Last summer, the Garden & Gun editorial team left our headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina, and headed to New Orleans for some frolic and inspiration. The plan was to spend our days brainstorming stories for 2025, and our nights exploring the town. The trip was such a success that it spawned the cover package of the issue you’re holding. (Not to mention the fact that the city will host the Super Bowl this year just ahead of a little shindig called Mardi Gras.)

And while you’ll find all sorts of smart recommendations from locals for the ultimate NOLA adventure in this issue, the editors couldn’t help dishing on a few of their favorites from the trip.
Senior editor CJ Lotz Diego, our resident New Orleans regular, led us to cozy Crescent City Books on Chartres Street. “A shelf full of local titles sits right by the entrance,” she says, “but I beeline for the awesome collection of art prints and antique maps.”

Our digital reporter (and wild child) Lindsey Liles found her happy place among the walking sticks and hissing roaches at the Audubon Insectarium—and grabbed a snack in its Bug Appétit section. “Our social media director convinced—coerced—me to eat crispy crickets tossed in Cajun seasoning,” Liles says. “Honestly, they were kind of good.” Though we were of course drawn to the latest and greatest, it’s still hard to top some of the classics, as associate editor Caroline Sanders Clements confirmed at the now 111-year-old Napoleon House, where she and several staffers stopped in for its signature Pimm’s Cup. “Our obliging bartender lined up seven glasses and adeptly poured the drinks en masse,” she reports. “He claims he’s poured upwards of sixty at the same time.”

We did actually get some work done as well, but it’s hard to complain too much when your working lunch comes from Cochon Butcher, one of the highlights for deputy editor Dave Mezz. “Following New Orleans resident and food writer Brett Martin’s sage advice, I went for the muffuletta,” he says. “In my mind, it’s quite possibly the perfect sandwich.”

Other highlights from the team included Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 for the best tiki drinks of your life, a tour of the Bevolo workshop and its iconic copper lanterns, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum for a deep dive into tinctures, and a stop at the Sazerac House.

As for me, I’ve admired chef Justin Devillier ever since I first tried his recipe for fried sea trout over grits with an egg topper, but after a staff dinner at his restaurant La Petite Grocery, I might as well run for president of his fan club. To start off, the G&G team snapped up delicious blue crab beignets and decadent ricotta dumplings. My panéed rabbit entree was both surprising and familiar, while others raved about the spaghetti studded with fresh vegetables. And the cardamom ice cream made the ideal capper.
Follow DiBenedetto on Instagram and X @davedibenedetto