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Tourism is down, prices are up, social services are disappearing, and the government is bankrupt. Which means it’s a good time to get to know Seychelles.

Café Du Monde is always open; it’s the clientele that changes—from visiting families and local pensioners early in the morning, to couples in the evening, to Bourbon Street refugees looking for coffee and ballast in the night’s thinnest hours. This huge coffee stop is a rarity—a tourist trap that locals actually love (although they will rarely wait when lines are long). It’s been around for more than a century, and basically serves two items: beignets and café au lait. The beignets are similar to Spanish buñuelos, fried fritters of dough, and are one of those French traditions that’s survived here more durably than in France. While probably not on anyone’s diet list—they come piled with powdered sugar—they’re surprisingly light, and an order (which equals three beignets) disappears with unusual haste.

Audubon Park sits on the site of a former sugar plantation—the only plantation in the city that wasn’t subsequently developed for homes or businesses. It’s about 25 minutes via streetcar from downtown, but feels a world apart, with its spreading live oaks hung with Spanish moss and its lagoons that serve as sanctuary—appropriate given the park’s name—to egrets (great, cattle, snowy), herons (green, blue, night), ibises, and the black-bellied whistling ducks. A loop around the paved walkway/bikeway, which boasts a public golf course at its center, runs 1.75 miles; alternatively, trek to Magazine Street for a visit to the Audubon Zoo, then catch a bus downtown along the city’s best shopping thoroughfare.

The six-block-long French Market is full of vendors peddling knickknacks, pralines and beignet mix, and boozy, frozen beverages to go. There’s a daily open-air flea market from 9 am-6 pm, and a farmers market each Wednesday that features live music.

You’ll get a taste of Lousiana in Brenda’s cladenstine location which lies in the heart of the Tenderloin District. Worry not, you’ll see hungry brunchers congregating outside. Once in, it’s all about those beignets (including a crawfish flavour!) and those shrimp and grits. Brenda’s is one of the reasons I wish I lived in San Francisco.

Homestead, located on popular Piedmont Avenue, offers a limited breakfast menu from 8am-noon on Tuesday through Saturday. I love this place for it’s reasonable prices, relaxed atmosphere and friendly vibe. You don’t need to spend an arm & a leg for breakfast here. Homestead is primarily a dinner spot but opens for limited hours in the morning as a gathering spot for neighborhood folks. Great place to meet friends or co-workers before starting your day. The beignets & donuts are made fresh every morning & they also offer savory dishes like strada (similar to quiche) with a side salad. Fresh squeezed OJ and coffee drinks are also good. I like the granola with yogurt & fruit. Open for dinner at 5pm. Closed Mondays.

Chef Kelly English trained in some of the best kitchens in New Orleans before opening Restaurant Iris, where he now serves his homey take on French-Creole cuisine. Here, dining spaces are spread throughout the rooms of a cozy bungalow, encouraging diners to interact with other tables like guests at a convivial dinner party. A recent remodel added more modern decor and an expanded bar area where patrons without reservations can dine under a large, bayou-inspired mural that harks back to English’s Louisiana roots. On the menu you’ll find Southern classics, prepared with French techniques and international flavors. Don’t miss the corn bread–stuffed quail and the crawfish beignets, which come with a heavenly sauce ravigote.

This sliver of a wine bar and tapas joint is ideal for drinking solo or with a pal (larger groups will have a hard time finding a seat). Settle in at the wood bar or at one of the stools alongside the stone walls, and choose from the well-curated list of French wines. Charcuterie is sliced right in front of you at the bar; there is also a daily menu (on the chalkboard) with affordable, nicely turned-out small plates like grilled dorado, zucchini beignets, and lamb kebabs.

A neighborhood spot, Saint Dinette serves the kind of comfort food you eat at home—but better. The menu takes diners on a journey from Montreal to New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, offering everything from poutine and fried oysters to lobster and grits. Whether you come for a romantic date, a solo outing, or a dinner with friends, you’re guaranteed a satisfying meal. The burger, served with American cheese and pickles, is arguably one of the best in the Twin Cities, but the most special part about Saint Dinette is its grocery valet. Since the restaurant is right down the street from the St. Paul farmers’ market, many people stop by for brunch after doing their weekend shopping. If you choose to do so, know that Saint Dinette will gladly keep your local produce and products safe in their cooler while you nosh on beignets, flapjacks, and hash browns, then hand them over after you pay your check.

The team behind this Wicker Park newcomer took several research trips to New Orleans before opening up, the better to channel that city’s mom-and-pop joints, dive bars, and corner stores. Now Chicago diners can enjoy iconic Southern dishes (think po’ boys, towers of seafood, and authentic beignets) as well as an impressive cocktail selection. Jorie Taylor heads up the bar program, which riffs on vintage recipes with concoctions like the Papa Doble (a spin on a Hemingway daiquiri, made with white rum, Rhum Agricole, lime, and maraschino) or the Rex Organization (a Pimm’s Cup made with gin, an agave-cucumber ice cube, and loads of mint). Enjoy it all within rustic-hip environs boasting exposed brick, wood furnishings, and Americana-inspired vintage signage—a host of home-away-from-home elements inviting patrons to stay a while.

Let’s start with this. The province of Quebec produces over 80 percent of the world supply of maple syrup. You’re welcome. Which means we know our stuff; we know precisely how to use it, with what ingredients and in what quantities (that is, with everything and as much as possible). The Maple Delights shop is definitely for tourists to spend money, but that doesn’t mean that money won’t be well invested. Visitors can either opt for an on-the-spot treat, like ice cream, macarons (yes, you read that correctly), and even maple beignets, a traditional Québécois dish. Others can load up on take-away products like maple butter, all kinds of spreads, teas, and of course syrup. All of these can be gifts for your loved ones back home, or gifts for yourself—for absolutely no reason other than you being fabulous and in Montreal.

This property hits the sweet spot for Yosemite lodging—it’s conveniently located in the heart of the valley, is more affordable than the Majestic, and has better views than any other accommodation, looking directly out to Lower Yosemite Falls. All 241 rooms, spread among 15 two-story buildings, were recently updated to include TVs, mini fridges, phones, coffee makers, and Wi-Fi. While not air-conditioned, they come with fans and some even have patios or balconies. There are also four larger family rooms, complete with a king bed and two bunk beds. The lodge has its own pool, gift shop, and outdoor amphitheater, where rangers and naturalists give presentations during warmer months, as well as two restaurants. The more formal Mountain Room features soaring ceilings, waterfall views, and dishes like lobster beignets and grilled pork mole, while the Mountain Lodge—popular with the valley’s climbers—serves beer, cocktails, and a small but tasty bar menu, which can be enjoyed either inside by the double-sided fireplace or outdoors on the deck. There’s also a food court, which is slated for a complete makeover in the spring of 2018.

This bakery just opened across the street from Woodshop. It’s a godsend. It’s been rough finding good coffee out here, but they serve Blue Bottle Coffee and breakfast sandwiches on house-baked biscuits.”

Chef Franck Dangereux (formerly of La Colombe, a celebrated Cape Town institution) runs the Foodbarn Restaurant out of a lovely old barn in the village of Noordhoek. Here, you’ll get all the flavors of a fancy restaurant, without the fuss. You may dine on artistically presented dishes like pépé goat cheese beignets, but a glance around the revamped space, with its rustic-chic decor and colorful knickknacks, will remind you that you are, in fact, feasting in a barn. At night, the place transforms into a tapas bar.

Walk around the city and you are likely to stumble upon a food truck that dishes out some incredible grub. San Francisco residents love these modern chuck wagons, including native Carlos Muela, who opened SoMa StrEat Food Park in 2012. Its location under a freeway might feel like an unlikely spot to gather, but that hasn’t stopped locals from coming seven days a week to a space that serves as beer garden, communal dining space, and party spot all at once. Customers sit at picnic tables under strings of Edison bulbs and nibble selections bought from a rotating fleet of some of San Francisco’s best food trucks, including treats like crème brûlée, burgers, fish tacos, and eggs Benedict. The already festive atmosphere gets even more energized on nights when there is live music, or on days when the Giants or the 49ers games are broadcast on large TV screens.