Curious 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 on the tips of diners' tongues 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 getting plenty of attention, right now.
Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill
Open since August, this cocktail bar and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers tapas and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp.
Citywide, Cajun/Creole spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill saw a 52.4% increase, maintaining a strong 4 star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Cajun/Creole category: Eiffel Society has seen a 4.1% increase in reviews.
Located at 326 Camp St. in Central Business District, Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill offers a variety of Cajun dishes, like shrimp, gumbo and oysters. Try the Oysters Jimbeaux, which are char-broiled oysters, or the Steak Jimbeaux, a hand cut New York strip.
Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill is open from noon–11 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on weekends. (It's closed on Monday.)
Wakin' Bakin'
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Mid-City's Wakin' Bakin', the popular breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches, coffee and tea, has seen a major increase in foot traffic recently.
While Wakin' Bakin' stayed on par with the median 1.7% increase in new reviews businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a strong four-star rating, the number of visitors to Wakin' Bakin' more than doubled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
There's more that's trending on New Orleans's breakfast and brunch scene: Ruby Slipper Cafe has seen a 7.8% increase in reviews.
Open at 4408 Banks St. since December 2012, Wakin' Bakin' offers the Big John biscuit with sausage and cheddar. Also try the pancrepes and pork, which are thin pancakes with eggs and choice of bacon, sausage or ham from the menu. (See the full menu here.)
Wakin' Bakin' is open from 7 a.m.–2 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.
The Delachaise
Touro's The Delachaise is also making waves. Open since 2005 at 3442 St. Charles Ave., the popular wine bar, lounge and New American spot has seen a 1.4% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp — but visits to The Delachaise increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
The Delachaise offers dishes such as steak frites or flank steak brushetta on the menu, as well as chocolate molten souffle for dessert. (View the menu here.) Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.
The Delachaise is open from 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Monday-Thursday and noon–2:30 a.m. on Friday-Sunday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 12 a.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Thursdays, with a slowdown 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.
