I'll be in NOLA for a few days next week. Recommendations for music, eats, booze, etc. gratefully accepted.
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Going to New Orleans
- Thread starter Bunk McNulty
- Start date
Stay in the French Quarter or near if you can. In addition to Bourbon St Frenchman St has a hopping scene. Preservation Hall Jazz Band is worth the wait and admission. Don’t know anything about the rest of the city as we visited for the first time in January. We stayed in the Quarter, never rented a car and walked around for 5 days. Amazing place.
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+1 on Frenchman District.
There is/was a Soul Food kitchen called Pralines on Frenchman. Fantastic.
There are a couple clubs that have music 7 days over there also. Balcony Club comes to mind. Can’t think of other names atm.
Tiny Jazz club across from the Marriott on Chartres St, about a block from Canal. Tiny place but good drinks and good talent. I think I remember that a TBer may own the place.
Also, safety first. Don’t go anywhere alone after dark.
edit: The Jazz club is called the Mahogany. Also, beside the Marriott is another decent restaurant called Creole House.
Have fun!!
There is/was a Soul Food kitchen called Pralines on Frenchman. Fantastic.
There are a couple clubs that have music 7 days over there also. Balcony Club comes to mind. Can’t think of other names atm.
Tiny Jazz club across from the Marriott on Chartres St, about a block from Canal. Tiny place but good drinks and good talent. I think I remember that a TBer may own the place.
Also, safety first. Don’t go anywhere alone after dark.
edit: The Jazz club is called the Mahogany. Also, beside the Marriott is another decent restaurant called Creole House.
Have fun!!
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Hey Bunk -
Check out The Diamond Street Bar & Grill:Diamond Bar & Grill
Excellent food, and very affordable. Cliff and I have both eaten there. I seem to recall a Ribeye steak dinner was only about $16 when I was there in 2018.
Good luck!
Just so you know: I did a site-wide search for "New Orleans" and this thread didn't come up. Thanks, a lot of good stuff!
I like the small plate menu. I hope the boudin cake is noir (blood)!
Never been, but apparently no one in New Orleans calls it "Nawlins", so maybe avoid saying that.
The Marigny (where Frenchman Street is--the Spotted Cat has good music) is also very interesting, in addition to the French Quarter. There's excellent food at St. Roch Market, for instance. And a drink and/or eats at the sumptuous Elysian Bar (Hotel Peter & Paul) is worthwhile, along with the New Orleans Cake Cafe and Bakery, a nice little neighborhood place owned by a guy who used to work for the music industry in L.A. (who's now a baker).
When I’m in New Orleans I always make a pilgrimage to K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. Upscale but always delicious. And breakfast of chicory-laced coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde.
I spent a month in NOLA one weekend.
Been quite a while since I was there, but...
Have yourself a po' boy, for sure.
If you like cigars, there was a place near the riverfront where they'd roll you one, right on the spot.
Have yourself a po' boy, for sure.
If you like cigars, there was a place near the riverfront where they'd roll you one, right on the spot.
Dude. I work in New Orleans and live across the lake from it. We played last night down on Frenchman Street, Checkpoint Charlie’s.
Music in the quarter is either jazz or bar band ballads. (They all play the same 20 songs. They are not bands, just a roster of musicians they can call in.) There is better music on Frenchman. Check the Hi Ho Lounge schedule to see if you want to see any bands there. You could walk to it from the Quarter and they have a really good loaded French fry joint in their courtyard.
For non music stuff I always recommend a streetcar ride down St. Charles. You can ride down to Carrollton Avenue and have lunch somewhere in that area and then catch the street car back to the Quarter. But on St. Charles you’ll pass all the big old mansions with the oak trees and Tulane and Loyola. It is a wonderful way to spend a few hours.
This a a food town so there is good food all around. Aside from the local stuff there is a big Vietnamese population here so there are a lot of good pho places. There is another Cafe Du Monde in the Riverwalk mall that is far less crowded.
Alcohol is sold literally everywhere. You could just buy a bottle at the drug store and walk around with it versus buying drinks in bars if you are just going to wonder around. If you are drinking remember to hydrate.
Lastly, if someone says they know where you got your shoes it is a scam.
Music in the quarter is either jazz or bar band ballads. (They all play the same 20 songs. They are not bands, just a roster of musicians they can call in.) There is better music on Frenchman. Check the Hi Ho Lounge schedule to see if you want to see any bands there. You could walk to it from the Quarter and they have a really good loaded French fry joint in their courtyard.
For non music stuff I always recommend a streetcar ride down St. Charles. You can ride down to Carrollton Avenue and have lunch somewhere in that area and then catch the street car back to the Quarter. But on St. Charles you’ll pass all the big old mansions with the oak trees and Tulane and Loyola. It is a wonderful way to spend a few hours.
This a a food town so there is good food all around. Aside from the local stuff there is a big Vietnamese population here so there are a lot of good pho places. There is another Cafe Du Monde in the Riverwalk mall that is far less crowded.
Alcohol is sold literally everywhere. You could just buy a bottle at the drug store and walk around with it versus buying drinks in bars if you are just going to wonder around. If you are drinking remember to hydrate.
Lastly, if someone says they know where you got your shoes it is a scam.
She ate out 3 meals a day and can’t stop talking about how good the restaurants were... The French quarter is downtown with all the action , the Garden District is the high-end residential area.
Mardi Gras is in full swing there now and ends on this Tuesday...Fat Tuesday!
Here are a few photos she took:
It’s a really cool place, have fun!! She brought me back a few bottles of some awesome Hot sauce that was made there!
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NOLA is my 2nd home.
Food: Do eat at Dooky Chase's. I was heartbroken to find out Leah passed away. She was such a warm soul. Amazing person. The food is out of this world. Also eat at Katie's. It's over in midtown I think.
As for music, Preservation Jazz Hall is worth the wait for sure and Fenchman is like the place locals don't want tourists knowing about. Periodically, a band with a police escort parades through the quarter. It's always been the same band. These guys are amazing but I've yet to identify them. Some of the local musicians who play on the street corners are good too. Keep an eye out for a solo trumpet who likes to play near the Omni at night. I loved sitting on the balcony and hearing him play every night.
I'm actually looking to relocate there ASAP.
Food: Do eat at Dooky Chase's. I was heartbroken to find out Leah passed away. She was such a warm soul. Amazing person. The food is out of this world. Also eat at Katie's. It's over in midtown I think.
As for music, Preservation Jazz Hall is worth the wait for sure and Fenchman is like the place locals don't want tourists knowing about. Periodically, a band with a police escort parades through the quarter. It's always been the same band. These guys are amazing but I've yet to identify them. Some of the local musicians who play on the street corners are good too. Keep an eye out for a solo trumpet who likes to play near the Omni at night. I loved sitting on the balcony and hearing him play every night.
I'm actually looking to relocate there ASAP.
All of this is great info! I live in New Orleans, 2 blocks off the quarter. Dm me your email and I'll send you a list of recommendations as well as tourist traps to avoid. Amazing wonderful city!!
