<p>Heading down this weekend for Honors weekend. We are staying in the Garden District. Fallenchemist was nice enough to give me ideas of where to eat close by the hotel but DD wants to head down to the Quarter as soon as we arrive on Saturday late afternoon. So, what I am looking for are some ideas of where to eat dinner. DD says she wants to eat somewhere "legit" so I am thinking she wants authentic creole/cajun food. We will be dressed casual so we can do alot of walking. In the guides/reviews, there seems to be alot of fancy places but not alot of "legit" casual places. LOL. Help me out all you locals!</p>
<p>cafe pontalba then head to the old coffee pot for dessert and drinks</p>
<p>How casual is “casual”? My absolute favorite restaurant in New Orleans is Galatoire’s on Bourbon Street, you have to have a coat to eat there and if you don’t, they actually have coats that they will lend to diners. It is one of the more famous restaurants in New Orleans that locals love. But like I said, no coat = no service. They also don’t take reservations for their downstairs restaurant, which is the only place that locals would consider eating. You can go “business casual” to K-Paul’s, which is Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant. It is more “cajun” than “creole”, but nonetheless very good. Palace Cafe on Canal Street is definitely a place that you can go to casually, again depending on how casual you are. Jackets are preferred, but not required at Antoine’s. I have seen people in Antoine’s dressed very casually, but you would never find a local dressed that way. The front dining room at Antoine’s is generally where they seat tourists, so if you don’t mind that, then that is an option, too. If you decide to go there, when you make your reservation, ask them to seat you in the Annex or one of the back dining rooms instead of the “main” dining room. Antoine’s is a very expensive restaurant and like many fine dining restaurants in NO, everything is a la carte. But it is absolutely delicious.</p>
<p>Is there any chance that you could make a late reservation for dinner, maybe go explore the FQ when you first arrive, and head back to the hotel to change and then go back out for a late dinner? If you really want the “authentic” New Orleans dining experience, my advice would be to go to one of the fine dining restaurants like Galatoires, or Antoine’s. One other suggestion is Commander’s Palace, which is located on Washington Avenue in the Garden District. That might be a bit more doable if you wanted to go to the FQ first and then head back to the hotel to change.</p>
<p>Wow, I’ve yammered on too long. Don’t know if I have been helpful or not. Feel free to private message me if you have any other questions. I absolutely love everything NO and love giving people recs for dinner. Hope you have a wonderful time!!!</p>
<p>Thanks for those suggestions cmb. By casual I mean jeans and casual shoes. No rips,tears or stains but jeans none the less. We will be staying in the Garden District and will be arriving around 5pm. We are going to head down on the streetcar right away and do an early dinner followed by the cafe dumonde later. It is our one time this trip to see some of the sights. Tulane has the rest of the weekend pretty scheduled. I am keeping my fingers crossed that DD will fall for Tulane and N.O. so this will be one of many trips. If we end up coming back in June for Orientation DH will be with us for that trip. Then I will plan on going to one of the nicer places you mention. There is also parents weekend! DD just wants nothing to do with bringing extra dress clothes in her suitcase. At this point she is trying to figure out how to transport a sleeping bag and pillow along with her clothes in a carry on suitcase LOL.<br>
I was just looking for a little clarification. In one guide it listed NOLA as more a more casual restaurant but on one thread here someone said it was “classy” or “fancy”. Cant remember their exact description. I didnt want to get down there and head somewhere only to find we look like idiots.</p>
<p>I have it. Go to Red Fish Grill. Definitely casual (jeans, tank tops are fine) and has excellent food that is New Orleans style. Bourbon Street one block off Canal. Then you will be set for seeing the rest of the Quarter after eating, and end up at Cafe DuMonde, opposite corner of the Quarter, basically. You should be able to get reservations still, I think. Better hurry though.</p>
<p>Red Fish Grill. Great suggestion fallenchemist! And spring 162, I am keeping my fingers crossed that your daughter falls in love with NO. She is a very special lady. Since I no longer live in NO, I feel like I hit the jackpot when my daughter first became interested in Tulane and then fell in love after her first visit. If you end up in NO for the next four years, I have sorts of recs for the best dives with the best food. All very yummy!</p>
<p>I personally think Mother’s is a good choice, for “legit” food.</p>
<p>Very good Jambalaya and po’boys. </p>
<p>Also, it is a five minute walk to Bourbon street so you are right there.</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>Nothing better than a Mother’s roast beef po-boy with Debris. Delicious!</p>
<p>My fiance and I, both New Orleans locals, use [New</a> Orleans Restaurants | Urbanspoon](<a href=“http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/57/New-Orleans-restaurants.html]New”>http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/57/New-Orleans-restaurants.html) for ideas on where to eat when we can’t decide. </p>
<p>French Quarter specific: [French</a> Quarter Restaurants - New Orleans | Urbanspoon](<a href=“http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/57/5709/New-Orleans/French-Quarter-restaurants]French”>http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/57/5709/New-Orleans/French-Quarter-restaurants)</p>
<p>I recently went to Cochon which is within walking distance (though not too close) and it was very good, authentic Cajun food. It’s not the romanticized version of Cajun but the real “fried pig ears as appetizers and rabbit & dumplings for an entree” Cajun. My only complaint was that it was pretty loud due to the brick walls bouncing all the noise around. [Cochon</a> Restaurant](<a href=“http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/html/menu.html]Cochon”>http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/html/menu.html)</p>
<p>NOLA is one of my favorites places to eat. Haven’t been there in a while. I’ve never worn a coat there. Jeans should be fine there as well. It has both Cajun and Creole food. The only reason that I don’t eat there more often is the prices are high for New Orleans standards. It’s worth it, just not with the frequency that we eat out. </p>
<p>If you want great Oysters and seafood, and true, true casual fare try ACME Oyster House and don’t worry about anything else (price, casual atmosphere, good food.)</p>
<p>Mother’s is legit, health regulations be damned. lol. It’s also fairly close. The food is also amazing.</p>
<p>Fallen, I might have to hit up Red Fish grill now that you have me thinking about it. 
I just checked and Red Fish like ACME, has raw oysters (a personal favorite app) as well. I also doubt anyone can beat ACME for oysters, though Felix’s (also in the quarter) is close.</p>
<p>Acme is good idea, can’t get much more casual than that, lol. Usually the problem with Mother’s is the lines. Since their time is limited I ruled it out, but certainly worth it in the future when they have more time. Good basic fare, and it is a New Orleans institution.</p>
<p>Cochon is a great idea too.</p>
<p>Quick review of the eateries we hit over Destination Tulane:</p>
<p>Brennans for Brunch- Was there many years ago and remembered it fondly.It was better in my memory. Food OK,not great, service pretty bad. They got it wrong for one of the four of us for every course. I thought everyone should experience it once but I was wrong. There are too many better places to go.</p>
<p>Commander’s Palace-Was there 20 years ago and loved it then. We were VERY disappointed. Food was uninspired and the service was TERRIBLE. For all of their bustling around, which was obvious, distracting and annoying, you’d think they’d get the orders right! But they didn’t. Plus, they didn’t bring the wine before the first course and by the time they did, the soup was cold. So many employees running around, but I couldn’t see that they were doing anything. Best part was the bread pudding souffle but that’s not a good enough reason to go.</p>
<p>NOLA- Fabulous! Wonderful! Great food, friendly and competent service. We will return.</p>
<p>Destination Tulane Lunch-Surprisingly good! Buffet includes salad, rice, beans, really tasty sausages, rolls, brownies.</p>
<p>Hi Vitrac - Thanks for the reviews. I also have always liked Brennan’s and had a good meal there back in November. Definitely unfortunate that your meal was less acceptable. Same with Commander’s. That’s really surprising. It will be interesting to see if you just had some bad luck or if others have the same experience.</p>
<p>Was the Detination Tulane lunch at Bruff or in the LBC?</p>
<p>LBC. Yeah, Commanders, especially, was surprising.</p>