NAPOLEON BON APPETIT -- After the Thanksgiving feast, your fridge is probably filled with leftovers. But with guest rooms full of visiting family and old friends back in town for the weekend, this is also prime time to get out of the house and meet up for quick meals.
Breakfast is perfect for this role, and New Orleans has a host of new spots for morning meals together out on the town. Here are five great picks:
Blue Line Sandwich Co.
2023 Metairie Rd., Metairie, 504-309-3773
This new breakfast and lunch café in Old Metairie can give a hearty start. The “corned beef & hatch hash” gives the Irish classic of corned beef a flavorful spicy edge from hatch peppers, and of course, girds it all with potatoes and eggs. The biscuit on the side and the jam to slather all over it are both made in house.
Live Oak Café
8140 Oak St., New Orleans, 504-265-0050
There aren't too many places around New Orleans that do good music and good food at the same time, and Live Oak café is rarer still because it does both in the morning. There's live music every day here, with acoustic combos or sometimes a piano player.
The menu has straightforward breakfast and lunch fare, with some fresh touches, like the house-made marmalades over the pancakes, Greek yogurt parfaits and sweet potato benedict.
Liz’s Where Y’At Dinner
2500 Florida St., Mandeville, (985) 626-8477
Liz’s has the feel of a classic, bustling neighborhood breakfast joint with the key difference that the neighborhood is in Louisiana. That means crabmeat galore across the creative and wide ranging menu and plenty of other seafood too. Try the crabmeat grilled cheese as a brunch dish, biscuits with roast beef debris or eggs with hot sausage and hollandaise. There's usually a wait to get in and that's for good reason
Willa Jean
611 O’Keefe Ave., New Orleans, 504-509-7334
The latest from the John Besh restaurant group has been bustling since its debut last year (also in the Paramount Building). It’s a bakery and café that can be as quick and easy as a grab-and-go a baguette sandwich or pastry from the walk-up coffee counter or a place to plan a sit-down family brunch (get a reservation for that route). There’s a full bar and a menu that can provide hearty snacks, a healthier start (avocado toast with greens and radish) and plenty in between.
The Ruby Slipper Cafe
1005 Canal St., New Orleans, 504-525-9355
This locally-bred brand now has four locations in the city. This Canal Street edition between the French Quarter and the CBD is the largest and most accommodating for a crowd, thanks to its roomy booths and its large bar.
The menu stands out by adding Southern flavor and Creole touches to brunch standards, with cochon de lait or fried chicken with tasso turned into egg Benedict dishes, BBQ shrimp and grits and bananas Foster pain perdu.
