Paisley16's Profile
Where to have a NOLA May Rehearsal Dinner?
We had the largest number they could seat all in one room - 78 and we did passed hors d'œuvres and cocktails and then a seated dinner.
I know we had their 2010 prices since that's when we booked and they did go up in 2011.
We also chose to pay an extra fee to have a choice of entrees at dinner as opposed to all having one selection.
I honestly do not know what the final bill was, but our estimation was that it would cost about $125 per person, that included an open bar for the 3 hours we were there.
I emailed numerous places for prices and to be honest most venues don't even follow up afer sending them so I would recommend contacting as many places as you're interested in exploring.
In the end I think there were places that were less expensive on the food for a seated dinner but because we wanted cocktails before and an open bar Muriel's package ended up being on par or even a little less expensive than some of the other places we considered.
Overall we were very pleased and still have guests that are commenting on the food and atmosphere.
Hope that information helps!
Ancora?
Uptown Messenger has me drooling....
http://uptownmessenger.com/2011/06/opening-day-on-freret-adolfo-garcias-high-hat-cafe-and-ancora-pizzeria/
Places to throw a 50th birthday party?
We threw my dad's 50th at Napoleon House and it was great. That was 8.5 years ago though! I think it is one of the more reasonable places in the Quarter.
I've been to a 50th birthday dinner at Andrea's in Metairie that worked.
I would agree with all the other suggestions here as well - just trying to add to your options.
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Napoleon House Bar & Cafe
500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
restaurant gift certificate for incoming Tulane student
I almost cringed typing it but just thought I would ask!! :)
restaurant gift certificate for incoming Tulane student
If you're interested in Mexican, there's a burrito place near campus, Felipe's, that I know has gift certificates, I'm not sure if they mail them. It's pretty popular.
Phone #: (504) 309-2776
Cafe Fresco is near campus on Maple street and has pizza, salads, etc.
(504)862-6363
All of the places I've suggested are places where $20/$25 will cover your meal - or multiple coffees. To me that's small, but thoughtful.
Dinner options for a big group in August
While not Nola cuisine, some friends of mine did a similar dinner at Besh's Domenica and loved it. While not in the FQ, it's walking distance and the Roosevelt Hotel where it's located is beautiful. I'm pretty sure they have a private room.
I've seen big groups at Cochon but I'm not sure if they've been quite 20 people, they do have private space upstairs but not sure if you can order off the regular menu.
TaTee's suggestions are all great, but slightly more expensive with the exception of Mandina's.
August is not the busiest time here so my guess is that restaurants will work with you regarding the large group and many will have "coolinary" specials going on in August (~35 for 3 courses).
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Mandina's Restaurant
3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Domenica
123 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
restaurant gift certificate for incoming Tulane student
PJ's is a coffee shop with locations on campus and nearby on Maple street.
Reginelli's is a popular pizza place that delivers to campus with multiple locations.
Are you looking for a national chain? I'm not sure where you're located in terms of purchasing...
Favorite Menu Items at Atchafalaya
The shrimp and grits is very good. I believe it's one of their signature dishes.
Family friendly dining in NOLA
I'm not sure if it would qualify as truly authentic, but we really enjoy el gato negro in the quarter on the french market.
It's not as ambitious as Coyocan was, but it's good. They use fresh juices in the margaritas, do tableside guacamole, etc.
Where are you coming in from? I'm curious because while I love Mexican, I hesitate to recommend it to visitors because it's often better in their hometown.
K-Pauls and Cochon
In my experience the small plates are the way to go at Cochon. I've had amazing pork cheeks there. We tend to think the meat dishes are better than the seafood, but I've seen posts here with other opinions.
At K-Paul's I love anything with the hot fanny sauce. I'm also a big fan of the crawfish enchilada but be warned, there's meat in the sauce and it's very cheesy and rich so I'm sure it's not for everyone!
K-Paul's is completely different at lunch when it's deli-style. It's good, but not special and probably not worth a meal if your time in New Orleans is limited.
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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Crawfish Boils This Weekend 2011
Scrambled eggs the next morning with sausage, crawfish & potatoes has been our biggest success.
First-timer, end of May -- can't decide!
You've already gotten a lot of good suggestions. I would add:
If you do head Uptown I would recommend trying to get to a regular grocery store instead of shopping downtown for food items. Everything will be significantly less expensive and most stores will have a good variety of new orleans food items. There are buses that run along both Magazine and Tchop so you could in theory take them back downtown to minimize walking with your purchases. (For example, Crystal hot sauce is sold in the quarter for over $5, it's .87 at Rouses)
If you make it to Coquette I would highly recommend their beignets... best I've had.
+1 for Emeril's over Nola if you're deciding between the two
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Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130
Attn Foodies.. Need Help!! Looking for the Spice and Full Flavor food in Nola
I am a fan of K-Pauls and think if you're looking for flavor it might be the way to go. I know not everyone here agrees. I prefer the crawfish enchilada to the one Prejean's serves at the fest. My husband does not agree on this point.
Meson 923
I haven't heard much about Meson 923 since the drama of Lynch leaving.
We are eating there on Saturday evening. Any recommendations? Thanks!
What to wear in NO
Haha - We are around 30 but still tend to dress up for fine dining. I'm sure our definition of dress up is somewhat more relaxed than yours, but we typically like to make meals an event. It doesn't hurt that my dad is a banker and almost always wears a coat and tie - it's what I'm used to!
I do think locals dress up more than vistors here. That being said, if the OP doesn't have a suit or a bag big enough for one, I didn't want him to think he would encounter problems at August or Herbsaint. My guess is both restaurants are used to a relaxed clientele at times. Particularly the weekend of French Quarter Fest!
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Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Help me narrow down my choices for first visit
Dante's Kitchen does great vegetables. I'm not vegetarian so I'm not sure if they are all vegetarian, but they are all delicious! I'm not sure how late you will arrive on Sunday, but it would be worth getting there if you arrive before 10 - I would call ahead there.
Crabby Jacks has a much bigger menu than Cassamento's and Parkway so it might be more vegetarian-friendly. I think the atmosphere is better at the other two places, though. (not to knock crabby jacks, but cassamento's is pure old-school and parkway has a great patio)
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Crabby Jacks
428 Jefferson Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70121
Dante's Kitchen
736 Dante Street, New Orleans, LA 70118
What to wear in NO
My husband tends to dress up for August and Herbsaint-type places, but you can definitely get away with a light sportcoat if you're more comfortable in that.
Tujague's or Audubon Clubhouse Cafe?
For what it's worth, we just had our wedding reception at the Audubon Tea Room and everyone is still raving about the food. I know both the Tea Room and the Clubhouse use Audubon Catering.
My fiance had a bachelor dinner of sorts at Tujague's and did not care for the food (although he did say the brisket was good!). I haven't been to Tujagues, but I doubt we'll get there anytime soon after his experience.
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Tujague's
823 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
sweetbreads/foie gras
I would recommend the sweetbreads at both Clancy's and Daisy Bistro.
We went to Iris last Friday and enjoyed the sweetbreads and I'm pretty sure they also serve a seared foie gras dish that has gotten positive reviews here and elsewhere.
Too Many Choices, Not Enough Time!!
I think Clancy's and Dante's are perfect additions to your list.
The chicken under a brick is amazing and Dante's - I'm specifially mentioning it because it's not something I would normally think to order and because you said your bf is a picky eater.
The Company Burger
Thanks! It's not open yet and I think the facebook page cited late June although the article below mentions april...
I came across this article after you mentioned the chef... might be of interest for anyone searching MVB, Tru Burger, The Company Burger or Cowbell.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20110208-new-orleans-hamburger-revolution
The Company Burger
We just passed the sign on Freret next to the new Anytime Fitness.
Does anyone know anything about this venture? They have a minimal website and facebook page.
I checked thenewfreret.com and don't see any information.
We're curious and would love a good burger place nearby!
Live Crawfish prices???????
We called around late yesterday and got a sack of very small crawfish from C&A on Jeff Davis for $3.09 - it was supposedly the last sack...
When we called around on Saturday to check prices we found that Metairie/Jefferson prices were closer to $2.80 and K-Jeans on Carollton quoted us a ridiculous $3.75
Best Brunch with outdoor seating?
My mother loves brunch in the courtyard at Cafe Amelie which I believe is at the Princess of Monaco.
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Cafe Amelie
912 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Where to have a NOLA May Rehearsal Dinner?
Another place to look into is Cafe Atchafalaya - we've enjoyed our meals there recently and I believe they have a private room upstairs. While not 100% nola cuisine, I think they would fit the bill based on your Jaques-Imo's suggestion.
I think Acme and Mothers both also do private rooms. I work in the CBD and have never even been to Mother's and I know people on this board aren't typically fans of those places, but they are reasonable and serve seafood so they might be a good choice for you.
Congrats! We just had our rehearsal dinner in February at Muriel's and it was fantastic but we hosted and it was a huge amount of people so it sounds like you're looking for a different type of venue.
That being said, other places I looked into with private rooms not mentioned here were: Tommy's (while typically Creole Italian, they do have a lot of local seafood dishes), Zea's, Ralph's on the Park - just to give you a few other ideas.
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Cafe Atchafalaya
901 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
Wilton Armetal
I'm curious about general opions on Wilton Armetale... I got a number of pieces recently as wedding gifts and I can't decide whether or not to keep them. I've read a few reviews on Amazon claiming the quality has gone down since manufacturing moved to China.
I know I should just keep the gifts given to me, but they were not part of my registry so I might prefer to exchange them for something I will use more if they aren't worth it. Plus I'm not crazy about the design aspects of the pieces I got.
Please let me know if you love your Wilton Armetale! In concept it seems really great!
Thanks!
Napa Cooking Classes
Thanks so much for all the information. I will definitely report back to this board with our experiences!
restaurant recs for table of 10-11 ppl?
Are you looking to stay in a particular area? Any specifics on food?
We've had some good meals at Cafe Atchafalaya recently and I've seen big parties there. They also have brunch.
Coquette takes larger parties - they typically seat them upstairs. I've never been for brunch.
I think Herbsaint takes large parties - I know my parents have been there with a group.
Tommy's or Meson 923 in that area should also take large parties.
I would think that most places in the quarter or CBD would take larger parties as they are more accustomed to groups.
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Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Cafe Atchafalaya
901 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
Napa Cooking Classes
Hi All - I'm currently researching a honeymoon trip to Napa (with one night in SF). I'm looking for a cooking class in Napa. So far I've found "Cooking with Julie", "Casa Lana" and "Cooks&Books&Corks" in Napa and a recommendation in Sonoma for "Ramekins".
Does anyone have experience with any of these classes or any others? There's nothing at the CIA when we will be there next month.
I'm also still researching dinner ideas for Napa and SF and would love input although I know that will be easier to search on the boards while I haven't found much on cooking classes in my searches thus far.
Thanks!!!
Looking for rehearsal dinner suggestions
Thanks for the update! I haven't been to a private party in a while but had asked around and got very good reviews from a friend's rehearsal dinner last year.
We had appetizers/drinks there recently and the food at the restaurant was not very good. The drinks were great!
