Locally Sourced New Orleans B&B Breakfasts

A Puddin' Lady

We've become friends with the Pudding Lady.  She doesn't call herself that, but we do.  Face-to-face, we call her Nicque, which is her name.  Amongst ourselves, we call her the Pudding Lady.  She is the proprietor of The Puddin' Shop, a home-based bakery located right here in downtown New Orleans, a few block away from our inn, in the 7th Ward.  Technically, La Belle Esplanade is part of the 6th Ward, but when you're on the boundary things tend to blend together in a hash.

Note:  Downtown in New Orleans does not mean that the Pudding Lady is located in the Central Business District.  Our inn is downtown and we are not in the CBD.  Our house is located exactly one mile from the quite side of Bourbon Street.  You have to walk to get to where the action is.  Downtown only means that we are all located downriver on this side, the downriver side, of Canal Street.  That's how things are described here.

That picture above isn't a picture of the actual Pudding Lady that we know.  It's just a bit of swipe art from 1890.  Like Tammie the Housekeeper, the Pudding Lady is shy.  I haven't asked her permission to take her picture to post on the world wide web.  If I know her, she would say no, she has to go home and pretty up a bit and make herself presentable.  It's a pity.  Like everyone in New Orleans, one look at her will make you smile.  She's lovely even when she isn't prettied up.  She's plenty pretty already.

Here is the Pudding Lady's website: The Puddin' Shop.  The Pudding Lady sells her bread pudding, corn bread, bagels and other sundry treats at Armstrong Park, on North Rampart Street, on Thursdays (3-7PM) and at the Gretna Farmers' Market on Saturdays (8:30AM-12:30PM).  

We love the Pudding Lady, she's very likable, and we hope that she doesn't mind that we call her that when she's out of earshot.  I'll say, "I just put an order in with Nicque," and Frau Schmitt will say, "Who?"  "The Pudding Lady."  "Oh, good."  Likewise, Frau Schmitt will tell me that Nicque stopped by this morning.  "Whozzat?"  "The Pudding Lady," to which I'll reply, "Oh.  Good."

We get bread pudding and corn bread from the Pudding Lady.  They are both delicious.

Tammie the Housekeeper

The first time the Pudding Lady dropped off some samples of her baked goods, Tammie the Housekeeper couldn't help but take a taste.  "That's good stuff," Tammie judged.  She's a Cajun, from around here.  She knows what she's talking about.

Tammie the Housekeepr is right.  All of our guests who have tried what the Pudding Lady makes agree.  It's good stuff.

Our bed and breakfast isn't licensed to cook food according to city ordinances.  We've turned that to our advantage, offering what we find from local bakers and chefs, local delis and caterers, to give our guests a taste of the various New Orleans neighborhoods.  Nobody complains.  When there is good food on the table, who would?

The Pudding Lady is very nice, the way most people in New Orleans are very nice.  It was our pleasure to meet her and to make another connection.  If you stay with us, it isn't like staying in a hotel.  It's like living here, with neighbors, in tune with what's going on the city.  We try to give you a taste of what it is like to be a New Orleanian.

Thanks, Pudding Lady, for helping us make that happen.  Thanks, Nicole.

À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.