Sometimes the thrill of eating is the adventure and last night was one of those occasions for us. We initially started at Jacques Imo's, but when they told us we would have to wait 90 minutes we opted for a different dining experience. Let me also say that between the three of us we had received countless restaurant recommendations, when it comes to NOLA, everyone has a restaurant opinion. However, we (aka. me) started talking to our cab driver, the self-proclaimed "black Jesus," and I asked him where we should go for dinner. He told us to check out Feelings Cafe, which is a super cool restaurant on the edge of the French Quarter. It has incredible food and the restaurant itself has incredible ambiance and is full of history.


The restaurant is built on property that was part of the first privately owned plantation land in New Orleans. And the restaurant building itself is housed in one of the outbuildings of the plantation. The slave quarters are now the current patio bar area. And the restaurant just screams history, with it's exposed brick, old style wood ceilings and the patio being made from the brick of the old fireplace. The building is probably from around 1795, which is when Nicholas D'Aunoy purchased the land and buildings. I apologize for not having more photos, but we showed up late and the lighting was incredible for atmosphere and not so great for blog pics.

The menu has a Southern/New Orleans flair, but with a modern twist. They have the southern classics like gumbo, etouffe, etc, however they also have eclectic food options. The menu specializes in fresh ingredients and they are not laden with butter, which was a nice change from the highly fattening diet I have been sustaining for the last few days. Also if you are on a vegan or vegetarian diet, they have plenty of options and actually have a page of vegan specials nightly. They also have a full bar and a wine list that is a nice combination of domestic and international wines.

On a side note I have to say that being in NOLA has really made me more curious about French wines and it truly has pointed out my deficiency in that area. I have definitely stayed in a little California wine bubble, guess I need to branch out.

We started the meal with fried artichoke hearts that were served in a Creole mustard sauce, which made me want to lick the plate. And we actually liked them so much that we didn't even stop the eating process to take a picture, that is saying something.

I had the Blackened Creole Fish and it was incredible. The fish appeared to be pan friend in blackened seasoning and it had a fresh crab and tomato topping. This was perfectly cooked, fresh and heavenly!!


My bff had a blue cheese steak that was incredibly tender and the blue cheese was perfect, pungent but not too overpowering.

My bff's husband had duck breast over pecan rice.


And for dessert we had a traditional Southern bread pudding, however it had blueberries instead of raisins which I found to be such a nice change. . Plus we also had to try the Combination Pie, which was a French silk pie with a layer of peanut butter,  that was too die for!!


This was the perfect New Orleans dining experience. We loved that it was off the beaten path, especially since the Bourbon Street area was crazy in preparation for the Saints vs Falcons game today. We also loved the history of the building and obviously we loved the food as well. Cheers!!