New Orleans cooking leans on pork, seafood, and butter, which makes the kitchens that put vegetables first stand out even more. These four build their menus around plants and still taste like the city.
Sneaky Pickle and Bar Brine, Bywater
Sneaky Pickle runs out of a funky, plant-filled space at 3200 Burgundy Street, and nearly the whole menu is vegan. A few meat dishes stay on for the carnivore in the group, but the vegetable plates carry the reputation. The Sneaky Pickle Plate brings an assortment of seasonal vegetables, and the buffalo tofu and cauliflower salad comes with pickled onions and greens.
Comfort food fills out the rest. Mac and cheese gets its creamy texture from butternut squash and picks up heat from a cashew chorizo crumble, and the smoked tempeh Reuben has a following of its own. Tofu chili tacos come on corn tortillas with cashew cheese. Bar Brine handles the drinks, and a small outdoor area helps on nice days. Check its Instagram for current hours before heading over.
I-tal Garden, St. Claude Avenue
A vegan husband and wife with restaurant backgrounds started I-tal Garden to prove that healthy plant-based food can still taste like New Orleans soul cooking. The name comes from a Caribbean term for vital, healthy vegetarian food. Crispy cauliwings, fried oyster mushrooms, jackfruit barbecue ribs, and vegan gumbo all sit on the menu, along with bowls like the Golden Ju-Ju Curry.
The restaurant now operates at 2372 St. Claude Avenue, Suite 130, and keeps short hours, opening Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It also caters and hosts private events. Call (504) 515-7321.
Sweet Soulfood, Tremé
Owner Chetwan Smith modeled Sweet Soulfood on the Southern meat-and-three cafeteria and then took out the meat. Diners walk the line and build plates from a rotating menu of plant-based Creole and soul food classics. Jambalaya, okra gumbo, collard greens, yams, mac and cheese, and chicken-fried cauliflower show up often, and cornbread and mushrooms with gravy over rice round out the regulars.
The dessert side matters too. Bread pudding, mini sweet potato pies, and a vegan ice cream bar close most meals, and there’s a salad bar for lighter plates. Portions run large, so come hungry. The restaurant sits at 1025 North Broad Street, opens Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closes Sunday. Call (504) 821-2669.
1000 Figs, Bayou St. John
1000 Figs started as a food truck before settling into a small Mid-City dining room near Bayou St. John. The kitchen cooks Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food built around vegetables, and falafel is the house specialty, served as a sandwich, a small plate, or part of a larger platter. Hummus, baba ghanouj, kale and cabbage salad, pickled vegetables, and roasted Brussels sprouts fill the table.
The sauces do a lot of the work, with tahini, a cilantro-chile zhoug, and garlicky toum all on hand. Chicken appears on the menu too, so this is vegetable-forward rather than strictly vegetarian. The restaurant sits at 3141 Ponce de Leon Street and recent listings show it open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Call (504) 301-0848.
