For one of the best burgers on the planet, you must stop here:

Port of Call
838 Esplanade Ave
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 523-0120

http://www.portofcallneworleans.com/

Reservations are not accepted and lines start to form when then open at 11am. The burgers are freshly made 1/2lb cooked-to-order, and the baked potato is divine. I know, simple fare, but really really good.

CM2772 wrote:For one of the best burgers on the planet, you must stop here:

Port of Call
838 Esplanade Ave
New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 523-0120

http://www.portofcallneworleans.com/

Reservations are not accepted and lines start to form when then open at 11am. The burgers are freshly made 1/2lb cooked-to-order, and the baked potato is divine. I know, simple fare, but really really good.

On a trip to New Orleans several years ago, I had my list of places to eat clutched in my hand at all times. My friends and I did a lot of walking and/or waiting for great food. Mother's, mentioned above, was one such stop. Port of Call was another. We walked what seemed to be forever to get to there. IIRC, it's not the prettiest exterior and my friends were somewhat skeptical. The good thing is that I had a good track record and we were not disappointed with our burgers.

Re: Po'Boys - Johnny's is off our list for a good reason. While we lunched there in July 2005, a delivery arrived. Imagine our shock and dismay when a fellow rolled a handtruck right past us and into the back of the place - the handtruck was loaded with boxes of fresh frozen Vietnamese Basa Fish (Catfish Po' Boy anyone?). We'll never go back.

while am late(probably too late) to this thread--we were in that area last week, other than some drinks in the French Quarter our meals were in places(joints) recomended by locals. Ate our fill of mudbugs and softshell crabs at Sals Seafood in Marrero__across the bridge just off hiway 90 I believe.. Then were told about a classic old school Italian joint Mosca's further west by Avondale on the same hiway---classic red gravy italian done new orleans style--most excellent

buzz

I was so excited for my Memorial Day weekend trip to New Orleans and the food did not disappoint.

My first stop was at Stein's Market and Deli, a newish Italian/Jewish deli in the Garden District where I loved the welcome sign:



I had read that the owner is from Philadelphia, so a version of the Philly Cheesesteak and roast pork sandwich are on the menu (although not listed on the menu on the Deli's website), as are my favorite Tastykakes. But being in New Orleans and having time for only one meal and the appetite for only one sandwich, I opted for the made-to-order muffuletta (sorry for the blurry photo):




The bread was beautiful, warm and toasted crisp on the surface, and strong enough to hold the layers of unheated meat, cheese and house made olive salad. Unlike the ones I've had elsewhere (such as Central Grocery), this one was the perfect size for one person and was as good a muffuletta as I have had. My black & white cookie for dessert was apparently shipped in from NY and unfortunately was too cake-like for my liking.

Dinner that evening was at Cochon. Overall, I liked Cochon. My crawfish pie starter was one of the best food items I have ever tasted - perfectly cooked crawfish in a gravy nestled inside a flaky and tasty pie crust (and shaped like an empanada). This was the best thing I ate all weekend. The restaurant's signature dish, slow roasted cochon with turnips, cabbage and cracklins was pretty good, but could have used a little wood flavor in my opinion, and some crispy bits in addition to the cracklins, which were a tad bland.

For Saturday brunch, I enjoyed my meal at EAT in the French Quarter. The highlight was the huge, crisp and tender freshly baked biscuit which delivered a nice buttermilk flavor. The chicken fried chicken was pretty good, with a nice crust and a decent gravy. My eggs dauphine featured perfectly poached eggs, ham and perfectly fried green tomatoes. EAT delivers some really nice, creamy grits too.

Dinner the same night at the highly acclaimed Lilette Restaurant proved to be a disaster though. Over-salting, overly aggressive use of vinegar, and poorly cleaned shellfish (and large chunks of cartilage in my bouillabaisse) led to a very poor dinner. I refuse to believe that a James Beard nominated chef had anything to do with what we ate this evening (other than the menu itself, which seemed impressive), but there's no way I will test this theory with a return visit.

All was forgotten Sunday morning though with brunch at Commander's. I felt totally immersed in the old south here, and they treat you like royalty. As good as the food and service were, the creole bread pudding souffle with whiskey sauce was easily the best bread pudding I have ever tasted. I would urge any visitor to New Orleans to make sure to visit Commander's for Sunday brunch . . . it is a must, from the charming service, to the elegance, to the wonderful food.

Another very nice dinner was at Dante's Kitchen. This evening started off good, and got better and better as it went along. First, the ride on the St. Charles streetcar took us through beautiful Uptown, featuring what might be the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. If you go to Dante's (which is only a couple minute walk from Camelia's), ride the streetcar and immerse yourself in the atmosphere.

Dante's has been around just under 10 years and is in a small, charming house. Service was friendly and top notch, but Dante's is every bit about the food. When you enter the restaurant, you can't help but notice the list of locally grown/produced items on the day's menu. This night, many items were listed including heirloom tomatoes, butter, buttermilk, andouille, potatoes and herbs.

An amuse of heirloom tomato with pea shoot pesto was nice, but the molasses spoonbread (more like a cornbread) with honey butter served in a hot skillet was pure comfort. All of the food was very good, but my favorites were the grilled shrimp with grits in a red eye andouille gravy and the root beer sweet potatoes. The grilled shrimp were really beautiful (head and tail on, but cut to make eating easy). The key lime pie for dessert was also very good. If you visit Dante's, the dining room is quite nice, but maybe even nicer are the cozy front porch and the side garden. This place was 100% southern charm.

We had to cancel our reservation at Upperline unfortunately, but I've been there before and I thought Dante's was every bit as good food-wise, and even better in atmosphere.

A couple of other spots worth mention: Sucre featured some beautiful pastries, including this macaron cake:




I sampled several of the macarons and thought they were excellent - wonderful light texture and excellent fillings. I also had a passion fruit sorbet and a coconut-basil sorbet and those too were outstanding. The gelatos looked good but I did not try them.

And I also needed a soft shell crab po' boy and Johnny's in the French Quarter fit the bill:



This biscuit was great:




I should note that it was different than the one I had at EAT (but perhaps not as good). It was much more flaky, but almost equally tender with a noticeable buttermilk flavor and obviously freshly baked and buttered. There was a larger biscuit listed on the menu - can't imagine how big it must be.

Here are a couple of pictures of my softshell crab po' boy (sorry for the blurry one):






The crust on the crab was light, crisp and gently seasoned and the crab was fresh from the fryer and good and meaty. The remoulade (special request) served on the sandwich served as a perfect complement (along with a healthy dose of hot sauce). It's soft shell crab season and these were gems.

All said, a great food weekend in New Orleans and a diet is in my immediate future.

Tommy2dogs wrote:

Kennyz wrote:

iblock9 wrote:... you can hit Galatoires for dinner on Saturday night if you are interested in classic creole cuisine.

I think the place has barely a whif of Creole cooking.

Galatoire's has been around since 1905 serving many of the same dishes today as it did back then. I believe Galatoire's is currently owned by the fourth generation of the original family. The family believes that they serve authentic French Creole Cuisine as do the locals and regulars. You obviously disagree and I am curious as to what background, credentials etc you may have to substantiate your claim as well as some examples of places that serve what you would consider to be authentic French Creole Cuisine .

I know nothing about authentic Creole cooking, but I do know the sauce on the Crabmeat Sardou that I had at Galatoire's yesterday tasted slightly to me of corn starch as a thickening agent. It seems to me that a sauce like that should be thickened with dairy or oil or egg, or let to be thinner, rather than resorting to corn starch. Somewhat disappointing.

On the other hand, I thought the gumbo was just fine. It contained (if my taste buds were not mistaken) a couple of whole poached oysters.

iblock9 wrote:Brennan's is, IMHO, a tourist trap of the highest order.

Another one in the Brennan family to avoid
is Mr. B's Bistro. Went there last week and
left feeling ripped-off. Laughably bad from
start ($13.50 gin and tonic) to finish (waited
and waited for coffee to arrive with dessert;
finally had to track down server to tell her to
just forget it and bring us the check). I can
put up with poor service if the food is worth it,
but that was not the case. My wife’s risotto
was the worst rendition I’ve ever encountered;
like mushy Uncle Ben’s tossed in Campbell’s Cream
o’ Mushroom soup with some sub canned-quality
slimey mushrooms to add insult to injury. Then
there was my “rabbit” that I’d bet my left nut
was actually some over-cooked mini-fowl
(game hen, capon?). I would have been happier
if they had just subbed McNuggets. It was
particularly striking in contrast to a meal the
night before at Muriel’s on Jackson Square.
We had no reservations for that evening and
were close by, so we thought what the heck.
Given its location I figured we were in for the
worst tourist trap experience, but it was just
incredible from start to finish. The most flavorful
seafood-intense gumbo of the trip, a gorgonzola
and prosciutto tart that was just perfect, and
pecan glazed sweet potatoes that I just
can't stop thinking about (spicey, smokey
and not syrupy sweet).

going to New Orleans in January with my bf for his birthday... after reading this thread and the others on new orleans, i'm really torn about where to go for lunch and dinner (i have been to New orleans once but that's 10 years ago and all i remember was Brennan's, Cafe Du monde and Acme Oyster)
So we are getting there thurs afternoon (hopefully in time for lunch) and leaving Sunday afternoon
for lunch, the restaurants i am thinking of going are:
1. Acme Oyster (Is Felix any better?)
2. Drago (i really love oysters and i heard their charbroiled oysters are very good)
3. Luizza's by the track (gumbo and po boys) (i heard mothers and johnnys are good... not seen comments on Luizza's though) (who has the best gumbo?)
4. Central grocery (i am not a big fan of sandwiches but my co-workers goes to New orleans every year for jazz fest swears by it)
5. Coop's (jamabalaya?)
for dinner, i definitely want to take him to CP for his birthday, i been to CP once but it was the vegas outpost which is now closed and i cannot believe how good that turtle soup was and the lamb chops... hmm... so i have to go back there

but for the next 2 evenings, where should we go? some choices i am debating between are:
1. cochon
2. k-paul
3. august
4. stella
5. gautreau's
6. brigsten's
7. bayona
8. herbsaint
help! i need someone to just decide for me!!

also, anyone knows where i can find good bbq shrimp?


Agnes

I was in New Orleans in May for work and had a chance to eat out quite a bit. Of the places you mention for your second day, I would most highly recommend Cochon. We had the pig cheeks appetizer and a suckling pig main dish that was the signature dish of the spring menu (it's not on their menu now). The latter was like a pork crab cake--succulent pieces of flaky pork that had been crisped on the outside and was soft and delicious within. I think it was the best dish of food I've eaten all year. Because we didn't have a reservation and were seated in the back area where you watch the cooks at work, they gave us a comp gator appetizer. It wasn't too much to my liking, but it was still a nice gesture. Lth has given Cochon some love, but I suspect if this were the "New Orleans-based food forum" that Cochon would inspire a lot of the same mixed feelings that Bayless does here. If you can overlook the success and the cook books and t-shirts and hot sauces by the door and that not every dish hits the mark and focus on the signature dishes, you'll find you can get a spectacular meal.

I also ate at Acme Oyster Bar and had crawfish and Bloody Marys at the French Market restaurant and drinks at the Hotel Monteleone's moving bar. All were very good, but I'll be back in New Orleans for work in November and the only "must-return" for me is Cochon.

I also recommend Cochon for a unique N'awlins meal. They have a wood fired oyster roast to die for. Great gumbo, although it's changed since we were there. If you've never had boudin, get the fried boudin with pickled peppers. We also loved louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage & cracklins. Avoid the rabbit and dumplings. It was the only miss of the meal for us.

On the same trip we ate at Herbsaint, which is the upscale sister restaurant of Cochon, and had a terrific meal.

Another wonderful dinner that's usually not on the radar is Tommy's, which had one of the best duck dishes I've ever tasted. Here's a link to my previous post with some pictures.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17063&p=199000&hilit=new+orleans#p199000

thanks for the advice, Cochon is a definite now
and i might switch out Kpaul and try tommy's

will report when i am back
now i am counting the days til January

I'm heading to New Orleans in January too! Thanks for many great suggestions. I do want to make reservations at one of the big names - Emeril's? K-Pauls? Someplace else?

agnesfong wrote:and i might switch out Kpaul and try tommy's

I'd definitely switch out Kpaul for nearly anywhere else (unless your a serious Paul Prudhomme groupie). Time has passed them by.

stevez wrote:

agnesfong wrote:and i might switch out Kpaul and try tommy's

I'd definitely switch out Kpaul for nearly anywhere else (unless your a serious Paul Prudhomme groupie). Time has passed them by.

I wouldn't pass up K-Paul's . . . I still find it to be a NoLa institution serving up some damn good food. It's had some rough spots over the past several years, but I ate there about a year ago and had a very nice meal. I would also give Commander's some thought, if not for dinner then for brunch.

I was in New Orleans for work the past couple days and had a chance to try a few more spots. Had lunch at Mother’s the first day. There was a line out the door, which apparently is the norm. I thought about calling out, “what’s wrong with you groupies? Bayless’s restaurants are in Chicago!” Had the Fendi Classic—a ham and roast beef Po’ Boy. It was a very good sandwich, but excess air conditioning, which seems to be the norm in Southern cities, created a hot/cold issue. The sandwich was warm but sat in a pool of au jus type juice that turned cold quickly and was less appealing when cold. For a mid-afternoon snack, I went to Café du Monde for beignets.

That night, I convinced my boss, who is not at all a foodie and actually a very picky eater, to try Cochon. I had the wood grilled oysters for an appetizer. They were good but not great. I liked my main course better. It was ham hock on a bed of sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas. (My boss wanted this, but the waitress convinced her not to get it when she said “just bring me the ham hock without the sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas.” She said this with humor and the self-awareness that she’s not an easy dining companion.) My boss’s ribs, which I ate three quarters of, were also quite good. They were barbecued with a sauce with good heat and had pickled watermelon rind on top. While I’m still a big fan of Cochon, I wish I had repeated the pan-fried shredded pork shoulder with cracklings—still on the menu despite what I said above—or had tried Herbsaint or Stella! (The exclamation point is part of the title of the restaurant btw.)

The next night we took a group of twenty to K Paul’s. This was really 1980’s comfort food. Everything was very well-prepared, but it did feel a little dated. For a starter, I had the turtle soup, which tasted like beef chili. The waitress said they get that a lot even though the dish has no beans and no chili powder. She did say they add beef because turtle doesn’t have much taste. I then had the breaded flounder with shrimp followed by bread pudding for dessert. Everything was very good, but the experience of going to a place like K Paul’s gets one thinking about how what’s “of the moment” changes over the years. David Hammond’s thoughtful discussion of his recent dinner at Moto has had me ruminating over this more—especially because I was with such a gracious non-foodie. She did better with K Paul’s, and I wondered “would this have been strange to her in 1981?” There’s a beyond the usual “Julia Child changed everything” book to be written about what becomes classic, what becomes dated, and how we’ve grown up as a foodie nation.

Because my boss’s reaction to Cochon had been that she would have been just as happy at Popeye’s, we went to Popeye’s for lunch the next day when it seemed that Mother’s wasn’t going to be a fast enough choice given limited time.

Finally, the last night I was solo and not feeling like seeing if some of the trendier places could squeeze one person in, so I ate at Palace Café. This was a really nice surprise. The roast duckling with peppered crispy skin was one of the best dishes I’ve had in some time. I also liked being outside on a boulevard (even it’s somewhat tacky Canal Street in New Orleans) on a nice evening. Chicago’s new river walk has this feel and there are gardens and outdoor seating in some neighborhoods, but Chicago needs more outdoor dining.

It sounds like Kpaul is out... if you were going to go all out on one meal, and hit neighborhood joints the other day, where (and what) would it be?

lemoneater wrote:It sounds like Kpaul is out... if you were going to go all out on one meal, and hit neighborhood joints the other day, where (and what) would it be?

Commander's Palace. No two ways about it.

stevez wrote:

lemoneater wrote:It sounds like Kpaul is out... if you were going to go all out on one meal, and hit neighborhood joints the other day, where (and what) would it be?

Commander's Palace. No two ways about it.

Agreed

BR wrote:

stevez wrote:

lemoneater wrote:It sounds like Kpaul is out... if you were going to go all out on one meal, and hit neighborhood joints the other day, where (and what) would it be?

Commander's Palace. No two ways about it.

Agreed

I'm in New Orleans right now, and even though I've got dinner lined up at August tomorrow, am taking the position that we are not saving up for one big splash, and I'm still planning to put extreme pressure on my travelling companions to hit Commander's Tuesday. My only experience with Commander's has been at the Vegas outpost a few years back, but that (and Steve's strong advocacy above) have convinced me I have to get to the original. That possibility was delayed by Katrina (Commander's was still under repair in May '06, my last trip to New Orleans). Not traveling with big eaters, but the history and even just "adventure" of eating outside CBD or Quarter might sell it. One can always hope. Wish me luck!

I look forward to a current report on Commander's Palace. I haven't been since pre-Katrina. Having been to both the original and the LV version I can say there's really no comparison.

To the OP's list I would put Brigstens up high on my "eat there" list. Great food and great service in a nice setting.

Quick notes on two places of, well, recent note (full discussion on my blog--cue groans~!):

1) Mahoney's, which John T. Edge wrote lovingly about in a fall NYT story, may well be worth a visit over and above other Po-Boy classics (e.g., Parasol, Parkway), certainly more so than Domilese's, which I thought was nothing special. The Chicken Liver sandwich I had, a beautiful pairing of very mineral-y offal with a bracing creole slaw, was ingeniously well thought-out and utterly delicious.

2) There is not much to add to discussion about Cochon: very reminiscent of The Publican during its shakedown cruise--lots of deep and fatty flavors, but very little balance or structure to the menu. Excellent charcouterie and accoutrements. The restaurant's namesake dish features the best pork rinds--if not the best fried pork, period--you may ever experience: hauntingly smoky and strangely ethereal. Worth $22 alone, methinks. Pace yourself and be careful about what you order: my girlfriend and I had stomach- AND heartaches afterwards; we didn't eat again until dinner the next night.

The new(ish) chef at Commander's Palace looks like he's doing some real exciting things. Next time.

chezbrad wrote:
1) Mahoney's may well be worth a visit over and above other Po-Boy classics (e.g., Parasol, Parkway), certainly more so than Domilese's, which I thought was nothing special.

With all due respect to you, this is crazy talk.

chezbrad wrote:The Chicken Liver sandwich I had, a beautiful pairing of very mineral-y offal with a bracing creole slaw, was ingeniously well thought-out and utterly delicious..

I am sure the Chicken Liver sandwich you had was delicious, maybe even better then whatever you tried at Domilese's, but it was not a Po'Boy, at least not one to be compared to Domilese's traditional po'boys. What makes Domilese's special is the perfectly fried seafood. Other ingredients are great as well...but you wont find slaw of any kind on the roll. Dressed is lettuce & tomato. Thats it.

iblock9 wrote:I am sure the Chicken Liver sandwich you had was delicious, maybe even better then whatever you tried at Domilese's, but it was not a Po'Boy, at least not one to be compared to Domilese's traditional po'boys.

I am definitely not going to play a game of identity politics, particularly not when Mahoney's clearly distinguishes "traditional" and newfangled Po's on its menu.

There's no doubt that the women behind the fryer at Domilese's know how to fry up seafood; they just don't know how to make a sandwich out of some excellent individual parts. The off-menu shrimp/beef gravy/swiss cheese po'boy that Bourdain raved about was easily the worst thing I've eaten all year, entirely clumsy and combative in flavor. I get that the place is in an institution, and it's funny when granny enters into the place from the living room, but one's status as an institution doesn't necessarily mean it is contributing to a city's culinary progress. The frying abilities were slightly better at Mahoney's, and the additional care presented in constructing the sandwich--from the better bread to the perfect accompaniments--were much appreciated.

But tell me, how is the hamburger po'boy? I saw plenty of folk at Domilese order it, which was both intriguing and a little mortifying.

chezbrad wrote:slightly better at Mahoney's, and the additional care presented in constructing the sandwich--from the better bread to the perfect accompaniments--were much appreciated.

The ubiquitous use of a standard poor boy roll from Leidenheimer Baking Co is part of what makes a po'boy in New Orleans a po'boy. Does Mahoney's use a different bakery? I admittedly havent been to Mahoney's but based on a look at their menu I am excitied to give it a try. I would be shocked if they weren't using Leidenheimer bread but maybe they bake their own in house.

chezbrad wrote:But tell me, how is the hamburger po'boy? I saw plenty of folk at Domilese order it, which was both intriguing and a little mortifying.

I've never tried one but I was always there for shrimp or bivalves. Most places have a hamburger po, I even noticed one on the Mahoney's menu. Sadly, there is no accounting for taste.

I just returned from 9 days in NO, and here are some brief comments. I did not take any notes, so some of the details are a bit hazy. The first 3 dinners were with 3 buddies:

----Dante's Kitchen- Not a ton of atmosphere, but very good food and value. Friendly service. We liked it better than:

----Cochon- They dried out piggy parts (like cheeks) that are pretty difficult to dry out. I dont know if they tried to take out all the fat, but the hock was they only thing that was really good.

----Mr. B's- The bbq shrimp were excellent (much better than Pascal Manales), everything else was good.

The next 2 dinners were solo...recommended by the concierge because they had open kitchens:

----NOLA- I really enjoyed sitting at the chef's kitchen bar, particularly when it got busy. Not sure that I would eat here otherwise, though the food was good. Nice wine list with lots of half bottles.

----Maximo- A slow Tuesday night. I sat at the bar in front of the open kitchen and talked to the chefs, who were very friendly. Very good food, particularly the spicy shrimp appetizer.

The final 4 were with my mom (celebrating her 75th birthday) and my brother:

----Irene's Cuisine- Excellent food and value. Very friendly service. We got there early enough on a Wednesday night that we didnt have a wait. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

----Bayona- Fairly disappointing. Food was ok, but the service was very rushed even though we said that we wanted to take our time. Check came with dessert.

----Restaurant August- Another highlight. We planned to do the 10 course tasting but they were only offering 7, so we added sweatbreads and settled for 8. Nice wine pairings. Very polished service that didnt flinch when my brother and I ran out to catch beads from the parade passing by the restaurant.

----Commander's Palace- Pretty much the disaster of the trip. Other than an excellent steak and foie gras entree, the other 5 courses on the chef's black and gold (who dat) tasting were mediocre at best. The wine pairings would have been ok if they had been poured in time to drink with the correct course. This is not the CP of old. Jackets are not required. Based on the 3 guys texting all meal at the table next to us, with volume on, cell phones are not discouraged. The entertainment highlight was the table of 2 girls (supposedly 24th birthday celebration, but im guessing 20 at most) that were completely hammered. They were talking loudly, trying to pick up the 3 texting guys with whom they started playing musical chairs until they spilled the guys expensive wine. Then they went from falling over chairs (and occasionally falling out of their dresses) to crying at their table, to temporarily passing out. The staff did nothing but stare. When one girl started bawling, a woman from another table went to comfort her. When we asked the room captain what they were doing about it, he said that he had brought them their check and they were waiting for them to pay. It took the non-bawling girl 15 minutes to fill out the credit card slip. No one ever apologized to us or offered us anything (free drink maybe?). Not sure what a restaurant can do in a case like that, but they need to do something.

The lunch highlights:

----Domilise- excellent shrimp/oyster po'boy, though I cant imagine eating it soggy with gravy and cheese. Roast Beef po'boy not as good, but still better than:

----Parkway tavern- RB po'boy just a pile of slop. Even though it is what they are known for, I didnt see anyone else order it....wish I hadnt.

----Pascal's Manale-very good shrimp pasta, but bbq shrimp were flavorless.

----Boucherie- Much nicer (even had tablecloths) than I expected. Excellent Boudin balls.

----Breakfast at Brennans- Horrible service, mediocre, overpriced food.

Overall, I ate well, though the old line places are definitely gearing to the tourists. Thanks to walking around 10 miles each day, I only gained 4 pounds.

-Will

WillG, sorry to hear about your disaster at Commander's, but very happy to hear about your experience at Dante's. As you can tell from my post above on this page, I loved just about everything at Dante's (I suppose I enjoyed the atmosphere more than you though) and it will be an absolute must visit on my next visit to the Big Easy.

My wife and I were there over MLK day weekend. Tried to fit in the high and the low, the traditional and the new, the raucous and the sedate.

Had a fine Friday lunch at August, as mentioned here numerous times the prix fixe is an incredible bargain at $20 for three courses. One thing to note is that the kitchen loves pork. Waiter says the kitchen tries to sneak some into as many things as they can. Which is not a bad thing, but you might not want every course to have pork undertones, eg, you wouldn't expect a shrimp bisque or fried oysters to have a pork component, but here they do. Best dish was the prix fixe main course of lentils with bacon (of course), outstanding.

Friday happy hour started at the Hermes bar, part of the Antoine's complex. Beautiful room, all tiled and wooded and mirrored and brassed like you would expect from an Antoine's. What I didn't expect was a pimply kid wiping down tables to put his rag in his pocket and take our drink order, then saunter directly behind the bar and start lifting his elbows to concoct us a Sazerac and whiskey sour. Out came some gloppy, syrupy $5 pre-mix abominations that might as well have been dumped straight into a go-cup. Nice room, but I'd suggest ordering a beer instead of a proper cocktail.

Now for a proper cocktail in the Quarter, may I suggest to you French 75 at Arnaud's. Now this, this is a bar. Very sedate, scratchy old Edith Piaf and Parisienne accordian music in the background. The stately bartender in his crisp starched whites commanding the bar like an admiral. The eponymous French 75's were magnificent - champagne, cognac, and lemon sounds like an emetic, but this is a pretty amazing cocktail, a really magical potion complete with vapors wafting up over the glass. A balanced symphony of flavors, very crisp and dry and citrusy. So good we ordered a second one, and so well-prepared that I thought it was indicative of the care they would take in the kitchen so we changed our dinner plans and made a reservation for dinner at Arnaud's the next night.

Walked past the Old Absinthe bar and that was a total zoo so we took a pass. Next was the Carousel Bar, which was also packed but we were able to get a table. The room looks a little tired, the carpet is pretty worn and the walls are unadorned - I was expecting something grander than this. My Manhattan was decent, but it's pretty hard to mess that up even in a busy bar.

Mr B's bistro is right across the street, so we ducked across for dinner. This is a big raucous high energy room, long wait at the bar for a table even though it was late. I started with the fried oysters, which came out cold - but to their credit they immediately replaced it with a hot order. Delicious. Main course I had the barbecued shrimp. Eh, my bad - I know how these are prepared, you just take a pound of margarine and melt it down and add some seasonings and throw in the shrimp. In my addled condition I thought they'd be fun but it's just a greasy one-note mess that doesn't really taste all that good and the sauce overwhelms any subtlety a good shrimp would have. I suspect some genius came up with this recipe as a way to unload overripe shrimp. Scratch that dish off the list of been there, done that.

Breakfast next day was quick bite at the hotel club lounge, then a stroll through the French Market. Saw a couple people walking around with bloodies and thought, ooh that looks like a good idea. I forget the name of the place but it's indoors, and if you enter the market from Esplanade it's the first bar that you encounter walking upriver. This was a beautiful specimen, properly prepared (not stirred, but poured from cup to cup to mix), one of the best bloodies I've ever had. Not sure what kind of tomato juice you use as a base in New Orleans, but it's a huge improvement over the Campbell's we're stuck with.

Lunch next day was Parkway Tavern. Shrimp and roast beef po-boys. And uh, jeez, I just don't get it. The roast beef was a really bland sleepy boiled down pile of blah, and it took half a bottle of hot sauce to wake it up. The bread completely disintegrated halfway through the sandwich, so I had to finish eating it with a fork. These are the best of breed? Those Zats creole potato chips were the bomb though. IMO a Chicago Italian beef or a Philly roast pork easily shove aside the po' boy for a place in the pantheon of great sandwiches.

We lucked into some tickets for the Saints/Cardinals playoff game, so that was next up. I'm a big Michigan Wolverine and Chicago Bears fan, but these fans blow away anything I've ever seen in the Midwest. I'm a traditionalist and not a big fan of piped in music at games, but that "Get Crunked" is perfect for New Orleans, loved it! Great fun, great crowd. I know how much the Saints mean to this city, and I really felt privileged to be part of that. Plus they just totally stomped the guts out the Cardinals - Geaux Saints!

Then what? Oh yes, dinner at Arnaud's. Another gorgeous room, beautifully lit. We started with a couple French 75's again, they were good but the service bar isn't nearly as adept at preparing these as the bartender in French 75. Had the shrimp Arnaud (in a remoulade) and oysters Bienville to start. Can't say that I'm a huge fan of the oysters Bienville, although tasty the oysters kind of get lost in the mountain of bread crumbs. Shrimp remoulade were very nice, heavy on the creole mustard which I like. But the real star was the "gulf fish Amandine". Waiter said that they had speckled trout that night, so I got lucky and had the dish prepared with the correct fish. I had this before at Galatoire's and thought it was jusk ok (IIRC they used pompano), but here I was blown away. You'd think that in a healthy dose of brown butter sauce and a thick fried crust smothered in a pile of roasted almonds the fish would get kind of lost, but in each bite you still had the fish in the forefront even though it was a fairly thin piece of fish. Everything just worked together in perfect harmony. There's a reason some of these recipes haven't changed in 100 years - once you achieve perfection, why change anything?

Sunday morning left time for one last meal before flying off. Decided to go to Luke, and glad we made that choice. The morning menu is more of a breakfast/brunch/lunch combo, and shrimp & grits is one of the offerings. Lord have mercy, this was awesome. Stoneground grits mixed with just a hint of mascarpone cheese, some beautiful sauteed shrimp and a silky sauce made from a shrimp & andouille sausage reduction. My wife had the country breakfast, but that was just your regular ho - hum plate. These shrimp & grits were unbelievable, just a fantastic way to cap off a truly enjoyable weekend of great food and drink.

Love New Orleans, what a treasure.

How fortuitous that the New Orleans threads have been so active lately - I'm planning a NOLA bachelor party, and all this recent info has seriously lightened my workload

We were thinking of treating the bachelor to one nice dinner, and after going through a bunch of posts, I was considering August or Herbsaint...however, I'm worried that they might cost more than the rest of the guys are willing to spend.

Would anyone happen to know how much dinner at either of these places costs nowadays? We'd either go a la carte, or stick with the smallest available prix fixe option.

Also, are they both nice jeans/button-down shirt-type places, or are jackets more de rigueur at either of them?

Thanks for the info!

Khaopaat wrote:We were thinking of treating the bachelor to one nice dinner, and after going through a bunch of posts, I was considering August or Herbsaint...however, I'm worried that they might cost more than the rest of the guys are willing to spend.

Would anyone happen to know how much dinner at either of these places costs nowadays? We'd either go a la carte, or stick with the smallest available prix fixe option.

Also, are they both nice jeans/button-down shirt-type places, or are jackets more de rigueur at either of them?

Thanks for the info!

IMO August would be a little sedate for a group treating a bachelor.

As far as the nicer places, myself I'd gravitate to the classics. I've had Friday lunch at Galatoire's and that'd be perfect time and place for a bachelor party, that's a meal he'd never forget. Not sure how it is at dinner though, but Friday lunch is a madhouse in there. You'll definitely need a jacket, and absolutely no jeans. If you arrive at 1:30 - 2:00 or so you should be able to get a decent size group seated downstairs.

The main dining room at Arnaud's was also pretty rowdy on a Saturday night, that'd work. No jacket required, not sure about the jeans.

Prices are pretty reasonable in NO, you'll be pleasantly surprised compared to Chicago. Neither place should cost more than $100 per person even if you're drinking heavily.

Thanks for the followup! Sounds like August might not be the best choice...any thoughts on Herbsaint? We'll be staying at the Sheraton on Canal, so it'd be a quick walk for us...but then, Cochon is only a block or two further, so that's a consideration too. However, I get the impression that Cochon is a bit more crowded & noisy - is that accurate?

There will only be four or five of us, so fortunately we won't need any special accommodations or large tables.