New Orleans is a city that knows how to revel—and how to recover. As Mardi Gras season draws to a close with a final blowout on Fat Tuesday, a restorative brunch might be in order. You already know about beignets at Cafe Du Monde and eggs hussarde at Brennan’s, but consider these other Crescent City spots for an Ash Wednesday (or any old morning after) pick-me-up.
The Camellia Grill
Maybe it’s the crowds (count on sitting next to strangers at a snaking counter) or maybe it’s the fact that your waiter is wearing a bow tie, but the vibes at this Uptown institution might make you feel like you’re out on the town again. Good thing recovery meal options abound: po’boys, pancakes, chicken strips, a hefty chef’s special omelette with crispy hashbrowns, a bowl of gumbo…by the time you get to the famous chocolate freeze, you’ll be ready to get back in the saddle.
El Pavo Real
El Pavo Real in Broadmoor is closed on Fat Tuesday but open when it counts—on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. The neighborhood favorite serves breakfast all day; think comfort dishes like chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and burritos. Or opt for a healing chicken soup studded with carrots, potatoes, and cilantro.
Ayu Bakehouse
For elevated carb loading, head to this cozy bakery on Frenchmen Street in Marigny. On the savory side, there are classic ham and cheese croissants, a parm and chives biscuit, and the Boudin Boy, a pork sausage and egg wrapped in flaky dough. And for the sweet tooth, chocolate chicory croissants, cinnamon rolls, king cake, and the kaya bun, a laminated pastry brimming with coconut pandan custard. Wash it all down with a strong coffee.
Willa Jean
If you’re in need of a breakfast sandwich, the bakery and restaurant of pastry master Kelly Fields is the spot. Here, biscuits come loaded with sausage gravy, bacon, egg, and pimento cheese, or fried chicken and tabasco honey, or simple egg and cheese. Warm up on a boudin hand pie, and finish with a sweet pastry.
Atchafalaya Restaurant
Who says the party has stopped? First a grocery store, then a bar, and now a Creole restaurant known for its cocktails, this Irish Channel eatery serves a great brunch—try the duck hash, or the breakfast risotto with bacon cracklin’ gremolata, hollandaise, and poached eggs. Sundays bring live music until 3:00 p.m., and a Bloody Mary is obligatory, be it the classic or the Bywater Bloody, featuring jalapeño vodka, tomatillo, green apple, lemon, and ginger.
Wherever you can find it: ya-ka-mein
This is the down-low New Orleans hangover cure known as “old sober:” a salty, soy-forward soup of stewed beef, noodles, hard-boiled egg, and green onions, spiced up with Creole seasoning and hot sauce. Ya-ka-mein has no standard spelling and no set recipes; it’s an Asian–African American fusion dish with hazy origins, although one theory traces it to the city’s long-gone neighborhoods of Chinatown and Storyville. Today it’s the food of second lines and corner grocery stores—keep an eye out for pop-ups in the streets; stop in John & Mary’s Food Store on New Orleans Avenue for a takeaway; or sit in at Cajun Seafood on Claiborne Avenue.
Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina.
