New Orleans

I will be in New Orleans this weekend. Friday night is already booked at Cochon. I was wondering which of the well known establishments may have bar areas with appetizers available for a bit of a restaurant eating /drinking crawl on Saturday? Thanks

John Besh's August has a beautiful bar area at which you could order food.

Both cochon and herbsaint have bar areas- both are link restaurants and are insanely good. Also, we ate at Luke on the second night they were open and had some serious problems, but that said I've now heard that they've come around. Luke is very close to everything.

You could very easily just do a food/drinking crawl of Tchop. & Magazine streets and be so stuffed and happy...- August, Cochon, Emeril's (which also has a bar area), I know there are a few others, but can't think of them off the top of my head.

Also, just something to remember before you slam that beer at one restaurant before going to the next- NOLA has no open container law- which I'm sure you knew- so just take your drink with you as you walk from bar to bar

Something else to consider on your "crawl" night is the raw bar. The oysters are really good right about now & you could do a lot worse for your dining dollar. Two of my favorite raw bars are at Casamento's and Pascal's Manale.

ChiNOLA wrote:Something else to consider on your "crawl" night is the raw bar. The oysters are really good right about now & you could do a lot worse for your dining dollar. Two of my favorite raw bars are at Casamento's and Pascal's Manale.

*drool*

jpschust wrote:You could very easily just do a food/drinking crawl of Tchop. & Magazine streets and be so stuffed and happy

As long as you confine the"crawl" to a four block portion of the warehouse district or are very familiar with where you are going I would not reccomend this unless you have wheels. Both Tchoupitoulas and Magazine Streets run from Canal St to the Riverbend which is a very long way. Many Many portions of these streets are unsafe at night (I am not an alarmist, just practical as I have been held up several times on both streets), especially just uptown of the warehouse district where August, etc are located. If you want to do a progressive meal you should stick to the quarter or plan something out and include transportation. There are nice clusters of places, especially on magazine st, all the way uptown.

iblock9 wrote:Many portions of these streets are unsafe at night...

I second the general emotion. Every city I've been in has safe parts that are near dangerous parts, but no city I've ever been in matches New Orleans for how easy it is to wander from one into the other without warning. Most other cities have some kind of "intermediate ground" separating good and bad, even if it's a small one, where you can sense things getting a little dicey and turn around before it's too late. In New Orleans you can be in a bad part before you even know you're in it, and it's already too late. So, enjoy New Orleans. Just be careful.

riddlemay wrote:

iblock9 wrote:but no city I've ever been in matches New Orleans for how easy it is to wander from one into the other without warning. .

It is literally a block by block issue, especially on Magazine Street where you can literally go from swanky to terrifying without blinking an eye. This has changed somewhat for the better in recent years with the buldozing of the Desire projects. For practical purposes it is simply important to be aware of your surroundings and not take chances as tourists will stick out like a sour thumb.

Indeed, but knowing where the food is in that area- especially the higher end food means you aren't going to walk off path in that period of time.

Definitely advisable to know where you are going & how you plan to get there - wandering aimlessly in New Orleans can quickly lead to serious trouble.

That said, an easy way to get to the area where both Casamento's and Pascal's Manale are located (assuming you're coming from downtown) is to take the St. Charles Ave. streetcar to Napoleon Ave. Pascal's Manale is at Napoleon & Dryades, a couple of blocks toward the Lake from St. Charles [to the right from the direction the streetcar will be traveling]. Casamento's is on Magazine & Napoleon, which is four blocks or so on the other side of St. Charles (towards the river).

If you're going to do this, I would also highly recommend an earlier stop at the Columns Hotel (3800 block of St. Charles) - they have a great bar there & a nice patio too.

ChiNOLA wrote:If you're going to do this, I would also highly recommend an earlier stop at the Columns Hotel (3800 block of St. Charles) - they have a great bar there & a nice patio too.

I second this. Great idea.

Heading to NOLA pretty soon as a family for a week, wondering how kid friendly this town is?

Our daughter will be 4, and we already have the zoo and aquarium on the list for a couple of the days. There is a pool @ our hotel, and she loves to shop. I am thinking these options will be enough for her to have a good time.

Any other kid friendly activities folks know about?

Foodwise I think with the other threads on N.O. & folks I know I will be pretty set. Hoping higher end N.O. establishments are like Chicago where kids are ok if you eat an early dinner(4:00 - 6:00 p.m.).

Thanks for any info/advise.

jimswside wrote:Hoping higher end N.O. establishments are like Chicago where kids are ok if you eat an early dinner(4:00 - 6:00 p.m.).

Thanks for any info/advise.

The nice thing about New Orleans is that everyting is pretty much OK. Of course, good parenting skills and well behaved children are apreciated everywhere. In your case, I doubt there's much to worry about.

P.S. Add the French Market to your list. There's lots to see and shop for there, and a visit to the square is endless entertainment between the street performars and artists to just plain people watching. Don't forget to go for a trolly ride and stop at the Camilia Grill for a burger.

stevez wrote:
The nice thing about New Orleans is that everyting is pretty much OK. Of course, good parenting skills and well behaved children are apreciated everywhere. In your case, I doubt there's much to worry about.

thanks, good to know.

I do know with her palate she will probably enjoy the food almost as much as me and her mom.

Audubon Zoo is wonderful. Don't miss it. And it's a perfect destination off the streetcar either before or after Camelia Grille (or "the Grill") as we used to say in college.) Tulane is across the street from the zoo if you happen to want to take a walk thru a lovely campus.

The Aquarium is supposed to be one of the best in the country--it's right downtown on Canal Street.

City Park is a fantastic park with art, Storyland, outdoor activities--kind of like Central Park in NYC.

Finally, there is a Children's museum in the warehouse district --fun area for the grownups and I'm sure the museum is fun (I happen to find kids museums way more fun than the adult versions )

And Preservation Hall is actually very kid friendly--no smoking or drinking--and, of course, the music is amazing!!

Are you sure you don't need a nanny to accompany you???? I'd happily volunteer

jen

I agree with the zoo! We took the trolley just about everywhere, the section from the zoo/Tulane area back towards the French Quarter passes all the cool, big old homes!

thanks guys,

Im going to get tickets to the zoo and the aquarium as part of the package deal through Expedia.

I have to say that the zoo was probably the highlight of my trip to NOLA in March. It's small enough that you can do all of it if you want and it's really just a lovely mix of creatures big and small. So glad you're going!

I would recommend Camellia Grill for breakfast over lunch -- best omelette I've had in a really really long time and it's really not at all far from the Zoo, right off the streetcar route.

Don't forget river boat cruises -- your daughter might get a kick out of that too...

earthlydesire wrote:Don't forget river boat cruises -- your daughter might get a kick out of that too...

You can also travel between the aquarium and zoo via river boat.

thanks for the tips on the river boat options folks.

Jim,

You can buy a package that includes a Riverboat ride from the zoo and back to the Aquarium area. Like the idea of riding the streetcar over to Camelia Grill for breakfast and then walking off that chili cheese omelette at the zoo! A leisurely boat ride back to the center of town.Cocktail hour for sure then! Not sure you really need to pre-buy any tickets unless they are discounted a bunch. Danny

thanks for the heads up Danny, the price of the tickets is the same, only advantage of buying them through the package is paying for them in advance vs out of the food and drink money once I am in NOLA.

Ive got a short list of restaurants for a solo dinner one of the nights we are in NOLA.

Top of the list is Commaners Palace. Curious about the "Chef's Playground" tasting menu. Anyone done it.

Other option is Galatoires. But Commanders Palace has been on my short list for years.

I have a long list of other places for the family and I. 8 days should allow us to eat at quite a few, and to return to a few.

Acme, K-Paul, Mothers, Central Grocery, Felix, Drago, Domilise, Pascal's, Bourbon House, Ralph's, Mulates, Pierre Masperos, Royal House.

Besides maybe one or two blow out meals, I will be happy eating oysters, shrimp, gumbo, etouffee, po boys, and muffaletta the entire trip.

If you've never been, choose Commander's Palace for sure. Also, Willa Mae's Scotch House has reopened ; a pilgrimage a fried chicken man such as yourself should make.

stevez wrote:If you've never been, choose Commander's Palace for sure. Also, Willa Mae's Scotch House has reopened ; a pilgrimage a fried chicken man such as yourself should make.

thanks as always steve,

the chefs playground menu @ Commanders for $80 sounds to be right up my alley.

jimswside wrote:

stevez wrote:If you've never been, choose Commander's Palace for sure. Also, Willa Mae's Scotch House has reopened ; a pilgrimage a fried chicken man such as yourself should make.

thanks as always steve,

the chefs playground menu @ Commanders for $80 sounds to be right up my alley.

Definitely do Commander's--they didn't have tasting menus back in my NOLA days but I would imagine CP having a lovely one. And the downstairs room at Galatoire's is a lively, bustling space--I think it's plenty kid friendly and the cuisine is so classic NOLA. And it's not outrageously expensive either.

don't forget Camelia Grill and Cafe Du Monde

Jen

I didnt have Cochon on the list til' I checked out their menu and philosophy.

Now they have to be at the top of my list for at least one visit. I have also printed a menu for Cochon Butcher whiose menu is just as amazing to me.

http://www.cochonrestaurant.com

http://www.cochonbutcher.com

I have one question, as a fan of oysters I see some places offer their raw oysters with caviar. Is this traditional caviar or something else? Either way i bet ill like them.

thanks as always

I'm surprised no one has suggested Mandina's. Back in the day, it was one of the places in the city where YATS
would go for their fix of turtle soup and trout meuniere. Unless something drastic has changed this neighborhood jewel post-
Katrina, it's well worth the short trek up Canal Street. Another place not mentioned: the Lakefront and the Bucktown areas.
Not that far from downtown with several seafood shacks serving up great oyster loaves and stuffed crab.
I appreciate all your great posts and I hope your family has a great time in a city that I love!

p.s.: I just now went Mandina's website ( I'm surprised they even have one!) and noticed at the bottom how some things never change... they still don't take plastic In 2010, you have to be pretty confident of your product and following to operate this way. In any event, you're forewarned and I hope this isn't a deal breaker for you.

great info John, thanks

cash is king, I prefer paying with cash.