to be the Southern Decadence Festival! The nice ladies from the very first restaurant told us on Friday that it was going to be PACKED: full of people, gays, celebrations! Almost as crazy as Mardi Gras but not quite. So we walked around, enjoying the lively and fun scenarios of bright and bold outfits, plastic beads thrown about.. it was just so amazing. We loved it.

Now for our last meal in NOLA, we made a compromise. He wanted fried chicken and I wanted boiled shrimp for the last time. So we got a little of both, got a bottle of white wine for the room.. “Let’s takeout both and grab a bottle of wine and eat and chill at the room.” Brilliant idea boyfriend!!!!! Plus, Popeyes was literally outside our hotel window and we couldn’t NOT try Popeyes while we’re in Louisiana…. we have been staring at the Popeyes outside our hotel window this whole weekend!!!!

From Clesi’s Crawfish & Catering, 1/2 pound of boiled shrimp with potatoes and corn. The seasoning was different from the first place, but still very good. I love sucking on the head to get the juiced up brains and all the sauce it was boiled in. Potato was good! Corn was over cooked..

From Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, 4-piece Spicy cajun fried chicken with one biscuit and a large mashed potatoes with Cajun gravy. Delicious! I don’t know if I can tell the difference from the ones at home though..

Here is our spread hahahaha.

Finally our last chance at the airport the next morning, NOLA’s version of their local chain coffee: PJ’s Coffee. Hot mocha and Vienna creme latte.

Overall, I loved, loved, loved New Orleans so much! It is just so fun. The food is so good. There is so much good food all around. There is so much variety of their good food. The people are nice and friendly. I am sad I’m leaving a city of such good cajun and creole food!!!!!!!!