Vegan Indian/Pakistani Food in Two Shakes (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

I discovered this restaurant last year on my family's now-annual pre-Christmas trip to New Orleans. Both years we have stayed at the Chateau LeMoyne on Dauphine Street in the heart of the French Quarter. (Don't let the fact that this hotel is owned by Holiday Inn deter you. Built around a pair of lovely courtyards, it feels as authentically "French Quarter" as any establishment there. We love the budget price--but beware the taxes and the tres cher parking price tag--and my sister and I love the room we've shared both years: No. 454 with its exposed brick wall.)

An avid walker, I circumnavigate the Quarter each morning in a series of right turns by setting off east down Dauphine Street, turning right on Barracks and following it to the French Market. There I turn right again and head to Jackson Square where I access the river walk and continue along the Mighty Mississippi to the Aquarium. There, I turn right again, cross the street car lines to Canal Street, take another right, and enter Canal Place (a tres luxe shopping mall) for my daily hit of soy milk via a decaf latte at Starbucks. (Being a vegan in search of protein in New Orleans has its challenges.) From there, I head up Iberville Street to Dauphine, where I take another right back to our hotel. There is no place I would rather be than the French Quarter on a given morning.

At 400 Iberville is a tiny restaurant called Salt-n-Pepper. I'm sure there is a story behind that name, but I don't know what it is, as this little joint is an Indian/Pakistani restaurant that also serves pizza. Last year, I only perused the menu in the window with interest. This year, in the early afternoon, after finishing some Christmas shopping for my mom at Pottery Barn in Canal Place, I was famished. So, knowing that we didn't have dinner reservations until 8:30, I went in and ordered a pakora appetizer which I ate sitting on the steps of a building across the street.

For about $3.50, I was served easily twice as many pakoras as I could even eat. (Knowing they wouldn't keep well in our hotel room, I left the other half sitting on the steps in hopes that a hungry foraging animal would find them. But, alas, they were still there the next day. I hope that means there aren't hungry foraging animals in the French Quarter.) The large branching veggie fritters were served with a tiny and super-fresh side salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and bell pepper along with a thin yogurt sauce which I didn't realize was included or I would have asked that it be omitted.

During the very short wait for my pakoras to be fried, I engaged the friendly proprietor about the difference between Indian and Pakistani food. He explained that, essentially, Northern India and Pakistan are very similar in culture, cuisine and language, while Southern India differs dramatically.

Though the pakoras weren't the freshest and lightest I've ever had--they had been pre-cooked and were refried to order--they were still satisfying with a subtle and appealing spicy heat that was cooled down perfectly by the crisp and cool side salad. Goat notwithstanding, I look forward to sampling more vegan items from the Salt-n-Pepper menu.

Photo Credit: Humid Beings