kal

Another thumbs up for Petunia's.

We liked Emeril's other restaurant, NOLA but we have been seeing mixed reviews of late.
Has anybody been to Dooky Chase's recently? Saw it on the Food Channel's "Restaurants of New Orleans" and have put it on our list.

We went to New Orleans with some "very frugal" friends and after eating at a few of "our type" of restaurants, they picked the restaurant. It was someplace off the side street from (hah! trying to remember details about the FrQtr!) Jackson Sq....It had "3 entrees for $7" with a side dish. Well, you DO get what you pay for, size and quality!

Hope to go back this October and do more research!
Kal

Lenore

We went to the Emeril's Fish House at MGM in Las Vegas. It was bad from start to finish. The service was slow and snobbish. The lobster bisque had a "skin" on it when served and was luke warm. The sushi appetizer was weird and tasteless. My tuna was hard to cut and practically inedible. Needless to say, we didn't stick around for dessert. What a horrible experience. I would never go back to this or any of his restaurants.

Our favorite New Orleans restaurant was the Pelican Club. It's in the Quarter, but not well known. Delicious food and great service.

xx

I wouldn't suggest the Court of Two Sisters. Food was less then average.

Emerils place are

How can Emeril's restaurants be any good when there is NO personal touch any more. He is just a celebrity. Most of his restaurants are nothing special any more.
Emeril should just do the endorsement thing and maybe have one restaurant that is his baby.
Emeril -"You can't be everywhere at once, stop trying"!!!

Melody

Yes, I tried Emerils in N.O. and it was nothing great, small pieces of fish, bland sauce, and I did recognize the bagged greens for my salad too. Nothing picked fresh from the garden any more.
In fact it tasted like a Houlihans chain.
It used to be superb, not any more....
Avoid EMERILS

xxx xx

The only bad meal we've ever had in New Orleans was at Gumbolaya near the French Market. Food was over-spiced and cold. Service was the worst I've had anywhere. And to top it off, the waiter CHANGED his tip amount on our credit card slip after we had left! We found it when we got the credit card bill, disputed the charge, and of course, called the restaurant manager and told them which one of their waiters had stolen from them. He didn't steal from us because we weren't going to pay for it. With so many wonderful choices in New Orleans .... please avoid Gumbolaya at all costs!

karen

It's been about a decade since I visited N.O. but had 2 memorable meals - one at Bon Ton and the other at La Louisiane. Do either of these establishments still exist and are they still good?

J Correa

I didn't like the Magnolia Cafe either. It's on Chartres at Urselines - I think. The red beans and rice was bland, I had to ask twice for a refill of iced tea - hello, it's hot outside. We also had fried catfish and it was terrible.

Ann

We're in NO at this very moment and have just returned from dinner at Red Fish Grill. NOT impressed at all, despite everything Id read. In fact, we were quite disappointed. The food was totally average and overpriced for what we got (the tuna and the chicken). The noise level was absolutely incredible (yes, I realize it was the dinner hour, and that the resturant is in a warehouse but ...... !) Bourbon St was actually more quiet than the resturant!

J Correa

We had a totally different experience at the Red Fish Grill. It was a little loud in the restaurant, but not bad. Our servers were very friendly and efficient. I had gulf fish with a creamy andouille sauce, which was very good. I can't remember what my husband had, but he liked it. There were several local beers on tap, rather than just the standard macrobrews, and the servers were knowledgeable about each one, which is always nice when trying to pair a beer with a meal.

Monica

My least favorite restaurant was the Pelican Club. The waiter we had was so condescending, and he all but refused to bring my coworker the red wine he wanted because it "didn't go with lasagne" ?! Whether it did or not was beside the point, it was what the customer ordered. At Nola the food was good but we really felt rushed. They were slapping those plates down one after the other so quickly I think we were out of there in an hour! My favorite restaurant was Gautreades (sp) in the Garden District. It's in a converted pharmacy and the food and service were truly excellent.

Owen O'Neill

I was stoked for the NO cuisine on my first trip there this past winter but we had spotty experiences (in part due to the choices we made). The Oysters at Acme were outstanding but the gumbo and sausage was mediocre at best. WE had lunch the next day at Olivier's and it was excellent - the best meal of our trip. Valentine's Day we had dinner at Antoine's - request of my GF. WE were seated at a good tabel in the back but they could not offer us Baked Alaska - had already sold out the available servings for the day by way of advance reservations (it was 7 PM when we requested it at the beginning of our meal). Service was fine but the food was just "okay" and very expensive. Two non-alcoholic drinks, two bowls of bisque, two entrees, one side dish and two desserts was about $115. IMHO very pricey for a nothing special kind of meal. We did have coffee and dessert late the previous night at NOLA's and it was good - not spectacular but good enough that I'd like to try them for a meal on my next visit. We also tried the Vietnamese-fusion restaurant in the Hotel Intercontinental (called Lemongrass or somethign like that). It was fairly good and cool atmosphere with friendly service but overpriced and not as good as real Vietnamese cuisine in a more traditional restaurant. Oh well.... we'll do more research before the next trip and report back here after our return.

KLM

I will admit that there are some interesting dining experiences to be had in New Orleans. I know there are some serious chefs who make a real effort at various New Orleans cuisine. However, for those of you with authentic Cajun in mind, I hate to tell you this, but the heart of the Cajun territory and the down home cooking that comes with it, is about 125 miles west of N.O. in the Acadiana parishes.

No there aren't near as many tourist attractions -- mostly small town activities (festivals), tours, dance halls, the famous Tobasco factory, etc. and none of the old world charm -- but damn the people are nice and the food! Oh the food. If you want the rich stuff that's really really bad for you but so delicious, this is where you need to go.

It comes in the form of french toast or stuffed oreille de chochon (like a beignet stuffed like a pig's ear, but better!) at Cafe des Amis in St. Martinville, boild crawfish at Paul's Pirogue in Carencro, fried alligator at Gater Cove in Lafayette, pizza with sauteed blue point crab or blackened shrimp at Deano's in Lafayette, or just a good old plate lunch at Ruby's or Edie's, also in Lafayette.

Need I say more? Of course I can go on about gumbo, jambalaya, bouding... This is what you people are really looking for, just in the wrong place.

My two cents

KLM

One correction, Cafe des Amis is actually in Breaux Bridge!

Oh I'm so hungry now...

Amy

Redfish Grill on Bourbon was horrible! Tuna appetizer was dried and brown and the entrees were way overpriced for the portions. Abominable service.