I’m kind of an obnoxious traveler when it comes to picking where we eat on our vacations…and I guess where we stay and what we do, too. 😉 (If you want to see the super involved and intense travel itineraries with choose-your-own-adventure outlines for each day that I made for Italy and Portland one day, just ask.) I guess these plans are only obnoxious if your idea of a vacation different than mine. On my trips to new places, especially places that I don’t expect to get to visit very often, I want to SEE and EAT everything that is local and delicious. Always at the top of the list are farmers markets and special groceries, food stalls, art and antique open air markets, breweries, and casual but delicious eateries.
On a less than 12 hour trip to New Orleans (which is possible because Laurel is only 2 hours north) to take our little person to the aquarium because he has an octopus and sea lion obsession, I STILL wanted to eat as much good food as possible. There wasn’t even time to traipse over from Downtown to the French Quarter, but thankfully Cafe Du Monde has a branch RIGHT next to the aquarium near a parking garage with MUCH shorter lines than the original location and then, just around the corner was Cochon Butcher, a place I’d been salivating over since I followed them on Instagram so we took the opportunity to pop in.
After stepping up to the counter and looking around at the TONS and TONS of pickles, relishes, sauces on the shelves and and meats in the counter, we had to make a decision about food. After speaking to the super friendly staff, we ordered a pork belly and cucumber and mint sandwich, mac-n-cheese, house-made potato chips, and the brisket sliders. 
Everything was very good…but oh, oh, oh…the brisket sliders. There was a crispy bun, smokey, sweet brisket, and tangy pickle relish. Based on that alone it’s worth going back to try everything else on the menu. 
We didn’t want to leave empty handed, so at the recommendation of the man behind the case, we grabbed some house-made baloney and decided to add the sweet potato hot sauce and pickled tomato relish for our list. This baloney was different than any I’d ever tasted…honestly, had I not been given a taste beforehand I might not have been brave enough to buy it. But, it turns out that it was sweet and a little spicy and really actually good.
I hope y’all get a chance to visit Cochon Butcher in Nola, and if not, then maybe the one in Nashville! 
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