We were in New Orleans for a fund-raiser for their Les Dames d’Escoffier chapter’s “Diggin NoLa: A culinary affair with the Big Easy.”

One morning, we headed for breakfast at Willa Jean, a retro-chic café offering Southern breakfasts and baked goods opened by Chef Kelly Fields in the Central Business District in downtown New Orleans.


I began with a mimosa ($10) followed by a breakfast plate containing their amazing biscuits, cheese grits, bacon, sausage and eggs ($16). I had my eggs poached, one of my dining partners had hers scrambled. Truly the best breakfast I had in New Orleans!

My other dining partner ate their pastrami smoked salmon with fries avocado, marinated beets, whipped ricotta, arugula, quinoa and a poached egg (+$2) with rye toast ($20). We washed that down with a macchiato ($3.75) before walking around the city.

Not to be missed.

Willa Jean
611 O’Keefe Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70113
(504) 509-7334
willajean.com/