What is the main thing that is one every parent’s mind when traveling?

Food!

At least for me it is. My boys are picky eaters, so making sure we eat at restaurants that will be fun and will offer something they like is a big deal for me.

For this trip I focused on kid friendly places, but I also wanted to experience the traditional cooking of New Orleans. After a lot of searching I found Dat Dog restaurants.

The thing that caught my attention was the name. I knew for sure that my kids would love going to a place where hot dogs are served. Then I checked out their menu and found that they also offer a lot of local style hot dogs. I felt like I found gold!

This is a small chain with three locations in very convenient spots. After talking to Chelsea, from Dat Dog, we decided on the Magazine Street location which is in the Garden District.

One thing I learned about New Orleans is that it is extremely easy to get stuck in the French Quarters. So venturing out sounded like a good idea for me. Plus, to get to the restaurant we took the street car trolley that is $1.25 each way and a great way to get around New Orleans.

Quick note: If you do like me and take the trolley make sure you walk around on Magazine Street. It is one of the cutest streets in the area and is filled with cute stores and pubs.

Dat Dog is one of those restaurants that you see on the internet and you really don’t get the true essence of what the place is all about.

If I can describe it in one word I would say: CHARACTER. This place was full of it!

Everything, including the garden and building, was very colorful and fun.

The counter was also filled with all sorts of tropical colors. It made me feel as if I was in the Caribbean. Plus the staff was extremely patient and accommodating to everything my picky-eating four year old wanted.

However, my true measuring stick of how good a place is, is my ten year old. And lately he’s been totally open to trying foods that even I can’t bring myself to eat.

In this case he devoured the Alligator Sausage and loved the duck Sausage with blackberry sauce. He even had a blast eating the Bacon Werewolf.

Yes, that means that he ate three HUGE hot dogs. I managed to get a taste of them before he inhaled them.

I must say that I loved their original styled french fries. They came in three flavors – Crawfish Etouffee fries, Bacon and Ranch Fries and Chili Fries

Another plus: you get a lot of food for the price you pay. The hot dogs are huge and the fries are also fantastic.

This is definitely one of the best restaurants we visited during out trip.

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