when we first arrived to new orleans last october, i was on the look out for a good coffee shop in our neighbourhood. one of my favorite routines is going out in the morning with julia and grabbing a coffee, to help start my days off on the right foot :) it’s amazing how kids like their routines, so it works out for both of us.
luckily, on day 2 i found district hand pie & coffee bar, just two blocks away from our airbnb. not only the girls there are super friendly, but their coffee is really good, and they use the best ingredients. on special ‘treat days’, which happened more often than i would like to admit, we would get a blueberry muffin or a chocolate chip cookie with sea salt – delicious and just too tempting!
then we found out they also have a food truck (which we never got the chance to see) and a second location on magazine street, district: donuts, sliders, brew – a fun and casual spot for craft brewed coffee, sliders and an outstanding creativity for donut flavors. their mind-blowing donuts are different every day and range from salted caramel, vietnamese iced coffee, red beans and rice, peanut butter and marshmallow or limoncello and poppyseed to name a few. its always busy and sometimes with a queue that can scare you off, but so worth the wait.
also, how cool are those iconic benches pictured on top?!
district is definitely our favorite coffee shop in new orleans, there’s nothing like it and we”re going to miss our daily coffees and weekend donut dates!
ps – more new orleans posts here
6th picture from district’s website, all other by myseastory
one of the reasons james was excited about moving to new orleans, was the variety of vietnamese food available, he craves it all the time and, if possible, would eat it every day. he also likes hole in the wall type of restaurants, but to be honest that’s just not my thing (let’s keep it real, folks!). so when we found 
when i like a certain dish, i find it difficult to be adventurous, so i always order the same thing – vermicelli (rice noodles with lettuce, cabbage, mint, bean sprouts and peanuts) with grilled pork or sometimes grilled shrimp – filling, yet light and delicious.
james likes the shrimp spring rolls (rolled in rice paper and dipped in peanut sauce, not fried like the chinese version), steamed pork bun and then pho, vietnam’s national dish (a brothy soup with rice noodles, lot’s of fresh herbs and a variety of meat options). (there are of course a ton of other things he likes and craves, this is just a ‘sample’)
a week in lisbon was definitely too short, i always end up having a lot of chores, like meeting my accountant, going to the dentist, laundry, seamstress…doing all sorts of things we don’t have on island. so it gave me little extra time to see my family and closest friends.
it is owned by an italian and located by the river. i’ve been coming here since they opened in 2000, and they have the best pizzas on earth – yes, i feel confident saying it! i like so many of them that i usually order half and half – the casanova, the funghi or the pesto. i love their starters too – the scamorza affumicata, the bresaola, the bruschettas…the home made iced tea is unbeatable, although sometimes i go for the prosecco. and to finish off the panacotta is delicious and light – i know, not in calories though.
m y s e a s t o r y 