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Trip to New Orleans with the wife

TheTwinAndreBen said:
Skins,

I put this list together for a friend a few months ago that was going to mardi-gras. I'm not going to go back and re-link everything, but you should be able to copy pasta. DISCLAIMER: I am not sure how the oil spill may have affected the food at some of these places, so ask questions.



Here are some of my fave restaurants and other fun spots in NOLA. I tried to divide things by category and neighborhood.


Central Business District (Downtown):

Mother's: Great poboy (sandwich) shop on Poydras. Walking distance from the Marriott. Great for lunch. Get the Ralph and some File Gumbo. Casual. Lines to eat sometimes but they move fast.
http://mothersrestaurant.net/

Drago's: Famous Metarie oyster house that opened up a location in the Downtown Hilton. Chargrilled Oysters are to die for. Stuffed Lobsters are amazing. Casual and not that expensive.
http://www.dragosrestaurant.com/


French Quarter:

Cafe du Monde: A must. The french coffee (cafe au lait) and biegnets here are amazing, even if its a bit touristy.
http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Acme Oyster House. Near the corner of Bourbon and Iberville just inside the quarter. Great for Louisiana classics and fresh shucked Oysters on the half shell.
http://www.acmeoyster.com/

K. Pauls: This is famous Chef Paul Prudhomme's outpost in the Quarter. A little more expensive, but still a casual seafood spot. Great fish, gumbo and Louisiana classics.
http://www.chefpaul.com/kpaul

Mike Anderson's Seafood. Great fish and seafood in the quarter. Their Crawfish Bisque might be one of my favorite things ever. The Norman is outstanding also. On Bourbon Street. Somewhat pricey but casual.
http://www.mikeandersons.com/

Arnauds: Another great, more upscale seafood spot in the Quarter on Bienville. The bar there, French 75 was recently named one of the best bars in the country, and serves classic New Orleans french cocktails. They have a live jazz brunch on Sundays.
http://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/


Fine Dining:

Galatoires: maybe my favorite place in NOLA. Open since 1905. On bourbon in the quarter. Jackets are required for men at dinner. Excellent food. Fairly pricey.
http://www.galatoires.com/

Commander's Palace: Another NOLA standard. In Uptown on Washington. This is where Emeril and Kevin Rathbun learned to cook. Expensive. Jackets for dinner.
http://www.commanderspalace.com/

Cochon: This is in the Warehouse district on Tchoupitoulas Street. Trendy and upscale, but with more of a butcher minded menu. Somewhat similar to Abattoir in ATL. Might be a good change of pace from seafood, or a place to stop if you are in the warehouse district checking out galleries.
http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/

Luke: John Besh is probably the most famous chef currently in New Orleans. Luke is his french brasserie. It is downtown in the CBD near the Marriott and Canal.
http://www.lukeneworleans.com/

August is another Besh establishment that has won several awards
http://www.restaurantaugust.com/

He also has a few other places in town.
http://www.chefjohnbesh.com/



Bars:

You pretty much have to go to Pat O'Briens in the quarter and drink a Hurricane. Its on Bourbon. They have a great patio for the daytime. At night they also have a dueling piano bar. Tip an usher and get him to find you seats. The piansts are usually talented and play all the creole and zydeco classics as well as take requests.
http://www.patobriens.com/patobriens/neworleans/


Other Attractions:

New Orleans French Market: This is near Cafe Du Monde on the edge of the Quarter. Great place for people watching.
http://www.frenchmarket.org/

St Louis Cathedral: Cant miss this. It towers over the french quarter. Has adjacent square and gardens that are beautiful. Lots of street performers and such in the block or two surrounding the cathedral.
http://www.stlouiscathedral.org/

Art Galleries: There tons of wonderful galleries in the Quarter and the Warehouse district. I would think most would at least be open for limited hours during the day, even during mardi gras. One of my favorites in the Quarter is the Michalopoulos gallery.
http://www.michalopoulos.com/

Tchoupitoulas Street dead ends into Canal, and if you walk up Tchoup it is also lined with galleries.
http://www.neworleansonline.com/tools/neighborhoodguide/artsdistrict.html

Harrahs: giant casino in the heart of the CBD near the end of Canal by the river, if gambling is your thing.
http://www.harrahsneworleans.com/casinos/harrahs-new-orleans/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml


Shopping: The Shops at Canal Place is a fairly upscale mall near the end of Canal by the river. They have Saks, etc.
http://www.theshopsatcanalplace.com/




General Advice:


All sorts of great shops and galleries in the Quarter, if you dont want to encounter too much of the drunk mess though, I would steer clear of there later at night. The quarter is great during the morning and day to wander though and take pictures and check out the galleries and shops.

Uptown and St. Charles street specifically have beautiful old plantation homes. There are lots of parades there as well. May be worth a cab ride. I would really stick to the main streets of the CBD, Quarter, Warehouse District and possibly Uptown though. The main thoroughfares of the neighborhoods I mentioned are pretty safe, but it can get sketchy fairly quickly once you get off the beaten path. New Orleans is definitely not the town to go exploring in at night.

Let me know if you have any questions. Have Fun!
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WOW! Thank you very much! And thanks to everyone else as well...The Quad...errr...The Pit never fails.
 
Skins-

Just went to NOLA about 2 weeks ago for a wedding (Friday night wedding, at the end of which we did a second line down bourbon straight into Pat O'Briens). It was a really great time.

I would highly suggest Bayona for a lunch...... It's on Dauphine (which is one street over from Bourbon (and it runs parallel to Bourbon). I believe it is in the 400 section of Dauphine. You have to kind of watch out for it, my wife and I passed it the first time by because the entrance isn't directly on the street, but off of a small bricked courtyard/alley.

We sat out on the patio and both had a mixed grill of lamb, quail, and duck..... and we don't eat these things ever. It was ridiculously good, and I think the plate was like $14 total. Best $14 meal I've ever had.
 
Sorry to be really late to reply, but I would second Mother's for brunch (roast beef Po Boy with debris - trust me), Galatoire's on Bourbon for upscale (my wife's family has sworn by them for years) and Napoleon House for a Pim's Cup. I would also add, if you're looking for a "local" place that has an awesome Po Boy and $1 Dixie Beers (and a decent chance of running into a Manning), Domalise's in the Garden District. We named our dog after that place. A close second is Parisol's, also in the Garden District.
 
Stop in and have some drinks at the rotating carousel bar in the Hotel Monteleone on Royal street. Very cool place.
 
If you really want an authentic, down and dirty, NOLA seafood experience, look no further than Franky and Johnny's in Uptown. When I lived in NOLA, I took everyone who visited to F&J's at least once.
 
TripleDeacon said:
Sorry to be really late to reply, but I would second Mother's for brunch (roast beef Po Boy with debris - trust me), Galatoire's on Bourbon for upscale (my wife's family has sworn by them for years) and Napoleon House for a Pim's Cup. I would also add, if you're looking for a "local" place that has an awesome Po Boy and $1 Dixie Beers (and a decent chance of running into a Manning), Domalise's in the Garden District. We named our dog after that place. A close second is Parisol's, also in the Garden District.
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Is your dogs name misspelled too? Shrimp Po Boy at domilise's and roast beef at parasol's.
 
Who knew we had so many Crescent City experts? Thank you very much! I am now looking more excited about this trip than ever (and I was already looking forward to it).
 
You have to do brunch at Brennan's and have the original hurricanes to drink (just don't drink enough to fill two cases and then agree to sell your Super Bowl tickets to some guy screaming he wants them on Bourbon Street).

Lunch - Mahoney's PO Boys- best in the city
 
nomadic said:
Is your dogs name misspelled too? Shrimp Po Boy at domilise's and roast beef at parasol's.
Click to expand...

Her name is "Leesie" so I guess I should have said we phonetically named her after the place. I know those places by name, not by spell check.
 
Skins - I don't know if Mrs. Skins enjoys the occasional cocktail, but I was in New Orleans for a wedding a few months ago and took the original cocktail tour.

I was expecting some drinking and not much else - it turned out to be completely awesome. The guy that led the tour, Joe, had a special on the Travel Channel and really knew his stuff. It completely avoids Bourbon Street and hits only the authentic, historic, and beautiful bars/restaurants in New Orleans. It's cheap, includes the first drink, then after that each bar has a signature cocktail and you can either buy one or skip it. Works out pretty well to share a drink at each stop, but you could avoid any drinking altogether and the tour would still be fantastic.

New Orleans plays host to Tales of the Cocktail and is a serious leader in the rise of the mixology movement today. Easily one of the only cities in America where such a tour is possible. Just having a Sazarac next to the old apothecary where Bitters were first created is really cool.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...inal_Cocktail_Tour-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

I've been to NoLa a dozen times maybe, and while all the food and location info in this thread has been great, I think this is the most memorable thing I've done.
 
Tropical Isle on Bourbon St. to drink a Hand Grenade.
 
I am actually sitting in a new orleans hotel room right now. Unfortunately, I'm on the clock and can't see the sights this time around
 
I'll add my thanks as well for the suggestions. I have no idea how much time I'll have to go to some of these places, but I'm definitely going to keep some of these places in mind in May.
 
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