Travel NEW ORLEANS! tips - questions - advice

#256
DH and I are wrapping up our NoLa visit. I have some new foodie finds:
- Tartine for breakfast and lunch. They are on Perrier St. between Broadway and Leak Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood near Audubon Park. You must try the baked eggs in brioche and the pork rillettes.
- Avery's Po-boys is a new comer located in mid-city on Tulane Avenue. We had the oysters Rockefeller Po-boy, the fried green tomatoes and the deep fried potato salad. Yup I'm serious about the potato salad. They have parking in the back. This neighborhood got hit really bad by Katrina. There is a lot if construction of new hospitals.
- Coquette on Magazine St. In the Irish Channel neighborhood has a great brunch.
 
#257
We had a nice dinner at Upperline on Sunday night. They are one of only a handful of nice restaurants outside the "tourist" trap of the French Quarter that is open on Sunday night. You should make a reservation. We did not have one but the owner was very accommodating to squeeze us in. After dinner we shared a scoop of Mexican hot chocolate ice cream from Creole Creamery, just across Prytania from Upperline. On Monday morning we stopped by Tartine to pick up some sandwiches for our flight. They too were very accommodating and had them ready to go when we drove up. Food at MSY, at least in the SWA terminal, is not very good.
 
#258
Going to NOLA in early June for my birthday. Looking for any and all advice on things to do and see with my boyfriend. I am gluten free (due to celiac) so food and eating out will most likely be an issue for me (us)... We will be there for 3 1/2 days with no car. I've found a ton of things from googling but wanted the advice and opinions from fellow TPFers :smile: Thanks!!
 
#261
I'm traveling to NOLA with two of my staff members for a work conference in 13 days. We will have Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday evening & Sunday morning (plane leaves at 2pm) free. None of us have ever been, we are 3 ladies 35-45yo.

With so much to see but very little time to see it, what are the MUST DO's??!! We will be staying at the W near the FQ (I think its near Harrahs?).

I'm thinking shopping (unique/second hand/vintage/consignment), haunted tours, food, music, sightseeing, a bit of drinking... I'm the boss so I can't (let them) get too tipsy; and keeping everyone safe is obviously important!

HELP!!!! :sos:
 
#263
TinksDelite said:
I'm traveling to NOLA with two of my staff members for a work conference in 13 days. We will have Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday evening & Sunday morning (plane leaves at 2pm) free. None of us have ever been, we are 3 ladies 35-45yo.

With so much to see but very little time to see it, what are the MUST DO's??!! We will be staying at the W near the FQ (I think its near Harrahs?).

I'm thinking shopping (unique/second hand/vintage/consignment), haunted tours, food, music, sightseeing, a bit of drinking... I'm the boss so I can't (let them) get too tipsy; and keeping everyone safe is obviously important!

HELP!!!! :sos:
Click to expand...

It's all about Royal Street. There's lots of galleries and Adler's antique shop there carries exquisite estate jewelry and silver.

For restaurants, my picks are Domenica next to the Geurlain Spa at the Roosevelt Hotel (heaven) and The Palace Cafe. My favorite inexpensive restaurants are uptown like Kyoto sushi or Nirvana Indian food. For the best po boy in Nola, see if you can duck out to Crabby Jack's or hit up the "finer" dining sister restaurant Jacques Imo's.

For vintage and clothing shops, head to Magazine Street. Enjoy a locally roasted coffee at Rue de la Course or PJ's.

For a drink, it doesn't get classier than Galatoire's or happy hour at The Columns hotel.

For sights, I love walking in Audubon Park and the homes on Audubon Blvd are lovely!

My favorite museum is the Ogden.

For music, check out Preservation Hall.

Have fun!!!
 
#266
Check group on for some walking tours. They have great deals for architecture tours.
A NO first timer should always try Cafe du Monde and Drago or Acne oyster house for chargrilled oysters (I prefer Drago). I also recommend the WWII museum if you are into that.
Sunday morning is amazing in the Quarter because you have the open french markets where you can buy neat souvenirs. Sometimes they have second line bands playing too.

I live in Nola but sadly, I don't explore my city as much as I should. :shucks:
 
#267
Thanks for all the tips.. We made it back safely & had a great time, although we definately couldn't do even 1/4 of what we would have liked to do.

First day (Friday afternoon) in we were famished so we stopped in at the Napoleon House for Muffelettas; we hit UAL for some shopping then walked up Bourbon for a Hurricane and people watching! We had dinner at Palace Cafe (YUM!).

Saturday was mostly a work conference but we had dinner at Mr. B's Bistro (service was a little slow but food was good) and drinks at the Carousel Bar then off to Bourbon St for more drinks & people watching :biggrin:

Sunday morning we headed out to Cafe Du Monde, the French Market, pics at Brad Pitt's house :graucho: and some light shopping before heading back to the airport for the trip home.

Definately want to book a return trip with DH so we can do other things like the Garden District, some walking tours, etc..!
 
#268
TinksDelite said:
Thanks for all the tips.. We made it back safely & had a great time, although we definately couldn't do even 1/4 of what we would have liked to do.

First day (Friday afternoon) in we were famished so we stopped in at the Napoleon House for Muffelettas; we hit UAL for some shopping then walked up Bourbon for a Hurricane and people watching! We had dinner at Palace Cafe (YUM!).

Saturday was mostly a work conference but we had dinner at Mr. B's Bistro (service was a little slow but food was good) and drinks at the Carousel Bar then off to Bourbon St for more drinks & people watching :biggrin:

Sunday morning we headed out to Cafe Du Monde, the French Market, pics at Brad Pitt's house :graucho: and some light shopping before heading back to the airport for the trip home.

Definately want to book a return trip with DH so we can do other things like the Garden District, some walking tours, etc..!
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you loved the Palace Cafe. Even when we were all broke Tulane kids (I know, an oxymoron), we always seemed to figure out a way to eat there fairly regularly. I make a copy cat of their shrimp tchefuncte at home, since there isn't a restaurant in Chicago that serves it.

New Orleans is a fantastic spot to go back to with your husband! My husband and I met in college, so going back is special for us. I think it's a very romantic city.
 
#269
DH and I were just in NOLA for a 3 day weekend, and since we had our dog with us, there were definitely things we wanted to do but couldn't. Figured I'd give my 2 cents on the things we did get to do though:


Hotel: We stayed at the Omni Royal and would definitely recommend it. We paid $319/night, and although the room was small, the location was most convenient for us, and the hotel was very well maintained and clean. I suggest you join the loyalty/rewards program even if you don't think you'll stay at Omni properties often. It's worth joining so you get free wifi, drinks, etc.


Food: I was under the impression that it would be easy to find pet friendly places with outdoor seating. However, most of the places we saw in the French Quarter that did have outdoor seating had it on the second floor, meaning you still have to go through the restaurant. So we typically just got food to go and ate at the hotel. We ate from Coop's Place, Pierre Maspero's, Johnny's Po Boys, Café du Monde (indeed the best beignets. go to the riverwalk location in the morning to avoid a wait; the FQ location was always busy even though it's 24 hrs), Café Beignet (probably the least enjoyable but not inedible or terrible), and Café Amelie (the appetizers were better than the entrees, and the courtyard is stunning at night. make reservations though because we waited more than 1.5 hours). By the end of the weekend, I was so sick of fried food lol.


Shopping: Royal St. was fun to explore for antiques and quirky shops, but it started to become repetitive seeing a lot of the same stuff (or at least same style) being sold everywhere. I personally found clothes and fashion to be too hipster for my taste. But I did manage to get Chanel espadrilles at Saks lol. Sales tax also seems high IMO, 9.5%, so I wouldn't buy things that you can easily get at home.


My favorite store was UAL (United Apparel Liquidators) since it's a discount store for new designer merchandise- lot of high end stuff, but some stuff was pretty outdated. Some items are damaged, but the labels clearly say "as is." Accessories' and shoes selection wasn't great, but you might find something you really like. There was a pair of Chanel pointy flats half a size too small for me, priced at less than $400. They sell men's clothes too. My favorite find was a cropped Alexander McQueen jacket for $1500, regularly priced at more than $6k.


Overall, I liked NOLA for its quirkiness, and I would go back 1 more time to ride the streetcar (couldn't with the dog), do a swamp tour, etc. But after that, I don't think I'd go again. The streets were dirty, and there were a lot of homeless youths panhandling. A local was telling us how some areas of the FQ have become a bit more unsafe because police recruits have decreased. She advised us to pop into bars or shops if we ever felt unsafe or like we're being followed. Also, DH and I don't drink- I'm sure if we did, we'd like NOLA a lot more since there is constant partying and people walk around the streets with drinks in their hands.
 
#270
Planning a trip to NO... i just read this entire thread and there's a lot of great recommendations. However, where can one find amazing crawfish? The messy cajun crawfish that you need a bib for? Haha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back