This summer, I thought I would share some of our favorite spots to dine in New Orleans. While these spots may be well-known to locals, tourists can utilize what we experience when locals venture out for a bite to eat in the city. We all love food, enjoy NOLA eats one bite at a time!

Saturday evening my husband and I made a quick trip to New Orleans (about 40 minutes away) to pick up a package left for me at a hotel. My husband and I are always on the lookout for new, interesting restaurants in the New Orleans area and have a long list of restaurant we want to try when we get the 1st opportunity. A few blocks from the Hyatt Regency New Orleans (and just minutes from the I-10 overpass) is Johnny Sánchez, an chic taqueria located on Poydras in the Warehouse District.

Johnny Sánchez take traditional Mexican cooking and combines the fun environment that New Orleans offers to create a unique experience. The collaboration of native Chef John Besh & Chef Aarón Sánchez marries both cultures together which is evident in the Mexican fusion we enjoyed that evening. It may be Mexican food (I puffy heart Mexican food) but the fresh ingredients are local to the New Orleans and surrounding area.

Johnny Sánchez utilizes locals farmers, fishermen and producers in the area to provide excellent ingredients year around. It’s the flavors and quality you expect from any New Orleans restaurant, and a standard for the area.

Eating in New Orleans can be quite costly, but restaurants like Johnny Sánchez are affordable priced. My husband and I enjoyed an appetizer (4- chorizo empanadas), a pitcher of Margaritas (happy hour 1/2 off) and 2 carne asada tacos (grilled skirt steak, pickled jalapeño, guacamole, pico de gallo, $12) each. Plus, enjoy complimentary chips and salsa (not pictured) for under $60 after taxes.

#BayouTravel Tourist Tip:
Poydras Street also plays host to local art with the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Sculpture for New Orleans Program. In cooperation with the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the City of New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways, the Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition presented by The Helis Foundation was launched in January of 2013. 16 sculptures by southern artists of local and international acclaim have been installed on the neutral ground of Poydras Street between the interstate and Convention Center Boulevard.

Enjoy lunch or dinner at Johnny Sánchez and experience the Poydras Corridor Sculpture Exhibition in between galleries and museums hopping in New Orleans.

Restaurant Info
Address: 930 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA 701112
Phone: 504.304.6615
Website: www.johnnysanchezrestaurant.com
Menu can be found here