When going to New Orleans, you must try the.....
 

1. Beignets
2. Gumbo
3. Crawfish Etoufee
4. Muffeletta sandwich

And........

Also, where's the best place to eat these things at. I'm not looking for anything fancy here, unless it's that much better.

Coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde.
The rest could be almost anywhere and the arguments of which are best will never end.

Central Grocery on Decatur for the muffeletta. Probably Cafe du Monde for the beignets.

Thanks for your replies. I've never been to the south before so please tell me what else I have to try. I'll try anything (well almost anything) once.

hampsterbrain-
You should definitely try some boiled crawfish if you haven't before. You will be here towards the end of the season (according to another post), but should still be able to get some. Try Deanie's behind the Ritz. You should be able to get etoufee and any other dishes you want to try there as well. Nothing fancy - just as you asked for!

I agree with Cafe du Monde and Central Grocery.

I guess that when in NO one must go to Café du Monde for the biegnets just because.

Been there, did that, don't get it.

I got a bigger thrill out of the walk up bars on Bourbon st. Get something frozen in an odd color. You must also try the hand grenade at Tropical Isle if it still exists...been a few years.

I guess the above paragraph tells too much about the attraction in NO for me personally. What the heck, do the beignet thing!

Beignets at Morning Call are good too, if you happen to venture outside the city. Agree w/Muffeletta at Central Grocery. Really yummy drippy loose meat po'boy (anyone recall the name?) at Mother's. RAW OYSTERS w/horseradish at Acme Oyster House. For me, no trip to NO is complete without a 3 course breakfast at Brennan's (Brandy Milk Punch, Creole Onion Soup, Eggs Husard, and Bananas Foster - that's what I get!). Oh, and don't forget a Hurricane from Pat O'Briens - there is no open container law in NO so they'll put in a plastic cup for you so you can wander the FQ while you sip!

The BBQ shrimp at Paschals Manuele. They created the dish and it's fabulous. I'm a wimp and have them pull the heads before they serve it. The best part - sopping up that amazing broth with the bread! Yum!

I'm lucky to have a friend who is a NO native and will cook the dish when I beg!

Jambalaya (and Hurricanes!) at Pat O'Briens! Great fun for lunch on their outdoor courtyard - patio!

i love the acme oyster house too, although i always get the softshell crab poboy when i'm there...

one word of advice: when going to cafe du monde (as you are impelled to do), make sure you're not dressed in black unless you don't mind walking around the rest of the day making it completely obvious that you had breakfast there...

Thank you so much for your replies! I'm going to have to do some serious dieting before I get there so I can pig out.
Starrsville-
Thanks for the warning about the heads. I'm wimpy too but it's good to know they'll do it for you.

Good tip fastnbulbous! And don't sneeze or cough or even INHALE! :))

Or you can just wear a napkin like a bib which you will do if you try starrsville's tip of eating BBQ shrimp at Pascal's Manale. Yummy stuff!

Lunch time yet?

Of course, don't even think about leaving NO before you have had some red beans and rice :) You can get it most anywhere. We had some particularly good red beans and rice at a place called Pere Antoines in the FQ.

The drippy sandwich at Mother's is the Debris - getting it's name from the meat falling off the roast into the gravy in the bottom of the pan and being scooped up like debris. There is also a Ferdi sandwich that has the debris roast beef and some ham - very tastey.

5. Praline bacon at Elizabeth's (cheap)
6. Louisiana Gulf shrimp "al ajillo" at RioMar ($16 - slightly fancy and worth every penny)


http://www.riomarseafood.com

Oh man, I'm drooling over here! Any advice of what I should try when I'm over in Miss-iss-ipp-i? Or is the cuisine pretty much the same as NO? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I've never been to either place.

Funny you should say that, NOL! My recent visitor from NO told a PM story about the server accidently dropping a bowl of the shells and debris in her lap during clearing of the table. They offered to clean her pants - and she said "Honey, the only thing for these pants is to throw them away!". She wouldn't take any compensation but they insisted she returned for a free meal. She was busy and they called to remind her several times (she's local) so she knew she would have to do something special when she did return.

She called to make reservations...and walked in the door draped in an oilcloth tablecloth! Everyone hooted! Yes, usually the bibs they provide are sufficient!

Next time I go to NO I'll have to revisit one of the local dives serving amazing po'boys. I'll have to ask our local rep 'cause I don't remember anything distinctive about the place - but do remember the first time I encountered the oyster shell parking lots in high heels!

And, if I liked coffee, I'd have some chicory coffee.

Mint julups.

How about a place just before or just after NO off of I-10? We'll get to the area just about lunch time next week on our way to Baton Rouge. We'll be on I-10 instead of I-12 because of a stop at Houmas House on the way to BR..

I'm not as big of a breakfast eater as snowrooster, so I just ordered Turtle Soup at brunch at Brennans. Interesting. Well, at least I tried it once!

starrsville - We made the mistake of eating our giant Brennan's breakfast on one trip the same day we planned on have muffelettas as Central Grocery for lunch. That didn't work out too well - we were still stuffed and had to postpone that lunch for another day!!

Regarding Mint Juleps - I've always considered them a Kentucky thing (big derby drink).