next »

[johnr]

Now that the St. Charles streetcar line is running all the way to Carrollton, skip the quarter and head out. On Carollton near St. Charles is Camilla Grill, which is so fun,.... And Jacques-Imo's Cafe is there too...Also on Magazine Street is Juan's Flying Burrito, near the Aiden Gill men's shop and barber, which is fun...And my last two trips have really changed my attitudes about the French Quarter--if you have friends who know their way around, you can get recommendations for good places. Or read the on-line reviews...Also, read reviews in the Gambit, the weekly paper, and in the Times Picayune, which both cater more to locals...Oh, and one other thing. Rock n Bowl on Carrollton often does zydeco music, and it's great. It's a lousy bowling alley, but why bother when the music is so good?

Hope this sells you on a visit.

I took a few liberties with your post teebee, because I can strongly second all of these great suggestions.  Also, zydeco night at the Rock n Bowl is Thursdays.  Do not miss it.  Also, someone told me that the Rock n Bowl moved.  Still in the same general vicinity.

[menotti]

Here's a link to the Times-Picayune's top 10 restaurants:
http://www.nola.com/dining-guide/index.ssf/2009/10/the_top_10_new_orleans_restaur.html
Other places to try: Stanley, Cochon, Ignatius, Jacques-Imo, Camellia Grill, that place in the orphanage-turned-hotel on Magazine street whose name escapes me at the moment.

Most of them are not in the French Quarter, which mitigates the touristy vibe, if not the prices.

Rock n Bowl is still on Carrollton, but further down.

If you'd like ice cream or gelato: Creole Creamery on Prytania, La Divina or Sucre on Magazine, Angelo Brocato's in Midtown.

Generally, what I love about New Orleans is that there is something for everyone.

Art? Check out the galleries on Julia and Royal, Contemporary Arts Center, Ogden Museum of Southern Art

History? WWII museum, Historic New Orleans, the Old Mint, neighborhood tours, plantations out of town (Laura is particularly good).  The disaster areas are interesting, and if you go out to the 9th ward, check out the Brad Pitt houses, which are interesting modern architecture.

Shopping?  Magazine street has the best variety, probably.  Royal St. for art and antiques.

Sports? Saints and Hornets, though I'm not sure you could get Saints tickets right now.

Nature? You can take a swamp tour, or just go down to the Lafitte national park.  Beaches in Mississippi if it's warm enough.  Audubon and City Park are both nice places to walk.  You can take boats up and down the Mississippi.

NOLA is not a big theater town, but Southern Rep in One Canal Place puts on some interesting stuff.  Le Petit Theatre in the French Quarter is a mixed bag.

[shrek]

great suggestions all
thanks so much and keep 'em coming

[bud04]

Shrek you'll have a good time. I haven't been there since before Katrina but I always have an excellent time. While all the places suggested above are great for eating, drinking, seeing, shopping, etc.-----what is really best about New Orleans is the people who live there. They are wonderful and you will enjoy them.

[tee_bee]

Now I know what Rock n Bowl didn't look quite right when I drove by--it moved (I should note I don't live in NOLA, just visit often, but not often enough). And it's worth noting that it's not really on the street car line, I don't think. NOLA people?

Upthread someone mentioned the swamp tour. I thought it would be a dopey touristy thing but it was a blast when I did it the first time I went to NOLA. Our guide was "Tommy the Cajun," who was charming, funny, knew where all the gators were, and had no end of stories. Extremely fun.

And Menotti is right--almost all these places are outside the Quarter, which actually doesn't seem as lame to me as it used to, pre-K.

I am going to have dreams about the Maple Leaf and Zots and Rue de la Course. Sigh.

[schoolmarm]

I found New Orleans to be a bit unsafe for a single woman after, oh, say 8:30 pm.  It would have been loads of fun if I had a drinking buddy OR didn't have a seafood allergy.  There are cooking schools that you can participate in--making lunch and then eating it. 

I did enjoy the WWII museum, and the shopping along the riverfront and French Quarter.

The Harrahs Casino has an inexpensive and very expansive lunch buffet.

Everyone kept telling me to look at the river...BIG DEAL, the Mississippi river is bigger and more scenic where I live!  If you haven't seen paddle boats, you might want to take a look.  It was fun to see a cruise ship, though.

New Orleans was not my favorite city.  My Dad didn't enjoy it either.  It IS interesting, and I'm glad that I went.  If you are on AMTRAK, you will go through the swamp and MILES on Lake Pontetrain.  That was kind of cool.  Bumping through Yazoo, Mississippi...not so cool.

Let us know if you had fun or not!

[inthelab]

Now that the St. Charles streetcar line is running all the way to Carrollton, skip the quarter and head out. On Carollton near St. Charles is Camilla Grill, which is so fun,.... And Jacques-Imo's Cafe is there too...Also on Magazine Street is Juan's Flying Burrito, near the Aiden Gill men's shop and barber, which is fun...And my last two trips have really changed my attitudes about the French Quarter--if you have friends who know their way around, you can get recommendations for good places. Or read the on-line reviews...Also, read reviews in the Gambit, the weekly paper, and in the Times Picayune, which both cater more to locals...Oh, and one other thing. Rock n Bowl on Carrollton often does zydeco music, and it's great. It's a lousy bowling alley, but why bother when the music is so good?

Hope this sells you on a visit.

I took a few liberties with your post teebee, because I can strongly second all of these great suggestions.  Also, zydeco night at the Rock n Bowl is Thursdays.  Do not miss it.  Also, someone told me that the Rock n Bowl moved.  Still in the same general vicinity.

I couldn't find live zydeco anywhere but Mulate's 2 weeks ago.

[southerntransplant]

I've been to New Orleans post-Katrina, and most of the areas a visitor would frequent (French Quarter, Garden District, Magazine Street, etc.) are up and running as before from what I could tell.

I second the recommendations of places to eat listed so far. Lots of antique shops on Magazine Street - almost picked up a used electric guitar in one of them. They even have decent art-house movie fare in One Canal Place. 

I lived about 90 minutes away in the pre-Katrina days. I wish I'd made it out there more often than I did.

[scienceprof]

I like Court of the Two Sisters for their Sunday brunch. Also, at a certain time of night the Lucky Dog carts seem appealing.

I don't get the "I won't go somewhere touristy" complaint.  If you live there, you know where to eat; if you don't, guess what: you are a tourist! Is there some reason you are much more special than the other tourists?

[hipgeek]

I don't get the "I won't go somewhere touristy" complaint.  If you live there, you know where to eat; if you don't, guess what: you are a tourist! Is there some reason you are much more special than the other tourists?

Exactly!  But this this why the Lonely Planet books are so popular.  Then you can be a "traveller" rather than a "tourist."

[scienceprof]

I don't get the "I won't go somewhere touristy" complaint.  If you live there, you know where to eat; if you don't, guess what: you are a tourist! Is there some reason you are much more special than the other tourists?

Exactly!  But this this why the Lonely Planet books are so popular.  Then you can be a "traveller" rather than a "tourist."

I love Lonely Planet!  Much better than Fodor's, in my opinion.  Maybe Shrek should see if Lonely Planet has a NOLA guide.

[conjugate]

Labspouse and I just got back and WE LOVED IT.
PM me and I'll give you details and the links to our photos on Flickr.

Bourbon Street on a Saturday night was AMAZING.  The zydeco at Mulate's was tops.  Cafe du Monde: superbe!

I have a Mulate's T-shirt from a visit there some years back.  Also a few Mardi Gras shirts.  Ah, that one Mardi Gras in the French Quarter...I remember this one young lady wearing nothing but body paint, and <various R-rated recollections redacted>.

Okay, sorry.  I'm back.  Yes, you can certainly find things to do, even if it isn't Mardi Gras.  Unless you don't like music or food; then you might have to search a bit more.

I might try this place with the caveat that I've never been there but it sounds intriguing.  Or perhaps the Contemporary Arts Center would be more convenient to the downtown district and more to your liking.  I've never been there, either, though.

[johnr]

Ah, that one Mardi Gras in the French Quarter...I remember this one young lady wearing nothing but body paint, and <various R-rated recollections redacted>.

Ah, yes, her. Sigh...

[john_proctor]

Back from New Orleans.  Had a good time.

Surprisingly: the food was ok, but nothing really spectacular (and I did try).  Nothing "bad" at all, but also nothing really "wow."  Oddly, the best meal in terms of "wow" factor was the fried oyster basket at a largely forgetable lunch/dinner spot right next to the Marriott (though, I think the biggest element of the "wow" was that I wasn't expecting them to be done as well as they were.  Oysters were plump and perfectly done; breading was yummyfine).  I expected K-Paul's to be mostly "meh," but didn't expect how I found several "dinner" restaurants that had food which was better tasting than cooked.

Far less street culture (in terms of street musicians - Dear God, how often can one really hear "Just a Closer Walk with Thee?" - less panhandling/street cons, less "invitation to party," virtually no street-artists).

Also, it was harder than one might imagine to find any Abita other than the amber (and that was even rarely done on tap).

Finally, the music in the clubs on the east end of Bourbon was actually really, really hot (and not the tourist-esque stuff one often finds up and down that street.)  There was one band that was upright base, electric Zydeco, washboard and drums that was simply shredding it up for about an hour doing a Chicago-style funk-blues/Cajan zydeco fusion sorta thing that I've not really heard before.



Not suprising: the French Market totally sucks now.  

Everything was nasty expensive.  $7 for a bottle of Abita at one hotel bar.

Most of the live music in the Quarter, well, kinda sucks.

Far too many people seem excited about the idea of decadence than are actually out for a good evening of some drinks, food and music (or even being truly innovative in their decadence, for that matter).  Lots of "woohoo! NAWLINS!!!" yelling yahoos.  Really, acting like that after a few beers...?  The good news is that sore are all pretty well under the table by 11:30 or so.

But, all the cons aside, it was a fun trip.  Good company.  A couple of really good nights on the whole.


Oh yeah, the conference was good, too.

[inthelab]

Back from New Orleans.  Had a good time.


Everything was nasty expensive.  $7 for a bottle of Abita at one hotel bar.

Most of the live music in the Quarter, well, kinda sucks.

Hmm, you musta missed Steamboat Willie, that was really cool.
Abita at Mulatte's was $4.95.
Cafe du lait and a plate of beignets was something like $5 at Cafe du Monde.  Where-all did you go?