Unsure where New Orleans's in-the-know crowd is 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 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 sizzling hot, right now.
True Food Kitchen
Open since September, this New American, vegan and vegetarian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but True Food Kitchen saw a notable 210% increase, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: The Elysian Bar has seen a 22.4% increase in reviews and The Delachaise has seen a 0.5% bump.
Located at 801 St. Charles Ave. in Central Business District, True Food Kitchen offers charred cauliflower and roasted Brussels sprouts as appetizers, as well as pizzas and burgers. Also from the menu, try the Thai coconut sea bass. (View the menu here.)
True Food Kitchen is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Mr Ed's Oyster Bar & Fish House
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the French Quarter's Mr Ed's Oyster Bar & Fish House, the seafood spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Mr Ed's Oyster Bar & Fish House - Iberville bagged a 21.2% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 821 Iberville St. since December 2018, Mr Ed's Oyster Bar & Fish House offers grilled, fried and raw oysters. From the menu, also try the fried green tomato Napoleon, which are tomatoes topped with seafood au gratin. Looking for a Creole dish? Try the crawfish crab cake dinner. (Look here for the full menu.)
Mr Ed's Oyster Bar & Fish House is open from 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Monday,-Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Streetcar Cafe
Central Business District's Streetcar Cafe is also making waves. Open since March at 312 St. Charles Ave., the breakfast, brunch and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers coffee, tea and more, has seen a 10.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.4% for all businesses tagged "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in New Orleans's Cajun/Creole category: Gris-Gris has seen a 7.3% increase in reviews and Eiffel Society has seen a 4.1% bump.
Streetcar Cafe offers shrimp remoulade and blackened alligator bites among the menu items. Also check out the blackened redfish and the jambalaya. (See the full menu here.) Over the past month, it's maintained a superior 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Streetcar Cafe is open from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.
French Toast
The French Quarter's French Toast is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The well-established breakfast and brunch spot, which opened at 1035 Decatur St. in October 2018, increased its new review count by 8.5% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.7% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch."
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Ruby Slipper Cafe has seen a 7.9% increase in reviews.
French Toast offers a variety of menu items, such as savory crepes, as well as the signature King Cake French toast. (See the menu here.)
French Toast is open from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. daily.
Fat Boy Pantry
Lower Garden District's popular Fat Boy Pantry is currently on the upswing in the sandwich category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, this spot to score ice cream, frozen yogurt, sandwiches and coffee and tea increased its new reviews by 2.8% — and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Visits to Fat Boy Pantry increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 1302 Magazine St. since August 2016, Fat Boy Pantry offers a fried lobster po'boy sandwich, as well as a breakfast pita, with roasted lamb belly and scrambled eggs. (Check out the full menu here.)
Fat Boy Pantry is open from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and people visit Fat Boy Pantry most on Fridays and Saturdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.
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.
