Heading to NO tomorrow morning, just thought I would check in here to see if any of you had recommendations on things to do/see while down there. We already have some things scheduled, more related to lunch/dinner and evening plans (bars, shows).
Eat and drink. I think I enjoy the food in New Orleans more than any other city in the US. If locals eat there, it will all be good.
But be careful to avoid convention/tourist trap chain restaurants and celebo chefs from out of town with “New Orleans inspired” places. I’ve never bought a guide book or paid any attention to websites when down there. Find a local and ask them where they’d eat.
Also, if you’ve never been before, you have to change your watch from Minnesota Scandanavian Central Time to French Time.
Dinner time does NOT start at 5:00, it starts at about 8:00 and really seems to peak about 9 to 10:00. In the morning, almost nothing moves before 8:00 AM and to me the prime time for “breakfast” seemed to be about 11:00. A boozy New Orleans brunch is about the best use of 3 hours that I can imagine.
I dislike jazz personally, although NO Jazz is tolerable, but I love Cajun/Zydeco/southern rock/blues and just about everything else they play down there.
If you have time, get out of town as well. I just loved talking to anyone and everyone in French Louisiana. Bartenders, gas station attendants, waitresses, store clerks, anyone really. They’re a TOTALLY different breed of cat down there and IMO nobody loves to have fun and live in the moment more than a Cajun.
A friend of mine was stationed in LA while in the Navy and he and his wife made a hobby out of visiting the rural restaurants/dance halls. He said that during the day, you could hardly tell some of those places were even in business, they looked like abandoned big square buildings in the middle of nowhere. But come back at night and there would be 250 vehicles surrounding the place, where they came from was a mystery.
His best picture was of him standing by a sign from one of those dance halls that said “Patrons are reminded NOT to park on the railroad tracks. Trains use them.”
They’re a different breed of cat.
Grouse
Eat and drink is right! Mother’s is a bit of a tourist trap but worth it. Cochon Bucher is awesome for lunch. Katie’s is a diners and dives place and gets busy. Also worth it. They have great char broiled oysters.
For a nice place, try Peche.
You can get into good red fish not far south of town (with a guide) but inside the city it’s all about the food and drink.
As for nightlife, Bourbon street is a waste of time. The whole French quarter is worth a walk during the day but that’s it. Check out Frenchman. Start at the Spotted Cat and bar hop the area. It’s just a few blocks long.
Commanders Palace-great food, cheap tinis
Your timing is a bit off for the trip. I prefer Mid-Late February depending on the year.
Step 1: Buy the wife a nice evening at the spa
Step 2: Head out on the town with one of these (see image)
Step 3: Ask for bail money or sign the divorce papers the next morning (depending on how the evening went)
8CB32F41-231F-4336-9860-A6B2351B24BB.jpeg
Specifically, I thought brunch at The Court of the Two Sisters was excellent. I overdid the champers a little, which is not a good idea in the heat of NO.
Cafe Du Monde is a bit of a tourist spot, but like the Eiffel Tower or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, how can you go to New Orleans and NOT go to Du Monde for beignets? Which, BTW, are damn good at Du Monde even though it is a tourist spot.
We had dinner at 4 different places and every one of them was great. I’m sure there is bad food in New Orleans, but I think you’d have to work really hard to find it. If the locals eat there, it will be good because there’s too much good food for the locals to put up with anything less.
I think I’ve eaten and loved more things that I cannot pronounce in New Orleans than anywhere else I’ve visited. What a city! Have fun.
Grouse
National WW II Museum.
Peche and several others are Emeril restaurants – all good, and pricey.
Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar & Restaurant.
All of the above and leave town and go to Venice in the boot and go catch HUGE redfish in the Delta of the Ol’ Man river!!!
Mark
Music, N.O. is heaping full of good Music
Great town to not have a plan. Just wander around, here some music you like, pop in for a spell and enjoy.
Heading there in 5 weeks for my gal’s 40th bday weekend!
Juan’s Flying Burrito FTW!!
Heading there in 5 weeks for my gal’s 40th bday weekend!
We were down there to celebrate a number of our friends turning 40. We had a great time, but I’m struggling this morning getting back to reality (lots of coffee). It’s a whole different world down there, that’s for sure!
Thanks for the suggestions, we did hit up a number of these places and had a blast. We hit up Spotted Cat a few times and the other bars around that area. The Frenchman area got really busy Saturday night. Did one of Emeril’s restaurants one night, Mr. B’s (great truffle fries and BBQ chicken), Superior Seafood, Willie Mae’s, among a number of others.
One of the best shows I saw down there was The Trio w/Johnny Vidacovich at the Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street. Man could those guys jam!
A couple of us finished the trip off yesterday morning with an airboat tour into the bayou, strongly recommended. We had a great boat captain and got to see some gators up close (he picked up a 3′ one for us), and I was about 3′ away from an 8′ one for a couple seconds as the boat pulled up to one shoreline.
Anyways, I think I gained about 10 lbs this past weekend…definitely will be going back!
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