karenwliu

Hi all -

We're headed to New Orleans in January! It's my first time visiting the Big Easy. Here is the first draft of our itinerary. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thursday Night:
Fly into New Orleans after 9pm - Drop off baggage at hotel.
Head out for a later night dinner - location TBD (any suggestions?)
Listen to live music at Vaughn's Lounge

Friday:
Breakfast at Cafe du Monde
Walk around the French Quarter (Using the tour provided in the Frommer's book)
Lunch at Central Market - muffaletta
Walk around the Garden District (Using the tour provided in the Frommer's book)
Ride the street car (full line)
Dinner at Cochon
Listen to jazz at Preservation Hall

Saturday:
Breakfast at Brennan's
Free tour with the National Park Service
Quick lunch (location - TBD)
Plantation Tour with Gray Line Tours
Dinner at K-Paul
Walk around Bourbon St.

Sunday:
Breakfast (location TBD)
Cemetary/Voodoo Tour with Historic New Orleans Tours
Po'boy at Mother's
Wander and shop around the city -- possibly check out the National WWII Museum?
Dinner at Emeril's
Walk around Bourbon St. - pop into another live music venue

Monday morning:
Head back to California.

What do you think? Are we missing anything major? Would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
Karen

november_moon

Seems like a pretty good itinerary. I'd maybe make a couple changes.

For the mufalettas, I would probably choose Cafe Maspero or Napoleon House over Central Grocery because I think their mufs are better.

One night, wander over to Frenchman Street (couple blocks from the FQ) for some live music. There are also some good places uptown. Bourbon street is good, but you might get your fill after one night.

bkluvsNola

Great itinerary!

Bundle up, it's pretty darn cold in the East right now, even in Louisiana. Hopefully it'll warm up by the time you go. Lows in 20's/30's and highs in 40's/50's are expected and rain is always probable this time of year. May be cooler than what you're used to in California, depending on if you're from Southern or Northern California.

jsotis76

Great itinerary. A few suggestions:

For your late night dinner upon arrival, you might try Coop's in the French Quarter. Definitely more of a bar than a restaurant but great fried chicken and jambalaya.

Definitely go to Central Grocery. It is de rigueur for muffs and remains the best example of the sandwich it invented.

I would skip Mother's and go instead to a place like Johnny's on St. Louis in the French Quarter. Mother's has rested on its reputation far too long and is more likely to disappoint than satisfy.

http://www.coopsplace.net/menu/index.html

http://www.johnnyspoboy.com/

Lexma90

Our favorite jazz club in New Orleans is Snug Harbor, at 626 Frenchmen, http://www.snugjazz.com/site/. You need to buy tickets in advance.

november_moon

Good advice about Johnny's Po-Boys. We tried it last time we were in NO and had really excellent po-boys. We also went to Mother's that same trip and it does appear that they are slipping.

notbob

+2 for Johnny's

For dinner thursday, try Mr. B's Bistro and order the BBQ shrimp, best in NOLA.

for Sunday morning, do the Jazz Brunch at commander's Palace and ask for the Garden Room when you make the reservation. Best view from the second floor overlooking the garden and a great experience.

Dave0099

Couple of suggestions from a foodie.

Breakfast at Brennan's is spotty at best. You may want to consider other breakfast places..even Camelia Grill.

Emeril's is particularly good IF he is actually there, otherwise you have a 50/50 chance of a dissapointing meal...sorry but that has been my experience. Instead you might want to considre Restaurant August which is probably the best restaurant in New Orleans, and one of the top in the U.S.

For a PoBoy, I would steer you towards ACME or Dukie Chase's.

Otherwise looks like you have an excellent itinerary.

BTW - I recently came across a New Orleans website that has videos of the inside of these restaurants along with interviews with the Chef's. If you are a foodie you will probably enjoy it. Have fun! Wish I was there right now!

It is www.lizreyes.com

bachslunch

Just came from NOLA recently, and will second the thumbs up on Johnny's and the thumbs down on Mother's. Have seen gripes about Brennan's breakfast, but my experience there was excellent -- the major reason I felt one might think twice about going there is the price, which can easily top $40 per person before tax and tip.

My research suggests that Dookie Chase has irregular hours, often does take-out only, and is in a very dicey area. If one's going up this far for a po-boy, would recommend heading further up towards City Park to Liuzza's by the Track (liked the po-boy I had there a lot) and have seen plenty of praise for Parkway Bakery and Tavern (didn't get there).

bachslunch

Will also enthusiastically second the recommendations above of Mr. B's, Acme Oyster, Commander's Palace, and Central Grocery. Napoleon House does a hot muffulletta, which is unusual (most are cold) but good.