Best Bowls of Turtle Soup
Turtle soup is a New Orleans staple, originating in Chinese and east Asian cuisine, but quickly “snapped” up by the Creole community where snapper turtles were a common sighting. The Commander’s Palace Restaurant is one of the city’s most renowned establishments for turtle soup, but there are also a number of other top-tier spots to get your fix. Every chef does it a little different, but common ingredients include turtle meat, yellow onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, spinach, roux, hard boiled eggs and sherry.
Brennan’s is another turtle soup destination—and just happens to be the beloved breakfast joint where Bananas Foster was created! Swing into Brennan’s, and mark two gastro items off your New Orleans bucket list. Turtle soup for breakfast with some tableside Bananas Foster is the perfect start to your day.
Turtle Power
Galatoire’s is another top pick for turtle soup, a James Beard revered restaurant on Bourbon Street and first founded as a saloon in 1896. Head over to Mandina’s for simple and authentic Creole cuisine in a non-stuffy atmosphere. Muriel’s at Jackson Square is another option, where classic Creole is served up in a historic 19th century building.
Restaurant R’evolution is located in a luxe hotel where you can choose from 10,000 bottles of wine. Mother’s, the popular cafeteria-style joint famous for po boys since 1938, also does turtle soup right. Try one or try them all because each stop has a different twist on this classic.