My wife and daughter will be in New Orleans from 4/2 - 4/4 for the top scholars weekend. I am trying to plan out some places for dinner for them on Saturday and Sunday night, any recommendations would be helpful, no chains but not to fancy either, somewhere along the lines of under $25 per entree and hopefully some cuisine unique to New Orleans, Po Boys, Beignets, etc…
Are most restaurants in the French Quarter? Seems to recall something about magazine street, are there good places to eat along there?
ah, my favorite topic
Where are they staying? If they want to explore the French Quarter, you really can not go wrong anywhere (except The Gumbo Shop. In over 20 years it was the only bad meal we’ve ever had in New Orleans. The place is dirty and the food was just nasty. Also avoid Oceana like the the plague. It was featured on Kitchen Nightmares. Nuff said. ) Magazine Street also has some wonderful restaurants and cute shops.
For Po’boys- On Magazine I would go to Guys or Mahoneys. In the French Quarter Johnnys or Killer Po’boys. If you have a car or feel like taking a cab/Uber, Parkway Bakery is the best, but not walkable and the street car doesn’t run there. Also in that area is Dooky Chase and Willie Mae’s. Dooky Chase is a New Orleans institution. Chef Chase was just awarded the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. I think she’s 90- something and still cooking! Willie Mae’s is known for it’s fried chicken. I’d check the hours for both of those places, not sure if they are open for dinner.
If you a staying in the Quarter, Mandina’s and Katies are a short street car ride up Canal (the Red Streetcar). They are both locals kind of places since they are off the beaten path. In the Quarter I love K-Pauls, Irenes, Mr. B’s,. A bit pricier though. Check out all the menus for these places online and see what fits your budget/appetite. Napoleon House is fantastic too. Great place to people watch if you can get a table near the open windows. Red Gravy is one of my new favorites. It’s owned by one of my NYX sisters (I ride in the Krewe of NYX). It’s a small cozy place.
Acme Oyster is a popular and famous place in the Quarter. Some people like Felix’s better. However if you want chargrilled oysters, go to Drago’s.
Deanies for crawfish.
Closer to Tulane is Jaque Imo’s on Oak street. Camiella Grill for breakfast or late night.
Cafe DuMonde for beignets!
That’s just off the top of my head. I’m sure you will get lots and lots of recommendations! I’ll add more later!
TY @dolphnlvr6 , actually took your recommendation and booked a room for them at the Staybridge Suites, seems like a nice central location so they should be able to taxi, uber, streetcar anywhere. Will def. be looking at your recommendations above and picking some spots for them to choose from.
Willa Jean is a John Besh restaurant great for breakfast and lunch that is my Tulane Freshman daughter’s favorite–about 6 blocks up from Staybridge (across from Rouse’s grocery - an excellent place to shop!) It is a nice walk to get away from the French Quarter …Your might use Open Table app - make reservations everywhere, otherwise the waits are long.
On the same block as the Staybridge is the fairly new restaurant Compere Lapin. We had an utterly fantastic meal there in October. Having said that, it is REALLY hard to go wrong in NOLA!
Mike Serio’s in CBD for poboy or muffalleta. 133 St. Charles
Johnny’s for poboy in French Quarter. 511 St. Louis St.
Mothers but the line is usually bad.
I used to love Commander’s Palace (Garden District) or Palace Cafe (CBD) but I think they don’t have the same reputation these days. Lunch is reasonable. Dinner will be much more expensive. Cafe Du Monde is a must.
Non food: Go to the National WW II museum. It’s worth it.
Second on Pascal’s Manale. It might be at the edge of your budget, but I have loved it since I was there as an undergrad in the 70’s. Also correct that WWII museum is fabulous, if you have time.
TY you all for the great rec’s, feeling jealous that I am not going on this trip as well, but sure they will enjoy it and if D likes the school there maybe many other trips to explore all these fabuolus places…
I just attended Top Scholars with my daughter, and I had made my picks off Jeff Schiffman’s blog http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com , where he made a post last year with his Top 15 Restaurants. I really liked La Petite Grocery!
By the way, Top Scholars is a fantastic event! They pack a lot into two days. The admissions staff at Tulane did a great job.
You will have to check prices. But he does mention one that I was going to but wasn’t sure about price, and that is Dante’s Kitchen. It is close to campus. Not quite walkable but a cheap taxi ride. It is on the high edge of your budget goal, but it really is excellent and it emphasizes local ingredients. Anyway, a nice feature Jeff put into the blog is that all the restaurants are linked to their web pages and menus, so you can more easily sort it all out by location and price. Not to mention familiarize yourself with even more great places to eat.
Personal favorites are Mr. B’s in the Quarter. Brennan’s for breakfast in the Quarter. Jacques Imos near campus. Satsuma for breakfast near campus. Superior Seafood near campus. Dat Dog for lunch near campus. If you just want to walk somewhere nice, Maple St. Cafe is only a few blocks away, and is really good as well.
Not a Dante’s fan. Small rooms in an old house only a few tables per room. Pricey for the scene and the food. But if you’re after a quite scene, go for it.
Not a Napoleon’s House fan. Almost sent back a round of drinks they were so bad, but service was so slow we didn’t want to wait for another round…
Is the original Brennan’s (417 Royal Street) open again? It was closed last I heard. There was a fire, then there was a dispute of some sort over ownership or rent or something. I am sure there must be some articles about it, but the first thing that comes up when I search is the map showing the location and underneath it says “location closed”. I assume everything else is just older, cached info. Which if true is a shame because it was my absolute favorite Sunday thing to do back in the “old days”. BTW, that address just happens to have a completely fabulous history, including but not limited to (as far as I know), being the residence of the French ambassador way back when, the residence of the first recognized US grandmaster of chess who later went rather insane and wandered Canal Street talking to himself, being owned by Tulane for some time, and I think at the time they rented it to the Brennan’s to get them started in the fine dining business, and of course the long run Brennan’s had there. If anyone knows what is happening with it now…
OK, it looks like Ted Brennan, who had the property, went bankrupt after the fire and Ralph Brennan (brothers, and I think they were estranged) bought the property and the naming rights, the latter for $3 million. And it appears to have reopened, but if anyone has more direct observational information, that would be great.
Dante’s is small, you are right. I think of it more as a neighborhood restaurant than a tourist restaurant, even if a bit pricey. Kind of like the really nice Italian places I remember growing up in St. Louis. Not on the tourist lists, and not cheap, but they were still very popular in the area they served.
Totally agree with you about Napoleon House. I know some people really like it, but I never had a good experience there and finally quit giving it chances.
@fallenchemist Brennans has reopened! We had brunch there in December and it was as fabulous as always. Napoleon House has also been bought by the Brennans. We have had such wonderful times there I am glad they haven’t changed much, a few menu changes. Same surly waiters (who really aren’t surly when you actually talk to them). We sat next to Michael Keaton one hot and steamy night. We were having such a great time we didn’t even realize it until the bartender informed us!
Thanks @dolphnlvr6 for the update. Great to know. I have had a Brennan’s rooster kitchen apron for 20+ years and I love it, it brings back such great memories. And I guess I will have to give NH another chance!
