I'm taking my mother to NO, and would love to hear ideas for best places for breakfast. In my head I picture a restaurant with an outdoor patio and a jazz band playing while we enjoy wonderful NO cuisine. Any suggestions?

Brennan's is my favorite but I believe all dining is indoors (though many seats do suround and view the courtyard) and I'm not aware that they have live music. However, the food is wonderful (as are the drinks!).

I've never been to Commander's Palace for breakfast but I believe they have outdoor dining & live music. We always go there for dinner and their food is top notch.

Commander's Palace has a jazz brunch on weekends, and they do have outside dining. It's a wonderful experience; I think you'd love it. I assume, of course, that'll you'll be visiting during good weather because the outside dining isn't always available.

We went to Commander's Palace for their jazz breakfast brunch. They do have outdoor garden seating, and we asked to sit out on the patio and were told "no, everyone was being served in the main dining room". When you call to make a reservation, inquire about patio seating. They did have the area set-up, but they just weren't seating anybody out there. The trio jazz band played throughout the dining room. Very nice. We liked that they didn't play too loud or were intrusive.

We enjoyed the food and the Mimosa were excellant.

We've always enjoyed brunch at Court of the Two (Three?) Sisters. Huge buffet with stations, combo plays on the patio, fairly shady so you don't bake in the sun, mimosas...you get the idea.

I'll second Court of Two Sisters. Even in early November outdoor dining was lovely. The music wasn't too loud. There was a huge selection of food on the buffet. It was sunday and there was a long line at the omelet stations which I skipped. Lots of hot and cold selections and, I agree, wonderful Mimosas.

All of these are great suggestions for what you want -- but at some point during your stay try breakfast at Mother's. Its a low down divey little place with a breakfast to die for. The real deal for locals and tourists alike.

And you have to have beignets at Cafe du Monde on the river. That's usually our favorite breakfast, but they're open 24 hours so if you have a big breakfast they might be a good afternoon snack...

For a "fancy" breakfast Commander's Palace, without a doubt. They usually have a jazz brunch, bt check when you make reservations. Also, a local "hole in the wall" Mother's,has the second best breakfast for another morning. Forget Brennan's.

Not for jazz, but Petunia's on St. Louis has a great brunch.

A good tip: Make sure you are not wearing shorts to Sunday Brunch at Commander's Palace -- unfortunately we did and they do not allow you in with shorts. Proper attire is required (pants, skirts, etc. I was disapointed but will have to return on next trip.

I'm usually better at my research to make such an error!

When we were in NO, we didn't start our day at Cafe Du Monde because we prefer something a bit more nutritious than beignets to get us going (too much sugar first thing is a guaranteed headache for me), but we found the beignets and coffee to be a great snack - either afternoon or late evenning. We rarely had enough room right after dinner for dessert, but after a couple hours of wandering around, we were ready for something sweet. Beignets hit the spot.

Commander's Palace in the garden district is spectacular, an institution in and of itself. When we were there on our NOLA vacay earlier this month, they weren't seating outside...so we were perfectly content sitting in the garden room as I had requested when making the reservations. A jazz trio goes in and out of the various rooms while you're eating...and the food is to die for.

If it's on the menu, order the strawberry shortcake (seasonal). They use local strawberries from Ponchatoula and it's nothing short of unbelievable. And their famous bread pudding with whiskey sauce definitely lived up to its reputation.

Count me as another Cafe du Monde fan. NOLA just isn't NOLA without a morning at Cafe du Monde.

I forgot to add since we did not get into Commander's Palace for Sunday Brunch because we were wearing shorts, we did manage to have a very nice Jazz Sunday brunch at the Palace Cafe. The food was good and the Jazz band came around to each table and played.

Cafe' DuMonde -- nutrition be damned! That place is good for the soul!

Jayne - I'm not saying don't eat at Cafe Du Monde, I'm just saying that we didn't eat there for breakfast because I don't personally do well on a donut first thing in the morning

J Correa -- I know what you mean about the donut thing. But just thinking about sitting at one of those little tables in the morning with a smooth cafe aulait and perfectly prepared beignet dusted with powdered sugar... well, it makes me lose my head!

I can vouch for court of two sisters. Brennans also, but no outdoor dining. But, the posts here make me want to try commander's palace now! I will on visit coming up!

For a splurge, it's hard to beat the jazz brunch at Commander's. If you can't get the patio, the garden room is almost as good as eating outdoors, but with the comfort of climate control. I don't know the name of the room, but you have to walk through the kitchen to get to it. It's got floor to ceiling glass windows looking out on the courtyard and a large tree growing in the middle of the room. The jazz combo is nicely atmospheric without being too loud to talk, and they move from room to room so everyone can experience it.

IMO, Court of Two Sisters has become little better than a tourist trap. It's prices are almost commensurate with Commander's but the experience is not.

Cafe du Monde is great any time, day or night. Be sure not to miss it while you're in town.

Mother's is also good. I also remember having a wonderful brunch at a place called the Bon Ton, but it has changed ownership since then.