Can anyone suggest some decent restaurants in New Orleans that will not break the bank? Also what restaurant would be great for a splurge? Is Emerils restaurant over rated?

Once you get into the French Quarters area, there will be plenty of resturants that won't break the bank.....stop by the tourist/visitors center and pick up coupons and also check out http://www.neworleans.com

Emeril's is not overrated, but I think KPauls is even better! Any of the Brennan family restaurants are sure to please. For the ULTIMATE splurge and feast think about Commanders Palace.

I needed to "do" NO on a budget this past summer, so i put together a collection of places that people said were great, but cheap. Most of my meals were going to be solo, so i also didn't feel comfortable in some fancy restaurant.

Mother's- po' boys $10/sandwich
Camellia Grill- breakfast, heard burgers are good too
Tacqueria Corona- "dive" with decent Mexican (forewarning- they charge for chips and salsa)
Juan's Flying Burrito's- didn't have time to eat there but went inside, seemed to be good Mexican fare

(the above places would be good for lunch)

For a cheap dinner, i had a burger at Port of Call which was decent. For our "splurge" dinner (finally not eating alone) we ate at Irene's Cuisine and it was AMAZING!! They don't take reservations so i would try to do it mid-week if available (dinner for 2 w/ wine, tax, tip = $85).

Also, on Wednesdays, the Superior Grill has Happy Hour (3 for 1 Margaritas) from 4pm-8pm, so i drank there and then walked to Magazine St where you can take the bus to either Juan's Flying Burritos or Tacqueria Corona.

I will second the previous recommendation of Mother's. We thought the food there was very good. It is definitely a down home kind of place but tremendous foods. I had an omelette with red beans that was very tasty

Pam

In the Quarter, I'd recommend Clover Grill for breakfast (omelets/waffles) or a burger. For a late night burger and an amazing martini selection, check out Bombay Club at Prince Conti hotel. I'd skip Emeril's. If you want to eat at one of his places, NOLA would be my pick. Herbsaint (Susan Spicer's 2nd restaurant) might be a different option for a splurge. The Pelican Club and Christian's also come to mind. I love Joey K's at 3000 Magazine for onion rings, rice & beans and a good cold beer. Mother's or Euglesich's for po-boys. A muffaletta at Central Grocery is a great a lunch - one $10 sandwich easily feeds two hungry people. Adolfo's in the Marigny is my favorite Italian place. Hope this helps.

Try Crescent City Brewery on Decatur for inexpensive food. Great Hamburgers and good atmosphere. Trolley Stop on St. Charles is cheap and open late. They have fries. I agree with earlier posters who recommend NOLA's instead on Emeril's. I think it's less touristy and a similar cooking style. My splurge is almost always Breakfast at Brennan's. There is nothing more decadent than a four course breakfast with Bannanas Foster. Also, I would recommend Snug Harbor. Great Steaks and baked potatoes, but be warned that's about all they cook.

On our trip to New Orleans in April, two low-priced restaurants we enjoyed were fried seafood at Sid-Mar's in Bucktown and pizza at Figaro's in Uptown. At Figaro's we sat outside and listened in on conversations around us. Nothing terribly interesting but it was just SO nice not being around other tourists. At Sid-Mar's we went outside after dinner and watched the lake for a while. In both cases it was just refreshing having dinner outside of the French Quarter.

As for splurge, we had a young child with us so we didn't go for a real high-end dinner (Commander's, Bayona) but we had wonderful meals at NOLA and Mr. B's Bistro.

fisherman's harbor - good food cheaps! - po boys $4-6 (ask for grilled/blackened shrimp or oysters, not deepfried), dozen oysters - $3 IT'S right by the airport, won't take you out of the way at all - as you head for highway 10 to New Orleans city from the airport, instead of getting on the highway go to the right and get on williams heading north, as you pass under the highway, the restaurant is at the first light on the northwest corner of williams and 32nd street - it's a local place and they should know!

The restaurant suggested by Lili is unknown to me but anything on Williams Blvd. (a major construction now) WILL be a hassle and will take you "out of the way" if you're going to the airport. Interstate 10 has a ramp that runs directly onto the airport access road, so any deviation onto Williams adds 10-15 minutes at least.

hi john - i was just there on october 12-14 and maybe there's more traffic on the weekdays leading to a long delay but on saturday and sunday, since its the first intersection north of the highway, it took us a 5 minutes driving difference to go for a snack there before flying out - just turn off to the right before taking the ramp,right again and left onto williams - next corner, the place is right there. to get back to the highway you turn onto williams and the on ramp back on the highway is 1/2 a block - the oysters were great and at 1/2 the price of the french quarter well worth the deviation

Try the Napolean House in the Quarter...good cheap food...po boys, beans and rice, etc. We ate there twice due to the good food and prices.

I would second the Clover Grill idea, and add their sister rest. Poppy's. Angeli (on Decatur) was also fairly inexpensive.

A few of my moderate favorites:

1. Mother's - get the po'boy with "debris"
2. Acme Oyster House.
3. Muffaletta at the central grocery on Decatur St.
4. (if in season) pick up cooked crawdads in the French market, get an ice cold six pack of Albiti. Eat anywhere!
5. Pere Antoine's (not Antoines!)
6. Mulattes for cajun food and zydeco
7. Michal's for the same
8. very moderate splurge - Tujaque's
Most of these probably spelled wrong, but I have a poor memory for names!

I can't believe someone is actually suggesting a mediocre seafood place in KENNER to tourists. Sorry, Lily, but New Orleans has too many other good places!

For something light, like sandwiches, salads and soup, I like Le Madeline in Jackson Square.

I often enjoy Louisiana Pizza Kitchen or Angeli on lower Decatur Street, near the French Market. Both feature entrees under $10. My moderate splurge place is Cafe Marigny...delightful! Since they don't serve booze, it keeps the bill down.

Emeril's is good. Not great.

Had a couple of good meals at Mr. B's in the French quarter. It's one of the Brennans' restaurants, and has great food. Although not cheap, it was reasonable (entrees $15-$25) and a business/casual atmosphere.

I don't know if it's still there, but when I was stationed in New Orleans, we used to eat at The Dry Dock on the West Bank (right at the ferry landing) and it was GREAT!

I second Napoleon House and Taqueria. Also Frank and Johnny's uptown has a great neighborhood feel and its cheap. They have good seafood and fried chicken. If its crawfish season, the Bulldog on Magazine lets you get crawfish at the store across the street, a beer from them and eat at the tables outside. Also, consider doing Commander's Palace for lunch its MUCH cheaper. Finally one of my favorite moderate splurges is Dick and Jenny's on Tchoupitoulas and Jena.