Now it looks like we have to change it to Sunday. Kermit Ruffins is at the Blue Nile on Friday at 8, and we love him! We may stop by to see if they can squeeze us in early, but if not we'll try Sunday. Has anyone been there for Sunday dinner?

We decided to do dinner instead of lunch at Galatoire's. Should I make a reservation for the upstairs, or just show up and try to get seated downstairs? Does it matter as much at dinner? We will be going on a Friday night, probably about 6 or 7. We've been there for lunch, and we sat downstairs. Is there as big a difference in atmosphere for dinner? We loved our lunch there!

Thanks for your help!

We have a K-Paul's cookbook, and that is one of the places my husband MUST go. Poor guy doesn't ask for much, so I'd feel bad dropping it. We could do Brigtsten's as our taxi night. Debating Brigtsten's vs. Dante's vs. Upperline. I will definitely post a report! We loved Casamento's last time. The raw oysters were great. Aside from wanting more of their oysters, my husband left his baseball hat there last time, and we thought it would be really hilarious if it was still in their lost and found. Also we really want to check out the bar next door! It looks fun.

Splitting dishes is a brilliant idea! Thanks.

I'm really tempted by Green Goddess. The food sounds so inventive and fun! We may have to try that. Although now I'm still debating whether or not to take a taxi somewhere one night. I'm thinking Upperline for Saturday. Upperline, Brigtstens or Dante's Kitchen, what is your opinion? I've heard great things on all of them. Someone may have answered that already...I have gotten so much info from this post! =) I'll have to go over everything again. I did this last year and got great tips. I'm a little bummed I haven't heard from Bill Hunt! He gave us excellent tips last year too.

My husband also wants to try Cochon butcher. Anyone try that?

Yes, but we heard the food is really great! Maybe that would be good to do on Monday am when we leave. Then we could eat it in the airport! Do they let you bring sandwiches through security?

OK, so I think my husband is dead set on Willie Mae's.
I'm a little unsure of the neighborhood. Will it be safe to take a taxi up there in the evening and taxi back?

If we tried to pick up takeout at 11 am on Monday, how long would we have to wait?

Do you think we should change Galatoire's to dinner and then do a different place for lunch on Friday?

Should we take a taxi to Upperline or Brigtsen's one night? Or just try Bayona?

Thanks for all the great replies so far!
I am driving my husband insane with all my planning. =/
There are too many places we want to go and not enough time!

Do they have 25 cent martinis on Saturdays too? We are doing Friday lunch at Galatoire's, so I sure hope they have the 25 cent martinis on Saturdays. We will still go even if they don't though! I love Commander's. We have been there two times before this. Their bread pudding souffle is my favorite dessert in the city (so far!).

I realize the vast difference between the restaurants...for budget's sake, we are considering just playing it low key at Remoulade on Sunday- BUT I'm really, really tempted to try Green Goddess anyways, and say to hell with the budget, LOL. =) I've been wanting to try it since last time we went. The thing is, I see reviews online and there are a lot of negative reviews, mostly about the space/service. I'm really not picky about that sort of thing, and if the food is truly as amazing and inventive as it sounds, I'd be willing to forgive a lot. So do you think we should just say to heck with it, and give Green Goddess a shot for Sunday dinner?

Have you been to Bayona?

Lil' Dizzy's sounds great, but due to time constraints (just 3 days! boo!) I don't think we can manage lunch at Mr. B's. And I have got to have their barbeque shrimp, I freaking love that stuff! Mmmm. I wish we could hit Lil Dizzy's, but I have no idea how to fit it in and keep my shrimp at Mr. B's. What are Lil Dizzy's days open/hours?

Hi all,
We are heading back to New Orleans later this month, and I need your help!
I think we should take a taxi outside of the quarter for dinner one night, but I can't decide which place we should go to. I'm thinking either Dante's Kitchen, Brigtsen's or Upperline. Which would be best? Or something else?

Also, my husband is obsessed with finally trying Willie Mae's. In your opinions, is it worth it to go there? We'd have to take a taxi. I've heard mixed reviews. Either people love it, it's the best chicken EVER, or they think it's just totally overrated.

And...should we also take a taxi to Angelo Brocato's? I know it's winter, but I keep hearing how awesome they are.

And how is Green Goddess? I've been wanting to try it. And Bayona? And what do you think for breakfast our last day? We thought we'd give Johnny's Po Boys a shot.

Here is our plan for restaurants so far-
Thursday-
Dinner at K-Pauls
Friday-
Galatoire's for lunch (how early do we have to get there again? 10:30 or 11?)
No set dinner plans. Probably hit Three Graces and Hermes bar for apps and drinks!
Saturday-
Casamento's just for oysters!
Commander's Palace for lunch
Dinner- ? We were thinking of just going to Verti Marte
Sunday-
Brunch at Mr. B's bistro
Dinner- either Remoulade or Green Goddess
Monday-
Breakfast at Johnny's Po Boys?

For breakfast most days, we'll just get coffee and a croissant at Croissant d'or. Has that really gone downhill? It was fabulous last time we went.

Lots of questions! Thanks for your help!

The best place to check lineups is wwoz.org. Kermit usually plays Thursdays out at Vaughn's. Definitely want to try going there next time! He plays other venues too.
Oh, just realized the drink I got at Irvin's was NOT the pear thing, it was this really awesome watermelon jalepeno martini thing, lol. Easy to get the drinks confused, I guess. :)

It was an amazing trip! I can't wait to go back again. :) Hopefully next time we go, things will have bounced back from the oil spill a bit. Who wouldn't focus on souffle potatoes? They are freaking awesome! Mmmmmm. Bearnaise sauce!

I believe Blue Nile generally charges a cover for their shows. It was around 10 bucks each to see KERMIT RUFFINS- a bargain, because the man is awesome. Both places had set show times when we were there. There is no cover for Irvin Mayfield's, but there may have been a one drink minimum. Drinks at IM were excellent. I got an amazing pear martini. There was a complimentary dish of wasabi peanuts, yum! There were nice, loungey tables and chairs at IM. Blue Nile has some tables, but is mostly standing, at least downstairs. IM was laid back, Blue Nile was hip and wild! We loved both. Try to see Kermit while you are there, he rules.

-----
Blue Nile
532 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Our trip was awesome! Thanks for all the advice everyone!
Here is what/where we ate:

Thursday-
Raw oysters and some Abita's at Felix's
Port of Call for giant cheeseburgers and monsoons! Really delicious, but I kind of think our Bobcat Bite might just have them beat. :)

Friday-
Galatoire's for Friday lunch!
I did indeed wear a dress, and the husband wore a coat (not any of the lovely coats suggested by some posters in my previous question...) but no tie. Thank goodness we did, all the men were wearing coats, and the ladies were all very well dressed!
Our server was Shannon. She was awesome! We followed her lead and asked what was good that day...it worked out pretty darn well!
I got Frost, the monthly cocktail, and a martini. The martinis are the best!
They come with an entire dish of assorted olives, pickled onions and lemon twists!
I nearly died of joy just from that. :)
Then we got the food!
Appetizers- oysters en brochette- spot on indeed, yum!
Grand goute- shrimp remoulade and crabmeat maison- oh yeah.
We shared souffle potatoes, which were amazing. I had never had them before, and I was blown away by their puffy, golden brown deliciousness.
Gumbo with duck- which was amazing and had a nice, rich brown roux with extremely tender slices of duck. mmmmm.
Entrees- grilled pompano with crabmeat and grilled redfish with crabmeat yvonne.
Dessert- bread pudding and pecan cake with coffee ice cream
Everything was great, and the atmosphere of a busy Friday lunch was certainly not to missed. It was truly like a super happy cocktail party! I couldn't believe how many bottles of wines/martinis the business suit guys put away. Does anyone go back to work after Friday lunch??
Hope to repeat this next year!

Dinner- Pimm's Cups at Napoleon House, Sashimi at Yuki Izakaya and Souffle potatoes and Sazeracs at French75. I believe there may have been more oysters in there somewhere. And lots of Abitas on Frenchmen street- we saw Kermit Ruffins at the Blue Nile. What a rocking show! Loved it.

Saturday-
Lunch at American Sector
Portions were a bit too big for me. I ate maybe half my short rib sloppy joe, which was yummy! The fries were awesome. My husband somehow managed to wolf down a serving of meatloaf the size of a ribeye steak. And we split a coffee caramel milkshake!
Dinner- Boo fries, raw oysters and abitas at Acme Oyster- then later in the evening we split a fried oyster platter at Remoulade, lol.

Sunday-
Brunch at Mr. B's Bistro
We each started off with gumbo. He got the gumbo ya ya, I got the seafood gumbo. Mine was good, but I liked his better! Apparently I like the dark, spicy gumbos best.
He got the prime rib po boy and i got the barbequed shrimp. Words can't even describe the awesomeness of that dish, or the hilarity and necessity of the big white bib they tie on you! OMG it was beyond amazing. That sauce...I could drink it. We split bread pudding for dessert.

Dinner- Souffle potatoes at Hermes Bar. And the very nice waiter gave us a tour of all their dining rooms! What a gorgeous restaurant, wow! We have to actually eat there next time. We went to the beautiful Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel. I got the French Quarter, which was delicious! Like a nice pear lemonade. We went to the Carousel Bar too, which is now my favorite bar ever. You rotate slowly, while sipping a nice strong drink and watching the street go by! I got a Vieux Carre. Pretty sure we got more raw oysters at Felix's or Acme...
Went to Irvin Mayfield's and Fritzel's for more jazz.

Monday-
Lunch at Commander's Palace! I love Commander's. Got the .25 cent lunch martinis!
Husband got the pork chop special, which came with turtle soup and souffle bread pudding. I got the special with gumbo and cochon po' boy. I loved the gumbo, it had a nice dark roux and lots of seafood. I was not as thrilled with the po' boy, although it was certainly not awful. The meat was very good, and the relish they served with it was great, but overall it was a bit too gloppy for me. The souffle bread pudding was beyond good. It's really the best dessert, aside from bananas foster at Arnaud's which we h ad last year.

Dinner was at Acme Oyster again. I got more raw oysters, husband got an oyster po boy. And more boo fries. Those things are so freaking good!
Went to Lafitte's for Hurricanes.
Tuesday-
Breakfast at Stanley. He got the breakfast po boy, I got eggs stella. All eggs benedict should really have fried oysters on them. It is kind of a crime to NOT have fried oysters on eggs benedict.

Then I cried, because it was time to go. :(

We had the best time, and got some incredible food! My faves- Galatoire, and getting to try all 3 grand old restaurants souffle potatoes. How could we have not tried that last time? I thought they were just french fries. Our friend here, who is from NOLA, informed us that we should try them. Also, trying all the different kinds of gumbo! Bread pudding souffle. And all the really awesome cocktails.

Everyday except Tues (it was closed) we got breakfast at Croissant D'or. I really miss that place. Their pastries are outstanding!

In case you can't tell from all that we ate, I am hitting the gym hard this week! But- it was absolutely worth it. Wish I could go back in time and do it all over again. :) NOLA is truly blessed with amazing restaurants.
Thanks again everyone who posted on my other messages!

(Note- we did do things other than eat...we went to: Musee Conti Wax Museum, WW2 Museum, Ferry to Algiers, Southern Food and Beverage Museum, Garden District, Lafayette #1, and St. Louis #1. Plus we walked around the quarter a ton, and took a carriage tour!)

-----
Napoleon House Bar & Cafe
500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Commander's Palace Restaurant
1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Port of Call
838 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Vieux Carre Restaurant
201 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Blue Nile
532 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Thanks for the advice! I'm so excited! We are doing sooooo many things while we are there, and trying lots of different restaurants! I'll have to post an update when we get back.

Thanks for the advice! I am really excited, we have never been there before. My friend from NOLA said to ask for Harold, who is Harold's son. I'm not entirely sure if he will still be there, but we'll give it a shot.
If we show up for lunch at 11, will it already be a total zoo on Friday? I've been told Friday lunch is a pretty big deal there! :)

Hi all,

How early should we show up to wait in line? It's January, so will it be less busy than usual?

Should my husband wear a tie/jacket? The site says jackets aren't required at lunch, but I don't want him to feel out of place if most people do wear ties and/or jackets!

Any other etiquette/traditions we should know about?

Thank you!

-----
Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130

I know the oil spill has affected things, but...there ARE still some oysters, right?? god, i hope so! :) I really, really want to do casamento's, it sounds awesome. i wanted to do mr. b's for brunch because a friend recommended it....now i'm torn! I do love commander's, we ate there last time.
When is oyster happy hour at Luke? Is that within walking distance, or cab ride distance?

Three Muses menu looks amazing! And reasonably priced. Sounds good to me.

oops, Should have posted- we are staying at Hotel Villa Convento in the FQ, no car. We were just planning on taking streetcar/taxi. It would make more sense to do lunch at the American Sector, but I really want to try Casamento's! A friend from NOLA says it is great. I figured we could take the streetcar, and walk to it. Really, I am interested in where to get the BEST oysters in town.
We tried Felix's last time, and it wasn't as good as Acme- maybe just a bad night? The oysters had been shucked ahead of time, and the texture was off as they had dried out a bit or something. Acme had a long line, but was much fresher.
Should we try Felix's again? If they are usually good, then it would be nice to miss the line!

Bayona sounds very good as well, and that's in the FQ.

The frenchmen bars look good! I need to sort all this stuff out...we don't have enough time! :)

-----
Casamento's Restaurant
4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112

Hi all,
We are back to New Orleans for the second time- Here is our list of planned restaurants:

Thursday- We get in just in time for dinner-
Acme Oyster House for oysters, then Port of Call for burgers (is POC worth it??)
Then Vaughn's for drinks and music!

Friday-
Light breakfast at Croissant D'or (probably the plan for most of the trip)
Then Friday lunch at Galatoire's. We plan to go early and have a looooooooooong Friday lunch!
Must get dishes?
Dinner- ? We want to go to Frenchmen street- any suggestions for bars with good bar food? What restaurants in NOLA have really awesome happy hours?

Saturday-

Lunch at Casamento's
Dinner at American Sector (menu looks awesome- worth it?)

Sunday- Brunch at Mr. B's bistro
Dinner- Coop's? Suggestions?

Monday-

Lunch at Commander's Palace
Dinner- ??

Tuesday- Breakfast at Stanley, because I love it!

Thanks for any advice!

-----
Casamento's Restaurant
4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Commander's Palace Restaurant
1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Port of Call
838 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

We will definitely go to brennan's next time, but we had too many other nice restaurants on the dance card for me to justify it. :) it sounds wonderful though!

lol, sorry I meant Stanley. :) The appetizer was very good, I just was sort of put off by the bizarre mound of goopy crab stuffing. I think I mostly felt like an idiot because they told me to wear jeans...see above post...maybe that was why we got kind of snooty service? at any rate, it was a lovely trip and thanks to everyone here for your advice! we are going back next year for sure. Wonderful, beautiful city!

lol, right Stanley! sorry, got them mixed up. :) Actually, another thing I was upset about is that I called and asked if they had a dress code. they said no, just wear jeans, whatever. I had NO idea it was that fancy a place, I'd never been there before! So I felt like a total idiot in my tourist gear. We had dressed up for both Commander's and Arnaud's. I think Muriel's should have a dress code too for pete's sake, it was too fancy for jeans! So if you see tourists there in jeans- it's because their staff told them to come on down in jeans. lol.

Our NOLA trip:

Back from our trip! It was an awesome trip, I am in love with New Orleans!

We ate at Acme Oyster bar our first night there, and the oysters were outstanding! BBQ oysters are wonderful. We split an oyster/shrimp po boy which was also great.
Then we toured the bars on bourbon street and had waaaaaaaaaaay too much fun.
2nd day, we saw St. Louis #1, which was beautiful. Lunch was a muffelata from central grocery! It was the biggest sandwich I have ever seen, and delicious. For dinner we tried Felix's, and I was disappointed with their oysters; they just weren't as fresh.
3rd day we went to the garden district, and went to Commander's Palace. The .25 cent martinis were great! I got shrimp over grits, hubby got BBQ pork loin with sweet potatoes. It was all spot on, wonderful. The shrimp were as big around as a baby's arm, and nearly as long! For dessert we split the chocolate torte and bread pudding. I loved the bread pudding, it was capped with some kind of springy meringue, and had a wonderful whisky sauce. For dinner we had Acme again, because I love oysters like crazy, and I discovered their roast beef po boy. It was awesome.
4th day, breakfast at Stella! Their eggs stella are just awesome, eggs benedict with fried oysters. mmmmmmm. Lunch at Ralph and Kacoo's, we just had some oysters and oysters rockefeller, and oh yeah fried pickles! We went barhopping, and had the best hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's. Yeah, I know it's basically rum and kool aid, but they were great. We had a late dinner at Remoulade, we got oysters rockefeller and some cajun sampler platter. Great red beans and rice!
5th day We had brunch at Arnaud's. WONDERFUL place! The people there made it my favorite restaurant. Our waiter was so nice! And the older man who took our drink orders and made the orgasmic bananas foster was just awesome. The jazz trio playing was wonderful! I got the fish meuniere. It was just wonderful. Perfectly fried, moist sweet fish, with a lovely, tangy, velvety sauce. Served with potatoes brabant and green beans that were the crispest, most perfect green beans I have ever had. Oysters for an appetizer! Hubby got the filet and french fries for breakfast. It was wonderful! We shared bananas foster for dessert, now my favorite dessert! It was so good, and the care that our waiter took in preparing it table side was wonderful! Ohhhh... mmm... that sauce was just awesome and the ice cream was so creamy and perfect.
I spent the rest of the day wandering around near tears because I couldn't believe we'd be leaving the next day!
Dinner was at Muriel's Jackson square. I ... the food was wonderful... but... it was snooty, very, very snooty. Arnaud's and Commander's were both fancy, class acts, but they never made me feel like they were! Muriel's was very much aware of just how chic they are, and I was turned off by that. We split the yellowtail carpaccio, best appetizer of the trip! I got the blackened redfish (good, but a little salty, served with some bizarre mushy, flavorless crab stuffing on the side!) and hubby got the mahi mahi fish of the day over vegetables. Food was good, didn't like the snooty atmosphere.
6th day: Breakfast at Stella! again. Hubby got omelette sandwich, I got bananas foster french toast, which was awesome!
NOLA cocktails we tried:
Ramos Gin Fizz
bourbon milk punch (like a thinner eggnog)
sazerac (knocked my socks off! but good)
pimm's cup (spot on, wonderful beverage!)

And the verdict is... NOLA, I adore you, love you, and will be back for more, maybe even for Mardi Gras next year. As I (somewhat drunkenly) proclaimed to the bartender at Pat O'Brien's (the piano bar is a hoot!) New Orleans is the BEST city in the world. Yes, it sure as heck is.

wow, thanks for all the great help! i feel like i have an edge on the city now. :)
We decided on Arnaud's for Sunday lunch, rather than brennans's, and also commander's for friday lunch, and galatoire's for thursday dinner. Those are the "big 3" for us... brennan's sounds wonderful, but i might have to take out a second mortgage if we ate there too! we leave for NOLA on wednesday! I can't wait to be there.

thank you for your help! i really want to do a classic FQ brunch. The last time i was in NOLA I was 3! i have these vague, dream like memories of chasing pigeons across a big open space with a large statue in the center. I think it was Jackson Square! And I remember being in this tugboat playhouse right on the river. Lol. It's been awhile, and I've always wanted to go back. Such a cool city.

hmmm, too many option! :) thanks for all your help.
i am kind of leaning towards more old fashioned places because our trip is, in part, inspired by "bull cook" by george herter. he really loved galatoire's and antoine's!

yeah, i just don't want to spend a ton of money at brennan's if it is not REALLY awesome!
where would you suggest for another friday lunch spot?
i've been considering galatoire's for dinner, but maybe that could be friday lunch?
also, what about arnaud's for brunch?
i'm sort of overwhelmed. there are just too many great restaurants in NOLA!!!
stanley looks good too.