travelbuff's Profile
Country Club
Had a nice dinner there Saturday night--great food and good value. Scallops and shrimp were great, fantastic French onion soup. We took a pass on the deep-fried king cake however. Will go back. The bar is being renovated, so there is currently no charge to go back to the pool area (clothing optional) and tiki bar.
Ste. Marie
Terrible experience at lunch today--inexplicably, it took more than an hour to get two salads and a club sandwich to our table. We watched people arrive, eat and leave while we sat there. Waitress offered us free dessert because of the wait, but of course we all had to get back to work. No explanation, no check in to let us know what was happening. Sandwich wasn't as described either. Won't be back.
Breakfast and Lunch OUTSIDE the French Quarter
I would agree that there is better food outside the FQ. Check all of the good spots to see if they are open for lunch--a lot of them are not, or only on certain days. And many have good lunch deals like MiLa. Domenica is good for lunch, and breakfast is great at Coulis, Gott Gourmet, Slim Goodies and definately Ruby Slipper (2 locations). A lot of places do a wonderful brunch like Patois.
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Ruby Slipper Cafe
139 S Cortez St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Domenica
123 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
Uptown (Riverbend/Carrolton area) best restaurants
+1 on Refuel
Try Fat Hen and Oak on Oak Street
Skip LA Pizza, Squeal, Curry, Cooter Browns
Brightsen's perfect for anniversary--make reservations way in advance
Any Good Eats in Biloxi??
Is there a good dinner spot in the Biloxi area? And/or any place to get a casual bite to go on the way back to NOLA?
Only Visiting for 20 Hours, Need Help
For dinner within a couple blocks of your hotel there is Herbsaint and St. Marie. Do not be deterred by dining or walking alone--it's perfectly fine. For lunch Capdeville is right there behind the hotel. It's a casual new bar type place with burgers and fancy gourmet french fries. I agree that Lil Dizzy's is great. Love their gumbo. There is a Community Coffee shop right next to your hotel if you want to get a latte. Good luck and if you are a foodie, this is a great place to live.
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Lil Dizzy's Cafe
1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116
Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Restaurants you wouldn't recommmend
Your Nagin comment made me laugh out loud. I went to Ye Old last year because it was late and their kitchen stays open til 11. I thought it was pretty good basic food and nice staff.
1) Commanders
2) Antiones
3) Nirvana
4) Filipe's
5) Buds Broiler
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Buds Broiler
2929 N Causeway Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002
Outrageous, Iconic, Uber-Delicious, So Decadent You want to Scream, Can *NOT *be Missed...Your "This Defines NOLA " Short List, S'il vous plait....?
Susan Spicer has opened a casual delicious place called Mondo that is kid friendly. I would skip the Emerils empire and go local--Brigtsen's. Cochon (not Butcher) is fantastic and casual, you really want to lick your plate it's so good. Commander's might be fun just to have the experience, but the food will not blow you away. IMHO, Creole Creamery has the best frozen dairy in town. I dream about the chocolate malt chip sometimes. Very creative Nola themed flavors abound. The restaurants at the WWII museum are good and would be fun with the pup. They are owned by John Besh. Domenica is very good and has fantastic pizza, which might go over well. Camelia Grill is fun (there's a new one in the quarter but it's great to take the ride on the streetcar) classic diner fare. Jacques Imos is not worth the wait and is indeed loud. Herbsaint's food is good but I find it a little snooty as far as service goes. Don't miss Southern Candymakers in the quarter. Also Stanley is a fun diner in the quarter. Ruby Slipper is a great breakfast lunch place that just opened a second location just a couple blocks outside the quarter. Love that place (the Mid-city one anyway). Another great casual place is Crescent Pie and Sausage in Mid-city for dinner. Their black jambalaya is quite tasty. Ignatius on Magazine also has good jambalaya and other classics in a casual atmosphere.
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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130
Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Creole Creamery
4924 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115
Ruby Slipper Cafe
139 S Cortez St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Domenica
123 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
Mondo
900 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124
Trip Report--Estes Park, Boulder, Denver
I am very interested in the local sourcing aspect (athough local did not equal good at Nicky's) and love their partnership with schools and gardens. I would go back there, or the main Kitchen or upstairs. And I would certainly try that ice cream sandwich! Will visit Denver again to visit the various neighborhoods and try some of the local independent restaurants.
Suggestions for Friday dinner NOLA
I would agree with that but would also suggest Ignatius or Crescent City Pie and Sausage for casual places to get jambalaya, etc. Brightsen's is a great classic restaurant in an old house way uptown. Expensive but worth every bite. In the Quarter, Bayona is wonderful. Johnny's has great Po Boys for lunch. There is nothing good on the way to Baton Rouge, so you could pick up a sandwich at Johnny's or a muffaletta at Central Market or Napoleon House to take with you.
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Napoleon House Bar & Cafe
500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112
40th Girls Long Weekend
If you're staying in or near the quarter you might want to go to a place nearby that you can walk to so that you can enjoy plenty of wine without driving! Bayona is wonderful for a special occasion, as is K-Paul's. In spite of it being touristy, every morsel I've ever eaten there has been delicious. Eat is a moderate place with good New Orleans food. Cafe Amelie is also more moderate and has a lovely courtyard. Both have brunch. Mr. B's is a good, solid fun restaurant for a group. Enjoy your time in town!
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Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112
Cafe Amelie
912 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Trip Report--Estes Park, Boulder, Denver
Rarely do I feel annoyed enough to really pan a restaurant--but please do not go to Nicky's Steakhouse in Estes Park. Really can't say anything good about it--very poor quality meat to start with. We had a $31 NY Strip that was small, tasteless and tough. Prime rib that was half fat and the rest tough and sinewy. The young server didn't know how to respond when she saw that I'd eaten about a third of it and I said the quality wasn't very good. Cold baked potatoes, bad soup and iceberg salad all added up to a lot of money and disappointment on a special occasion. The next night we went to the Tavern at Mary's Lake Lodge and loved it. Would go back in an instant. Did find a bakery in Estes called Aisle 2 Bread and Bakery--homemade granola, organic coffee and great peanut butter cookies. It's in a shopping center near the visitor's center.
In Boulder we loved the "food court" at the Farmer's Market--tamales, pupusas, spring rolls. Went to the Kitchen Next Door for a late light dinner. Not sure what all the fuss is about--it was okay. Pork sandwich had very little pork and a lot of bread. Soups and rolls were good. Wanted to go to Salt, but after letting us read the menu the hostess informed us that it was too late to seat us.
In Denver we were really disappointed that every single restaurant that we were interested in was closed for Labor Day. Maybe it's because we are used to big cities, but it never occurred to us that all 12 or so we were interested in would be closed. We ended up at Tamayo on Larimer Sq., which looked lovely with the overhead strings of lights. Tamayo was okay but overpriced in my opinion. Our waiter was hyped up and inattentive--although it wasn't busy, it took him quite a while to notice we were there and he seemed to have short term memory problems! We loved the Market on the square and found some brands of chocolate that are very hard to find. The next day we attempted to go to Snooze, but too long of a wait with a plane to catch. We were very sad to miss out on some of the great places recommended by Chowhounders, but we will be back! Seems like there are a lot of interesting neighborhood to check out in Denver!
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Tamayo Restaurant
1400 Larimer Street, Denver, CO 80202
Mary's Lake Lodge
2625 Marys Lake Rd, Estes Park, CO 80517
Next Door
217 4th St, Castle Rock, CO 80104
3 1/2 days in Denver Area
Thank you all for your generous and thoughtful advice. Can't wait to get there and eat!
Help with Baltimore anniversary
Woodberry Kitchen is probably my favorite place right now, but I wouldn't call it romantic. Petit Louis is really cute and the food is great. Is PierPoint still around?
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Petit Louis
4800 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210
Woodberry Kitchen
2010 Clipper Park Rd # 126, Baltimore, MD
Restaurants near Dupont Circle Hotel
I second those two excellent choices. Both are 2-3 blocks and a pleasant walk. Don't miss late night books and desserts at Kramerbooks/Afterwords right across the street from the hotel.
Shops that roast coffee in New Orleans
I think that the coffee at Rue is dreadful. Not sure if it's their brewing method or the actual coffee.
3 1/2 days in Denver Area
Coming into the Denver airport in September with no itinerary. Dining options can drive the decisions! Tentatively want to spend time in Denver, Boulder and Estes Park, but am flexible according to where the best food (and scenery) can be found. Don't have an unlimited budget, but am open to options from fine to funky. We tend to like historic downtown areas, coffeehouses and bookstores. Any thoughts appreciated!
Discount and "coolinary" dinner menus
Anyone tried the discounted dinners at some of the nicer restaurants in town? K-Pauls has a $30 thing going on and all entrees were tasty. What are the best values?
Last Minute Breakfast/Brunch need (and vegetarian suggestions)
There is also Oak St. Cafe on Oak, and Panola St. Cafe on Panola. Both are just off Carrollton Ave., as is Refuel.
Caterer for Downtown Lunches
Anyone know of a caterer based in Orleans Parish (support local businesses!) that does lunch/breakfast pastries/light fare/non-alcoholic beverages that's nice but not super fancy? They would need to deliver to CBD.
Cheap Eats
I'm in the Carrolton area, and have tried several of the above places, and thanks to these great reccs I'm a happy camper. Are there reasonable places in the FQ or CBD? I'm finding myself over there more for work and I'm at a loss. Please don't say Mothers, I find it really unpleasant (and the RB was flavorless compared to Parkway for example).
Emeril's Restaurants
I haven't eaten at any of his places, but he just commited a half million dollars to do a build out of a kitchen at Cafe Reconcile, which trains low income people in culinary arts. Graduates can work at his restaurants. I personally think that's a great thing.
Best Dessert
I'm a big fan of eating dessert out, but I'm usually too full after eating dinner. Most of the coffeehouses around town only have muffins or an occasional chocolate cake at night. What are the great desserts out there--and are some available without having to eat a whole meal?
Roast Beef Po Boy Tour
Loved Parkway's sloppy roast beef. A dive but great. Sweet potato fries were excellent too.
Top 3 for Dinner
Went to Dick and Jenny's a couple months back and enjoyed it very much. Didn't have to wait, so it was all that much better.
It's NYE--please don't laugh at me!
Ended up far from the Quarter at Dante's Kitchen and had a lovely dinner on the heated patio!
Mid City lanes area recomendations?
Have had two great meals at Mandina's lately. Just a good solid place with excellent service.
Dante's Kitchen
Had a lovely and pleasant NYE dinner at Dante's--just all-around delightful and relaxing. Had heard about them for bruch, but was glad we tried dinner there.
