In the know: What's heating up New Orleans' food scene this month

In the know: What's heating up New Orleans' food scene this monthEmeril's New Orleans. | Photo: Jerry C./Yelp
Hoodline
Published on September 09, 2019

Want the intel on New Orleans' buzziest local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to uncover which eateries have been in the spotlight this month.

To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.

Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak this autumn.

Emeril's New Orleans

PHOTO: kristen c./YELP

Open since 2005, this popular New American and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood, steaks and more, is trending based on local foot traffic data.

While Emeril's New Orleans stayed on par with the median 1.5% increase in new reviews for New American spots on Yelp over the past month , the number of visitors to Emeril's New Orleans more than doubled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data. The restaurant maintains a  convincing four-star rating.

Located at 800 Tchoupitoulas St. in the Lower Garden District, Emeril's New Orleans offers a mix of classic Cajun/Creole and New American cuisines, such as homemade andouille and boudin sausages, grilled pork chops, seared scallops, stuffed clams, sugar cane-lacquered duck and grilled beef tenderloin. Check out the happy hour and cocktail menus as well.

Emeril's New Orleans is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. and dinner from 5–10 p.m. on weekdays, and just for dinner from 5–10 p.m. on weekends. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and people visit Emeril's New Orleans most on Fridays and Saturdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.

Cafe Beignet

PHOTO: jessica j/YELP

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the French Quarter's Cafe Beignet, a popular breakfast and brunch spot that offers sandwiches, sweet breads and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Cafe Beignet bagged a 3.8% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.1 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

Open at 600 Decatur St. since 2017, and one of several locations throughout the city, Cafe Beignet offers omelets, Belgian waffles, French toast, specialty sandwiches, coffee drinks and cocktails in addition to the eatery's fresh, homemade beignets.

Cafe Beignet is open from 8 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.

Monty's on the Square

Photo: Cindy t./Yelp

The French Quarter's Monty's on the Square is also making waves. Open at 801 Decatur St. since 2015, the popular Cajun/Creole spot has seen a 4.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Monty's on the Square's review count increased by more than 220%, and over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.

Monty's on the Square serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and offers a varied menu that features omelets, biscuits and gravy, sweet cream pancakes and a breakfast po'boy as well as pizzas, sandwiches, jambalya, fried shrimp and gumbo.  Handcrafted cocktails and a wide selection of local craft beers is also available. 

Monty's on the Square is open from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. daily.


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.