Must Eats/Drinks in New Orleans
 

Going to New Orleans in March and wanted to know some must eats/drinks and where you recommend to try them while there.

Also, where is the best place to hear some true New Orleans music and what should we have while there?

Thanks!

ttt

What sort of restaurants are you looking for? Casual? Upscale? Something in the middle? What sort of price range?

casual for lunch, somewhat upscale for dinner.

Shrimp Poboys from just about anywhere but we found some of the best from the street vendors.

Gotta have Beignets and Coffee at the french market !! Roast Beef po-boys, muffalatta's, raw oysters (and there's an R in March) and more beignets. Oh don't forget Reb Beans and Rice.

Sure miss New Orleans !!

Beignets & Cafe Au Lait at Cafe Du Monde
Mufeletta from Central Grocery
Fried Oyster Po Boys from either (or both!) Acme or Johnny's
Raw Oysters at Acme
Debris Po Boy at Mothers
Breakfast at Brennan's (I recommond the 3 course fixed price w/a Brandy Milk Punch added on).
Hurricane at Pat O'Briens

I think those are all of my MUSTS every time I visit New Orleans. There are so many good spots for dinner, do some research and see what catches your fancy. My favorites are NOLA, JacquesImos, Commander's Palace (I assume it has reopened by now) and Gumbo Shop.

BTW, all my recommendations, with the exception of JacquesImos and Commander's, are within the French Quarter. If Angelo Brocato's has reopened, they have the BEST cannolis. Oh my, I am making myself hungry!!!

There are street musicians and performers throughout the French Quarter. They make wandering the streets and window shopping fun. Our last breakfast was a Sunday brunch buffet at Court of Two Sisters. It was a chance to try a variety of things we had missed. (We still missed a muffaletta which we had planned to get at a little shop near our hotel but it was closed on Sunday.) I think everyone is supposed to drink a Hurricane. At night you can buy a drink as you walk along the street. It turns into quite a party.

Ralph & Kacoo's located at 519 Toulouse St. Webpage is ralphandkacoos.com, great seafood and cajun/creole food.
Cafe du Monde for some beignets and cafe du lay.

Breakfast at Petunia's - be prepared to share, their portions are HUGE!

I second Ralph and Kacoos! One word of caution though, if you order anything "blackened" remember that this is New Orleans and that means HOT HOT HOT. Anything you've ordered blackened elsewhere will pale in comparsion. I love spicy but had to scrap off the "blackend" part of my fish and still could barely breathe when I ate it!! The food was great but my tastebuds were shot for a day after this meal!

Music.....Jeremy Davenport plays in French Quarter Bar @ The Ritz Carlton. Go hear some good jazz.

Fine Dining........Galatoire's for lunch and Emeril's, Brightsen's, Peristyle, Bayona and Delmonico's for fine dining.

Bon Appetit.

Hmmm...Brennans is good for breakfast....but very very inconsistent...I'd say 50/50

Emiral's is absolutely at its best EVER....so it is a must.

Another 2 favorite's Restaurant August and Stella...both in the price range and league as Emirals.

And the absolute best place in town for Charbroiled oysters is ____________.

Sorry that is censored...because it is getting harder and harder to get a seat there on Fridays and Sat!!!!!

But if someone gets it in the next 2 posts...I will confirm!

Pimms Cup at Napolean's House

Commander's Palace has re-opened.

has Napoleans house reopened?

According to their website:
Post-Katrina limited hours : CAFE: FRI-WED 11:30 am - 5pm (Limited Menu)
BAR (no food served): TUES-WED & FRI-SAT: 11:30 am - Midnight; THURS: 6:00 pm - Midnight

For great cafe au lait & light breakfast or lunch (amazing pastries, fruit salad, sandwiches & quiche), plus an interesting local crowd try Croissant D'or in the French Quarter. It's in a quieter part of the quarter & it's a nice breather.

Bayona's the best!

Dick and Jenny's is our current favorite restaurant (Uptown) for dinner. We also love Galatoire's and Irene's in the Quarter.

Ooh! I love Irene's! It has been about three years since our last trip to New Orleans, but I still dream about Irene's softshell crab with linguine. Mmmmm! Heaven in a bowl! I'm glad to hear they're still open.

Emeril have several restaurants in NO right? Which one would be the better choice? Is it a must to make a reservation? If so how far in advance?

For Emeril's you better make the reservation as far in advance as possible....this being P.K. it is not as busy as before, but you never know week to week.

Right now Emerils would be my choice...the new chef is amazing, and the menus are fabulous! this is just THE time to do Emirals. I love NOLA too but as I said Emiral's will blow u away right now. As a second choice I would do Restaurant August...John Besh is considered one of the top chefs in the US....was there about a month ago and again...simply amazing.

I still prefer NOLA to Emeril's. Been to both in the past 3 weeks and NOLA was superb.

Just back to NOLAs and still tops on my list in the Quarter. Sad, sad story as I saved Napoleon House for last day lunch only to realize they were CLOSED on Thursday!! My family thought I was going to have nervous breakdown as I kept babbling about my Pimm's Cup! Oh well, will catch it next trip with Commander's!

Topping....this is very exciting to hear as I wasn't sure what else was open! I'm headed to NOLA in October and my boss is wanting to go to the Commander's Palace. (I've been to the one in Vegas, though.) He didn't realize that Emeril had restaurants in NOLA (huh?) so I'm trying to convince him to go there too!

loved emeril's & Dick and Jenny's....Fauberg Marigny for music. Bombay Club for upscale martinis and the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Montelone is fun. Lafitte's Blacksmith's shop is great for drinks. Acme, Johnny's, central grocery for a muffaletta, wahhh! Wish I was there!

We loved K-Paul's and Mother's. Remoulade on Bourbon was good, but they serve (hopefully serveD- the last time we were there was in May) on metal plates with really cold a/c, so the food got cold pretty quickly. I might need a few minutes by myself if I keep thinking about their bread pudding though. :-) We also really liked the Chart Room bar- very low key local feeling place.

Avoid the Chartre House- it was the worst real meal we've ever had- both food and service.

Also, check the restaurant hours- we really, really wanted to go to Emeril's or NOLA, but both were closed on Mondays.

K-Paul's or Jacques-Imo's for authentic N'awlins cooking. If you're into music then check out the Maple Leaf Bar next door to Jacques-Imo's (see if you can catch Rebirth or another brass band), Snug Harbor or the Marigny's little music clubs (particularly Frenchman Street)like Blue Nile, or Cafe Brasil. Just wander around this area and you'll find something great playing any night of the week. Cafe du Monde is a MUST for beignets as is Central Grocery's Muffalettas (FYI, these are huge so split one)!

Mellisa......Emirals in Vegas is NO comparrison to New Orleans....Miami Emirals is better than Vegas.

Even China Grill in Vegas is not as good as China Grill in South Beach....all comes down to the Chef I guess.

I second the recommendation for Bayona! My husband and I ate there in late December and are still talking about the meal.

Oh, Mark....I've been to Emeril's in Vegas and NO. In my post I said I've been to the Commander's Palace in Vegas....