11 April 2024
Find Rahm Haus ice cream at Courtyard Brewery. | Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA
Under-the-radar eats to tackle in a single day
Chef-run pop-ups are a wily beast — they can be hard to track down without a little extra sleuthing. The good news is that there’s no shortage of enterprising chefs in the Big Easy. Pop-ups thrive in the Instagram ecosystem, so find your favorites and dive in deeper: the pay-off is biting into something that isn’t found on any other menu in town. Here’s how to eat through some of New Orleans’s boldest pop-ups right now in a single day, whether you’re a local or an out-of-towner (and of course, check social media for the latest information, as dates and schedules may change).
For brunch
Start your day at the always-funky Okay Bar on Port Street, where Rabbit Hole Supper Club, run by chef Aaron Miller, serves food from 11 a.m to 4 p.m. most Sundays. Choose between dishes like greasy spoon-style eggs; bacon or tofu; grits or hash browns; breakfast burritos; buttered Bunny Bread or cinnamon French toast drizzled with real maple syrup. Miller also serves less breakfast-y dishes like spaghetti and meatballs and chicken dumpling soup. He occasionally does pop-ups at places like Barrel Proof, too, serving a hearty, old-school-meets-vegetable-forward menu, so keep an eye on the pop-up’s Instagram.
Third Wheel brings its own garden produce, homemade bread, and brunch specials to the table at Twelve Mile Limit, another pop-up hotspot, for Sunday brunch. Try fried chicken and biscuits with cheesy grits or lemon ricotta hot cakes with roselle syrup. (Third Wheel also does dinners on Wednesdays and Fridays.)
Onto lunch
Keep an eye out for Diva Dawg’s food truck rolling around town. When chef Ericka Lassair isn’t busy catering, she’s dishing up Creole-style hot dogs and other bites — think seafood dogs topped with fried oysters, gumbo mac and cheese, and lemon pepper chicken alfredo fries. Check Instagram for the latest dates and locations.
Craving crawfish? Bugging Out Boils has mudbugs and char-grilled oysters most Sundays at Miel Brewery. Also Sundays, Nola Crawfish King is boiling at the Broadside in April. (Even better, free live music in the background.) And though Larry Thompson of Mr. Shrimp has a permanent seafood stand as of this year, he still captures the pop-up spirit at the Riverwalk Outlets, slinging jambalaya pasta with crawfish tails and fried catfish.
When dinner time rolls around
For evening nibbles, head to chef Adam Meyer’s Txow Txow Modern Pintxos for riffs on traditional Spanish bites like skewered meats and vegetable and andouille croquettes. Meyer is just one example of a pop-up chef with a hefty CV — his experience includes a Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain as well as a stints at Shaya and BABs. Find him at Bayou Wine Garden, among other spots.
Alternately, finish the evening with a meal from chef Anh Luu — yep, that was her on Queer Eye. The former Bywater Brew Pub chef brings Xanh, her Vietnamese street food pop-up, to festivals like Bayou Boogaloo and kitchens like Mister Mao, where chef Sophina Uong supports pop-up chefs with a passion. Or order from Milkfish, chef Christine Quackenbush’s homage to her Filipino roots, served Wednesdays at Bywater Brew Pub and Thursdays at Twelve Mile Limit.
Most weekends, Weh di Sweet Yu takes over Madame Vic’s, the neighborhood go-to for live music at 1500 Elysian Fields. Chef Jen Sea’s food combines her love of her adopted home of Belize, her Midwest childhood, and her current New Orleans address. Look for dishes like vegan red beans, Shepherd’s pie. and Rice Krispies treats Wednesday through Saturday nights most weeks (check Instagram for hours). Matchbook Kitchen is at Barrel Proof Friday through Monday from 5 p.m., highlighting a range of Asian flavors with dishes like Kashmiris crab toast, coconut shrimp, and orange sesame chicken.
Late-night
For post-dinner bite head uptown to Carrollton Station, which spotlights Bronx-style Sammy’s NOLA from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Try savory sandwiches like the Pizza Place, made with marinara sauce, provolone, pepperoni, and fresh basil on a bun. (Pro tip: Earlier in the day, Bertie’s Intergalactic Diner serves Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. onward, serving out-of-this-world dishes like mac and cheese pancakes with hot honey.)
Finish the night on a sweet note with a scoop of Rahm Haus’s inimitable ice cream — chef Jillian Duran typically serves scoops (think Creole cream cheese and zabaione; salted vanilla; etc) until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at Courtyard Brewery on weekends.