A New Orleans Chef's Three Favorite Spots to Eat on His Day Off

A chef in New Orleans walks through three spots he hits when he is not behind the line. The picks cover a classic sandwich shop in the French Quarter, a bakery known for its chocolate babka, and a pair of neighborhood bars in Mid City where craft cocktails come in pint glasses. No white-tablecloth destinations here -- just the places a local cook actually goes on a day off.

Stop 1: The French Letter (French Quarter)

The chef starts at the French Letter, a spot he has been visiting since he was a kid. Standing outside the restaurant -- green and red Italian flags hanging from the facade, a sign overhead advertising "Beer in a Frosted Mug" -- he explains this is where he fell in love with the place.

The order: fried green tomatoes topped with shrimp and remoulade, plus the namesake French Letter sandwich. The fried green tomatoes arrive golden and crisp, each one crowned with plump shrimp and a generous drizzle of pink remoulade sauce. The French Letter itself gets praise for its crunch and contrasting textures, with whole olives mixed in -- a nod to the Central Grocery muffuletta tradition without being one.

The chef points out that the French Quarter used to be called Little Palermo. Many of the area's legacy restaurants have Sicilian roots, and this spot carries that heritage.

Stop 2: Chocolate Babka

The second stop is a bakery for chocolate babka. The pastry is a swirled tower of flaky, laminated dough laced with dark chocolate -- the kind of thing where each pull reveals another layer of melted filling. The chef admits he once ate an entire loaf by accident. In the frame, you can see a second pastry dusted with powdered sugar sitting on a metal tray alongside a small cup of what looks like a fruit compote.

Stop 3: Drinks in Mid City

For cocktails, the chef heads to his home turf in Mid City and names two bars. The first is 12 Mile Limit, which he describes as a dive bar that happens to serve craft cocktails in pint glasses. The second is Bayou Wine Garden, a spot for natural wines on tap and well-made cocktails. Both lean casual, fitting the theme of the whole list: places where the food and drink are serious but the setting is not.

Key Takeaways

• The French Letter in the French Quarter serves a solid fried green tomato with shrimp remoulade and a signature sandwich with crunch, olives, and Sicilian-Italian roots.
• The French Quarter's Italian heritage runs deep -- it was once called Little Palermo, and that influence still shows up on the menus.
• Chocolate babka from this bakery is rich enough to eat a full loaf in one sitting (the chef speaks from experience).
• 12 Mile Limit and Bayou Wine Garden in Mid City are the chef's go-to bars: dive-bar atmosphere, craft-cocktail quality.
• The common thread across all three stops is unfussy food and drink in low-key settings -- the kind of places locals keep in rotation.