New Orleans influencers

Has anyone else noticed the influx of New Orleans influencers? I genuinely feel like our city doesn’t need influencers coming in and misrepresenting what’s actually “authentic.”

One creator in particular annoys me. I think her name is Eating With Caite. She promotes herself as being born and raised in New Orleans, yet she consistently highlights some of the most gimmicky and bland restaurants in the city. It honestly seems like any restaurant willing to offer her a free meal in exchange for a TikTok review gets promoted.

And if you have that kind of platform, why not use it to highlight small, locally owned businesses and actually help them out? New Orleans has so many family owned restaurants, neighborhood spots, and hidden gems that could genuinely benefit from the exposure. Instead, we keep seeing the same newly built, mediocre, corporate slop “modern” restaurants being pushed as if they represent the city’s food culture.

I just don’t trust reviews from “NOLA influencers” in general. New Orleans has never needed that kind of manufactured attraction. The best spots here have always been the places you hear about organically, from a friend, a friend of a friend, your family, or someone who actually knows the city.

New Orleans doesn’t need influencers to manufacture what’s cool here. It already has a culture people come from all over the world to experience. If anything, use the platform to preserve and uplift the places that actually make the city what it is. Anyone else feel this way?