Janet

My husband and I are taking our kids with us for a Thanksgiving trip to New Orleans. We have been by ourselves several times, but need names of restaurants that are more geared to families. We have 2 boys 15&12, and l girl 10. Any ideas?

Don't Do It

If it's not to late, don't go to New Orleans for Thanksgiving. You might want to do a search pull up previous comments about visits to New Orleans at Thanksgiving. That weekend is the Bayou Classic football game between Grambling and Southern University. It is without a doubt the worst event hosted by the city. Many shops and restaurants actually close up during that weekend because of the class of people the game brings into to town. Property destruction is common downtown. The city is trashed. If you do come, stay out of the Quarter. Sorry to be so negative, but that's just the facts. Many New Orleanians leave town during Thanksgiving, because their relatives won't come because of the Classic. As for me, I'll be going to Mississippi for the holiday, so that should tell you how desparate the situation can get.

John

The situation with Bayou Classic is not nearly as dire as suggested by the above poster. Just don't stay in the Canal Street/Central Business District area. Pick the Garden District or Esplanade Avenue side of the French Quarter and you may not even notice that there is a game!

Meg

A few restaurants that come to mind offhand are Forrest Gump's, Hard Rock or Planet Hollywood, Ralph & Kacoo's, and Pere Antoine's. None of them would be my first choice for where to eat, but they're all kid friendly. Don't miss beignets at Cafe du Monde. Lucky Dogs in Jackson Square is also another idea.

patty

We went to New Orleans this past April with our 6-year-old. Her favorite food was at Mr. B's Bistro, her favorite restaurant (because they treated her well) was Nola and her favorite dessert (chocolate bread pudding) was at Red Fish Grill. We also had pizza at Figaro's (I liked it because I felt more like a resident than a tourist) and fried seafood at Sid Mar's. We had Sunday gospel brunch at Praline Connection but didn't like it much. I wish we'd gone to the House of Blues instead. And I have a friend who swears by the burgers at both Camellia Grill and Port of Call.