Danielle
Washington, DC
Headed to New Orleans next month for a quick weekend. Suggestions for a real foodie looking for good eats and great cocktails? High end and ow end options. Suggestions can be fancy or frugal.
Very High End Creole cuisine: Commander's Palace Restaurant
MY FAVORITE: Higher end Creole & Cajun-French cuisine: K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen
Beignets and Coffee: Café du Monde
Brunch: Muriel's Jackson Square, Court of Two Sisters or Brennan's Restaurant
Burger: Yo Mama's Bar and Grill
Casual Old Soda Fountain/ Grill: The Camellia Grill
Mid range cajun-french: Jacques-Imo's and NOLA Restaurant
Cocktails and Jazz Music: Davenport Lounge Wed.-Sat. night
Italian: Irene's Cuisine
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Café du Monde for coffee and beignets- the perfect Saturday morning, Borgne, Luke Restaurant, SoBou, The Rum House's nachos- the best I've ever had in my life, Lilly's Café for Vietnamese, Cochon Restaurant, Herbsaint, Jaques-Imo's. You can't go wrong with any of those!
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Our favorite restaurants were La Petite Grocery for contemporary, Commander's Palace Restaurant for high-end and historic, Arnaud's Restaurant for fancy and historic, Cochon Butcher for muffulettas, Gumbo Shop for gumbo, and Parkway Bakery & Tavern for po'boys. Our favorite cocktail places were 21st Amendment Bar at La Louisiane for music and fun cocktails, Bourbon "O" Bar for craft cocktails, and Carousel Bar for historic cocktails and getting to sit at a rotating bar.
The hardest thing will be trying to sample as much as possible in a weekend! We spent a week in NOLA and didn't get to try as much as we wanted.
I wrote a few articles about New Orleans food and cocktails which you might enjoy looking at to help with your planning.
http://www.katherinebelarmino.com/2015/02/15-traditional-new-orleans-foods.html
http://www.passportsandcocktails.com/2015/07/15-drinks-to-try-in-new-orleans.html
http://www.passportsandcocktails.com/2015/02/new-orleans-best-hotel-bars.html
http://www.katherinebelarmino.com/2015/01/new-orleans-music.html
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Quick weekends and NOLA don't work... too many choices! Get some wormwood at Old Absinthe House for a unique cocktail. GW Fins is a great restaurant in the French Quarter, but you need to narrow you're search for more specific ideas.
I'm here right now and have been here for several days eating and drinking and biking my way around the city. I tend to not do the touristy stuff with the exception of Commander's Palace Restaurant for a boozy lunch. If you want to eat ridiculously and with the locals, here is what I recommend:
Have a great time!!!
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