Laissez Les Vegan Temps Rouler
If you're vegan, food can be a little trickier to find in crawfish country, and there isn't much joy of living to be had if you can't get what you want to eat.
Folks around the world love New Orleans for its music, food, and joie de vivre, but while music seems to waft from every open window in the city—when it's not being played right on the sidewalk—vegan-friendly fare on par with the town's traditional tastes does exist, albeit sometimes in surprising places hiding in plain sight.
Vegan Dishes in NOLA
Common varieties of gumbo, a dish emblematic of New Orleans, include chicken, sausage, or seafood, but the dish has a traditional meat-free version developed for Lent—gumbo z'herbes. Situated in the French Quarter, the Gumbo Shop continues this tradition, though, according to Assistant Manager Tiffany Burgin, perhaps to meet a different need. "Most of the people that we see asking for gumbo z'herbes are either vegetarians or vegans," she said. "We do sell more of it during Lent, but it is very popular year round."
Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club provides not only live music performances by local luminaries and international stars. The long-established family-owned supper club maintains a dedicated sub-menu of vegan variations of favorite dishes. With everything from a hand-held "oyster," as in oyster mushrooms, po-boy—a plant-based alternative to the Big Easy's signature sandwich—to red beans and rice served with a vegan alternative to andouille sausage, it's a true New Orleans experience.
New Orleans is an international city, and its foodways reflect the different cultural traditions of its population. Two-time winner of the Vegan Chef Challenge, Thaihey has a substantial number of vegan dishes that reflect the influence of Buddhist beliefs in Thailand.
Two local izakayas, a style of Japanese bar that serves small-plate dishes, offer vegan options. Sukeban, in the Riverbend neighborhood, regularly features several vegan temaki (sushi hand rolls) on its menu following the style of shojin ryori, the vegan diet of Japanese Buddhist monks. Nikkei, a new bar and restaurant inside the Broadside event venue, has numerous vegan plates that reflect the various culinary traditions of the Japanese diaspora, using locally-sourced foods and incorporating a hint of regional influence. This is evident in the crispy nori tacos, a favorite of diners both vegan and not.
In the city's Central Business District, Espiritu Mezcaleria and Cocina serves the traditional food of Mexico, including dishes hailing from southern and central Mexico, the culinary traditions of which are less well represented on this side of the border and which include a much larger percentage of plant-based recipes. A number of vegan tacos appear on the menu including jackfruit, rojas, mushroom tinga, and the stalwart cauliflower taco.
If you just want typical American fare such as a burger or pizza, you can find a no-beef patty at the Original Slap Burger, located in the Bywater watering hole Marie's Bar and Kitchen. The restaurant uses hand-made vegan meats and cheeses supplied by local provider Life Is Good and even has a vegan version of the in-house Mack sauce.
For plant-based 'za, G's Pizza in Mid-City will modify any of their gourmet pizzas for a vegan diet—though you'd be a fool not to choose the Nola Greenroots. And there's a vegan-friendly jalapeno cheese bread, too. You can also find a dedicated vegan menu of pizzas, pastas, wraps, appetizers, and salads at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen's French Quarter location, right behind the New Orleans Jazz Museum and just steps from the historic French Market, where there's a similarly satisfying vegan-friendly and carbohydrate-laden menu at Holy Crepes! The former pop-up food stand turned mainstay vendor offers a wide variety of sweet and savory crepes using a house-made batter that is vegan and gluten-free.
Vegan Desserts in NOLA
For desserts, vegans are in pretty good shape. The Creole Creamery, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with locations in Uptown, Lakeview, and Metairie, always has a couple of vegan options, either sorbets or other plant-based frozen desserts, rotating various deliciously exotic flavors.
The French Quarter Louisiana Pizza Kitchen also carries a changing menu of decadent desserts, including the award-winning s'mores cheesecakes, by Deuxbelle Vegan Pastries and Confections, which are also available through the vegan caterer's Instagram, Shopify, and Facebook pages.
As for king cake, the locally-beloved signature dessert of the annual Mardi Gras season, purists may squawk about a vegan variety. More than one commenter on social media has called it "a sacrilege;" however, so many liberties are already routinely taken with what was, in its original form, essentially a cinnamon coffee cake, there is little room to argue against this one particular innovation.
Some places you wouldn't expect to offer a vegan version provide them to order, including The Catch Seafood Restaurant, a mom-and-pop operation in Metairie that offers an extensive list of gluten-free dishes, including a seasonal king cake, courtesy of Creme Confections, that can also be made vegan.
Also in Metairie, Everyday Keto To Go isn't such a surprising place to find a vegan king cake as everything made in the exceptionally health-conscious bakery is free of gluten, yeast, sugar, corn, oat, soy, wheat, and any other type of grain. Vegan treats are available on a daily basis, including cup cakes, cookies, petit fours, and cheesecake. Recently having celebrated its third anniversary, the business is a go-to for healthy baked goods, and vegans in search of goodies will find they've hit pay dirt.
