Tweet
Pursuant to a suggestion on a thread in another forum, I am going to post here my list of recommendations for New Orleans. This eventually will be a compiled list of recommendations from those who have visited. I welcome any suggestions here, and I will modify and update this list as time goes on. Also, I will be deleting subsequent posts as I add the recommendations to this list, in order to keep the number of posts manageable.
Eventually, there will also be addresses and phone numbers added for a lot of the recommendations below.
In the interim, here are the TS4Ms NOLA recommendations as they stand at present:
Your best bet at enjoying New Orleans is to focus on the food, music, architecture and party atmosphere. It's a bohemian's paradise. Dance in the streets. Eat until you can eat no more. Take some ghost tours and vampire tours. Take a cooking class or two. Check out the cemeteries and the Southern Mansions in the Garden District. Enjoy the unique architecture of the French Quarter.
Some fun things to do:
Shopping at the French Market. Arts, Crafts, T-shirts, and more food to take home
A Garden District Tour
A Riverboat Ride
Walk, walk, walk through the French Quarter
"Catch a horse-drawn carriage, ride it down to Basin Street. In the old French Quarter, you know ya got ta use your feet. Dixieland and Flambeauxs, I'm goin' back where I belong. I know what it means to miss New Orleans."
In the French Quarter, Bourbon St. has a lot of the bars, clubs and tourist shops. A block toward the river, Royal St. has all of the antique shops and art galleries (Outside of the French Quarter, Magazine St. has six miles of antique shops, going through the Garden District straight through Carrollton). The Voodoo Museum is also on Bourbon St. There are some great walking tours at night with ghost stories ("Ghost Walks"), and some decent tours of the Lafayette Cemetery, just outside the quarter.
Jazz Preservation Hall, in the Quarter, houses the Jazz Preservation Hall band, which plays classic New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland. You go into this wooden firetrap (admission $10) where you all stand around or sit on the wooden floor (no chairs or benches) and listen to a 45-minute set of classic New Orleans music. After Katrina, the price doubled from $5, but it is still definitely worth the experience.
The National Park Service administers parts of the Quarter as a part of the Lafitte National Historical Park area. As a result, it offers a free walking tour in the French Market area, but you must pre-register to get a spot.
Ride the St. Charles Streetcar to the end of the line and back, or one of the other streetcars to get a good feel for the town. $1.25 each way.
While you're at it, you can get off the streetcar and visit the Audubon Zoo, one of the top zoos in the country, for a fun day.
Along those lines, the Aquarium of the Americas, down by the riverfront, is quite a satisfying experience, as well.
Check out Mardi Gras World, the D-Day Museum, the Cabildo and the Civil War Museum.
Most Saturday afternoons, the Louisiana Music Factory (a record/CD store - 210 Decatur St., on the edge of the quarter (504) 586-1094) hosts live performances by local musicians. You can hear blues, r&b, cajun, zydeco, and more. Check here for a current schedule of performances. There are usually drinks served, but they're not cheap. The performances are free.
You can go gambling at Harrahs, if you want to just lose your money (never seem to win there)
The New Orleans School of Cooking in the French Quarter provides for a very enjoyable experience, and you get to eat some good Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding and other traditional New Orleans foods. The food is good, and the atmosphere is a lot of fun, but it's not fine dining. You do get a pretty good meal and a "cooking show" for about $25 or so (if you get there by 10 am. If you get there for the 2 pm class, you will get corn & crab bisque, shrimp creole and pralines for $20).
Walk Jackson Square and enjoy the street musicians, mimes and the artists displaying their wares on the wrought iron fence around the square. At night, there are psychics there, ready to read your palm or tarot.
Check out the bars -- they all have live music. I particularly like the ones on Bourbon St., as all of them are easy walking, one to the other. Just walk down Bourbon, and stop in wherever the music catches your attention. You will surely find something you like there. Big Al Carson is usually playing in one of the clubs. Incredible voice, and he does some great Marvin Gaye and Al Green type tunes. He can be a little raunchy, though. You will also find some great blues, ragtime, and rock groups on Bourbon St. You might also check in advance to see who is playing at the House of Blues. Tipitina's is an institution. If Harry Connick, Sr. is playing, he does some great '40s jazz, like "All of Me," and that style (think Sinatra). He's worth seeing.
Another good place for live music, a bit calmer and cheaper than on Bourbon St., is Frenchmen St. in the Faubourg Marigny area. It's just across Esplanade from the French Quarter. Snug Harbor, (504) 949-0696, 626 Frenchmen Street, has great jazz/blues every night. Right now, Charmaine Neville plays every Monday night. Unlike the Bourbon St. Bars, Snug Harbor has a cover charge (around $20), but the food and drinks are cheaper than on Bourbon St. Also reputed to have great burgers. There are also a couple of other decent bars with live music on Frenchmen St. The Spotted Cat, (504) 943-3887, 623 Frenchmen St., is an intimate venue with a lot of good jazz groups. It is open late, sometimes until sunrise. It can get crowded. The Blue Nile Nightclub, 532 Frenchmen St. (504) 948-BLUE, is also a good place for more energetic, local music. They don't have a show every night, but when they do, it's usually a high-energy show. The night's band usually starts sometime between 9:30 pm and 11 pm, playing past midnight. Checkpoint Charlie, (504) 281-4847, 501 Esplanade Ave., on the corner of Frenchmen and Esplanade, has local rock bands. The clientele can seem a bit rough, though.
Not a "fun thing to do," but "Katrina tours" are all the rage for tourists right now. Essentially, they put you on a bus or in a van, drive around and show you what Katrina did, how high the water rose, etc., and describe what happened. Let me tell you: if you have any compassion for the human condition, this is not an easy thing to do. You've seen the pictures on TV, but you don't realize the breadth of the disaster until you take one of these tours. It's probably an important thing to do once to see it and understand the human tragedy. But it is very difficult, and I don't think I could ever do it again. Many tour companies offer this, but I really couldn't tell you which is best.
Airport Transportation:
Some folks here have used Johnny's Limousine Service ((504) 909-2083) to get from the airport to their resorts. Last known pricing was $100 for stretch limo, round trip from the airport to the French Quarter, if you get a referral from Big Frank here.
If you just want a shuttle, it is $15 per person for a shared ride. Taxis are $28 per ride, so if there are two of you, a taxi is about the same (or a bit cheaper, depending on your tipping habits) as a shared shuttle.
Some recommendations for food:
Breakfast
Cafe du Monde. 1039 Decatur St. (504) 525-4544 Coffee and Beignets. The original, still the best. For you Vampire fans, it's where Louis met Lestat in the 1800s in "Interview With A Vampire." They have very little else, but sitting on that open air patio, listening to the street musicians and having coffee and beignets is one of the quintessential New Orleans experiences. It's also open 24 hours, in case you need something greasy to soak up the alcohol after a night of carousing.
Breakfast at Brennan's (417 Royal St. (504) 525-9711) is considered a New Orleans tradition. Very expensive, but many make it a point to come here at least once each time they are in New Orleans. They invented Bananas Foster after a surplus of bananas at the docks in New Orleans in the 1950s spurred them to come up with a creative use for the fruit. Now, the Brennan family owns many, many top NOLA restaurants, such as Commander's Palace, Mr. B's, Dickie Brennan's steakhouse, Mike's on the Avenue, and many more, including franchises outside of New Orleans, but this is the original -- the place that started the Brennan food empire. Expensive.
The Coffee Pot (in the Quarter) (714 St. Peter St. (504) 524-3500) is good, casual and also inexpensive. I'd go for breakfast, where they serve things like some pretty unique New Orleans-Style omelets, and Callas, which are fried balls of rice, flour, cinnamon and egg, coated with powdered sugar and served with Maple Syrup and butter. These are a traditional New Orleans breakfast that goes back to the Colonial days, when the Creole women would walk through the streets with baskets of these for sale. After Hurricane Katrina, the staff added a Meals Ready to Eat entrée: ''M.R.E.: A Hurricane Katrina favorite. Please order early. FEMA needs 4-7 days to ship. $782.90."
Petunia's (817 St. Louis St. (504) 522-6440) has good breakfasts, at about $15 or so a person, all in, with tip. Their "Pain Perdu" (French toast in "New Orleanian") is quite good, though it seems exceptionally buttery (with the cinnamon and powdered sugar, I did not bother with any syrup). They also have some very nice omelettes and crepes, served with side dishes and more food than you can eat for breakfast. Their link to their breakfast menu is broken on their webpage, so you can see the menu by clicking here.
Lunch
Johnny's Po' Boys (511 St. Louis St. (504) 524-8129) is the place for many kinds of Po' Boys, done very well. The average Po'Boy there is around $8, and is large enough for 2, so it's pretty inexpensive. They close at 4 pm.
Willie Mae's Scotch House (2401 St. Ann St. (504) 822-9503) is in a dodgy neighborhoood (don't walk there), but it has without a doubt the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. Ever. Very thin batter, crispy (it shatters like glass when you bite into it), and full of flavor, with the chicken inside being moist and tender. They are also known for their smothered veal, but I have not tried it. Their butter beans and rice are good, as well. A three-piece chicken dinner with one side dish is $10, and there are restaurant.com coupons that can reduce your cost. They charge for each drink refill, however. I'd go there for the fried chicken and pass on dessert, which is only average. Open from 11 am to 3 pm only. Cash Only.
Other Restaurants In General
-- In Or Near The French Quarter
Mother's Restaurant. 401 Poydras St. (504) 523-9656 Red Beans & Rice are some of the best, if not the best, in town. People love the black ham and the “debris” here. “Debris” are those parts of the roast that fall to the bottom of the pot while cooking, mixed with the spices and the juice. The Ferdi's Special Po' Boy, or Ralph's Special Po'Boy use both ham and debris. Also, a “debris” biscuit with breakfast can be a sublime experience. They also serve a huge breakfast special with eggs, grits, andouille sausage and biscuits for $5.25 if you get there before 9 am. We shared one, along with a $4 "debris biscuit," and were both full until dinner.
Progress Grocery, who made the best Muffuletta in town, is now closed except for their offices in Metarie who reputedly do mail orders, but Central Grocery (who claims to have invented it in 1906), about two doors down, still makes a good Muffuletta. 923 Decatur St. (504) 523-1620
Napoleon House (500 Chartres St. (504) 522-4152) if you prefer your Muffalettas heated.
http://www.cafemaspero.com/ in the Quarter (601 Decatur St. (504) 523-6250), at the corner of Decatur and Tolouse. According to bigfrank, the best red beans & rice in town. Locals like their sandwiches, which are reasonably priced. And $3 hurricanes.
K-Paul's (416 Chartres St. (504) 524-7394) for great upscale Creole and Cajun. They have now started serving a deli-style lunch which, while good and reasonably priced, is disappointing. K-Paul's works such magic with their regular menu (blackened fish, which they introduced to the world, Blackened Stuffed Pork Chop with Marchand du Vin Sauce, Blackened Beef Tenders with Debris sauce, their wonderful molasses muffins or corn and jalapeno muffins, and breathtaking desserts). So, going there for magic food and being able to get only a Po'boy and gumbo at lunch (or a limited main course, like their sticky chicken) just disappoints, even though the food at lunch is good and cheap.
Nola (534 St. Louis St. (504) 522-6652) also has some great upscale Creole and Cajun, and it's often a tie between Nola and K-Paul's as to which restaurant was our best dining experience while in town. The service at both is consistently impressive, as is the food. (There were a couple of really minor glitches in service and food at a recent visit to NOLA, but that was most likely an aberration.) Both are mid- to high-priced for dinner, though.
Nola is owned by Emeril Lagasse. A little more formal and a bit more expensive is Emeril's. In the warehouse district, at 800 Tchoupitoulas, outside the Quarter. I've never tried it, but it gets raves, and bigfrank likes it. They offer a $19.95 3-course lunch special on weekdays. (504) 528-9393.
New Orleans School of Cooking (524 St. Louis St.) for an entertaining cooking class and a decent classic lunch of Jambalaya, Gumbo, Bread Pudding and Pralines
Gumbo Shop (630 St. Peter St. (800) 55-GUMBO, in the Quarter): Great gumbo, good shrimp remoulade, and decent crawfish pie. Also, decent prices.
Bayona (430 Dauphine (504) 545-4455), one of Susan Spicer's restaurants, is well liked for its Nouvelle-NOLA cuisine. At lunch, many rave about the smoked duck, cashew butter and jalapeño jelly sandwich they serve.
Galatoire's (in the Quarter)(209 Bourbon St. (504) 525-2021): People rave about the Trout Meuniere, but also a classic, "old-time" restaurant in the tradition of Antoine's for classic New Orleans creole preparations. Consider Shrimp remoulade, Crabmeat maison, Canape Lorenzo, Oysters Rockefeller or Oysters en brochette. Also the steak bearnaise is great. Jacket required.
Antoine's (in the Quarter)(713 St. Louis St. (504) 581-4422): This restaurant is splurge material only. It is one of the oldest operating restaurants in the U.S., and claims to be the oldest. They invented Oysters Rockefeller, and the Potato Souffle is excellent. There is better food in New Orleans, but it is done very well here, and is worth it once for the experience. Classic creole/french cuisine and classic presentation. Jackets required, and quite expensive.
Peristyle. It is listed in Zagat's as possibly the best restaurant in New Orleans. Not cheap for N.O., but not really expensive. Although the three of us split an entree, three appetizers, two salads and two desserts, the total bill with wine was only $140 for the three of us. The most wonderful dishes we had there, in order of wonder: 1) a lump crabmeat and roasted beet salad with a horseradish dressing on the crab and a beet-balsamic vinaigrette on the plate; 2) a bowl of mussels in a saffron-cream-aioli emulsion sauce; 3) Free-range Chicken with a pan gravy and spaetzle. We kept turning the plate, because there was a different flavor on every portion of the plate. In the middle of dinner, the owner and executive chef, Ann Kearney, came out to see how we were enjoying it. When my cousins mentioned how much they liked the mussels, she came back out later with the recipe and sat down with us for 10 minutes, giving us a tutorial on how to make them. Delightful woman, by the way. She grew up in Dayton, went to school in Cincinatti, and eventually made her way up the food chain in N.O. Peristyle is on the Northeast edge of the Quarter, at Rampart and Dumaine, but well worth the walk. It was taken over by Tom Wolfe in 2004 when Ann Kearney got sick. Wolfe has recently opened Wolfe's in the Warehouse, located in the Marriott - Convention Center Hotel. The food there was overpriced and eminently unimpressive, so now I suppose that Peristyle is at your own risk, as well.
Hurricanes at Pat O'Briens (718 St. Peter St.(504) 525-4823), which is a classic tourist thing to do, but I had never done it before. Pre-tipped our waitress a few bucks, who then set up a table for us right next to the flaming fountain in the courtyard, and we had a delightful time getting blasted on one hurricane each (I don't recommend more, unless you plan on getting so drunk and sick that you can't walk).
Redfish Grill. (115 Bourbon St. (504) 598-1200) Food was pretty much unremarkable. EXCEPT the Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, which consisted of bread pudding infused with chocolate, and covered in a dark chocolate sauce and a white chocolate sauce. One of my cousins, who said that she does not like bread pudding, was running her finger along the empty plate, trying to get whatever last morsels she could scrape up. So, go there for the dessert, but not the dinner. My girlfriend liked the jambalaya at lunch, but I did not think it was particularly impressive.
Mandina's, outside the Quarter (3800 Canal St. on the other side of the freeway (504) 482-9179), is a favorite with locals. Inexpensive and pretty much a neighborhood restaurant with "good ole' home cookin'," some think it has the best bread pudding in New Orleans, I liked the beef stew, and it does everything else well. Cash Only.
You could read "A Confederacy of Dunces," (Pulitzer prize-winning novel set in New Orleans) and see whether that makes you crave a Lucky Dog (it makes a lot of people crave them for some reason). Then you could get a dirt-cheap meal by buying a Lucky Dog off the carts in the streets of the Quarter. The operator of every cart has their own condiments to add. Some think that peanut butter on a lucky dog is “‘da bomb” and provide that as a condiment option. Some others have equally unusual condiments, and some have just the normal stuff. The Lucky Dog carts are a New Orleans institution -- they've been around since the 1940s.
Felix Restaurant and Oyster Bar (less famous than Acme Oyster House, but better, fresher food) has a good raw bar, and decent casual seafood selections (also casual, low to medium priced). Both restaurants are on Iberville, across the street from each other, and about a half block south of Bourbon St. in the Quarter.
Ralph & Kacoo's (519 Tolouse St. (504) 522-5226) (about the quality level of Macaroni Grill) makes some of the best Shrimp Remoulade in town. But most of their other offerings are mediocre, unless you like blackened gator. Their blackened gator is quite good.
The Court of Two Sisters (613 Royal St. (504) 522-7261) is looked down upon by many locals and repeat visitors. It is touristy and contrived, and the food is OK, but not amazing. That said, it has one of the best open-air courtyards in the quarter, and daily buffet brunch with jazz. Tuxedoed waiters who understand the importance of keeping diners happy and the meaning of true service in the Southern style. And the food is not bad for those who are looking to sample all of the New Orleans standards. There's a reason it keeps going, year after year, and I will occasionally take NOLA newbies there for a very satisfying experience. (Note: I just wanted to update this entry to note that the food quality has gone downhill since I originally wrote this, and at a recent visit, our waiter was terrible. Courtyard was still nice, though.)
-- In The Garden District
Pascal's Manale (1838 Napoleon Avenue (504) 895-4877) for BBQ Shrimp, Old N'awlins Cookery (729 Conti St. in the Quarter (504) 529-3663) as a close second
Delmonico Steakhouse, (1300 St. Charles Ave. (504) 525-4937), on the St. Charles streetcar line, is also owned by Emeril, and also gets rave reviews. Before he owned it, Delmonico was one of the old, classic steakhouses in the USA. Steak Delmonico was invented here. However, under Emeril Lagasse, more great food has been added. Even so, you should go here for the steak. Expensive.
Commander's Palace (1403 Washington Ave. (504) 899-8221, in the Garden District) for a one-in-a-lifetime dining experience. Their Bread Pudding Souffle is a signature dish, and people talk about it for years afterward. All of the food is well done, but the service is impeccable. Go at lunch to save money and you can also go casual at lunch, not at dinner, when it's expensive and formal. Martinis at lunch are 25 cents each. (Our most recent visit there was a bit disappointing. While the food was still good, service was less than impeccable. We had to ask for more bread three times before they brought it, and our drinks often sat empty for 5 minutes or so before getting refilled. I don't expect that in a restaurant where you are paying top dollar for the service.) Still, the food was good, some great, and Commander's Palace is one of those classic New Orleans restaurants -- a "must-do" restaurant at least one time.
Casamento's (4330 Magazine St. (504) 895-9761) is a mecca for oyster Po' Boy lovers (Casamento's calls it an "Oyster Loaf"). They are known for the fact that their fried oysters are plump, perfectly breaded with corn flour, and not greasy. Same with the rest of their fried seafood. This place is a bit hard to find. It's behind a nondescript white door with glass, and no sign. Street frontage for the entire restaurant is less than six feet -- it's sandwiched between a bar and a clothing store.
-- In The Carrollton Area
Dante's Kitchen (736 Dante St. (504) 861-3121), out in the Carrollton area (which is reachable via the St. Charles Streetcar if you don't have a car), has very good, fine-dining style food at about half the price. Many in the food industry will go there on their off night. It is open on Sunday, while many good restaurants in New Orleans are closed then. Their Shrimp & Grits appetizer repeatedly makes the list of the 10 best food items in New Orleans. They make their own pickled items, like other restaurants in the city, and their other foods have all been delicious and very well prepared, as well.
Brigtsen's (723 Dante St. (504) 861-7610). Uptown, two blocks off the end of the St. Charles Streetcar Line) is classic New Orleans cuisine, and one of the "Grandes Dammes" (Along with Commander's Palace, Antoine's, Galatorie's, Arnaud's and Brennan's) of the New Orleans Culinary scene. However, you don't need a coat and tie here, or you would feel overdressed (slacks and a Polo shirt are fine). Traditional Creole.
Ye Olde College Inn (3000 South Carrollton (504) 866-3683), uptown on Carrollton (you need a car or you have to take a taxi) is relaxed, reasonably priced, and open Tuesday to Saturday, after 4 pm only. Most entrees are around $17 or so, and they have some typical New Orleans-style "down-home cooking," like Fish Meuniere and Barbecue Shrimp. They won awards for their Shrimp Remoulade Po'Boy over fried green tomatoes, and for their Fried Bread Pudding Po'Boy. Their barbecue shrimp makes heavy use of cream, so it's very, very rich, but good. Get some extra bread to mop up the sauce. The interior of the restaurant is a bit industrial, so don't feel like you have to dress up, though one or two of the patrons do, so you would not feel out of place either way.
-- Elsewhere In Town
Lil' Dizzy's (610 Poydras St. (504) 569-8997), mid-city on Esplanade, has been getting some great word of mouth as the place to come for Southern Breakfasts. Reasonably priced and particularly good omelettes, grits, smoked fish, etc. make people come back over and over for breakfast and brunch. They close early, so check their hours; this place is not open for dinner.
Sid-Mar's (3322 North Turnbull Dr., Metarie (504) 831-9541): Their original restaurant, in Bucktown, had possibly the best shrimp, crab and oysters in town, and at reasonable prices. Their oyster soup and seafood gumbo were legendary with locals. Sid-Mar's finally reopened in January 2010 after Katrina and four years of litigation. It is now located on Turnbull Dr. in Metarie. I have not yet tried them at the new location. Here is an article from the Times-Picayune.
Dooky Chase (mid-city) (2301 Orleans Ave. (504) 821-0600): Homestyle creole cooking with a heavy African influence. Best dishes are Shrimp Dooky, Creole gumbo, Shrimp Clemenceau, Stuffed shrimp, Crawfish Etouffee, Breast of chicken a la Dooky (stuffed with oysters and topped with marchand de vin sauce). Very good fried chicken, though I think that Willie Mae's fried chicken is better. Lately they have taken to serving a lunch buffet ($17.95) in addition to individual orders. This was also a hotbed of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Open only from 11 am to 3 pm.
Nouvelle Restaurants In The Warehouse District
After Katrina, a lot of high-end restaurants began populating the Warehouse District, just across Canal St. from the French Quarter. Personally, I don't see the need. Fantastic food at reasonable prices has been one thing for which New Orleans is known. The few over-the-top restaurants in price, like Antoine's or Galatoire's (or Commander's Palace, for that matter) are accepted as worth the financial pain of going, because they are classic dining experiences and have been around for about a century or more.
I felt that the best of the "Nouvelle" but pricey restaurants is Cochon (930 Tchoupitoulas St. (504) 588-2123). Better, more reasonably priced, and easier to get in at lunch. Their Cochon de Lait, for which they are named, is good. They make their own pickled items and hot sauce, and their barbecued oysters are some of the best in the city. Their oyster and bacon sandwich is quite popular, as well. The rest of their food is good, but won't knock your socks off.
One of the worst of the Nouvelle is August (301 Tchoupitoulas St. (504) 299-9777), owned by John Besh (who owns a few of the "foo-foo" restaurants in the warehouse district). He uses fresh ingredients in the food, but it seems that some of the ingredients are there just for show. Why do you need Oxtail marmalade and smoked marrow on a filet mignon? What is the purpose of quail eggs in a roasted beet and crabmeat salad? And, come on. Quail Egg and Truffle Foam in a cracked eggshell as a between-course palate cleanser is fairly trite. On top of that, the food did not have much flavor and was quite pricey, to boot. To be fair, my friends (who love steak) said that their steaks were perfectly cooked. I have not tried its sister restaurant, Lüke (333 St. Charles Ave. (504) 378-2840), which is well-liked by foodies, and supposedly serves a very nice breakfast.
Cochon's affiliated restaurant, Herbsaint (701 St. Charles Ave., also in the warehouse district (504) 524-4114), is better, though equally pricey. We went there for appetizers and drinks and the Short Rib and Deconstructed Carbonara were excellent. Though small and pricey. Atmosphere for all three of the above restaurants was more dressy than some of the others in New Orleans (except for Commander's Palace or Galatoire's, where they require a coat and tie at dinner and expect nice dress at lunch).
Eventually, there will also be addresses and phone numbers added for a lot of the recommendations below.
In the interim, here are the TS4Ms NOLA recommendations as they stand at present:
Your best bet at enjoying New Orleans is to focus on the food, music, architecture and party atmosphere. It's a bohemian's paradise. Dance in the streets. Eat until you can eat no more. Take some ghost tours and vampire tours. Take a cooking class or two. Check out the cemeteries and the Southern Mansions in the Garden District. Enjoy the unique architecture of the French Quarter.
Some fun things to do:
Shopping at the French Market. Arts, Crafts, T-shirts, and more food to take home
A Garden District Tour
A Riverboat Ride
Walk, walk, walk through the French Quarter
"Catch a horse-drawn carriage, ride it down to Basin Street. In the old French Quarter, you know ya got ta use your feet. Dixieland and Flambeauxs, I'm goin' back where I belong. I know what it means to miss New Orleans."
In the French Quarter, Bourbon St. has a lot of the bars, clubs and tourist shops. A block toward the river, Royal St. has all of the antique shops and art galleries (Outside of the French Quarter, Magazine St. has six miles of antique shops, going through the Garden District straight through Carrollton). The Voodoo Museum is also on Bourbon St. There are some great walking tours at night with ghost stories ("Ghost Walks"), and some decent tours of the Lafayette Cemetery, just outside the quarter.
Jazz Preservation Hall, in the Quarter, houses the Jazz Preservation Hall band, which plays classic New Orleans Jazz and Dixieland. You go into this wooden firetrap (admission $10) where you all stand around or sit on the wooden floor (no chairs or benches) and listen to a 45-minute set of classic New Orleans music. After Katrina, the price doubled from $5, but it is still definitely worth the experience.
The National Park Service administers parts of the Quarter as a part of the Lafitte National Historical Park area. As a result, it offers a free walking tour in the French Market area, but you must pre-register to get a spot.
Ride the St. Charles Streetcar to the end of the line and back, or one of the other streetcars to get a good feel for the town. $1.25 each way.
While you're at it, you can get off the streetcar and visit the Audubon Zoo, one of the top zoos in the country, for a fun day.
Along those lines, the Aquarium of the Americas, down by the riverfront, is quite a satisfying experience, as well.
Check out Mardi Gras World, the D-Day Museum, the Cabildo and the Civil War Museum.
Most Saturday afternoons, the Louisiana Music Factory (a record/CD store - 210 Decatur St., on the edge of the quarter (504) 586-1094) hosts live performances by local musicians. You can hear blues, r&b, cajun, zydeco, and more. Check here for a current schedule of performances. There are usually drinks served, but they're not cheap. The performances are free.
You can go gambling at Harrahs, if you want to just lose your money (never seem to win there)
The New Orleans School of Cooking in the French Quarter provides for a very enjoyable experience, and you get to eat some good Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding and other traditional New Orleans foods. The food is good, and the atmosphere is a lot of fun, but it's not fine dining. You do get a pretty good meal and a "cooking show" for about $25 or so (if you get there by 10 am. If you get there for the 2 pm class, you will get corn & crab bisque, shrimp creole and pralines for $20).
Walk Jackson Square and enjoy the street musicians, mimes and the artists displaying their wares on the wrought iron fence around the square. At night, there are psychics there, ready to read your palm or tarot.
Check out the bars -- they all have live music. I particularly like the ones on Bourbon St., as all of them are easy walking, one to the other. Just walk down Bourbon, and stop in wherever the music catches your attention. You will surely find something you like there. Big Al Carson is usually playing in one of the clubs. Incredible voice, and he does some great Marvin Gaye and Al Green type tunes. He can be a little raunchy, though. You will also find some great blues, ragtime, and rock groups on Bourbon St. You might also check in advance to see who is playing at the House of Blues. Tipitina's is an institution. If Harry Connick, Sr. is playing, he does some great '40s jazz, like "All of Me," and that style (think Sinatra). He's worth seeing.
Another good place for live music, a bit calmer and cheaper than on Bourbon St., is Frenchmen St. in the Faubourg Marigny area. It's just across Esplanade from the French Quarter. Snug Harbor, (504) 949-0696, 626 Frenchmen Street, has great jazz/blues every night. Right now, Charmaine Neville plays every Monday night. Unlike the Bourbon St. Bars, Snug Harbor has a cover charge (around $20), but the food and drinks are cheaper than on Bourbon St. Also reputed to have great burgers. There are also a couple of other decent bars with live music on Frenchmen St. The Spotted Cat, (504) 943-3887, 623 Frenchmen St., is an intimate venue with a lot of good jazz groups. It is open late, sometimes until sunrise. It can get crowded. The Blue Nile Nightclub, 532 Frenchmen St. (504) 948-BLUE, is also a good place for more energetic, local music. They don't have a show every night, but when they do, it's usually a high-energy show. The night's band usually starts sometime between 9:30 pm and 11 pm, playing past midnight. Checkpoint Charlie, (504) 281-4847, 501 Esplanade Ave., on the corner of Frenchmen and Esplanade, has local rock bands. The clientele can seem a bit rough, though.
Not a "fun thing to do," but "Katrina tours" are all the rage for tourists right now. Essentially, they put you on a bus or in a van, drive around and show you what Katrina did, how high the water rose, etc., and describe what happened. Let me tell you: if you have any compassion for the human condition, this is not an easy thing to do. You've seen the pictures on TV, but you don't realize the breadth of the disaster until you take one of these tours. It's probably an important thing to do once to see it and understand the human tragedy. But it is very difficult, and I don't think I could ever do it again. Many tour companies offer this, but I really couldn't tell you which is best.
Airport Transportation:
Some folks here have used Johnny's Limousine Service ((504) 909-2083) to get from the airport to their resorts. Last known pricing was $100 for stretch limo, round trip from the airport to the French Quarter, if you get a referral from Big Frank here.
If you just want a shuttle, it is $15 per person for a shared ride. Taxis are $28 per ride, so if there are two of you, a taxi is about the same (or a bit cheaper, depending on your tipping habits) as a shared shuttle.
Some recommendations for food:
Breakfast
Cafe du Monde. 1039 Decatur St. (504) 525-4544 Coffee and Beignets. The original, still the best. For you Vampire fans, it's where Louis met Lestat in the 1800s in "Interview With A Vampire." They have very little else, but sitting on that open air patio, listening to the street musicians and having coffee and beignets is one of the quintessential New Orleans experiences. It's also open 24 hours, in case you need something greasy to soak up the alcohol after a night of carousing.
Breakfast at Brennan's (417 Royal St. (504) 525-9711) is considered a New Orleans tradition. Very expensive, but many make it a point to come here at least once each time they are in New Orleans. They invented Bananas Foster after a surplus of bananas at the docks in New Orleans in the 1950s spurred them to come up with a creative use for the fruit. Now, the Brennan family owns many, many top NOLA restaurants, such as Commander's Palace, Mr. B's, Dickie Brennan's steakhouse, Mike's on the Avenue, and many more, including franchises outside of New Orleans, but this is the original -- the place that started the Brennan food empire. Expensive.
The Coffee Pot (in the Quarter) (714 St. Peter St. (504) 524-3500) is good, casual and also inexpensive. I'd go for breakfast, where they serve things like some pretty unique New Orleans-Style omelets, and Callas, which are fried balls of rice, flour, cinnamon and egg, coated with powdered sugar and served with Maple Syrup and butter. These are a traditional New Orleans breakfast that goes back to the Colonial days, when the Creole women would walk through the streets with baskets of these for sale. After Hurricane Katrina, the staff added a Meals Ready to Eat entrée: ''M.R.E.: A Hurricane Katrina favorite. Please order early. FEMA needs 4-7 days to ship. $782.90."
Petunia's (817 St. Louis St. (504) 522-6440) has good breakfasts, at about $15 or so a person, all in, with tip. Their "Pain Perdu" (French toast in "New Orleanian") is quite good, though it seems exceptionally buttery (with the cinnamon and powdered sugar, I did not bother with any syrup). They also have some very nice omelettes and crepes, served with side dishes and more food than you can eat for breakfast. Their link to their breakfast menu is broken on their webpage, so you can see the menu by clicking here.
Lunch
Johnny's Po' Boys (511 St. Louis St. (504) 524-8129) is the place for many kinds of Po' Boys, done very well. The average Po'Boy there is around $8, and is large enough for 2, so it's pretty inexpensive. They close at 4 pm.
Willie Mae's Scotch House (2401 St. Ann St. (504) 822-9503) is in a dodgy neighborhoood (don't walk there), but it has without a doubt the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. Ever. Very thin batter, crispy (it shatters like glass when you bite into it), and full of flavor, with the chicken inside being moist and tender. They are also known for their smothered veal, but I have not tried it. Their butter beans and rice are good, as well. A three-piece chicken dinner with one side dish is $10, and there are restaurant.com coupons that can reduce your cost. They charge for each drink refill, however. I'd go there for the fried chicken and pass on dessert, which is only average. Open from 11 am to 3 pm only. Cash Only.
Other Restaurants In General
-- In Or Near The French Quarter
Mother's Restaurant. 401 Poydras St. (504) 523-9656 Red Beans & Rice are some of the best, if not the best, in town. People love the black ham and the “debris” here. “Debris” are those parts of the roast that fall to the bottom of the pot while cooking, mixed with the spices and the juice. The Ferdi's Special Po' Boy, or Ralph's Special Po'Boy use both ham and debris. Also, a “debris” biscuit with breakfast can be a sublime experience. They also serve a huge breakfast special with eggs, grits, andouille sausage and biscuits for $5.25 if you get there before 9 am. We shared one, along with a $4 "debris biscuit," and were both full until dinner.
Progress Grocery, who made the best Muffuletta in town, is now closed except for their offices in Metarie who reputedly do mail orders, but Central Grocery (who claims to have invented it in 1906), about two doors down, still makes a good Muffuletta. 923 Decatur St. (504) 523-1620
Napoleon House (500 Chartres St. (504) 522-4152) if you prefer your Muffalettas heated.
http://www.cafemaspero.com/ in the Quarter (601 Decatur St. (504) 523-6250), at the corner of Decatur and Tolouse. According to bigfrank, the best red beans & rice in town. Locals like their sandwiches, which are reasonably priced. And $3 hurricanes.
K-Paul's (416 Chartres St. (504) 524-7394) for great upscale Creole and Cajun. They have now started serving a deli-style lunch which, while good and reasonably priced, is disappointing. K-Paul's works such magic with their regular menu (blackened fish, which they introduced to the world, Blackened Stuffed Pork Chop with Marchand du Vin Sauce, Blackened Beef Tenders with Debris sauce, their wonderful molasses muffins or corn and jalapeno muffins, and breathtaking desserts). So, going there for magic food and being able to get only a Po'boy and gumbo at lunch (or a limited main course, like their sticky chicken) just disappoints, even though the food at lunch is good and cheap.
Nola (534 St. Louis St. (504) 522-6652) also has some great upscale Creole and Cajun, and it's often a tie between Nola and K-Paul's as to which restaurant was our best dining experience while in town. The service at both is consistently impressive, as is the food. (There were a couple of really minor glitches in service and food at a recent visit to NOLA, but that was most likely an aberration.) Both are mid- to high-priced for dinner, though.
Nola is owned by Emeril Lagasse. A little more formal and a bit more expensive is Emeril's. In the warehouse district, at 800 Tchoupitoulas, outside the Quarter. I've never tried it, but it gets raves, and bigfrank likes it. They offer a $19.95 3-course lunch special on weekdays. (504) 528-9393.
New Orleans School of Cooking (524 St. Louis St.) for an entertaining cooking class and a decent classic lunch of Jambalaya, Gumbo, Bread Pudding and Pralines
Gumbo Shop (630 St. Peter St. (800) 55-GUMBO, in the Quarter): Great gumbo, good shrimp remoulade, and decent crawfish pie. Also, decent prices.
Bayona (430 Dauphine (504) 545-4455), one of Susan Spicer's restaurants, is well liked for its Nouvelle-NOLA cuisine. At lunch, many rave about the smoked duck, cashew butter and jalapeño jelly sandwich they serve.
Galatoire's (in the Quarter)(209 Bourbon St. (504) 525-2021): People rave about the Trout Meuniere, but also a classic, "old-time" restaurant in the tradition of Antoine's for classic New Orleans creole preparations. Consider Shrimp remoulade, Crabmeat maison, Canape Lorenzo, Oysters Rockefeller or Oysters en brochette. Also the steak bearnaise is great. Jacket required.
Antoine's (in the Quarter)(713 St. Louis St. (504) 581-4422): This restaurant is splurge material only. It is one of the oldest operating restaurants in the U.S., and claims to be the oldest. They invented Oysters Rockefeller, and the Potato Souffle is excellent. There is better food in New Orleans, but it is done very well here, and is worth it once for the experience. Classic creole/french cuisine and classic presentation. Jackets required, and quite expensive.
Peristyle. It is listed in Zagat's as possibly the best restaurant in New Orleans. Not cheap for N.O., but not really expensive. Although the three of us split an entree, three appetizers, two salads and two desserts, the total bill with wine was only $140 for the three of us. The most wonderful dishes we had there, in order of wonder: 1) a lump crabmeat and roasted beet salad with a horseradish dressing on the crab and a beet-balsamic vinaigrette on the plate; 2) a bowl of mussels in a saffron-cream-aioli emulsion sauce; 3) Free-range Chicken with a pan gravy and spaetzle. We kept turning the plate, because there was a different flavor on every portion of the plate. In the middle of dinner, the owner and executive chef, Ann Kearney, came out to see how we were enjoying it. When my cousins mentioned how much they liked the mussels, she came back out later with the recipe and sat down with us for 10 minutes, giving us a tutorial on how to make them. Delightful woman, by the way. She grew up in Dayton, went to school in Cincinatti, and eventually made her way up the food chain in N.O. Peristyle is on the Northeast edge of the Quarter, at Rampart and Dumaine, but well worth the walk. It was taken over by Tom Wolfe in 2004 when Ann Kearney got sick. Wolfe has recently opened Wolfe's in the Warehouse, located in the Marriott - Convention Center Hotel. The food there was overpriced and eminently unimpressive, so now I suppose that Peristyle is at your own risk, as well.
Hurricanes at Pat O'Briens (718 St. Peter St.(504) 525-4823), which is a classic tourist thing to do, but I had never done it before. Pre-tipped our waitress a few bucks, who then set up a table for us right next to the flaming fountain in the courtyard, and we had a delightful time getting blasted on one hurricane each (I don't recommend more, unless you plan on getting so drunk and sick that you can't walk).
Redfish Grill. (115 Bourbon St. (504) 598-1200) Food was pretty much unremarkable. EXCEPT the Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, which consisted of bread pudding infused with chocolate, and covered in a dark chocolate sauce and a white chocolate sauce. One of my cousins, who said that she does not like bread pudding, was running her finger along the empty plate, trying to get whatever last morsels she could scrape up. So, go there for the dessert, but not the dinner. My girlfriend liked the jambalaya at lunch, but I did not think it was particularly impressive.
Mandina's, outside the Quarter (3800 Canal St. on the other side of the freeway (504) 482-9179), is a favorite with locals. Inexpensive and pretty much a neighborhood restaurant with "good ole' home cookin'," some think it has the best bread pudding in New Orleans, I liked the beef stew, and it does everything else well. Cash Only.
You could read "A Confederacy of Dunces," (Pulitzer prize-winning novel set in New Orleans) and see whether that makes you crave a Lucky Dog (it makes a lot of people crave them for some reason). Then you could get a dirt-cheap meal by buying a Lucky Dog off the carts in the streets of the Quarter. The operator of every cart has their own condiments to add. Some think that peanut butter on a lucky dog is “‘da bomb” and provide that as a condiment option. Some others have equally unusual condiments, and some have just the normal stuff. The Lucky Dog carts are a New Orleans institution -- they've been around since the 1940s.
Felix Restaurant and Oyster Bar (less famous than Acme Oyster House, but better, fresher food) has a good raw bar, and decent casual seafood selections (also casual, low to medium priced). Both restaurants are on Iberville, across the street from each other, and about a half block south of Bourbon St. in the Quarter.
Ralph & Kacoo's (519 Tolouse St. (504) 522-5226) (about the quality level of Macaroni Grill) makes some of the best Shrimp Remoulade in town. But most of their other offerings are mediocre, unless you like blackened gator. Their blackened gator is quite good.
The Court of Two Sisters (613 Royal St. (504) 522-7261) is looked down upon by many locals and repeat visitors. It is touristy and contrived, and the food is OK, but not amazing. That said, it has one of the best open-air courtyards in the quarter, and daily buffet brunch with jazz. Tuxedoed waiters who understand the importance of keeping diners happy and the meaning of true service in the Southern style. And the food is not bad for those who are looking to sample all of the New Orleans standards. There's a reason it keeps going, year after year, and I will occasionally take NOLA newbies there for a very satisfying experience. (Note: I just wanted to update this entry to note that the food quality has gone downhill since I originally wrote this, and at a recent visit, our waiter was terrible. Courtyard was still nice, though.)
-- In The Garden District
Pascal's Manale (1838 Napoleon Avenue (504) 895-4877) for BBQ Shrimp, Old N'awlins Cookery (729 Conti St. in the Quarter (504) 529-3663) as a close second
Delmonico Steakhouse, (1300 St. Charles Ave. (504) 525-4937), on the St. Charles streetcar line, is also owned by Emeril, and also gets rave reviews. Before he owned it, Delmonico was one of the old, classic steakhouses in the USA. Steak Delmonico was invented here. However, under Emeril Lagasse, more great food has been added. Even so, you should go here for the steak. Expensive.
Commander's Palace (1403 Washington Ave. (504) 899-8221, in the Garden District) for a one-in-a-lifetime dining experience. Their Bread Pudding Souffle is a signature dish, and people talk about it for years afterward. All of the food is well done, but the service is impeccable. Go at lunch to save money and you can also go casual at lunch, not at dinner, when it's expensive and formal. Martinis at lunch are 25 cents each. (Our most recent visit there was a bit disappointing. While the food was still good, service was less than impeccable. We had to ask for more bread three times before they brought it, and our drinks often sat empty for 5 minutes or so before getting refilled. I don't expect that in a restaurant where you are paying top dollar for the service.) Still, the food was good, some great, and Commander's Palace is one of those classic New Orleans restaurants -- a "must-do" restaurant at least one time.
Casamento's (4330 Magazine St. (504) 895-9761) is a mecca for oyster Po' Boy lovers (Casamento's calls it an "Oyster Loaf"). They are known for the fact that their fried oysters are plump, perfectly breaded with corn flour, and not greasy. Same with the rest of their fried seafood. This place is a bit hard to find. It's behind a nondescript white door with glass, and no sign. Street frontage for the entire restaurant is less than six feet -- it's sandwiched between a bar and a clothing store.
-- In The Carrollton Area
Dante's Kitchen (736 Dante St. (504) 861-3121), out in the Carrollton area (which is reachable via the St. Charles Streetcar if you don't have a car), has very good, fine-dining style food at about half the price. Many in the food industry will go there on their off night. It is open on Sunday, while many good restaurants in New Orleans are closed then. Their Shrimp & Grits appetizer repeatedly makes the list of the 10 best food items in New Orleans. They make their own pickled items, like other restaurants in the city, and their other foods have all been delicious and very well prepared, as well.
Brigtsen's (723 Dante St. (504) 861-7610). Uptown, two blocks off the end of the St. Charles Streetcar Line) is classic New Orleans cuisine, and one of the "Grandes Dammes" (Along with Commander's Palace, Antoine's, Galatorie's, Arnaud's and Brennan's) of the New Orleans Culinary scene. However, you don't need a coat and tie here, or you would feel overdressed (slacks and a Polo shirt are fine). Traditional Creole.
Ye Olde College Inn (3000 South Carrollton (504) 866-3683), uptown on Carrollton (you need a car or you have to take a taxi) is relaxed, reasonably priced, and open Tuesday to Saturday, after 4 pm only. Most entrees are around $17 or so, and they have some typical New Orleans-style "down-home cooking," like Fish Meuniere and Barbecue Shrimp. They won awards for their Shrimp Remoulade Po'Boy over fried green tomatoes, and for their Fried Bread Pudding Po'Boy. Their barbecue shrimp makes heavy use of cream, so it's very, very rich, but good. Get some extra bread to mop up the sauce. The interior of the restaurant is a bit industrial, so don't feel like you have to dress up, though one or two of the patrons do, so you would not feel out of place either way.
-- Elsewhere In Town
Lil' Dizzy's (610 Poydras St. (504) 569-8997), mid-city on Esplanade, has been getting some great word of mouth as the place to come for Southern Breakfasts. Reasonably priced and particularly good omelettes, grits, smoked fish, etc. make people come back over and over for breakfast and brunch. They close early, so check their hours; this place is not open for dinner.
Sid-Mar's (3322 North Turnbull Dr., Metarie (504) 831-9541): Their original restaurant, in Bucktown, had possibly the best shrimp, crab and oysters in town, and at reasonable prices. Their oyster soup and seafood gumbo were legendary with locals. Sid-Mar's finally reopened in January 2010 after Katrina and four years of litigation. It is now located on Turnbull Dr. in Metarie. I have not yet tried them at the new location. Here is an article from the Times-Picayune.
Dooky Chase (mid-city) (2301 Orleans Ave. (504) 821-0600): Homestyle creole cooking with a heavy African influence. Best dishes are Shrimp Dooky, Creole gumbo, Shrimp Clemenceau, Stuffed shrimp, Crawfish Etouffee, Breast of chicken a la Dooky (stuffed with oysters and topped with marchand de vin sauce). Very good fried chicken, though I think that Willie Mae's fried chicken is better. Lately they have taken to serving a lunch buffet ($17.95) in addition to individual orders. This was also a hotbed of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Open only from 11 am to 3 pm.
Nouvelle Restaurants In The Warehouse District
After Katrina, a lot of high-end restaurants began populating the Warehouse District, just across Canal St. from the French Quarter. Personally, I don't see the need. Fantastic food at reasonable prices has been one thing for which New Orleans is known. The few over-the-top restaurants in price, like Antoine's or Galatoire's (or Commander's Palace, for that matter) are accepted as worth the financial pain of going, because they are classic dining experiences and have been around for about a century or more.
I felt that the best of the "Nouvelle" but pricey restaurants is Cochon (930 Tchoupitoulas St. (504) 588-2123). Better, more reasonably priced, and easier to get in at lunch. Their Cochon de Lait, for which they are named, is good. They make their own pickled items and hot sauce, and their barbecued oysters are some of the best in the city. Their oyster and bacon sandwich is quite popular, as well. The rest of their food is good, but won't knock your socks off.
One of the worst of the Nouvelle is August (301 Tchoupitoulas St. (504) 299-9777), owned by John Besh (who owns a few of the "foo-foo" restaurants in the warehouse district). He uses fresh ingredients in the food, but it seems that some of the ingredients are there just for show. Why do you need Oxtail marmalade and smoked marrow on a filet mignon? What is the purpose of quail eggs in a roasted beet and crabmeat salad? And, come on. Quail Egg and Truffle Foam in a cracked eggshell as a between-course palate cleanser is fairly trite. On top of that, the food did not have much flavor and was quite pricey, to boot. To be fair, my friends (who love steak) said that their steaks were perfectly cooked. I have not tried its sister restaurant, Lüke (333 St. Charles Ave. (504) 378-2840), which is well-liked by foodies, and supposedly serves a very nice breakfast.
Cochon's affiliated restaurant, Herbsaint (701 St. Charles Ave., also in the warehouse district (504) 524-4114), is better, though equally pricey. We went there for appetizers and drinks and the Short Rib and Deconstructed Carbonara were excellent. Though small and pricey. Atmosphere for all three of the above restaurants was more dressy than some of the others in New Orleans (except for Commander's Palace or Galatoire's, where they require a coat and tie at dinner and expect nice dress at lunch).
Great Job, any recommendations on NO Timeshares for exchanges, etc.?
Comment