The Cajun Foodie

Simply put, Surrey’s Cafe & Juice Bar is the place to go in NOLA for a wicked breakfast.  The place is nestled along the the tree lined Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District.  If you are not familiar with the area, you may have a tough time finding it at first but your patience will be greatly rewarded.   While Surrey’s also serves up some tasty lunch items, it is the breakfast that keeps people coming back.  Once seated, feel free to order a glass or two of your favorite fresh squeezed fruit juice: OJ, carrot, celery, beet, apple, grapefruit and lemonade.  If you are a fan of OJ, I suggest ordering a carafe because one glass of Surrey’s OJ won’t be enough and while the waiter may look at you a little funny because you are ordering a carafe for yourself, it’s worth it.

The wide array of breakfast dishes to choose from will definitely have you thinking a bit on what to order.  Most of what they are serving at Surrey’s can be found at many breakfast joints, but Surrey’s is doing it better than the rest.  One particular dish that Surrey’s is putting its spin on is boudin.  The boudin breakfast biscuit has all that a traditional breakfast has but with a ton of flavor.  It has  two eggs and a sauteed boudin patty served on a homemade biscuit with a choice of grits or hashbrowns.  This may sound as if it is nothing special but when I first bit into this concoction, my mouth was overwhelmed with a combination of flavors.  The boudin, while not exactly on par with some from the Acadiana area, was flavorful, browned to perfection and not too spicy.  The eggs are cooked to order and the biscuit was fluffy and buttery in flavor.

Another favorite at Surrey’s is corned beef hash, which takes the aforementioned boudin and adds andouille and corned beef  mixed with the hashbrowns and topped with two egg.  If you dig meat, you’ll dig this dish.

If you’re looking for something on the sweeter side, get the “big as yo face” peanut butter banana pancake.  The pancake itself is massive, with chunks of banana throughout and a sea of creamy peanut butter melting underneath.  It truly can be split between two people, as I’ve never seen anyone finish it off.

Surrey’s is a little known jewel of the New Orleans breakfast world, but take the time to seek out it and you’ll be glad you did!