Unsure where New Orleans' insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at New Orleans businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention, right now.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
Open since July, this Southern chicken spot, part of a national chain which offers comfort food and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as 'Southern' on Yelp.
Citywide, Southern spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken saw an imposing 236% increase, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Southern category: Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar has seen a 9.5% increase in reviews.
Located at 308 S. Diamond St. in the Lower Garden District, Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken serves white and dark meat fried chicken and a slew of Southern sides, like coleslaw, mac and cheese, fried okra and potato salad, as well as sodas and pies.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Bar Marilou
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Central Business District's Bar Marilou, the traditional American spot, which offers artisan gelato, cocktails and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as 'Bars' on Yelp saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Bar Marilou bagged an 83.3% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 544 Carondelet St. since May, Bar Marilou serves fresh seafood dishes, European-inspired appetizers and desserts. (Check out the bar's full drink menu here.)
Bar Marilou is open from 4 p.m.–midnight on Monday-Wednesday and Sunday, and 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Thursday-Saturday.
Streetcar Cafe
The Central Business District's Streetcar Cafe is also making waves. Open since March at 312 St. Charles Ave., the all-day Cajun/Creole eatery has seen a 34.8% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged 'Cajun/Creole' on Yelp.
Streetcar Cafe serves everything from breakfast to late-night cocktails, including craft coffee drinks, homemade beignets, seafood, jambalaya, steak, pastas and more. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from five stars to 4.5 stars.
Streetcar Cafe is open from 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.–11:30 p.m. on weekends.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
