an old colleague asked me for some suggestions related to restaurants and things to do in New Orleans...while not comprehensive in the slightest, I thought I would share it with the blog world...feel free to comment and build upon this list.
Do you want Uptown (pretty old houses and quaint bars)?
Do you want French Quarter (touristy yet fun)?
Do you want the Warehouse District (clubs)?
Do you want the Marigny (a different genre of live music in every bar)?
Breakfast/Brunch
Elizabeth's (Marigny) - hole in the wall with yummy praline bacon and a bottle of cheap champagne
Stanley's (French Quarter) - yummy food by renowned chef yet cheaper version of his fine cuisine on Jackson Square
Camellia Grill (Uptown or French Quarter) - diner food, uptown is original
Surrey's (Lower Garden District and Uptown) - doesn't serve alcohol but you can bring your own. delicious breakfast.
Coulis (Upper Garden District)
Cafe du Monde (French Quarter) - Beignets
Lunch
Red Fish Grill (French Quarter) - fun and cool oyster bar for raw oysters or order the yummy bbq oysters off the menu
Port of Call (French Quarter) - the best hamburger and baked potato, top it off with a monsoon
Butcher (Central Business District) - sandwich shop of awesome restaurant Cochon, lots of yummy meats, sausages, and pimento cheese sandwiches to go with a local beer
Lilette (Lower Garden District) - Bistroish place to have a fun long lunch with wine and your girlfriends
St. James Cheese Company - yummy cheese selection and great sandwiches to sit out side and enjoy
Central Grocery (French Quarter) - Mufaletta
Parkway Bakery (Mid City) - Divine Po Boys
Sylvanian (French Quarter) - New Yorkish type restaurant with good hamburgers/sandwiches
Drago's (In the Hilton Downtown) - the original is out in metairie otherwise i'd send you there but this is the home of the woodfire grilled oysters doused in butter in parmesean cheese and butter and to die for!
Bars
Cooter Browns (Uptown) great bar to watch sports and drink lots and lots of different beers
Oak (Uptown) trendy wine bar
F&M's (Upton) dance on the pool table until the wee hours of the morning
Absinthe House (French Quarter) about the quaintest place to grab a beer on bourbon, most new orleanians go there after celebrating something
The Beach on Bourbon (French Quarter) fun place to dance and ride the whale
The Cats Meow (French Quarter) karaoke
Preservation Hall (French Quarter) jazz
Pat O's (French Quarter) great patio bar and piano bar
The Gold Mine (French Quarter) late night dancing and flaming dr. peppers!
Dinner
Galatoire's (French Quarter) - if you want one over the top fun dinner. Classic creole cuisine. Make sure to sit downstairs...they don't take reservations and the wait can be long and worth it because its the place to celebrate life and make a scene in the classiest of ways
Cochon (Central Business District) - really cool southern dishes mostly with meats but the best whole fish in town
Jacque-Imo's (Uptown)- so eccletic and fun. you have to walk thru the kitchen to get to the crazy back porch but EVERYONE loves a trip to Jacque Imo's. Right near the Maple Leaf and Oak Bar so you can grab a drink there if there is a wait.
Eat (French Quarter) - BYOB
Rock N Sake (Central Business District) - Salmon Zest roll and amazing other special sushi. Rock out to jams while throwing back sushi and sake bombs
Ralph's on the Park (Mid City) - Beautiful scenery and delicious cuisine
Crepe Nanou (Uptown) - Every locals favorite restaurant/french cuisine
Adolfo's (Marigny) - hole in the wall italian
Three Muses (Marigny) - tapas and live music
Dessert
Snowballs at Plum Street Snowballs or Hansen's (Uptown)
Sucre (Lower Garden District) - literally every type of dessert (and champagne!)
Creole Creamery (Uptown) - homemade ice creams in the most unique flavors
To Do
Swamp Tour
Shopping on Magazine Street - miles and miles of all sorts of shopping
Historic Homes in the French Quarter - Hermann Grima House and Beauregard Keyes Hosue
Carriage Ride around the French Quarter - oh the stories you will hear!
Katrina Exhibit at the Cabildo
Ogden Museum of Southern Art - great place to sip wine and look at awesome art on a Thursday evening with live music, or you can go any other night, too.
WWII Museum -- 4D Tom Hanks Movie
Streetcar Ride
Walk around Audubon Park
Take the Ferry across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point to look at pretty old house and grab a beer -- Ferry picks up on the skirts of downtown/French Quarter
