New Orleans trip advice

[PurdueBrad]

Hey guys-

You are always an amazing resource for trip info so I appeal to you yet again. It seems like each year that we're going to set-up a trip for our anniversary rather than exchange gifts. The trip we've scheduled is over our Spring Break (we're both teachers) to New Orleans in March. Thus far, I have a place to stay (B&B called 1896 O'Malley House) and these dinner reservations-

Sat- Commander's Palace
Sun- Emeril's New Orleans
Mon- Jacques-Imos
Tues- Bon Ton Cafe
Wed- August
Thurs- Emeril's NOLA

I'm looking for activity and lunch recommendations. Anything you guys have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Brad

[ntndeacon]

The Ol' Coffee Pot is real tasty. you can't never eat enough cajun food!

[Easy Mac]

Watch Top Chef this year, it's all New Orleans all the time

[Super Ugly]

I was there back in May. It's a great city. For lunch, I can recommend Mother's. Head down to the French market, too. Loads of food stalls there. I can't stand seafood normally, but I tried a blackened catfish po'boy that was just unreal.

Highlight of the trip was a swamp tour. We spent a little extra and went for one of those whizzy little airboats (as opposed to the big chuggers that can accommodate a dozen or so). So worth it.

[StLee]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Hey guys-

You are always an amazing resource for trip info so I appeal to you yet again. It seems like each year that we're going to set-up a trip for our anniversary rather than exchange gifts. The trip we've scheduled is over our Spring Break (we're both teachers) to New Orleans in March. Thus far, I have a place to stay (B&B called 1896 O'Malley House) and these dinner reservations-

Sat- Commander's Palace
Sun- Emeril's New Orleans
Mon- Jacques-Imos
Tues- Bon Ton Cafe
Wed- August
Thurs- Emeril's NOLA

I'm looking for activity and lunch recommendations. Anything you guys have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Brad

First question, when in March are you going? If it's the beginning of March, Mardi Gras will be held later than usual this year, so New Orleans will be PACKED! But you can enjoy the Mardi Gras festivities.

Breakfast at Cafe DuMonde at least one day. You won't regret eating beignets. You just won't.

It looks like you're hitting a few good places, but Acme Oyster House is a great place for seafood dishes. If you don't like oysters, I recommend the etouffe or the Medley for a full Cajun food experience: gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans, I believe.

I don't know if you're a drinker, but Pat O'Brien's is a popular spot to try out the Hurricane (sweet daiquiri style drink). Also, Crescent City Brewhouse is good for a variety of microbrewery daytime beers.

Also, for night life, walk Bourbon Street and hit any number of jazz clubs there. There are some great musicians who have spent their entire lives entertaining people in DT New Orleans. The Funky Pirate is one, but try out as many of them as you can. Most of the jazz clubs don't charge entry fees, so it is a cheaper experience than some of the regular clubs and bars and strip joints on and around Bourbon Street.

For an interesting hour or two (or more if you want the French Quarter tour, too), try out the Voodoo museums.

If you're looking to work off a few calories, hit the River Walk.

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

I loved New Orleans, certainly a very festive and unique vibe.

Food: Deanies Seafood

Activities: Drink & Learn (Cocktail Tour) & Tastebud Tours New Orleans (Food Tour)

[PurdueBrad]

Wow guys, thanks for the quick feedback! To answer some things I was asked above.

We're going during the last week of March so a couple weeks removed from Mardi Gras.

The swamp tour sounds awesome and I really want to hit to Voodoo Museums.

We'll give Acme Oyster House a shot although neither of us are oyster eaters the rest of the cajun stuff sounds great, same with Mothers and Ol Coffee Pot. Plus, frankly, I'll have to give oysters another chance while we're down there.

Po'boys are on my list (I make a pretty awesome muffuletta so I'm okay missing that) so I'll try the French Market for that.

Cafe Du Monde sounds like a must do for the beignets.

I am a drinker (although not like I used to be) but I want to try some of the New Orleans originals: Hurricane Pat O'Brien's, sazarac (sp?), etc.

As for the tours, thanks The Ohio State, I was wondering about each of those and am happy to see that you can recommend them.

You guys are overwhelming at how quickly you get good advice out!

[Doug5984]

Don't check the board that often anymore- shoot me a PM if you need any more help. Don't live there, but have spent a ton of time there the past 10 years (Ex GF went to Tulane undergrad, wife went to UNO undergrad, Tulane grad school, and am there for the weekend for every Saints game).

For some true Cajun come 2 hours west to Lafayette

I'm not a drinker so can't help you there.

You nailed down some great places to eat, if one of those doesn't work out Eleven79 is another very very good high end place.

Not familiar with the area you're staying at- but looks like it'll be a street car/cab ride for pretty much everything. I would not advise walking back at night from the quarter to there.

Restraunts- you really can't go wrong. What type of food are you looking for lunch wise? If camellia grill is still open uptown- take the St. Charles trolley down to that one, it's an experience. Weather should be nice that time of year. There is one open in the quarter now, from what I've heard it's very similar, but not the same.

A lot of people say mother's is a tourist trap, but I like it a lot. Great po-boys. Get the ferdie special.

Same for Deanie's seafood in the quarter- i first went to the one near UNO, but the one in the quarter is good as well, they have my favorite bbq shrimp. Have to get this.

Chop House... cafe masspero (I'm really bad with names- I know how to walk there)... if you ever want just a cheap meal there is a little pizza joint right near the superdome that is really good.

Rock-N-Sake is supposedly really good, haven't been

Things to do- it's hard to say, depends what type of people y'all are. I will say if y'all want to get out and do something fun- I went bow fishing south of NOLA a few weeks ago for the first time- that was the most fun I've had in a long time. Basically you ride around in an airboat and shoot fish with bows at night with spotlights.

[Tigercat]

Lunch: Best accessible Po' Boy place in the Quarter would be Johnny's. The chef behind New Orleans's best modern restaurant (Stella, which I only recommend if you have a fat wallet and love for super modern-y food) has a very good casual lunch spot right on Jackson Square, called Restaurant Stanley.

Between lunch and dinner: Cocktails at the bar at Roosevelt. (IMO, the best place for a tourist to experience old school New Orleans cocktails.) Happy hour 1/2 off pizzas at Domenica in the same Hotel, which has perhaps the best pizzas in the city.

Old school cocktails that are a must try in New Orleans: Ramos Gin Fizz and yes a Sazerac.

Dinner: Besides the suggestions and ideas you already have, I highly recommend Herbsaint. Definitely my favorite restaurant back home.

If you can deal with loud funky brass band music, I would highly suggest doing Jacque's Imos on a Tuesday night. After you eat, go next door to the divey Maple Leaf bar where Rebirth Brass Band, the best of the modern brass bands in New Orleans, plays every Tuesday night.

Other things to see: DO FRENCHMEN STREET AT NIGHT IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE NEW ORLEANS MUSIC. I can't stress this enough, Bourbon and the Quarter have some very good spots for jazz and blues here and there, but the best strip for New Orleans music is definitely Frenchmen. I would of course also recommend seeing the Preservation Hall Band play at least once as well.

Unique and very interesting museums include: the Pharmacy Museum which shows off 1800s medicine, the Backstreet Cultural Museum which shows off the New Orleans street culture of Mardi Gras Indians and marching clubs, and New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park which has free performances throughout the week, often featuring locally famous artists.

A streetcar down St Charles leads to uptown New Orleans and the Garden District which features old Southern Mansions surrounded by centuries old oak trees. Audubon Zoo is down there, which is a top 5 American zoo. In the same vein the quarter has a very unique naturalist museum in the Insectarium.

Like the others, feel free to PM me and questions. Born and raised down there, and I used to work in the tourism industry in the city.

[sterlingice]

Since moving back to Houston, I've told my wife that we're going to head that direction one of these days as I've only been there once. I'm going to have to steal a lot of hints for when that time comes

SI

[Doug5984]

Forgot to add last night - you'll be there in crawfish season, late march they should be a good size (depending on weather, but you should be good). I've never actually had them in New Orleans, but I'm sure when it gets closer I can help find you a good spot if you need.

[Desnudo]

Activities - a cemetery tour + if your wife likes to shop, she'll love Magazine Street

food - make sure to try the turtle soup at Commander's

[Coffee Warlord]

Make sure you grab breakfast at the Camelia Grill.

[albionmoonlight]

You've gotten a lot of good advice. And, your initial reservations show that you already have a sense of some of the best places in town.

I will add this: Lunch Menu | Cafe Adelaide Good food and 25c martinis with lunch (limit 3 per person). Basically, for < $1 you can start your afternoon off with 3 martinis while eating good food. Yeah. I like this place.

Agree with Frenchman Street. Also agree with Tigercat about the streetcar ride to/through historic Uptown. The St. Charles Ave. streetcar actually takes you close to Jacque-Imos, so you might want to see if you can sort of combine those and/or make an Uptown day. If so, I am not sure if it is open for lunch, But Vincent's uptown is really good. Mrs. A and I found it one night when Jacque Imos was closed, and it is now one of our short-list places.

[albionmoonlight]

Oh, and late-night drinks at the Columns hotel/bar. They make a nice sazerac.

[Super Ugly]

+ 1 million for the Frenchman Street recommendation.

[Doug5984]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

You've gotten a lot of good advice. And, your initial reservations show that you already have a sense of some of the best places in town.

I will add this: Lunch Menu | Cafe Adelaide Good food and 25c martinis with lunch (limit 3 per person). Basically, for < $1 you can start your afternoon off with 3 martinis while eating good food. Yeah. I like this place.

Agree with Frenchman Street. Also agree with Tigercat about the streetcar ride to/through historic Uptown. The St. Charles Ave. streetcar actually takes you close to Jacque-Imos, so you might want to see if you can sort of combine those and/or make an Uptown day. If so, I am not sure if it is open for lunch, But Vincent's uptown is really good. Mrs. A and I found it one night when Jacque Imos was closed, and it is now one of our short-list places.

Somehow I've never made it to Vincents- but have always heard great things about it. I'm pretty sure they are open for lunch uptown

[PurdueBrad]

I just showed my wife all the recommendations and she was speechless at how willing you guys were to offer up suggestions. Thanks again. I made a spreadsheet that includes every idea you gave us so that we can use it the whole time we're there. I really appreciate it!

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I made a spreadsheet that includes every idea you gave us so that we can use it the whole time we're there.

Nerd.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Nerd.

Says the guy that hangs out on a text sim website!

Oh, wait

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

If camellia grill is still open uptown- take the St. Charles trolley down to that one, it's an experience.

It is still open, and yes it is! Was just there a couple of weeks ago. I enthusiastically second this recommendation. Remember to fistbump your food server!

[Blackadar]

Don't go. New Orleans sucks.


*ducks and runs from the room*

[EagleFan]

Anyone else picturing PB walking around NO with a printed copy of a spread sheet. Walking up to a local... "Excuse me." ... shows the spread sheet ... "could you help me, I am trying to get to box A4."



Wish I could help you but my week at New Orleans was hotel to work and back again. Only day I got to do anything was a walk to Bourbon Street during the first afternoon which I was there.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Anyone else picturing PB walking around NO with a printed copy of a spread sheet. Walking up to a local... "Excuse me." ... shows the spread sheet ... "could you help me, I am trying to get to box A4."



Wish I could help you but my week at New Orleans was hotel to work and back again. Only day I got to do anything was a walk to Bourbon Street during the first afternoon which I was there.

Thanks EF, I'm not that big a dork. I mean, it's not like I'm a Flyers fan or anything...



GO PENS!!!

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Anyone else picturing PB walking around NO with a printed copy of a spread sheet. Walking up to a local... "Excuse me." ... shows the spread sheet ... "could you help me, I am trying to get to box A4."



Wish I could help you but my week at New Orleans was hotel to work and back again. Only day I got to do anything was a walk to Bourbon Street during the first afternoon which I was there.

The expected incremental satisfaction is 4.5 on the streetcar and only 4.2 on the cemetery

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Anyone else picturing PB walking around NO with a printed copy of a spread sheet. Walking up to a local... "Excuse me." ... shows the spread sheet ... "could you help me, I am trying to get to box A4."

That sounds awesome.

Upon sharing with my wife, the response was: "That sounds familiar"

SI

[nilodor]

My wife and I are looking at heading down in about a month or so. Do you need a car to get around the area or are things close enough that you can walk or take public transit to most spots?

Should I be looking for accommodation near the French Quarter/Treme-Lafitte? Or are there other areas to consider? Are there areas that you wouldn't want to be at night (Towards the port, other side of the river or canal)? The way this trip is going to work out is that we will be there during the week, would that change anything?

Thanks FOFC travel agency!

[PurdueBrad]

Hey nilodor-

We stayed maybe a mile, mile and half north of the Quarter right on the streetcar line and it was awesome. We did end up using cabs sometimes (which can get pricey). Although it also gave us a good amount of flexibility. If we go back, we would stay in the Quarter, but on one of those side streets a block or so away just to get the cushion in regards to space and sound.

We had as much fun during the week as we did on the weekend, maybe even more so. There are always people around having a ball so the weekdays worked simply because they weren't as crowded and yet there was a ton of life still.

[Peregrine]

I just came back from a few days in NO myself - very enjoyable. We stayed in the Garden District and had a car so we could walk, or streetcar, or drive to whereever we needed to go.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by nilodor

My wife and I are looking at heading down in about a month or so. Do you need a car to get around the area or are things close enough that you can walk or take public transit to most spots?

Should I be looking for accommodation near the French Quarter/Treme-Lafitte? Or are there other areas to consider? Are there areas that you wouldn't want to be at night (Towards the port, other side of the river or canal)? The way this trip is going to work out is that we will be there during the week, would that change anything?

Thanks FOFC travel agency!

There are areas of the city that you don't want to walk through. Just be careful about that. When I was there for work I was warned about certain areas of the city and told how just the week prior a guest of the hotel was mugged and shot when walking through that area. I'll see if I have the name of the area (it's basically a housing project) and isn't too far from Bourbon Street (on the side opposite the river).

[albionmoonlight]

I think that renting a car and dealing with parking, etc. will be more trouble than it is worth.

I would stay in the Quarter and take the streetcar Uptown. As long as you stay south of Rampart Street and between Canal and Esplanade, you should be fine. The real heavy touristy areas are south of Bourbon--which I think of as a little safer because they tend to be more populated late into the night.

Another option would be to rent a B&B type place uptown right on (or just off) St. Charles Ave. Then you can take the streetcar into the Quarter. The real question is what you plan to be doing mostly.

[Peregrine]

I think it really depends what you plan on doing mostly. I mean the Quarter is great for what it is but Uptown streets like St. Charles and Magazine are booming right now with restaurants, shopping etc so we found it quite worthwhile to stay off St Charles and just take the streetcar or drive. We found one day spent doing the Quarter was fine for us and we ended up eating mostly Uptown anyway.

[Groundhog]

I was there a few years ago, staying just off Bourbon Street, a block or so closer to the CBD. Definitely agree re: the Uptown area. We didn't check it out for a few days, but it's really the best place to start the night - dinner and a couple of drinks at a nice bar, and then head on back down Bourbon if you feel like making a night of it. We were there Monday-through-Friday, and I was surprised at how many people were out on a regular weeknight - usually Americans too, we didn't meet many other international tourists.

[corbes]

Other than of course Mardi Gras season, are there any times of the year to go, or times to avoid, if I was thinking about taking the wife down there for a long weekend? Our scene would be restaurants and preservation-hall-type stuff, not so much on the throw-up-in-middle-of-bourbon-street gig.

[PurdueBrad]

We went in mid to late March and the temperature was perfect and not too busy. When we return, we'll be aiming for that same time. We were good with restaurants, tours, etc. and there was life but not overly crowded.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by corbes

Other than of course Mardi Gras season, are there any times of the year to go, or times to avoid, if I was thinking about taking the wife down there for a long weekend? Our scene would be restaurants and preservation-hall-type stuff, not so much on the throw-up-in-middle-of-bourbon-street gig.

July/August are beastly hot. If you can handle that, then it is fine.

Also, if you plan an August/September weekend, you might have to postpone if there's a hurricane threat.

Otherwise, I would say that the best time to visit is Spring, a couple weeks after Mardi Gras. Or, barring that, in the Fall.

But, really, there isn't much of an on/off season for restaurants, jazz, etc., so you can kind of just go with what makes sense schedulewise for you.

[nilodor]

Thank you all very much for the advice. We wound up being a bit limited because we booked our hotel through airmiles but are a block off of canal and bourbon. As far as what we like to do, mainly walk around, look at stuff, live music, good food, we're not too much for the late night scene.

What are the swamp tours like? Is there much nearby worth renting a car to see? Is it worth heading upto Baton Rouge?

[corbes]

thx purduebrad and albion, exactly what i wanted to know.

[Groundhog]

We organized a swamp tour with our hotel. I don't know if we lucked out or it was just BS that all the tour operators feed the tourists, but our guide's family owned a bit of swamp land and he took us into a section of "the old swamp" which was really cool - the kind of swamp you envision from movies, wild and untamed, not the man-made swamp that makes up nearly all of the swamp there now. Saw gators, birds, and it was a fun just being on the fan boats.

[Tigercat]

If you end up renting a car in New Orleans, just drive the 20-30 minutes to the Barataria Preserve unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. It's free, there are boardwalk trails there that go out into the swamp, and unless you are there in the winter, you will see your share of gators. Plus, you will see them doing their own thing, and not run the risk of supporting some of the tour companies that entice and harass wildlife. (Not all of them are bad, but even the good companies are known to end up with guides who do it the wrong way.)

[panerd]

Wife and I are headed this weekend for the Jazz festival. Long story short it was a six person trip for Van Morrison/Pearl Jam and now it's just us. We will likely hit the festival just part of Saturday as we weren't the ones that cared much about it. (Our flight gets in late or we would definitely hit Steely Dan on Friday) Since neither of us have ever been to New Orleans...

1) best things to do in two nights. Is Bourbon fun on the weekends or obnoxious with drinkers? Don't get me wrong we both love a cocktail but not woodtick 25 year olds drunk as piss trying to see even drinker chicks tits. (Though I will begrudgingly have to look just to complain to the wife )
2) jazz festival, anyone been?
3) Sheridan on Canal street. Safe to get to places or bad area?

Read this thread for other things that are on my to do list but wanted some more advice as well on this festival.

[EagleFan]

Have only been there one time and that was for work so my time was limited in terms of exploring.

For number one I would say it can be an amusing set of drunks but it also may depend on when you go.

For number two the answer is no.

For number three I think you are in a decent spot. If you go to Bourbon Street from there you seem to be on the better side. When I was there I was told to not go the other side of Bourbon Street too far, best to stay on the river side. This was about 4 years ago so I don't know how that had changed.

[Groundhog]

We were also told to stay between Bourbon Street and the Mississippi by our hotel doorman. Never ran into any trouble, really, but even on tours and things we were told to remove any name labels or anything that IDs us as tourists immediately after the tour. I think with all the commotion and everything going on I actually found it a relatively safe atmosphere as far as the busy parts of town go.

[Breeze]

Brennan's for brunch

Oh and get the Bananna's Foster...

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Breeze

Brennan's for brunch

Oh and get the Bananna's Foster...

Agreed. Best thing you can do is come prepared to eat. Beignets at Cafe du Monde, good seafood all over, ...

Bourbon would be fairly lively on a weekend. Might be best just to take it in for a couple blocks and have a cocktail lounge in mind as a fallback if it's too much.

[panerd]

Good to hear about the hotel being in a good area. Young panerd wandered the bad parts of Vegas, DC, and Memphis and sadly didn't think twice. Panerd with family plays big cities a lot safer.

Hope with only 2 days that we can see a lot of stuff but still have a relaxing time away from kid chaos.

[nilodor]

The wife and I went there a last year and had a great time. We had a couple other friends go there recently so I typed up the following note:

Safety

In general we felt pretty safe wandering around at all times. The main caveat it we weren't out terribly late (past 1230 or so) or in rough neighbourhoods. The whole of the French Quarter below Bourbon street is very walkable and where most of the action is. Walking around here is fine anytime of day. I'd probably avoid walking down Bourbon because it's only tourists and you'll get accosted alot. If you confine yourselves to walking between Canal, Frenchman, Bourbon and Decatur in off hours you should be fine. Once you get out of these areas things get a little less safe. We walked to St. Roch's market (St Roch and St Cloud), I certainly wouldn't do it at night and anything north of St. Claude is pretty sketchy (same for east of Frenchman and west of the interstate). If you're heading through the CBD (Central business district) to the garden district or beyond, I'd stick to the tram or cabs.

Food

In general food in New Orleans is pricey. Especially in the quarter. You can get cheaper food (at the market in Jackson square) or some of the fast food type places, but if you want cheaper eats you'll probably have to leave the quarter. Make sure to get a Po-Boy sandwich, and eat lots of fish, it's really good and very local.

Sobou - Our fav place, the sweet potato beignets are delish. We really liked it there.

Cafe Beignet - So beignets are basically deep fried dough that is used as an icing sugar delivery system. The famous place is Cafe du Monde, but Cafe Beignet is supposedly better. We liked them and it seemed to be better than what people were getting from Cafe du Monde.

Commanders Palace - You must wear a jacket to attend, no jeans, shoulders covered. It's the king for New Orleans old world food. The food here, we thought, was good, but not great. Service is excellent. It's basically a place for old money to go out and be seen and have dinner with the family tree. I don't really think it's worth it unless you want to see the white people from Django Unchained eat (or colonel sanders).

Cafe Amelie - Set in a garden coutyard, this place was a really refreshing place to have a meal. Food was very good, and the atmosphere was really lovely.

Sylvain - A place we wound up a couple of times, again solid food, really cool courtyard, a good place to check out.

Evangeline - Food was good, nothing too special, prices were better than other places in New Orleans. A good choice if you want to get local cajun/creole food.

Jacques-Imo's - A place we tried to go but it ended up being closed (I think it's closed sunday monday or something). It's a fair tram ride away but we heard great things about it. I really wish we made it there. There's a few places down in that area that you can make an afternoon of wandering around there.

St. Roch's Market - Cheap eats, all local, farmers market fare. Very good. I'd take a cab there and back as the neighbourhood around it is kinda not the best. A good place to take a bottle of wine and have dinner.

Things to do

Best advice, walk the streets in the quarter. Stop by St. Louis cathedral, the square outside is always bustling. Most of the action is in the quarter, there are lots of great shops on Royal and Chartres streets the whole length of the quarter.

If you want to see live jazz, the bars at the base of Frenchmen street are the place to go (between Decatur and Royal). Preservation hall is also supposed to be cool, it's worth booking in advance as we tried to go a couple of times but couldn't get in (several hour line).

We thought the tram was pretty easy to get around on. It's worth buying a day pass (make sure to tell the driver before you pay).

If you want outlet shopping there's a big mall down by the aquarium called the outlet riverwalk or something, it's also next to one of the largest abandoned buildings in the US.

The park along the Mississippi is nice to stroll through.

We went to Algiers point, there's really not much there except a dive bar that a lot of famous musicians have played.

For men's clothes there are a couple of places on Canal (Live is one of them).

Louis Armstrong park is nice during the day, so is Audubon park.

Garden district has lots of cool, old plantation style houses. The shops along magazine are kinda neat, but it is mainly antique stores.

I'm sure there's lots I'm forgetting but we really enjoyed ourselves there. I think you'll have a great time and we'll have to compare stories when you get back. My best advice is to just wander around the quarter, that's where most of the action is and you'll find some of the best music right there on the street.