As many of you know, I grew up in New Orleans (as did my darling wife). Both of our parents still live there, and as avid Saints fans, we are there all of the time. (I know all the flight attendants on US 1135). Anyway, I get a decent number of requests for what to eat (you may have noticed, I’m into food), and where to go, here is a brief list I put together. I’ll try to keep it up to date–also thanks to Brett Anderson at the Times Picayune for his great top 10 list.
Here is my list..
Bars
Pat O’Briens — overpriced tourist trap. Go anyway, check it out, and drink beer. Hurricanes have 4 oz of rum and can be deadly.
Cooter Browns– Nice street car ride from your hotel, but really nice scenery on the ride. A ton of beer, and good cheap local food. www.cooterbrowns.com
Cure—Really cool cocktail bar, a bit off of the beaten track, but close to street car. www.curenola.com
Arnauds’s French 75 bar–French Quarter. Cool, old restaurant, newish bar. http://www.arnauds.com/bar.html
Restaurants
This is the Times-Picayunes Top 10–I haven’t been to all of these places, but I have most of the one’s I’ve been too below.
Brett Anderson’s Top 10 Restaurants of 2018
I don’t really recommend any of Emeril’s places, they tend to be overpriced for what they are, but they are quality nonetheless. I’ve been hearing good things about Emeril’s itself lately.
On our most recent trip we went to Toup’s Meatery in Mid City, and La Petit Grocery uptown. Both were excellent.
If you are looking for oyster and beer and are staying near the French Quarter, I recommend Acme Oyster House. Cold beer and colder oysters.
Peche–A little bit of new school take on classic seafood. From the fine folks supplying pork at Cochon. I’ve been a few times and loved it.
Domenica–Italian–the thin pizzas are very popular. I’ve been and remarkably impressed.
Root–Newer more modern place, but staying true to the region. Had a fantastic meal here in December–blown away by some of the flavors.
Cochon and Cochon Butcher– http://www.cochonbutcher.com/ www.cochonrestaurant.com/ If you like pork, these places kick ass. Very much more of the cajun style rather than Creole. This is a good thing.
Cafe du Monde—beignet (fried dough) place in French Quarter. Recommended at least once.
Commanders Palace– www.commanderspalace.com Expensive for dinner, bargain for lunch (and .25 martinis at lunch) Streetcar ride and a block walk from your hotel. Get a reservation. Go here for lunch one day. Quintessential Creole fine dining. Jackets are not required for lunch.
Deanies– Pretty solid fried seafood, joint. Location in the quarter, touristy, but good. http://www.deanies.com/restaurants/french-quarter/
Galatoires–Really old school French, old line New Orleans. Heavily poured cocktails to go with heavy food. www.galatoires.com
Mother’s–Good sandwich shop, also good for breakfast, near your hotel. www.mothersrestaurant.net
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Central Grocery–Go here and order a muffaleta (moof-a-lata) http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CA0QFDAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmaps.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fplace%3Fhl%3Den%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26q%3Dcentral%2Bgrocery%2Bnew%2Borleans%26fb%3D1%26gl%3Dus%26hq%3Dcentral%2Bgrocery%26hnear%3Dnew%2Borleans%26cid%3D11554981411635687899&rct=j&q=central+grocery+new+orleans&ei=RuxmS8_qLcWf8Aaiqen_Dw&usg=AFQjCNFKoB7DCnwAYgEGmEUrk_EYWUS8mQ&sig2=nyB3TeCCs8pjinQKvpfvBg
Note–I’ve left off a ton of places–there are wonderful places to eat all over New Orleans. Check out Blackened Out for more detail.
Music
Depends on dates and what you want to listen to, but this is good place to start.
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/music/
DBA is really cool down home place. Take a cab.
The Maple Leaf Uptown and always good.
Other Stuff
The national World War II museum (focused around d-day), the aquarium, and the zoo are all really nice, and accessible, either by walking or streetcar. The New Orleans Museum of Art is nice, and you can take the Canal St streetcar to it.
http://www.neworleansonline.com/tools/transportation/gettingaround/streetcars.html