pralines...yummm souvenir
Jazzfest poster
William Hemmerling and Rodrigue (blue dog) posters- both have shops across the street from each other.
voodoo doll for someone to stick pins in!

Sounds like you have a great trip planned. Thank you for supporting New Orleans! Plantation tours are also good and they are along the Mississippi River- a nice drive. You could also spend a night at Nottaway Plantation. Really great place to sleep and eat. Google it.

Eats-I also like the Gumbo Shop for lunch.
Go through the Pentabla (sp!) apartments in Jackson Square.

There is MUCH to do and see in the quarter and surrounding area. Swing by Brad Pitts house in the quarter or Sandra Bullock or John Goodwin homes in the garden district. LOL

My NOLA trip reports for food:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/new-orleans-foof-experience.cfm

and attractions (see latter posts for what I actually did):

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/new-orleans-itinerary-184065-2.cfm

Other worthy local food items besides beignets and gumbo to consider would include barbeque shrimp, po-boys, muffalettas, jambalaya, boudin, boiled crawfish, shrimp or crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice, coffee with chicory, and pralines. I'm sure there are other things I've forgotten, too.

For breakfast and/or lunch you can't go wrong with Red Gravy (even though the site says it's Italian, they also serve great NOLA foods):
http://www.redgravycafe.com/

And of course Muriel's, in Jackson Square, should be on your list for food and drinks:
http://www.muriels.com/

For souvenirs I'd absolutely go with beads! Easy to pack and cheap - shop the French Market for them and any other less expensive purchases. If you want to get some art at decent prices, try walking around Jackson Square and see what the artists have hanging on the fences.
http://www.frenchmarket.org/

A great tour through the Garden District is always the St. Charles streetcar. You can ride it one way for 1.25 (be sure to have correct change!). When it gets to the end it turns around and comes right back, but you need to purchase a return ticket.
http://www.norta.com/

Enjoy NOLA - we've gone twice a year for over a decade and still never get tired of the city!

Try crawfish etouffe - but only in someplace reliable - not a dive.

I find that Ritz Carlton absolutely awful - and it's right on the edge of a dangerous area - would avoid it at all costs. Definitely ask your hotel concierge what areas should be avoided - since there are some VERY high crime areas immediately adjacent to the Quarter.

If you're at all interested in the topic, do not miss the National WWII museum - it's fantastic, and worthy of at least 3 or 4 hours.

Archie Manning also lives in the garden district, and when you're there, have lunch at Camellia Cafe at the very end of the streetcar line.

Music - Frenchman Street for you, not sure for your husband.

Totally agree with wwII museum. Be sure to see the movie. Also agree with camellia grill. Favorite place to eat breakfast!

Thank you for the terrific suggestions. I've already added several to our itinerary. I love a good breakfast place so riding the streetcar to Camellia Grill and then exploring the Garden District sounds like a good morning. My husband loves history so maybe I'll send him to the WWII museum while I go shopping - both happy.

The WWII Museum is in the arts/warehouse district - lots of galleries you could peruse while your husband is at the museum. Cochin and Emeril's are also nearby.

POIson, we recently took our first trip to New Orleans and loved it. One thing we did that was fun was to go to the New Orleans School of Cooking. Good food and learned a lot.

If you like raw oysters, go to Luke for Happy Hour. From 3-6 daily they have 50 cent oysters and some half price drinks. I loved their drink called French 75.

One morning we had a nice hearty breakfast at a restaurant called EAT.

Trip Advisor has a very active and great New Orleans forum. lots of good people and great advice over there!(hi ccolor!)

Have fun

I love cooking classes! hmmm, swamp tour or cooking class? well this is kinda a food based trip so I may need to look into the cooking class. Thanks for the suggestion.

I made reservations for the cooking class at The New Orleans School of Cooking, will send DH off to WWII Museum. Win, win.

Thanks iceeu2 for the suggestion.

You are going at the best time of year and staying in an excellent place.

I don't see Galatoire's or Central Grocery or Acme Oyster House or Bon Ton Cafe on your lists of places to eat.

Don't overschedule yourselves on things to do. It is not called "The Big Easy" for nothing, and hanging out, preferably with something cold to drink, is rewarded.

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. A couple of follow-ups...I now have breakfast, lunch or dinner planned at the following places (though not all take reservations): Breakfast or brunch at Red Gravy, Camellia's Grill, Commander's Palace, Mr. B's; lunch at Eat and Cochon; Dinner at Restaurant August, R'Evolution, Galatoire's and Emeril's NOLA.

We could swap Emeril's NOLA for Herbsaint (which had a strong showing on Chowhound boards). Couldn't fit Bon Ton Cafe on a weekday unless we do instead of Cochon. Thoughts?

No oysters for me so taking a pass on ACME Oyster House.
I thought to go to Central Grocery on last day for road food but not open on sundays. We probably have time when we arrive to check it out.

And lest you think it is all about food, we are also exploring French Quarter, Garden District (with cemetery tour Lafayette No. 1), Warehouse District (WWII Museum, Ogden Museum) and a cooking class for me. Is New Orleans Museum of Art or New Orleans Artworks and glass studio worth including?

My shopping plans seem to be centered on Chartres Street (300-800 blocks) and Magazine Street (The Rink shops, Derby Pottery, Sucre for sweets), but other suggestions welcome.

That's a great plan. I will add two things - 1) we took a French Qtr walking tour with Friends of the Cabikdo that was great (maybe a tad long, but still excellent); and 2) lots of places besides Central Grocery have excellent muffuletta (it may be the best, I don't know because it was closed when I was ere too).. I had an excellent one at a student bar near Tulane. Oops, third thing - we almost ate at Herbsaint, but we were fooded out and cancelled our res. however, we had already eaten at Emeril's (not Emeril's NOLA) and thought it was fabulous (except very loud). The banana cream pie was enormous and fantastic (I'm still dreaming about it two years later).

I like NOMA better than the Ogden. Much more to see and the park is nice. Degas restaurent by NOMA is also good. Locals love it. I think Central Grocery is overated. It has lost it's punch as far as I'm concerned. You can get the same at other places plus no place to sit and eat in the grocery and you end up with olive oil dripped all over your clothes eating in Jackson square or where ever you land to eat it.

Southeastern, try the one at Cooter Brown's!

POI, I liked the mufaletta at Napoleon House. The one there is served hot. If you get a chance to go to the forums at TA, you can read what I had to say about a few of the same restaurants you plan to go to. It's called "Virgins Loved New Orleans". FYI, we talked to a couple that had gone to August just the other week and they loved it.

If you take the streetcar up St Charles to have breakfast at Camellia Grill, you can walk back through uptown and the Garden District. Don't miss Audubon Park if you like to walk/run and look at beautiful live oaks. Magazine St runs parallel to St Charles a few blocks closer to the river and is a great street to walk along for shopping and seeing local architecture.

If you want traditional fried oyster, shrimp or roast beef po'boys, Mahoney's on Magazine is excellent and has a few outdoor tables. They also have a fried chicken liver and cajun slaw po'boy. Yum. Guys Po'boys on Magazine is also great, but not really a sit down place (excellent fried shrimp and hot sausage po'boys there.)

Definitely Cochon over the Bon Ton, in my opinion, unless you are looking for a more old school, traditional type meal.

We love the muffelettas at Central Grocery. Get a half for two people, some Zapps chips, and a couple of drinks and take them up to eat on the levee. Don't wear nice pants because you will drip olive oil on them.

If you like bloody mary's, they are the unsung drinks of New Orleans. Most bartenders take pride in how they make them, and they all include pickled spicy green beens as a garnish. Yum.

New Orleans is a wonderful city full of contrasts, beauty, and an intense joy in living. Have a wonderful trip.

- I would do breakfast at Brennan's over Commander's Palace.
- Glad to see you added Galatoire's
- Agree that you should stop at Audobon Park after breakfast at Camellia Grill (could take riverboat back to the quarter from there)
- Jacques-Imo's Cafe in the Garden District is fun and quirky
- Central Grocery muffaletta is a good take-out choice while the one at Napolean House can be enjoyed in a great old restaurant with an awesome bar and classical music!
- Muriel's is very good (check out the seance lounge upstairs)
- St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 would be my choice
- Sounds like a plantation tour didn't make your list, but just want to point out that there are also cabins at Oak Alley

iceeu2 - Napolean House was on our list for places to stop for a drink so maybe we can try the hot muffaletta, though I have no idea how I am going to eat all this amazing food I have planned. I may feel "fooded out" like sf7307 experienced. I can definitely see it happening though we managed to eat our way through Paris so lots of walking on the agenda too.

Thanks Blue Swimmer for the suggestions and I like your description of the city. Bloody Mary's are not for me but I have read some great write ups on cocktails and will of course try a hurricane and maybe a sazerac, but I generally prefer whiskey neat. As for cocktail stops we are looking at Carousel Bar, Cure, Columns Hotel, Napolean House and maybe Pat O'Brien's for that Hurricane. This isn't my strong suit but I understand New Orleans knows a little something about drinking.

Southeastern - thanks for the NOMA suggestion. We have some unscheduled time on our travel days that may be perfect for a museum trip.

Hey Deb15July - just added Brennan's, we had a breakfast at hotel planned one morning but Brennan's is just down the street (a few blocks). So bananas foster for breakfast - yum. We will definitely go to Audobon Park. I picked Lafayette because it was across the street (or close to) Commander's Palace, and for the Anne Rice connections. I've read elsewhere that St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 was the top choice. I'll need to take another look. I like to organize my days around an area to avoid traipsing back and forth, but as other have counseled I like to have a certain amount of unscheduled, whatever comes, time. Thank you all for your suggestions. I am having so much fun and learning alot about the city as I go along.

another question - would you recommend Muriel's over Eat for lunch? I have some shopping planned on Chartres Street and could do either.

POlson, I'm not familiar with Eat, but maybe someone else will chime in. And I just realized that you didn't mention Bayona...might want to consider that if you like sweetbreads!

You will get fooded out! HEEHEE!!!

We once took the train from Atlanta to NOLA just to eat there for three days! Plus we wanted to try to train...until we crossed Lake Pontchatrain in the dark on that tiny little track!!!

Too early for reservations at Bayona but I am still tracking it and may swap Bayona for Emeril's NOLA. I thought about Emeril's too, but I really just want to try the banana cream pie I've heard so much about. Has anyone just stopped in for the pie?

I haven't, but the pie is so good, I'd have dinner there just to have the pie for dessert. Bayona is good, but we liked Emeril's more.

POIson, we ate at both EAT and Muriel's on our recent trip. We enjoyed both places, but for my preference, and if I had to choose, I would select Muriel's.

Also, if you just want to taste the muffaletta at Napoleon House, you can order a quarter. That's what we did and just shared the few bites since it was middle of the day and we just needed something to knock the edge off.

And, at Pat O'Briens if you don't want the souvenir glass, just turn it in to the bartender when you leave and get your $3 back. They will also put it in a to go cup. I think it's a law that you can't walk down Bourbon Street without a drink in your hand!

Muriel's it is and it is right in the the midst of the shopping trip I had planned for Chartres Street. Still trying to decide on dinner for the last night but I am going to let the decision sit for a few weeks though already beginning to dream of banana cream pie.

Has anyone tried the VIP tickets for Preservation Hall? Any other music musts or should we just wing it when we get there?

You trip sounds fabulous! I am planning a long weekend beginning of December with 2 other couples. We are going to do the confederacy
bike tours which Yelp reviews say are fabulous! You might want to take a look! Also, I like your idea of cooking school while guys go to ww11 museum. When you come back I would love to hear what you thought of cooking school and Emerils if you go. What is the St Louis cemetary? Is it a tour? Thanks for your help. Lori

God!! Please keep New Orleans and its people safe.

First my thoughts are with everyone in the south impacted by Isaac. I hope all is well and recovery is quick.

Updates on my trip plans:

Dining: I now have breakfast, lunch or dinner planned at the following places (though not all take reservations): Breakfast or brunch at Red Gravy, Brennan's, Camellia's Grill, Commander's Palace, Mr. B's; lunch at Muriel's and Cochon; Dinner at Restaurant August, R'Evolution, Galatoire's (hoping to join the friday afternoon madness) and Emeril's, and Bayona (only reservation available was at 9pm or on the early side. I went with on the early side to leave more time for music after, right?).

Planning to try Muffaletta at Central Grocery, Beignets at Cafe du Monde and probably a Hurricane at Mr. B's though mostly just to say I tried each of them. I am much more serious about the restaurants experiences.

We have scheduled cemetery tours through Save our Cemetery's at St. Louis #1 and Lafayette #1 (though we might just walk around Garden District instead). Added NOMA for our cultural/art stop and Audobon Park (to walk off all of this yummy food). DH is going to visit the WWII Museum while I am at my cooking class. I am still trying to get info re New Orleans Artworks regarding making your own christmas ornament. We are also exploring walking tours, a carriage ride and definitely riding the streetcar. I loved the suggestion of taking a riverboat back to the French Quarter from one of our days of exploration. Oh, and lots of shopping!

Music is on the after dinner schedule but no solid plans yet. Frenchman Street, Bourbon Street, Mayfield Jazz Room, Bombay Club and Preservation Hall.

I am prepared for things to drop off the plans as we settle into a slower pace and enjoy such a wonderful place but....I am but feeling pretty good about the plans so far.

Sounds great. When are you going?

Have a wonderful time! What are they cooking the day you are going to the cooking school?

If you ask me there is nothing better than the Cafe DuMonde experience.

Regarding music, it seemed to me that you can get just duck into whatever night club is emitting interesting sounds as you wander down Bourbon Street. And a big plus, if you get bored, just take your drink and keep wandering...

Thank you all for your advice and happy wishes for a great trip.

sf7307 We will be in New Orleans late October. Hopefully the weather cooperates but if not we'll make do and have a good time anyway.

iceeu2 We are making Gumbo, Jambalaya and Pralines - seems like a classic NOLA menu, sure to impress friends and family back home when I reproduce what I learn. At least that's the hope - if not, they can be happy with beads, masks and other New Orleans souvenirs!

jayne1973 ok - I will make sure not to miss Cafe DuMonde - I don't drink coffee but I am somewhat partial to beignets and that's without ever trying the original version.