As my body aches after all the marching this past week, I dream about spa treatments followed by a light and refreshing Louisiana Seafood dish. My favorite spa treatment, particularly after parade season, is the foot reflexology and pedicure from Ayana at Belladonna Spa on Magazine Street.

Be certain to bring your walking sandals so that afterwards you can stroll down Magazine Street past the boutiques and chocolatiers to the Rum House. The Rum House is New Orleans’ only Caribbean Taqueria that serves Caribbean inspired tacos and island cocktails.  The perfect spot at which to relax after you relax at the spa.

The light and refreshing fish tacos are succulent and always very fresh.  Pair them with one of their many hand-crafted rums and you will be clocked in to Island Time – relaxed and care free.

Now that the Fat Bull has rolled down St. Charles and back to its barn, these fish tacos are just the beginning of six weeks of a heavy seafood diet in New Orleans.  Not that we don’t enjoy our seafood year round (Chef Frank Brightsen says New Orleans has four seasons: fish, oyster, shrimp and crab) but the six weeks of Lent that follow Mardi Gras, where many locals forego beef, adds and extra focus on Louisiana Seafood.

If you haven’t noticed yet, it’s not just seafood, it’s Louisiana Seafood.  Be sure to check for the caught in Louisiana stamp.

Some favorite Louisiana Seafood dishes around town that you should make an effort to try are:

  • Catfish Courtbouillon (COO-be-yahn) at Cochon
  • The plank fish at NOLA
  • Seafood Gumbo at ONE
  • Catfish poboy at Soul’s (in the old gas station at Washington and LaSalle)
  • Catfish plate at Mena’s (my favorite blue plate lunch spot located in the Quarter)

If you plan make your own favorite Louisiana Seafood recipe then pick up some fresh fist at one of the local farmers markets or the Big Fisherman on Magazine Street.
The Markets are:

  • Tuesday mornings uptown at 200 Broadway (enter on Leake Ave aka River Road)
  • Thursday afternoon in Mid-City at the American Can Company
  • Saturday morning downtown at the corner of Camp and Girod.

Relax and enjoy.

much love
Leslie

Out and About is a weekly blog by Leslie Compton of Every Thing Lovely, a special event and creative consulting team, and is sponsored by Key to NOLA Properties, a full service real estate brokerage firm specializing in furnished rental properties in New Orleans.  Key to NOLA Properties and Every Thing Lovely have joined forces to provide a full array of services for travelers’ (and locals’) personal and professional needs while in the Crescent City.