Wondering where New Orleans' insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at New Orleans businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.
Jewel of the South
Open since March, this cocktail bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, cocktail bars saw a median 2.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Jewel of the South saw an 83.3% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Wrong Iron has seen a 24.1% increase in reviews, and Evangeline has seen a 3.4% bump.
Located at 1026 St. Louis St. in the French Quarter, Jewel of the South offers menu items such as veal sweetbreads, beef short ribs and ham terrine.
Bordeaux
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about West Riverside's Bordeaux, the French and Cajun/Creole spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Bordeaux bagged a 70.6% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a healthy four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on New Orleans' Cajun/Creole scene: Gumbo Ya-Ya has seen an 8.5% increase in reviews, and Morrow's and Mahony's Po-Boys & Seafood have seen 9.8 and 9.3% increases, respectively.
Open at 4734 Magazine St. since February, Bordeaux offers menu items such as pheasant, flank steak and blue fin tuna.
Daisy Mae’s Southern Fried Chicken and Breakfast
Central Business District's Daisy Mae’s Southern Fried Chicken and Breakfast is also making waves. Open since October 2018 at 920 Poydras St., the breakfast and brunch spot, which offers comfort food and more, has seen a 31.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.6% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Daisy Mae’s Southern Fried Chicken and Breakfast's review count increased by more than 160%.
There's more than one hot spot trending in New Orleans' breakfast and brunch category: French Toast has seen a 13% increase in reviews, and Ruby Slipper Cafe has seen a 11.6% bump.
Daisy Mae’s Southern Fried Chicken and Breakfast offers Southern fried chicken, po' boys and collard greens. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing four-star rating among Yelpers.
House of Blues Restaurant & Bar
The French Quarter's House of Blues Restaurant & Bar is the city's buzziest Southern spot by the numbers.
The Southern and New American spot, which offers burgers and more and opened at 225 Decatur St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 18.9% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.4% for the Yelp category "Southern."
House of Blues Restaurant & Bar offers menu items such as jambalaya, brisket and gumbo.
Cuñada
The French Quarter's Cuñada is currently on the upswing in the bar category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this bar and Mexican spot increased its new reviews by 8.6% — and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 320% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 833 Conti St. since 2017, the business offers menu items such as enchiladas, tacos and ceviche.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
