Welcome to Cuenca

I never thought I’d end up in Cuenca, Ecuador - not for a lack of wanting to go, it had just never hit my radar. However, when your best friend decides to have her wedding in Cuenca - Ill be there, bells, whistles & all!

A little information about Cuenca. Cuenca is the largest city and capital of the providence Azuay. Cuecna is a very walkale town and as a New Yorker, you can easily cover most of the city by foot.

The food scene in Cuenca was very good, filled with delicious Ecuadorian food and even found some amazing sushi on one of the many rooftops with amazing view of the big church in the city center!

While I was in Cuenca, I went to a hot spring spa at Piedra de Agua, tried some cuy (guinea pig) and of course had a lot what Cuenca is known for DULCE, CANDY!!!

NOLA Eats

I had a lot of delicious food while I was out in New Orleans. I thought I’d dedicate a blog post just for all the yummy restaurant I ate at while I was there!

Dinner

Restaurant Revolution

Restaurant Revolution has a modern steak house vibe with excellent service and food. We had our own room in the back and 2 people servicing us. Some of my favorites for the night were the crab beignets, death by gumbo, the seared scallops and all of the desserts!

Arnaud’s

Arnaud’s has a classic, old school steak house vibe. The food was great, my favorites were the potato soufflé appetizer and the bananas foster dessert - can someone please recreate the potato soufflés for me? For my entrée I got the filet mignon which was also tasty, but was less unique than the other dishes.

Costera

At Costera the table opted in for the chef’s tasting menu, which was a blind tasting menu, aka dealers choice, and only cost $55! All the dishes that were brought out were FANTASTIC! Some of the highlights were scallops, paella, steak and all the desserts! Costera is an Uber ride away from the French Quarter, but definitely worth it!

Brunch/Lunch

Napoleon House

Napoleon House has a very old school European ambiance and a nice outdoor back patio where we ate. This is a great spot for lunch, we had some very carb heavy, but tasty appetizers including a spinach artichoke dip, cheese platter and bruschetta. However, what was the true winner of the meal was the alligator po’ boy!

Café Amelie

Café Amelie is a cute garden vibe brunch spot in the French Quarter, with some light breakfast/brunch options. We got salads, breakfast sandwiches and short rib with cornmeal pancakes.

Sylvain

Sylvain is also a nice outdoor brunch spot, a bit smaller outside area than Café Amelie. Their menu was a lot more southern based, known for their fried chicken. I loved the cornmeal pancakes, parmesan fries and chicken and waffles.

Cafes

Café du Monde

Café du Monde is a staple beignet spot in New Orleans, so you know I had to stop there! For those of you who do not know what a beignet is, it is a piece of delicious fried dough covered in powdered sugar. Beignets make a great snack for the morning, afternoon or evening. Café du Monde really streamlined the process, I was able to walk up to the window, get my order and grab a seat! A must do if you go to NOLA!

And if for some reason you are unable to make it to Café du Monde while you are in the French Quarter, they also have a location at the airport, right near the security check. You know I got 2 orders on my way home to NY!

Check out some of the NOLA Bars and live jazz venues I visited here