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Fresh Catch in New Orleans: A Seafood Trip

Lady in fedora hat holding freshly caught crabs, crawfish and corn

Back in June I had the most incredible experience in New Orleans. I was invited out to the Gulf Coast as part of the Food Blog Mastersย to discover the delicious fresh catchย flavors of Louisiana Seafood . Good thing I LOVE creatures of the sea, because on this trip we indulged in everything from fresh caught crab, shrimp, oysters, crawdads, red fish…you name it. If it swims in the waters of the Gulf Coast we ate it.

We learned everything about the seafood process from boat to table……..

Gulf Coast Louisiana blogger seafood tour

It is so fun to re-visit trips I have taken through photos. I hope you enjoy this virtual tour of the Gulf Coast. There was a lot to see.

Food Blog Masters Seafood Tour of LouisianaReally, the views were great!

Men in Louisiana catching crabs

Can you believe these guys catch your seafood? I know. I think they need their own hunky calendar.

Fisherman in blue shirt and blue crabs.

Here’s a close up of our crab man. I cannot remember his name. Let’s just call him hottie.

Crab fisherman in Louisiana

There are the blog pals on a little boat trip. See Maggy from Three Many Cooks? *hi Maggy*

Food Blog Masters trip to Louisiana

Our cameras were glued to our faces the whole trip. Wave *hi* to Matt and Nathan.

Food Blog Masters trip to Louisiana

There was seafood everywhere we looked…..

Crabmeat in Louisianan Processing plant

We had it boiled, steamed, fried, poached, broiled, grilled, sauced…..and it even looked us in the face.

Food Blog Masters Seafood trip to New Orleans

We met Jambalaya Girl. How cute is she!

Food Blog Masters trip: Jambalaya by Cook Me Somethin' Mister

She makes the best dang jambalaya ever. Her slogan is “Yum Yum Come Get Me Some” I got me some. Lots.

Cook Me Somethin' Mister

Check out this crawdad boil. See those andouille sausages floating in the broth? They were addictive!

Food Blog Masters trip to Louisiana

Lots and lots of crawdads. They are like little tiny lobsters.

Crawdads, crayfish boil in Lousinana

The people we met were amazing hard workers. They liked to smile.

Food Blog Masters New Orleans Trip

Makes me glad to know how much passion, drive and ambition they have about their jobs even after Louisiana suffered through so much hardship the past few years.

Food Blog Masters trip to New Orleans

These folks head out to the waters daily to bring us the freshest catch. Their energy and enthusiasm is pervasive in everything they do.

Crab Fisherman in Louisiana on boat

Hopefully one day you will find yourself by the bayou, enjoying the fresh catch from the Gulf and taking in the lovely scenery. This was my second trip to Louisiana. The first was back in 2002, before we had kids. My hubs and I celebrated Thanksgiving Creole style atย Commander’s Palace.

The memories of both trips to NOLA will last a lifetime.

Woman with Iced Coffee in New Orleans

My favorite thing to do at the end of each day was drink my favorite chicory ice coffee at Pain du Monde. Happy days indeed!

What is your favorite seafood? Have you ever been to New Orleans?

*Thanks to Amanda from Kevin and Amanda for taking the photos of me in this blog post.

Links to some Seafood Tour Posts

Food Blog Masters

MarlaMeridith.com Disclosure: The Food Blog Masters Retreat was sponsored by theย Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Boardย and organized byย Zehnder Communications. I was invited to attend and all opinions are my own.

~ Marla Meridith

Join the Conversation

65 thoughts on “Fresh Catch in New Orleans: A Seafood Trip

        1. Caroline, the heat was getting pretty sticky and hot. I LOVED the weather in New Orleans when I was there in November. June was bearable though.
          That said I am a cold weather loving gal. Ya know, that crisp mountain air drives me… xo

          1. Haha…I know you and the mountains. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I was born and raised in Charleston, SC so I can handle the heat, but I much much MUCH prefer the crisp mountain air. That being said, I can’t wait until Fall. ๐Ÿ™‚ And it looks like I’ll have to plan a trip to New Orleans in the Fall too. Yay…thanks for the inspiration!

  1. Marla, the pictures are just breath-taking! I hope the NOLA board of tourism sees these and is hiring you to shoot for them ๐Ÿ™‚

    And the views not being bad…lol…I was thinking the same thing when I saw all those buff bodies. I mean blue water ๐Ÿ™‚

    I would love love love to have been on this trip, as I told you. Both from a foodie sense to see it all and explore the richness of the NOLA cuisine scene as well as from a travel/photography point of view…so much amazing imagery.

    Wow.

    Your photos, as usual, continue to inspire, wow, and awe me. Amazing !

    xoxo

    1. Thanks so much Averie! I am so glad I was able to provide lots of eye candy ๐Ÿ˜‰ I would love to head back to NOLA sometime soon. The amount of photo ops are endless. I have so many photos from the 5 days there it is crazy. You would love all the inspiration everywhere you look. And the food….omg. We were so spoiled!

  2. This trip looks like it was a lot of fun! I am not sure what I would have stared at the most though, the hunks with all the tattoos or the seafood creatures! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. This is such an awesome experience and filled with delicious seafood! Thanks for sharing. I’m drooling even I just had lunch! Thanks for sharing. Have a good weekend.

    1. Thanks Amy, you have a wonderful weekend too. Together we can live vicariously through these photos. Wish I could get my hands back on all that seafood.

  4. I must be old and married, lol, I thought your shot of the crab with the blue legs and the anchor with the ropes were gorgeous. (Although I appreciated the hotties, too. ๐Ÿ™‚ Great photo tour of NOLA — and you looked SASSY!

    1. Kimby, I also thought those crabs with the blue legs were stunning. There was so much to take photos of everywhere we turned. Need to go back an snap some more……don’t worry the sea creatures had me just as wowed as the hotties ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. Ever since reading Anne Rice’s vampire stories when I was in high school, I’ve always wished to visit. It looks like so much fun. I’d love to eat all that delicious sea food.
    *kisses* HH
    p.s. love that pic of you :), very cute

    1. Thanks HH. I read Anne Rice’s books too a long time ago. When I first went to the Garden District (where she lives & where Commander’s Palace is located) I was astounded by the gorgeous homes & gardens. It is a special place with a rich history. I can see why she is so inspired to write there. You must get out to NOLA some day~you would love it there.

  6. Isn’t it something special to see exactly where your food comes from and who is bringing fishing it out of the water for you? It makes a person more appreciative and makes you think about the workings of the world and what it took to get that food to your table. I always have to marvel at it.
    And, lovely photos, as always ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Marla, wow, what a trip that must of been. Glad you shared it with us. You are right, the hotties and and sea food were really eye catching. I love lobster and crab meat, maybe I can indulge sometime soon. Judy

  8. What a FUN trip!! I love everything about it. The food, the company, the little critters, and the hotties ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. If you’re gonna go to New Orleans, you absolutely HAVE to have a seafood experience! You look adorable, Marla, and the whole trip looks like so much fun!

    1. Thanks Joanne, glad you like the re-cap. Sometime we need to go one one of these excursions together…..and eat lots of seafood. Or we need to meet at the Red Rooster in NYC. Ahhh, a girl can dream right?

  10. Goodness, those ‘views’ are breathtaking! ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’m so glad you were able to make this trip and share it – I’m sure it has helped the image of the Gulf Coast. And – I’m glad to see it seems they’re rebounding!

    I can’t wait to make a trip to NOLA – definitely one that’s on the list and just might have to get bumped up! A trip over Thanksgiving sounds like a great idea.

  11. Love the seafood in NO (how can you not when it is so darn fresh and they know how to prepare it). I spent a lot of time at the gulf coast when I was growing up and sometimes I yearn to go back. After that post, I think I need to plan a trip!

  12. That looks like so much fun! I’ve never been to New Orleans, but my grandpa was a waterman and I do love seafood. I have to say that the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab has to be my favorite, but I’m sure that the LA seafood would be just as delectable!

    1. Betty, I would love to get my hands on some of that Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab too! One of these days I will get back east and get my hands on a few of those guys ๐Ÿ˜‰

    1. Thanks Marina. That is cool that your hubs is going to NOLA. Would have been cool if you could have checked it out with him. Hopefully next time!