Our next day was spent strolling through the French Quarter, and of course a tour of one of the more well known cemeteries. We started in the French Market, a three hundred year old flea and farmer’s market located along the Mississippi River. Spanning for 6 blocks you can find a great variety of things here including jewelry, produce, and handmade goods. One building houses the ‘restaurant’ booths, including Meals from the Heart, a place with years of history which prides itself on offering healthier organic take-out food options that are freshly prepared. Their menu is color coded to make item selection easier for those who are vegan and gluten free, and these items are quite expansive considering the limited length of the menu. Gluten Free items include things such as omelettes, pancakes, grits, and crab cakes all of which were top quality and classically southern. Yes… we ate there more than one across our vacation. It is worth it to wait your turn to snag a seat! Be sure to strike up a conversation with the owners while your waiting for your meal, as they have great stories to share about their lives. Also in the French Market is The Crepe Cart, a neat little place to grab a quick gluten free or vegan crepe to go.

A walk down Royal Street puts you in the right place to stroll through some of the best art galleries, and do some quality souvenir shopping. Even without going in shops you’ll see some great art right in the streets including some live musicians and actors reenacting famous arts in the flesh. If you need to pick up some gluten free groceries be sure to stop at Rouses Market, with several stores throughout the city. They have a small gluten free section the includes crackers, cookies, and more. Our strolls led us to the Palace Cafe for lunch, a French cuisine inspired restaurant that is one of the most upscale in the city. While they have a limited gluten free menu the options aren’t very welcoming for a pescatarian celiac, so Mike and I ended up ordering the same dish: The Shrimp Tchefuncte. Although hearty in flavor and the perfect amount of food, the dish just didn’t do it for us. There was no depth to the flavor, only density. The cocktails on the other hand were to die for, we highly recommend the Pimm’s cup and the Classic lime margarita.

Next up was a walk to the opposite end of the French Quarter, for a visit to Frenchmen Street. This is the place to be if you want authentic New Orleans Music, something you won’t find if you limit yourself to Bourbon Street alone. We caught some great Jazz at Bamboula’s before making our final stop of the night back in the heart of NOLA for dinner at Brennan’s.  Opened in 1946 Brennan’s is the home of the Banana’s Foster. You heard me right: Banana’s Foster, one of the best desserts known to man which happens to exist simply because of a surplus of bananas. Their cuisine is creole inspired, with a ton of elegance. We ordered the Shrimp and Chicory salad, drum in French curry powder and the Banana’s Foster (of course). The Banana’s Foster is made table side, and is worth the experience: