First I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday. My wife and I will be traveling to New Orleans on the 31st (NYE) and leaving on the 5th of January. I was wondering if anyone has any restaurant suggestions. We are looking for reasonably priced restaurants (around $20/entree). We enjoy trying local restaurants and different ethnic foods, but are also looking to experience true New Orleans cooking . We will also need somewhere to dine on New Year's Eve (looking for a nice spot, does not need to have any entertainment) is it too late to make reservations? Thanks for all of your help.

I'm sure you'll hear from others who know more about the best restaurants in NOLA. But you said you're looking for "reasonably priced". Because we had our kids with us when we went three years ago, that's what we looked for too. We ate at a place on Chartres whose exact name I can't remember, but it has Alpine and Cajun in the name. We really enjoyed it. So much so that we recommended it to my brother and his girlfriend when they went last year. They really liked it too. When we were there my husband had an excellent duck in blueberry sauce, our daughter had a very good seafood pasta, I had great blackened catfish and our son had a huge plate of crawfish which was just $6.99! (I think his was meant to be an appetizer.)We also liked the Gumbo Shoppe and the downscale version of Arnaud's called Remoulade. And we enjoyed a lunch of muffelettas at Central Grocery on Decatur. And, of course, the beignets at Cafe du Monde. We had a very nice appetizer one late afternoon at Napoleon House. Hope this is helpful. Have a great trip and a Happy New Year!

If you're staying in the Quarter I suggest Petunia's for breakfast - Here's their website:
http://www.petuniasrestaurant.com/

Also for lunch Maspero's on Chartres is really good.

Have fun and enjoy the city!

Forgot to mention that we had a very good, very reasonable lunch at The Praline Connection on Frenchman in the Faubourg-Marigny. They also have a restaurant on South Peters St.

I think New Year's Eve would be great at Marisol! Fair prices, excellent food, and very fun waitstaff.

I'll second Marisol.

We love New Orleans!! A great place for a casual dinner would be Jacques-Imos. We take the St. Charles Street car around the bend past Camelia Grill (ask the streetcar driver where to get off). Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter (1 block off Canal)and Brennan's Oyster Bar (more expensive) are two of our favorites. A nice dinner for New Years Eve is Arnaud's. Central Grocery on Decatur is good for Po'Boys.

A word of caution: do not go near the riverfront at midnight. They shoot bullets in the air across the river on New Years Eve and a girl got killed when a bullet went through her head while she was walking along the riverfront. Just before midnight we were walking along there to go to the casino and later on we heard what had happened.

Have fun!!