New Orleans

Best prune juice bars? I have constipation from being so snippy and uptight.

Fuck off, R1

Irene’s is a great place for dinner. I was disappointed in Commander’s Palace but I’ve since heard they’ve gotten much better and are back to being a premier restaurant. Cafe Du Monde had great Beignets. La Petite Grocery is great. Brendan’s was losing steam but I heard they were also back to being excellent. Bayona is great. Dooley Chase’s for casual authentic food. Enjoy!

Forgot to mention Galatoire’s. The food is excellent but some might find its old world traditional style a bit fussy.

^ oops and at r3, it’s Brennan’s not Brendan’s.

Greg, another vote for Irene’s. Also Mr Bs (a Brennan restaurant). Tujague’s on Decatur has relocated from their original site, but is still good. If in the mood for a cocktail and bar food, American Townhouse on Rampart is fun.

[quote] Anything else you think I should do?

Drink heavily and go for a walk down a dark street.

[quote] Drink heavily and go for a walk down a dark street.

Thanks, asshole!

Thanks, R3, R4, R5, & R6!

I’ll be there in an hour-and-a-half!

Napoleon House for a muffuletta and Pims Cup. It’s a very Tennessee Williams feeling in the courtyard.

I'm watching Showtime's "Your Honor" this week. It takes place in New Orleans and features the city in lots of location shooting. The villain family owns the best hotels and restaurants in the city. Anyone with an interest in New Orleans should enjoy this aspect of the drama. I'm also enjoying the storytelling, and the locations help make it real.

You might like watching it when you get back, Greg.

Damnit, Dooky Chase’s at r3.

Cafe Maspero for lunch

Second Napoleon House. Arnaud’s French 75 bar and Cure for best-in-class cocktails.

New Orleans has great hotel bars: the Carousel Bar at Hotel Monteleone is a must, as is the bar at the Roosevelt.

Mostly disgusting, heavy, salty, overly spiced, deep-fried swamp food. Heavy sauces. That Muffaletta(SP? don't care) sandwich is a salty, soggy pile of cold cuts. Guilty pleasure: the beignets (deep fried dough) sprinkled with powdered sugar and strong coffee at Cafe du Monde. Also, cheap, giant Daquiris in a to go cups that you can walk all over town sipping on.

I was able avoid the above by ordering carefully off the menu at the delightful tourist trap Galatoire's. It was fantastic! Prices far more reasonable than the average SF Bay Area restaurant.

Can't remember the place, but had an entree that was either catfish or redfish? encrusted with mashed sweet potatoes. Delicious.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Unfortunately, The Upperline, my favorite NO restaurant closed for good last year.

Bayona is a must-visit on every trip to town.

I'm not the OP but planning a short trip in January. Any hotel recommendations? Tours?

R18 Stay in the French Quarter for sure, but not directly on Bourbon street. Take a ghost tour - they are so cheesy, but you get a great walking tour of New Orleans. Wear super comfortable shoes - tons of walking on torn-up streets. Take the trolley one day out to the Garden District. Go into a voodoo shop - again, cheesy, but fun.

Listen to the food recommendations here. If you want a shit hole bar/greasy spoon, walk to Hobnobber's.

If you are staying in the French Quarter, then don't rent a car. However, the airport is not close to the French Quarter, so Ubers aren't super cheap.

If you want to escape the tourist traps in the French Quarter, make your way over to Frenchmen St. Tons of great clubs and restaurants. Uber or Lyft your way home, even if it's only a few blocks.

R20 reminded me - Also, go to The Spotted Cat Music Club for jazz

Another vote for Mr. B’s. The burger at lunch was wonderful and I’m not a big burger person, but it was phenomenal.

New Orleans also has a great WW2 museum.

Stood in line beside a Mardi Gras krewe and was asked what I intended to order. I said I was torn between two different choices. Was told to not be silly: get both!

They were so right. The muffuletta was ambrosial.

Go to the races! Then go to Liuzza’s at the track. The other Liuzza’s is good too, but it’s not by the track.

If you want a burger, go to Port of Call.

24-hour food delivery in the Quarter: Verti-Marte, Quarter Master.

The Country Club, on Louisa Street. They do a nice dinner, but their breakfast/brunch is a knockout.

Owned by gays, or at least very friendly to them.

Sylvain in the quarter was excellent, as was Cochon. Was not impressed with the food at The Country Club but it has fun vibes.

The St. Vincent hotel would be where I would stay if we went again. We stopped there for drinks and saw Willem Dafoe who was filming in town. This was in early November

Also thought most of the Quarter is an absolute dump.

R27 is right. Bourbon street is a hoot but very dirty and smelly. Royal street is much nicer.

You'll have a great time whatever you do, as long as you make sure you aren't murdered while you're there.

It almost doesn’t matter which restaurant you go to—from high end to hole in the wall—the food is amazing—Particularly if you enjoy everything a little spicy

Stay on all the main streets. If it looks like a deserted dark alleyway, don't walk down it. Taking the opposite end, if you approach a hugely dense crowd of people screaming, way too tightly packed together, get away. In other words, use common sense and be aware of your surroundings. Don't stick to Bourbon street - it's fun for a few hours to stroll along, get some cheap frozen drinks, and hang out in a couple gay bars, but it's just a default tourist street, go to the rest of the French Quarter.

Last time I went to New Orleans, I didn’t go to Bourbon at all. It’s usually filled with college kids and such.

Elizabeth’s for breakfast.

Hotel Montleon is the place to stay and for sure the carousel bar!

Bourbon St is just a frat party, for sure.

Was there years ago (pre-Katrina) with my partner and a bunch of his colleagues/vendors, who were attending a large, obnoxious convention. The good news was that their employers paid for every tour and meal, as my partner was an important customer. Don't even know if this would be legal today!

One day, I went off on my own and took the St. Charles Street car to The Garden District on a hot, languid, sultry morning and just wandered around, looking at mansions and above-ground cemeteries. Giant old trees covered with Spanish Moss formed a shady canopy over every block. It was eerily quiet. Not a person in sight. Curtains drawn. Found myself walking slowly, feeling suddenly older, dabbing my brow with a handkerchief, and strangely thinking to myself in a polite but arrogant patrician drawl. It felt absolutely sinister! There were secrets in those silent mansions behind the closed curtains.

The next best experience was a high-end stretch limo swamp tour (paid for by partner's colleagues). A paunchy, white-haired liberal hippie driver dressed like Colonel Sanders drove us out to the middle of nowhere. Stopped at a gas station that sold beer, porn, guns, camo, bait, and ammo. We bought beer. Then drove even further. Lot's of billboards with right-wing ads. The driver then transferred us to a hydrofoil boat and piloted us around a bayou. Beautiful scenery. Stopped at an island, where we got off. He went inside some shack and returned with raw chickens which he tossed into the water. Out of nowhere came a swarm of alligators! Great experience.

The Country Club basically used to be a sex club that served food.

Try the Prune Po' Boy, Greg!

It's right up your poop chute!

R36, why used to be??!! I always miss out on the good stuff!’

A woman was allegedly raped there and the city cracked down on them. The pool used to be clothing optional, but they had to institute a no-nudity rule in order to keep their liquor license.

Coquette is my favorite restaurant. I don't love the old guard restaurants, Brennan's, Galatoire's, etc., as I don't want to eat 300-year-old food. Marjie's Grill and Jewel of the South are also great. Jewel is a full-service restaurant with great food and is especially good for cocktail lovers if you want to kill two birds. My favorite bar is Pirate's Alley, an absinthe bar between St Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo, great for people watching. Hottest Hell Tours is a great walking tour as they tell stories you've never probably heard, whereas most of the others don't give anything you haven't heard if you've ever watched Haunted History of New Orleans-type shows. I moved here from NYC six years ago, and this place is the love of my life, absolutely enjoy!

R38 Don't let it bring you down. They still have tasteful food and gaudy-ass decor.

Who has the best fried chicken: Jacques-Imo's, Willie Mae's, Dooky Chase, McKenzie's, or McHardy's?

Bar Tonique serves the best ice cubes.

This is good time of year to visit. Don’t bother coming down here July thru September (unless you want heat stroke) Have fun!

i had to work in NO last spring, and stayed in the Warehouse district, which was a pleasant 20 minute walk to the French Quarter or the Garden district.

Restaurant R'Evolution (book now!) Cochon Herbsaint Péche Sidecar Nola Patio and Oyster Bar

I fell in love with fried oysters there.

Also book a reservation for the Preservation Jazz Hall session

Formatting!

Restaurant R'Evolution (book now!)

Cochon

Herbsaint

Péche

Sidecar Nola Patio and Oyster Bar