My last meal at Brigtsen's was not a great one. It's another 'essential' in the sense that it's part of the great tradition of New Orleans Creole/Cajun restaurants, and Frank Brigtsen is one of New Orleans' great chefs, but the food left me flat. But I'm almost alone in not loving this place -- I know it's one of ChiNola's favorite restaurants.

I'm a bigger fan of Charlie's Seafood -- the restaurant chef Brigtsen resurrected last year in Harahan, about 10 miles outside of town. Great seafood joint, more $$ than the average seafood joint, but worth it. And the best scratch Natchitoches-style meat pie in the GNO region.

If you are looking for a great kid friendly breakfast/lunch spot Uptown try Slim Goodies on Magazine around Louisiana. Great place, great breakfast, great milkshakes.

Slim Goodies is now the home of N.O.'s first pop-up restaurant -- on Sundays at 5 p.m., a burger joint called MVB (Most Valuable Burger) opens in Slim Goodies and serves one of the best burgers in town. Great, skinny, double-fried fries and gelato shakes too. Menu is strictly burgers-fries-shake plus a specialty burger. They post the specialty burger on Twitter (@MVBurger).

Brigsten's was on the short list, but its not open on Sunday's, and it didnt appeal to me enough to replace any of the mon-fri reservations already in place.

On Tuesday when we are heading to Carrolton to eat dinner @ Boucherie I will hopefully get over to Cooter Browns for a couple beverages while the gils shop.

crrush wrote:My last meal at Brigtsen's was not a great one. It's another 'essential' in the sense that it's part of the great tradition of New Orleans Creole/Cajun restaurants, and Frank Brigtsen is one of New Orleans' great chefs, but the food left me flat. But I'm almost alone in not loving this place -- I know it's one of ChiNola's favorite restaurants.

I agree with you on Brightsen's. There was nothing wrong with my meal there, but I was unimpressed. Your tab is going to be just as steep as any other high end restaurant in town but the room leaves a lot to be desired. It's in an old house that's been converted to a restaurant, so you might get seated in the living room, the dining room, the downstairs bedroom etc - and they're not particularly large rooms either, so you're right on top of the other tables. The place is lit up bright enough to land an airplane. My waitress was folksy and overly familiar in a Minnie Pearl kind of way, which is ok at the Cracker Barrel but not what I'm looking for at a high end restaurnat - and it seemed forced, as if the owner was pushing this shtick on her. On top of all that, if you're staying in the FQ it's either a 45+ minute trolley ride or a $20 cab each way.

With all this weighing against it the food better be mind blowing, but it's no better than anywhere else I've eaten in the FQ or CBD and their menu is also indistinguishable. Not a whole lot of value for your dollar there, if I'm going to drop that kind of money on a meal I'd rather by sitting in a room like Galatoire's or August.

beyond trying to eat as many po' boys, muffalettas, oysters, and other local items when we are in NOLA, I am going to seek out their food trucks.

Inspired by this article:

http://www.neworleans.com/food/new-orle ... heels.html

jimswside wrote:beyond trying to eat as many po' boys, muffalettas, oysters, and other local items when we are in NOLA, I am going to seek out their food trucks.

Inspired by this article:

http://www.neworleans.com/food/new-orle ... heels.html

A New Orleans bar tour is another worthy activity. Napoleon House also has an excellent muffaletta, but don't bother with their po boys:
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/501889

So my college roommate is in town with friends, and I begged her to tell me what restaurants she was planning on hitting in order to steer her away from the tourist traps. 'Call me, even if it's 5 minutes before you want to eat and I'll tell you where to go. Or, at least, where not to go.' We're going to Cochon tonight, but they were on their own yesterday. She texts me at 7 p.m. last night to say they'd just gotten a table at...Court of Two Sisters.

Noooooooooooooo! Unfortunately, they were too polite to back out of it. I caught up with them just as the waiter was flaming the bananas Foster--and fully looking like he expected a round of applause and ooohs and aaahhs from the table.

I think they dropped around $150 for the meal, and the nicest thing anyone said about it was, 'Well, nothing was THAT bad.' Not that people on this board need to be warned, but I will anyway: do not go to Court of Two Sisters. The turtle soup isn't good, and there are better restaurants just outside of the Quarter serving the same style of food, only waaaaay better.

RE: Food trucks -- check out NOLAFoodTrucks.com for a good, active list of the different food trucks around town (and Baton Rouge). Taceaux Loceaux is the best and most consistent in terms of schedule/location. BooKoo BBQ is also good. The real Mexican food trucks are harder to track down b/c they're not tweeting and they're mostly catering to construction workers on site.

boudreaulicious wrote:

sazerac wrote:How is Brightsen's these days? I haven't been to NO in a decade, but if I go, I'm there.

The other random crowded neighborhood place buried in my memory is Mandina's; had a good turtle soup there. Not a destination place but a great neighborhood joint.

Brightsen's has always been one of my favorite NOLA restaurants--and given that it's in an old home, always seemed pretty kid-friendly. It's also in the garden district, not far from Cooter Browns in case you want to try that in stead of Dante's.

I saw this now twice in this thread. For sure, Brightsen's is not too far from Cooter Brown's, but neither is particularly close to the Garden District. Most maps of NOLA would lay this area out as "Riverbend." Cooter Brown's is (used to be at least for sure), an archtypical Tulane bar, especially packed after midnight. It brings hardly nothing in atmosphere, but plenty in memories if you were a student. Unfortunately for me, my memories of Cooter Browns were mostly of wiling away afternoons there instead of being a good law student. Really, if you want the true Uptown dive bar experience, F&M is a better choice (I think).

Even though I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend, for some reason, on our weekly Border's visit the other day*, I got caught up reading New Orleans travel books. Man it made me wistful, and one of the places I most wisted for, was a place on Jim's short list and subsequently dropped: Tujague's. I think their bar is one of the finest in the city, at least in the sense of classic, old (really old) school stand up saloon's. If you liked the original Berghoff's, the "real Berghoff, you'll love this place. If you drink too much (easy), they might even cook you up some spaghetti and meatballs or something to sober you up, but you can do no worse than moving along to the dinning room for the archaic six piece meal, where it helps much to like horseradish (if you do do this, make sure you get the garlic intensive chicken bonne femme for your entree, you have to ask).

*One of the great freebie's around is the outfit that plays at the Oak Park Borders most every Saturday.

Tujages is still on my list for drinks.

VI,

F&M's is another great dive bar however I have never been there before midnight at which time people are encouraged to dance on the pool table??!! They also have some of the best cheese fries in the world, I have seen you craving the kind with real melted shredded cheese. (Toons has those by the way) Cooter Browns does a big business during the day for football games and with the selection of over 400 beers it is a little more upscale of a dive than F&M's. I as well love Mandina's but have yet to get there in one of my trips back since the storm. Thy had water up to the ceiling there. A great Italian American Creole restaurant, Po-Boys, Turtle Soup or a plate of Spaghetti and Meatballs!
Jim as far as the Sunday for football my friends in from Nola suggested Crescent City Brewery on Decatur. Close to were you are staying and kid friendly. Plenty for Shay and Vangie to do if they get bored by your football watching in the area. Plenty of TV's and an oyster bar! Have a great time!!

Danny

If you're downtown, Grand Isle is another option -- it's borderline touristy, but the food is good (they've won po-boy fest three years in a row, and two of their winning po-boys are on the regular menu) and it's a pretty oyster bar. $10.50/dozen and TVs playing...

Grand Isle Restaurant
575 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.520.8530

crrush wrote:If you're downtown, Grand Isle is another option -- it's borderline touristy, but the food is good (they've won po-boy fest three years in a row, and two of their winning po-boys are on the regular menu) and it's a pretty oyster bar. $10.50/dozen and TVs playing...

[url=http://www.grandislerestaurant.com]Grand Isle Restaurant
[/url]575 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70130
504.520.8530

Cold beer, raw bar, game on, kid friendly, close to the hotel,Grand Isle seemed like a good match. It also appears to be close to the Riverwalk marketplace in case the girls get bored.

Are you looking for a place to watch the Bears on Sunday? I cannot guarantee you it's a good idea, but Milan Lounge near St. Charles and Napolean is known for its Cubbie love, and would probably be a good place to go for a Bears game too. Milan Lounge is the kinda place that you'd never go to but for it has these reasons to go, but once you've gone, you're quite happy you did.

And remember to fit in, say My-lan not Mee-lon.

Hey Jim...



can't wait!

gonefishin wrote:Hey Jim...



can't wait!

hell yeah my friend. you have my number.

jim, quit making plans and take the Fleur De Lis by the horns!!! Go man and see what happens! You will have the time of your life! Already counting down my 11th Jazzfest May 3rd. VI watched many Cub games at the Milan Lounge!! Love it... Danny

While you certainly have to go to Cafe Du Monde, my vote for favorite beignets are at Cafe Beignet at Music Legends Park. You'll get some nice jazz there too.

jhawk1 wrote:jim, quit making plans and take the Fleur De Lis by the horns!!! Go man and see what happens!

This is perhaps the best advice in the thread! In my experience, plans only go so far in New Orleans.

stevez wrote:

jhawk1 wrote:jim, quit making plans and take the Fleur De Lis by the horns!!! Go man and see what happens!

This is perhaps the best advice in the thread! In my experience, plans only go so far in New Orleans.

Exactly. You'll undoubtedly drink too much or eat too much and all your plans will go to hell anyways. You don't need any far in advance reservations at any of these restaurants anyhow, just call them a few hours before you feel like going and you'll be fine.

Fast Eddie wrote:

stevez wrote:

jhawk1 wrote:jim, quit making plans and take the Fleur De Lis by the horns!!! Go man and see what happens!

This is perhaps the best advice in the thread! In my experience, plans only go so far in New Orleans.

Exactly. You'll undoubtedly drink too much or eat too much and all your plans will go to hell anyways. You don't need any far in advance reservations at any of these restaurants anyhow, just call them a few hours before you feel like going and you'll be fine.

Hey buddy--didn't want to say anything earlier but I had a nagging feeling while reading about all of your plans that your desire to "experience" NOLA by doing all of these things might actually mean missing the best part of it--the chance to enjoy the meandering, crazy, warm spontanaiety of one of the world's most fascinating cities. By all means, keep your list of places handy as you wander but keep it loose--you won't regret it!! And NOLA in January with no Superbowl means LOTS of open tables--trust me Especially since I'm guessing that traveling with Shay means eating a bit on the earlier side--NOLA is very european so earlier diners are generally easier to accomodate anyway IIRC.

Have a blast--looking forward to hearing all about it!

Looks like you'll have company in New Orleans this weekend, Jim. Gordon Ramsey just tweeted that he's arrived in N.O.

crrush wrote:My last meal at Brigtsen's was not a great one. It's another 'essential' in the sense that it's part of the great tradition of New Orleans Creole/Cajun restaurants, and Frank Brigtsen is one of New Orleans' great chefs, but the food left me flat. But I'm almost alone in not loving this place -- I know it's one of ChiNola's favorite restaurants.

I'm a bigger fan of Charlie's Seafood -- the restaurant chef Brigtsen resurrected last year in Harahan, about 10 miles outside of town. Great seafood joint, more $$ than the average seafood joint, but worth it. And the best scratch Natchitoches-style meat pie in the GNO region.

Yes I am an unabashed fan of Brigtsen's, have been since a good friend of mine painted the scenery on the walls of the place many moons ago & I got to know Frank & Marna (Frank's wife, who runs the front of the house), as well as the staff. It's certainly not a "fancy" place, they don't care about pricey glassware, etc. - the focus is all on the food. Most of the waitresses have been there at least a decade, it's a real family oriented operation.

That said, tastes certainly differ & there are an awful lot of good places to eat in New Orleans. I concur with Colleen that Charlie's Seafood is one of them, though it is somewhat inconveniently located for a tourist in town for a weekend without access to a car. Ditto Mosca's.

I also concur with the suggestions in this thread to minimize planning. Any plan more detailed than a general outline is sure to go awry. New Orleans operates on a vastly slower timetable than Chicago, and worthwhile diversions are certain to arise.

Don't miss Casamento's, one of the highest of highlights of our recent trip to New Orleans. Fried oysters were much harder to find on this visit than in the past. Most restaurateurs blamed the current high price and low quality of local oysters. We managed to find them in a few places anyway, but nowhere came close to Casamento's.

Oyster Loaf - Best fried oysters (in po boy form or otherwise that we found anywhere in NOLA)


James Carville was a few tables over mistreating the staff, but clearly having a great time stuffing his face. This man likes to eat and knows what's good.


His moans of delight convinced us to order these Fried Crab Claws, which were excellent and ended up being the surprise treat of the meal. Seriously, if you go to Casamento's, get a full order of these. This is a half order:


Seafood Gumbo was fine, but nothing special:


Fried Catfish and Shrimp Plate - These folks really know how to fry. This plate was excellent too.


Casamento's
4330 Magazine St
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
(504) 895-9761

--Rich

RAB wrote:These folks really know how to fry.

Casamento's
4330 Magazine St
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
(504) 895-9761

You can say that again. Of course, it helps that everything at Casamento's is fried in lard.

ChiNOLA wrote:

RAB wrote:These folks really know how to fry.

Casamento's
4330 Magazine St
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
(504) 895-9761

You can say that again. Of course, it helps that everything at Casamento's is fried in lard.

Yes! And the fries are equally good, although perhaps their lushness will be lost on those around here who prize crispness above all else. On the other hand, my ex-girlfriend would order the spaghetti there, and that was so overly soft, I would implore you to stay away.

Char grilled oysters @ drago's were one of the best things i have ever eaten. Salad loaded down with lump crab was simple but brillliant.

Cochon was packed, and the food very good. Cochon with cracklins was juicy and flavorfull. Rabbit and dumlings was top notch, rustic, i spooned up the gravy and ate it like soup.

Tonight is Delmonico's.

I did end up buying an ivory dinner jacket for the dinners @ Galatoire's & Commanders.

Best steak i have ever had @ delmonicos...... Prime 21 day dry aged bone in ribeye...... Fabu....

The kicker.... They tossed the little i couldnt finish and asked to be wrapped.... They fired a new one for the doggie bag.....mercy.... Casino time

jimswside wrote:The kicker.... They tossed the little i couldnt finish and asked to be wrapped.... They fired a new one for the doggie bag.....mercy.... Casino time

Now that is service! Never heard of that happening before, maybe it is time for you to hit the tables.
(might have just been the ivory dinner jacket )

G Wiv wrote:

jimswside wrote:The kicker.... They tossed the little i couldnt finish and asked to be wrapped.... They fired a new one for the doggie bag.....mercy.... Casino time

Now that is service! Never heard of that happening before, maybe it is time for you to hit the tables.
(might have just been the ivory dinner jacket )

Lol... Service was top notch @ delmonico's, 3 waiters tending our table. Ivory dinner jacket is for tonight @ commanders & friday @ galatoire's.