Westwego Shrimp Lot

The fishermen dock before most of New Orleans pours coffee. By the time serious buyers roll into the Westwego Shrimp Lot — just off the Westbank Expressway at Louisiana Street — the morning's haul is already iced and weighed. Fresh shrimp, alligator, frog legs, catfish, oysters. Some of the fourteen independently owned vendor shacks on this ten-acre lot are run by second and third generation fishing families. The shacks themselves, painted in colors bright enough to catch the eye from the highway, have held their ground since 1977. The catch moves directly from boat to vendor. No middleman. No warehouse. The shrimp you buy at dawn came out of the water hours ago. The same families who pulled the nets are the ones making change. If you want first pick, you arrive early. The selection thins as the day wears on, and the people who know what they're doing don't sleep in.