Going to New Orleans ... 1st time!

[Muse]

At Thanksgiving I overhear my sister talking over plans to go to New Orleans in late February. She's a PT and has a conference, is having something like a confirmation of academic achievement involved. I asked her about accompanying her and she's up for it, prefers to have a companion.

Our niece's son is graduating from Tulane in June. We figure he'll be able to show us some things during our visit. We're going in a week on Monday, returning on Saturday. We'll stay at the Blake Hotel at 500 St. Charles Ave. This is a week after the Mardi Gras.

I chatted up a guy I see at the gym frequently and he's an NO aficionado, loves the place. His dad lives there. He gave me some ideas, great eats, said we'd love going to Mardi Gras World, taking a tour.

My sister has some ideas for adventure, a swamp tour on boat or something, etc.

Sister will be occupied a couple of nights/days, some of the time I'll be on my own, maybe with the kid some.

The gym guy said "go on a diet, you're going to gain weight!" He said a lot of people go and aren't prepared for the amount and richness of the food (sugar and butter!) and can't handle it, can actually get sickened.

Sister wants me to think about our renting a car. She's not sure we should, thinks maybe so. Says we could bike, but our niece has rented a car there. Should we rent a car?

Any ideas what to do, not to miss? General advice?

 

[skyking]

No input for you other than Cool!

 

[ImpulsE69]

I loved the airboat swamp rides. Tons of great food. Some of the best stuff though was outside of the 'tourist' area.

Renting a car...yea..that's a tough one -- it 's EXPENSIVE to have a car because it costs ~$25+ to park overnight down in the main area (French Quarter/Downtown) if you are staying down there. You won't use a car much unless you want to go somewhere, like the swamp rides which are an hour or so away. Everything down in the area you'll be within walking distance.

 

[ultimatebob]

Be wary of the Jester and it’s clones in the French Quarter!

Oh, and eat some beginets for me.

 

[Muse]

I loved the airboat swamp rides. Tons of great food. Some of the best stuff though was outside of the 'tourist' area.

Sister linked a couple of eco tour type things she discovered from some source or another. They seem to have a lot of very positive reviews:

Canoe & Trail Adventures
Edit: We're booked with them!

Honey Island Swamp Tour

Renting a car...yea..that's a tough one -- it 's EXPENSIVE to have a car because it costs ~$25+ to park overnight down in the main area (French Quarter/Downtown) if you are staying down there. You won't use a car much unless you want to go somewhere, like the swamp rides which are an hour or so away. Everything down in the area you'll be within walking distance.

Hmm. I'm thinking maybe just rent day(s) we will actually be going out of town for some kind of tour (i.e. swamp). At least one of those tour links has transportation for an extra fee, that's a possibility I guess.

Be wary of the Jester and it’s clones in the French Quarter!

Oh, and eat some beginets for me.

Just looked up beginets. OK, I'll definitely get some and think of you!

 

[Herr Kutz]

Is your sister hot?

If you're looking for an inexpensive lunch, I recommend going to The Store (it's downtown not far from where you'll be staying) and getting a bowl of coup with potato salad. As far as I know the place isn't famous or anything, but the gumbo is delicious.

 

[BD231]

That place is the sh*t been there a few times, hot chicks, lots of hooters restaurants.

Make sure to hit a diner in the morning time as the sun rises's, all dem rollin hills .... fuggin gorgeous.

 

[Darwin333]

Sister linked a couple of eco tour type things she discovered from some source or another. They seem to have a lot of very positive reviews:

Canoe & Trail Adventures

Honey Island Swamp Tour

Hmm. I'm thinking maybe just rent day(s) we will actually be going out of town for some kind of tour (i.e. swamp). At least one of those tour links has transportation for an extra fee, that's a possibility I guess.

Just looked up beginets. OK, I'll definitely get some and think of you!

Both of those tours offer transportation, I think Honey Island charges you $25. I'd almost never advise someone to rent a car when they are staying in the Quarter. Everything is either within walking distance or a short/cheap cab ride away. In the French Quarter they even have those little bike taxi things if you wander too far from your hotel and don't feel like walking back. Parking around the Blake will cost $40 a day on top of the rental price and besides the tours which you can get transportation for by the tours themselves I can't really see you using a car much. I'm a lifelong resident of NOLA and when I stay in the quarter I don't even bring my own vehicle, I just catch a cab to the hotel and rarely even need a cab until I go home. Although I admit that I do use the bike cabs at night after I've tied one on.

Cafe Du Monde is an absolute must for the beignets and coffee. I also recommend Mother's restaurant for some roast beef with debris and gravy. An absolute must is a Central Grocery muffaletta, you gotta trust me on this one bud. You should definitely pop into Drago's at least for a dozen charbroiled oysters. If you go out drinking on Bourbon St the Hand Grenades are really good but be very careful, they go down super easy but they pack a serious punch. A lot of people will be halfway through their 4th one in a relatively short period of time before they realize they done fucked up.

If you give me an idea of what kind of things you might want to do around the quarter I can give some more tips. Also what type of money you want to spend on food, there is absolutely great food across the entire spectrum from cheap to expensive fine dining. The best seafood in the world to absolutely great steaks to cheap ass poboys that you will never forget.

Oh, look at the airboat tours they are fun as hell too. Most of them offer hotel pickup in the quarter too for a small fee. Give me some more specifics about what you are looking to do and I'd be happy to give you some more advice. Regardless, you can't go wrong with just about anything and you will have a great time.

 

[Darwin333]

That place is the sh*t been there a few times, hot chicks, lots of hooters restaurants.

Make sure to hit a diner in the morning time as the sun rises's, all dem rollin hills .... fuggin gorgeous.

"rollin hills"?

 

[Muse]

Is your sister hot?

If you're looking for an inexpensive lunch, I recommend going to The Store (it's downtown not far from where you'll be staying) and getting a bowl of coup with potato salad. As far as I know the place isn't famous or anything, but the gumbo is delicious.

Guy at the gym tells me basically every place you go to has great food in NO. If they didn't they couldn't survive because by and large they all serve great food. He also tells me that the portions are way bigger than what I'm used to around here (SF East Bay/SF), and way way cheaper. Says it will blow me away.

I've been suggested (by people who know):

Mothers (steam tables, you pick, they serve, you sit down and eat)
Del Monico's
Commander's Palace (creole)
Mulate's (cajun)
Johnny's and The Parkway for poorboys

BTW, Mardi Gras is in 2 days, i.e. Tues. 2/13, but I won't be there for another 6 days from then.

 

[ImpulsE69]

It also smells like piss everywhere and there are people trying to scam you everywhere. But you take the good with the bad.

Amazing place for breakfast: The Ruby Slipper
Hidden away great Po Boys: The back room of the Erin Rose bar. You'd barely know it was there.
There's also a hidden away only grilled cheese sandwich place that is really good if you're into that kind of thing.

 

[Chaotic42]

That place is the sh*t been there a few times, hot chicks, lots of hooters restaurants.

Make sure to hit a diner in the morning time as the sun rises's, all dem rollin hills .... fuggin gorgeous.

Rolling hills? Are you thinking of Orleans, France?

 

[RossMAN]

tagged for a future trip to NO/Mobile.

 

[Chaotic42]

It also smells like piss everywhere and there are people trying to scam you everywhere. But you take the good with the bad.

Amazing place for breakfast: The Ruby Slipper
Hidden away great Po Boys: The back room of the Erin Rose bar. You'd barely know it was there.
There's also a hidden away only grilled cheese sandwich place that is really good if you're into that kind of thing.

I think they started spraying lemon-scented stuff on the streets, and I'm pretty sure they're doing major road repairs on Bourbon, so driving may suck more than normal. I will say that San Diego smelled way worse than I've experienced in New Orleans.

 

[bfun_x1]

Your'e within walking distance of Bourbon Street so that's an absolute must see. You don't have to drink to enjoy the sights but if you do drink be wary of the tourist drinks like the previously mentioned hand-grenade. They'll sneak up on you. A lot of the bars and restaurants will have live jazz bands. You may have to find a schedule to see who is playing and on what days but a few places will always have a Dixieland jazz band playing and that's a lot of fun.

New Orleans has plenty of Ghost tours if your into that kind of thing. I've never been on one but I can't imagine a better place for one.

Here are just two of the many Jazz bars.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract..._European_Jazz_Bar-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract..._Bourbon_Jazz_Club-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

 

[Craig234]

My favorite in New Orleans: K-Paul's restaurant. The sauces are incredible.

For me Cafe Du Monde is overrated and not worth it.

 

[ultimatebob]

My favorite in New Orleans: K-Paul's restaurant. The sauces are incredible.

For me Cafe Du Monde is overrated and not worth it.

Yeah, there are better places to get Chicory coffee and Beignets in the French Quarter than Cafe Du Monde.

 

[K1052]

Check out Willa Jean a few blocks from where you'll be staying.

Do not rent a car. Walk or Uber/Lyft.

 

[K1052]

I think they started spraying lemon-scented stuff on the streets, and I'm pretty sure they're doing major road repairs on Bourbon, so driving may suck more than normal. I will say that San Diego smelled way worse than I've experienced in New Orleans.

Downtown and the Gaslamp particularly yes. SF is also horrible most times.

Not much of an odor problem in NO imo.

 

[Muse]

I loved the airboat swamp rides. Tons of great food. Some of the best stuff though was outside of the 'tourist' area.

Renting a car...yea..that's a tough one -- it 's EXPENSIVE to have a car because it costs ~$25+ to park overnight down in the main area (French Quarter/Downtown) if you are staying down there. You won't use a car much unless you want to go somewhere, like the swamp rides which are an hour or so away. Everything down in the area you'll be within walking distance.

We're booked for a kayak guided ride at Canoe & Trail Adventures. I suppose that's a lot cheaper than an airboat ride, but it's got great reviews.

I don't think we'll rent a car. Maybe get a Jazz Pass for the street cars ($1.25/ride but the 3 day pass is $10, I'm told). The kayak ride folks have arrangements for pickup/dropoff service, being $15/person round trip, so we'll do that. Including the rides it's 5.5 hours, 3.5 hours on the water.

 

[Muse]

Been doing some wondering about camera, what to take. I don't know the camera functionality on my new Alcatel Ideol 4S Windows 10 phone. I have a Pentax K-x DSLR and a great 18-250 all purpose lens, but I don't have a tourist personality, don't like the idea of being spotted as a tourist (how obvious can it be with a giant camera hanging around your neck), so I figure to bring my little Canon ELPH 100 IS point and shoot. Yeah, it's relatively slow and doesn't have the big zoom stuff but it's sure light and small and will just slip in my pants pocket.

Any suggestions for music? Where to go? Just pick up on some in restaurants or go to actual venue?

 

[Craig234]

Been doing some wondering about camera, what to take. I don't know the camera functionality on my new Alcatel Ideol 4S Windows 10 phone. I have a Pentax K-x DSLR and a great 18-250 all purpose lens, but I don't have a tourist personality, don't like the idea of being spotted as a tourist (how obvious can it be with a giant camera hanging around your neck), so I figure to bring my little Canon ELPH 100 IS point and shoot. Yeah, it's relatively slow and doesn't have the big zoom stuff but it's sure light and small and will just slip in my pants pocket.

Any suggestions for music? Where to go? Just pick up on some in restaurants or go to actual venue?

Go to a jazz club with live music.

 

[AdamK47]

My favorite in New Orleans: K-Paul's restaurant. The sauces are incredible.

For me Cafe Du Monde is overrated and not worth it.

People go to Cafe Du Monde based on its fame. Their beignets there are cheaply made garbage. I had to use the bathroom there one time only to discover cockroaches scurrying everywhere. Terrible place.

 

[BD231]

Rolling hills? Are you thinking of Orleans, France?

Come to think of it I have no idea, drove through so many states I honestly had no idea where I was at any given point in time.

But I do remember the diner, and that big arch and the hooters chicks. Good times

 

[Chaotic42]

Come to think of it I have no idea, drove through so many states I honestly had no idea where I was at any given point in time.

But I do remember the diner, and that big arch and the hooters chicks. Good times

So Saint Louis then?