Spring-Summer 2024 Visitor Guide

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10 Ways to Taste
St. Tammany Parish

On The Northshore, just 40 minutes north of New Orleans' French Quarter, there are plenty of ways to savor the bounty of the bayou. Sample your way down the Tammany Taste Culinary Trail at mom-and-pop restaurants, elegant dining rooms and seafood stands. 
Much of the produce used at the best restaurants in St. Tammany and New Orleans is grown right here on the Northshore. Plan to come hungry!

The Anchor, Tammany Taste, Madisonville

1. Waterside Dining

The Northshore’s culture is steeped in maritime history, so it’s no surprise you can dine overlooking St. Tammany’s bayous, rivers, and Lake Pontchartrain. Watch the boats cruise down the Tchefuncte River from Morton’sTBT Marina Cantina or Abita Roasting Company. The elegant Tchefuncte's and it's sister restaurant, the  more casual The Anchor are welcome new additions to the Tchefuncte Riverfront in Madisonville. Rips on the LakeThe Barley Oak and Pat's Rest Awhile all offer outstanding views of Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville. Cruise over to Slidell and moor up to Palmettos on the Bayou, Nathan’s, The Blind Tiger or Phil’s Marina Cafe. Stroll the boardwalks at the Chimes leading down to the Bogue Falaya River.

Abita Brewing Company

2. Get Your Beer Here

Taste liquid Louisiana and tour the largest craft brewery in the Southeast, Abita Brewing Company. Or, check out packed-with-personality Chafunkta Brewing Company in Mandeville. Wine aficionados will appreciate tastings at two vineyards, Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard and LA Serendipity, both in Bush. Call for tour and tasting schedules.

Friends drinking wine while taking a culinary cooking class

3. Cooking Classes

Take Louisiana recipes and cooking know-how home with you. Passionate Platter in Slidell explores cooking with herbs. Not just for kids, families and adults love the special programming at Culinary Kids in Mandeville, where professional chefs offer tips and practical advice for cooking at home. La Cornue Bella Cucina offers cooking classes on Lee Lane in Covington. Call to schedule classes and check availability.

LOLA dining Laura Grier

4. Al Fresco Dining

Plenty of restaurants on the Northshore offer plenty of fresh food and fresh air, with casual outdoor dining for every type of fare. LOLA in Covington has a beautiful deck area adjacent to a vintage dining car. The Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs, Mattina Bella in Covington or Spoke & Barrel Eatery and Pyre BBQ in Mandeville all offer outdoor dining near the Tammany Trace hike and bike trail. Middendorf's and GilliGil's Island in Slidell both have plenty of play space for the kiddos.

Woman holding food at  Liz's Where Y'at Diner

5. Rise and Shine

Start your day off right with breakfast and a smile from one of these sunny spots. Locals line up for Liz’s Where Y’at Diner, and lovely LaLou is right down the street in Old Mandeville. Coffee Rani has two locations, in Mandeville and on Lee Lane (a shopper’s dream) in Covington. Big Easy Diner and Creole Bagelry serve up a great breakfast in Slidell.

Yay for beignets

6. Try a Beignet

Enjoy this Louisiana specialty (it’s like a donut or a fritter fried to perfection and drenched in powdered sugar), at Café Du Monde in Covington or Mandeville, Abita Roasting Company in Covington and Madisonville, and Abita Springs Cafe in Abita Springs, or Beignet Au Lait in Slidell. The treat is traditionally enjoyed with strong café au lait.

Covington Farmers Market

7. Farmers Markets

Local growers, culinary artisans, foodies and chefs congregate year-round throughout the Northshore for Farmers Markets. Arrive hungry and sample as you shop for true local flavor at the Covington Farmers Market, Mandeville Community Market, Lafitte Street Market, also in Mandeville, Slidell Camellia City MarketAbita Springs Art & Farmers Market, and the Folsom Community Farmers Market. Depending on the season, pick up plump blueberries, sweet satsumas, juicy strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, and prepared foods like stuffed artichokes, Italian fig cookies, Korean pancakes, Mississippi Delta tamales, fresh-baked breads, raw honey, prepared jelly and gourmet pastries. Many of the markets offer demonstrations, live music and arts and crafts.

Keith and Nealy Frentz of Lola Restaurant with their train car dining room

8. Culinary Powerhouse Couples

Head to historic downtown Covington, where two culinary stand-out husband and wife teams cook and serve in restaurants within blocks of each other. Sample house-made everything from chefs David and Torre Solazzo, including cured meats and pasta at airy Del Porto Ristorante and The Greyhound. LOLA chefs Keith and Nealy Frentz make magic out of simple Southern food, and they do it at the old railroad depot in a caboose converted into a kitchen. Also in Covington is Cured. on Columbia, a locally-minded coffeehouse where chef Amanda Birdsong and partner Anna Watkins welcome you with espresso drinks, kombucha and light, seasonal eats. Click here to listen to Poppy Tooker's spotlight on Cured. on Columbia in her Louisiana Eats! podcast. In Mandeville, visit Bulent and Ozgur Duman's Duman Pizza Artisan Kitchen for wood-fired pizza in a super-cool setting, or local's favorite for French-Creole cuisine, Joey and Brandi Najolia's Cafe Lynn

The English Tea Room, Downtown Covington

9. Go International

We do international on the Northshore, too, even if it’s Louisiana-style. Crawfish in a Spicy Lobster Sauce or Szechuan Spicy Alligator’s on the menu seasonally at Trey Yuen Cuisine of China in Mandeville. You haven’t crossed the pond, you’ve stepped inside the English Tea Room in Covington. Care for Trafalgar Tuna or Coronation Chicken Salad with your Earl Grey? Chef Sal Impastato (originally from Sicily) of Sal & Judy’s in Lacombe offers a menu of homemade Italian recipes mixed with Creole influences. Habanero's has four locations on the Northshore serving urban Mexican cuisine, with flavorful "artistic" tacos and esquites, and more - two locations in Covington on Hwy 190 and Hwy 21, one in Slidell, and Taqueria Habaneros in Madisonville.

 

Sal & Judy's Sauces, Tammany Taste

10. Savory Souvenirs

You’re sure to want some take-home treats made with love in St. Tammany. Acquistapace’s Covington Supermarket and Acquistapace's Wine & Cheese in Mandeville carry a host of their housemade pickled and preserved items, as well as locally-made seasonings like Frog Bone Cajun Sauces, Cousins’ Creole Tomato Salad Dressing, and Sal and Judy's sauces and dressings (also sold at Rouses). Acquistapace's also carries Covington-made SOS Oystershells (stainless steel oyster shells perfect for chargrilling). Lots of local products can be found at the Northshore Farmers Markets, too.

You'll eat very well on the Northshore. Search for restaurants by type of cuisine or location.

Try prix fixe menus at participating restaurants during The Northshore's culinary month.

Sample a bite of the delectable Tammany Taste culinary scene.