This year for Christmas we decided to not spend money on presents and instead go to New Orleans. We’ve got a house rented in the Quarter.
We used to go often about 30 years ago when we lived in Acadiana. The last time we went was probably 14 years ago. So, anyone have suggestions about things to do over the holiday? What are the good places to eat - my list is a bit out of date. Both fancy places and dives with good food are acceptable. We’ve been to Antoines and Galatoires, and we went to Brennan’s just as it was heading downhill. We’ve also been to some good places on the lake
No Cajun restaurants please. We’re heading for Lafayette after our stay. We lived there before Cajun food became popular and got ruined in the outside world.
Just got back from NOLA. No holiday tips, but if you enjoy good BBQ - head over to Bywater (about a $10 cab ride) to try The Joint. It’s some of the best BBQ I’ve ever had. Cheap too.
Check into weekday lunch specials at some of the nicer places. We had an amazing lunch at Commander’s Palace that included a soup or salad and entree for under $20 each. They also offer 25-cent martinis with a lunch entree during the week. With 6 martinis between us, two entrees (w/ soup/salad) AND a very nice dessert - our total bill was only about $50 before tip.
You mention cajun but what about creole? Coop’s Place in the quarter is a really great dive with amazing jambalaya, red beans & rice, etc, and some of the best fried chicken I’ve had the fortune to taste (better than Willie Mae’s, IMO).
Also, where did you find the house you rented? My wife and I rented a small (but amazing) apartment just outside the Quarter through AirBNB.com and were very happy with the accommodations. Always looking for new ideas though.
Never been at Christmas, but we’ve gone for New Year’s a few times. We always, always hit up Johnny’s for lunch at at least once. Actually, what we really do is go for a late breakfast, eat half the sandwich and get the other half wrapped up for a mid-afternoon snack. We usually go to Bayona one night, too. I highly, highly recommend both the garlic soup and the quail salad. Especially the quail salad. Coop’s Place is also very nommy, and quite convenient for refueling after a trek through the Market. Cafe Du Monde is too crowded in the mornings to bother with for breakfast, but it’s a spectacular place to sober up a little before you go to bed. There’s also a place on the edge of the Quarter whose name escapes me right at the moment that makes really awesome burgers and one of my all-time favorite drinks, a citrussy-rummy thing called a Monsoon.
As for things to do, we spend a lot of our time just meandering around, honestly. We’ve taken some really good walking tours over the years, especially the haunted history tour that left from Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (don’t know for sure if that one is still running, the nightclub where the tour used to end closed after Katrina) and the cocktail history tour. The cocktail tour is cool even if you’re a tee-totaler, because you get to see all sorts of back rooms and little Mardi Gras museums and the place where Audubon finished the Birds of America (complete with a small gallery in back and a framed prostitution license where it used to be a whorehouse.) And, of course, there’s the aquarium and riding the streetcar out to the zoo.
ETA: My husband informs me the place with the Monsoons is Port of Call.
Excellent. We never made it to Commander’s Palace when we lived in Lafayette (I was a grad student after all) so that sounds good. Definitely interested in Creole, very different from Cajun.
My daughter and her husband are driving from NJ, so we have a car - and the place comes with a parking sticker.
Sounds good. Cafe du Monde is definitely on our list - we go there every time we go to New Orleans. In fact my wife makes beignets from their mix on special occasions, and I love them so much I’ve actually had them at Disneyland - Downtown Disney. Not bad, but not the same thing, of course.
Port of Call sounds good - especially since we’ll be able to stagger back to our house.
We’ve done walking tours in lots of places but I never thought of one in New Orleans. We’ll check it out.
I’m excited for you guys. We are already planning our return trip in a few months. We also got married overlooking Jackson Square last year. We love that city.
On Christmas Eve, head out on the River Road, towards Vacherie. You can see the “world’s largest” block party, ie the bonfires on the Mississippi River levee–allegedly intended to light the way for Papa Noel and his pirogue pulled by eight flying alligators, bringing toys to good little Cajun children. My somewhat irreverent family of protestants sometimes refers to it as the Burning of the Heretics…
Hope this thread isn’t too stale for a couple of thoughts…
I encourage you to check out **Mandina’s Restaurant**at 3800 Canal Street (up towards Carrollton Avenue from the FQ. It’s a classic old neighborhood place that serves Creole, Italian, and other New Orleans staples. Cash only, no reservations. It can be crowded, but the bartenders will put your name on the list - - order a drink in a go cup, and if the weather’s nice, sit outside under and they’ll come get you.
Afterwards, drive up to Carrollton Avenue, turn right, and go 1.5 blocks to Angelo Brocato’s for dessert.
I think the best Italian in the city (I lived there for 11 years) is **Vincent’s**on St. Charles. It’s Uptown, near Riverbend.
If you like oysters, Casamento’s on Magazine Street is worth a visit. You should also check out the shopping on Magazine Street either on the way or on the way back.
For fried seafood and a different view of the city, go up to Bucktown at the Pontchartrain Lakefront to Deanie’s. The portions are generous! It’s spicy, too, but not Cajun-ized. No reservations, so it can be a wait on Friday and Saturday nights.
For a fabulous poboy, go to Domilise’s Uptown. Oyster and shrimp are their specialties. Marvel at how much food comes out of such a small kitchen!
We had a Revillon dinner at the Pelican Club, which was good, and a Christmas brunch at the Crystal Room at le Pavillion hotel on Poydras which was awesome.
We took the Gray Line tour to see the bonfires on the levees which were awesome.
I never realized that you could go right up to them. The bad part was the Gray Line tour, which had a plantation house tour mostly led by people not wanting to work Christmas eve, and the worst Christmas eve dinner in over 30 years. But the bonfires, and not having to deal with the traffic, was well worth it.
Went past Port of Call but didn’t go in.
BTW, the kids rented scooters in New Orleans, and loved it.
Now off to Richards in Abbeville for boiled crawfish. Went to Prejeans last night for food and Cajun music. And we had Boudin for lunch today.
Thanks to all for the suggestions.
BTW, renting houses instead of getting hotel rooms was great. We had a place for $225 a night which slept four right on Esplanade.
