marc

Does anyone know of a nice place to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in New Orleans? We will be on a mini-vacation and want to know what we can expect from this city known for fine food on this traditional holiday.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Meg

Several of the hotels have Thanksgiving buffets. Reservations are required. I think prices probably start around $25 per person. I don't know of any personally to recommend, but you can start checking nolalive.com, citysearch.com, etc. a week or two before Thanksgiving for information. Thanksgiving is a busy time to visit due to the Southern Classic (football game), so make reservations early.

bruce

Marc: have you thoroughly researched your mini-vacation? Thanksgiving weekend in New Orleans always coincides with the "Bayou Classic" football game between Southern Univesity and Grambling. The Quarter is jam packed with rowdy college students and fans for the whole weekend. Canal street will have closures in areas near Decatur. Most hotels require wristbands to prove you are a paying guest because so many students try to pack their rooms with non paying friends. It's something the city needs to address but won't because of the money it generates. The Quarter and central business district down to the Dome are pretty much trashed ala Mardi Gras. Having said all that, if you want a good Thanksgiving meal, Commanders Palace is always a memorable one. I suppose any of Emerils joints would do (Delmonico's and Emeril's are both outside the Quarter while NOLA's is in the Quarter). Also, stay away from the "traditional" Turducken (sp), a hen stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey. Its just a novelty. On the other hand a fried turkey is to die for. Good Luck.

P.S. I would really rethink that Thanksgiving weekend trip, unless you are coming for the game, in that case, Never Mind.

reconsider

Been there, done that. I personally would not recommend NOLA over the Thanskgiving holiday because of the Classic. However, I can offer a testimonial for stuffing with oyster dressing ala Peristyle. But you can get that anytime.

Agnes

Stay in the Quarter and NOT downtown because of the game. In fact, I recommend the Esplanade Avenue area. You won't even know the Classic is happening.

Meg

Thank you, Bruce - I didn't think Southern Classic sounded right - but I leave town for Thanksgiving every year because of the game, so I guess my attempts to truly forget all about it have worked. Agnes may be right - the lower end of the Quarter is pretty much deserted, but getting through the CBD to do anything uptown puts you right smack in the middle of the chaos.

Arabella

I was in New Orleans three years ago for Thanksgiving and didn't know about the football game. It was absolutely awful. The students were out of control. I stayed at the Marriott on Canal and the glass is the lobby windows was shattered. Staying in the Quarter won't help. A number of restaurants and shops close that weekend to avoid the madhouse.

football fan

There wouldn't be just a little hint of "racism" in some of the above posts regarding the Bayou Classic would there now?

Ava

Football fan, don't stir up problems where none exist. Don't you have anything better to do with your life?

Meg

Well, now, Football Fan- you don't hear us telling people to avoid New Orleans during the Essence Festival - do you? The Essence crowd behaves. The Bayou Classic crowd is a bunch a rowdy students who don't know how to act. They cruise the streets and block traffic for hours on end. My friends on the police force say this is worst week-end of the year for them - even worse than the Mardi Gras crowds, who don't behave at all.

John

Bayou Classic is indeed a game played between two predominantly African-American universities, Southern and Grambling. Race issues aside, Bayou Classic is generally "a pain" for most New Orleanians for several reasons. First, it's a tremendous drain on the city's police resources. Second, the crowd is usually quite rowdy...much worse than the usual Bourbon Street buffoonery. Third, the traffic is horrendous since participants think it's cool to "cruise" Canal Street, the main downtown thoroughfare. Which brings me to fourth, that many shops do indeed close because (a) Bayou Classic people don't buy and (b) locals won't even attempt to get downtown. In fact, the weekend after Thanksgiving is a great retail weekend everywhere in the country except downtown New Orleans!

I think it's a great time to be in the city overall but you do want to avoid Canal Street and the Central Business District. Stay in the French Quarter's "Lower Quarter" or Esplanade Avenue areas!