Fifty-six new restaurants opened in New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) in just the last year alone, bringing the total number of sit down eateries and pubs in the Big Easy to over 1,400. For a population that hovers just under 500k, THAT’S A LOT OF RESTAURANTS! If you intend to visit every restaurant in New Orleans (and I know you do!), you’ll have to make a lot of reservations, stand in a few long lines, and plan to vacation here for over 466 days! The “dine around” options in the Big Easy are endless for corporate and incentive groups.
Contrary to popular belief, you can get a wide variety of cuisines in New Orleans. Yes, we have Cajun, Creole and French fares; but did you know that a lot of our recipes have a Caribbean influence? Some have even called New Orleans “the northern-most city in the Caribbean”, for not only the food, but the history and music that these two magical places have intertwined. Other NOLA culinary influences come from African, Vietnamese, Italian, and Irish cuisines, resulting in possibly the most eclectic fare available anywhere in a single city. While these influences can be recognized individually at our many fine restaurants, they also come together under the toques of our best hotel chefs. Bread pudding and jambalaya will be always be an option for your group menus, but why go traditional when the options are practically infinite?
One of the latest food trends in New Orleans’ meetings and events is the deconstruction of classic Louisiana dishes. Dishes such as red beans and rice, gumbo, and Oysters Rockefeller have all been deliciously “deconstructed” and re-invented for distinctive presentation and a culinary twist to excite the appetite. We have also seen an uptick in client requests for cold pressed juice bars, food trucks, family style service, farm-to-table cuisine, dessert walls and craft cocktails.
As for beverage, one can surmise, in the place where the term “cocktail” was coined, that the very first famous craft cocktail (the Sazerac) was invented here in New Orleans. By following the explosion of the national craft cocktail trend, we are simply going back to our roots.
For more information about group dining in the Crescent City, contact us at neworleans@hosts-global.com
