***This vacation was taken before I started blogging and before I started photos of my meals. It still contains relevant info on sightseeing and dining.***
Jazz..Mardi Gras..Bayou Country..Thats New Orleans!
Land of gumbo, shrimp, catfish, and alligator..Thats also New Orleans.
Fortunately for vegetarians, there ARE a few vegan travel dining options.

I decided to check out a West African restaurant called Bennachins.
Its centrally located in The French Quarter. The unique menu hails from Gambia and Cameroon – my first experience with West African cuisine. For a vegan, I am EXTREMELY adventurous in trying new cuisines! This is truely African, homestyle comfort cooking. The owners and chef hail from West Africa themselves. It is not 100% vegetarian. However, many items on the menu are indeed vegetarian or vegan. Its a cozy space. There are paintings and collectibles that remind one of the region.

A good option is the jama-jama, i.e. sauteed spinach. For an appetizer, try the black eyed pea fritters. They also have quite a few stews from which to choose. Fu-Fu is a mashed yam dish which is popular. . For a vegetarian soup, try the kidney bean. Then there are the staples of jambalaya and plantains. Truly a unique and tasty dining experience. They also serve a nice ginger beverage. This place is a gem!

For dinner on my second evening in town, I chose Thirteen. Its more of a bar and small restaurant. Its not 100% a vegetarian restaurant, but is popular amongst vegetarian diners. I ordered a veggie burger with fries. It was extremely good. The other benefit of eating dinner here is that it is located on Frenchmen Street – THE street to visit if you are interested in hearing AUTHENTIC New Orleans jazz, according to the locals. Its where they hang out! Lucky for me, sitting next to me at the bar during dinner was a local jazz musician who invited me to go club-hopping after we ate.

We checked out several clubs on Frenchmen Street – One club was known as an old time, Dixeland jazz club, another played more contemporary jazz, the third had a bluesy feel. All in a all a great evening!

Another tourist option I suggest is a haunted city tour. My evening tour group walked around The French Quarter while our tour guide pointed out haunted hotels, homes, and other buildings and shared their stories with us. I don’t believe in that kind of thing myself.

One of my FAVORITE activities(besides the great jazz music) was a Bayou Country swamp boat tour. It was arranged by a bus company in The French Quarter. However, the swamp itself is a good hour outside the city. The waterways in the swamp were vast and with every turn, the boat got deeper and deeper inside the bayou. The massive tree trunks in the swamp were a sight to behold. We even saw the swamp favorite, a 92 year old alligator called Big Al. He gets close enough to view but not close enough to pose any danger.

My tour was a combo tour which also visited a couple of stately plantations called Oak Alley and Laura Plantation. You can walk around inside of the elegant suites and then go into the sugarcane fields. Slave quarters are found on the grounds beside the planting fields. The sparsely decorated shacks would house several slaves who worked the plantation prior to abolition.

I also recommend you purchase some sugarcane products back in the plantation home gift shop: sugarcane candy, jam, and syrup. Yummy!

The following evening I embarked on a Dixeland jazz cruise on a steamboat, along the Mississippi River. The musicians played old-time jazz while guests dined on their meals, listened to the music, and enjoyed the scenery.

The one jazz club in the Bourbon Street area that you must visit is the old Preservation Jazz Hall. You can sit on the old, wooden floor and listen to old time jazz musicians up close. There are souvenir shops galore in The French Quarter. I even found a vegan praline almond treat.

Another fun vacation and vegan adventure!