Also, I edited this out of my original post once I realized you had posted a route, but on second thought if you're taking the streetcar to Parkway you may want to continue up to City Park and. catch the streetcar back from there. The sculpture garden at City Park is very nice, and there's also a Morning Call with coffee and beignets if your appetite has recovered.

Enjoy your trip.

That walk is absolutely fine.

It's unusual to go to Casamento's
and not have the oyster loaf which is pretty much their signature dish. (I presume you're coming soon as Casamento's closes for summer starting the beginning of June.)

With potatoes and corn, around three pounds of crawfish a person is a decent amount.

That has been on the specials menu both times I've been to Peche and, like everything else I've tried there, it's been really good.

The one time I ate at Mr. B's (years ago) it was so bad - like Mother's bad - I hope it was an aberration. Even in the French Quarter, it surely couldn't still be in business serving food like that on a regular basis. Then again, Mother's is still in business . . . .

Depending on your definition of easy walking distance, you might want to consider Donald Link's new place, Peche.

I love the Thursday Jazz in the Park series - it's usually nicely busy with lots of Treme locals but not crazy packed, though this week's combo of Kermit Ruffins + Jazz Fest may lead to larger than usual crowds. I agree with Sanglier about Domenica particularly the happy hour.

Sorry to hear about your wasted trip and it stinks that it was closed when you wanted to go. Just wanted to point out for other people that just because it looks closed doesn't mean it is - I've at least twice taken out-of-towners there and had them think it was closed when it wasn't. I presume in the past your cabdriver may have fallen into the same trap as it's the only way to explain his statement that he's never seen it open.

It never hurts to call ahead, but I've been there dozens of times with no issue - maybe I've just been lucky.

Again, sorry you won't able to go. Sounds like it was really frustrating.

Never had any issues with Casamento's being closed when it's meant to be open. With the shutters, though, it may look closed from the street when in fact it's open.

Monday lunch Uptown is tough. St James is great but is basically a cheese shop that makes sandwiches plus cheese and charcuterie plates - ideal if that is what you're looking for but perhaps not a special treat for students. The only nicer restaurant I know that would be open Uptown is the Flaming Torch which I believe most people like but I've never been to myself. Both of these places are a bit over a mile from Tulane - a short drive but a long walk particularly as the weather gets hotter.

Also, if you do have a car and a bit of time, the CBD and Warehouse District really aren't that long a drive, and almost everywhere down there - Herbsaint, Cochon, Domenica, Mila, etc. - will be open.

Are the Szechuan pepperorns fresh enough to be mouth numbing? The ones I can get at our local Asian supermarket very much aren't and I'd happily pay shipping to get better ones.

Thanks

Hi

I think your hotel's at Prytania and Terpischore. By the time you get here, Cafe Reconcile ought to be reopened. It is three or four blocks on the other side of Saint Charles - pretty good versions of New Orleans standards served and prepared by high risk youth training for the food industry. As a note, that side of Saint Charles is a relatively high crime area, but I'd have no problem walking to and from Cafe Reconcile during daylight hours. You'll also pass on St Charles the Avenue Pub which has the city's best beer selection.

Heading the other way on Terpischore, walk through Coliseum Square Park and you'll hit Magazine Street and Surrey's Juice Bar, which for my money is much better for breakfast than the even more convenient to you Blue Plate.

Continue up Magazine, you'll find a couple of coffee shops, two Vietnamese restaurants (based in my limited experience both pretty good and fairly similar to each other), and a bit farther on Stein's Deli which is great but you may not have come to New Orleans for deli food.

After a fairly short residential stretch of Magazine, you'll see Tracey's a poboy shop/ sports bar. A block farther along that side street is Parasols a poboy shop/dive bar. Both specialize in roast beef poboys and a quick search will give you more information about the relationship between the two than you could ever need.

Soon enough you'll see, as someone else has pointed out, Coquette which is great. A little farther on is Joey K's a very friendly and solid neighborhood restaurant. The patio at the Bulldog bar is a pleasant place for a beer in good weather.

Your hotel is also within easy walking distance of the Warehouse District and the CBD with places like Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Domenica, and Luke, all of which have been extensively discussed on this board. The Domenica happy hour is a really good deal, though the restaurant isn't what I think of as low key.

Hope this is helpful and hope you enjoy your trip.

I like the Praline Connection festival food, particularly the grilled chicken livers. The couple of times I've eaten at the restaurant itself, I've been less impressed.

Yeah, I didn't focus on that they were thinking on going to Mandina's and Algier's Pointbon the same evening. That would eat up a lot of time but, presuming they're starting from the French Quarter it's the trip to Mandina's that takes up the most time. The ferry station is conveniently located and, as the ferry runs on schedule, it's easy to arrange so that you don't spend much time hanging around the station.

If they do end out going to Mandina's (where the food is, I think, good enough, given the atmosphere, but not incredible), it might make more sense to combine it with riding the streetcar all the way to City Park and visiting the sculpture garden and/or having oysters and beer while watching the races at the Fairgrounds Racetrack. The trip will be more enjoyable if the streetcar is no longer being replaced by a bus for part of the way, but will still take a good while.

Much more convenient to the Quarter is Kermit Ruffins's Speakeasy on Basin. I have yet to go there but hear it' a really fun place to eat and listen to music and would come closer to meeting the original request.

Finally, staying in the Quarter, while Green Goddess is not a hole in the wall (neither is Mandina's or probably Kermit's), I ate there last month and it was still tasty, reasonably priced, and (providing the weather permits sitting outside) very pleasant.

Getting to Algiers Point doesn't take much time at all. The ferry (which runs for free every half hour) only takes a few minutes.

Couple of notes. First of all avoid Mothers which is a pretty disgusting tourist trap. Also, the last time I went to the Marigny Brasserie (suggested above) was close to two years ago but back then it was serving Cisco's greatest hits and not at all worth going to. Herbsaint, where you have a reservation, is, however, great.

For music: Thursday: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue are playing at the Circle Bar (easy walk from Herbsaint). Not very New Orleansy but so good that even if you usually wouldn't listen to honky tonk you'll probably really like them. Also, the Circle Bar is very small and untouristy. Friday: if you can make Kermit Ruffins set at Blue Nile of Frenchman (early - starts seven), you should - he is the quintessential New Orleans trumpet player and singer - a musical descendent of Louis Armstrong.

A bit out of date but, back when I was in NY, Florence Meat Market had the best prices on dry aged steaks (definitely better than mail order), and the steaks were very good. They had ribeye and strip but the best value was the slightly mysterious Newport steak.

From New Orleans: cochon de lait poboys, grilled chicken livers with pepper jelly, fried catfish, braised pig cheeks, various types of crawfish pies, etc.

Parkway originally took them off because of the increased cost. There is no new residue being left by oysters post-spill.

Obviously, everyone is free to use whatever resources they want, but it does seem appropriate to point out in discussion dealing with Fitzmorris's website that in his other role as a radio host he clearly lets advertising affect how he talks about the restaurants he's covering.

Whether you think he can be seemingly oblivious to the basic ethics covering reviewers in one format but follow them in another or whether you even care is up to you.

The main reason many people have real problems with Fitzmorris isn't his website but his radio show where he intermingles paid endorsements with other commentary (not clearly differentiating which is which) and where he clearly discusses and recommends advertisers disproportionately over other restaurants.

If you go to Cochon, the way to go is to share small dishes. The entrees are fine, but the real strength is in the appetizers. Sit at the back foodbar, and usually the chefs will send you an extra dish which will help keep your costs down.

Joey K's has a decent one. Brown gravy, not white.

That was from Surrey's (the only time I've ever seen them have a booth at a festival), and it was amazingly good. I think the Surrey's chef then may be the same guy who now does lunch at Green Goddess.

Don't know about t-shirts, but you could get away with polo shirts and shorts at Dick & Jenny's Uptown and at Mandina's Midcity.

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Mandina's Restaurant
3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Dick & Jenny's
4501 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70115