Best Thing You Ever Ate - New Orleans

Hey everyone,
I have the great opportunity to spend 3 days in New Orleans at the end of the month. It's my first trip to a legendary culinary destination and I am more than excited to try a unique cuisine in the heart of Louisiana.
Where have you guys eaten in New Orleans that was so good that it stuck with you? I'd love to eat as much as I can while I'm there so any all recommendations will be taken to heart!
Thanks in advance!

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Tim_Sutherland_52834

Last time I was was in New Orleans (2010) I had a very enjoyable meal at Chef Scott Boswell's Stella!

Commander's Palace was a great experience (we were a party of 60 and had the top floor to ourselves).

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Only been to NOLA once, but man alive...........!!

Ate ate two really excellent restaurants, and a ton of bars and whatnot. And I can say that in terms of sheer enjoyment, my absolute favorite thing I ate was from a divey place. That's not meant as a slight to the spendy places, rather just an indication of the greatness that lies ahead of you. Can't swing a dead rodent without finding something delicious in NOLA.

Had a minor emergency the night before we left, so had to lop a day off our trip. That meant we missed out on a couple places we really wanted to go, and in retrospect, that really is the only downer from the trip. (The two places we axed were Willie Mae's Scotch House and Dooky Chase, which are sort of around the way from each other in Treme-Lafitte)

We stayed at the Saint Hotel, on Canal between Burgundy and Dauphine, and we were able to walk everywhere we went. (Well, we cabbed it to August cos we were in uncomfortable shoes.... but we could have walked.)

We ate at Bayona (Chef Susan Spicer), on Rue Dauphine in the Quarter, and it was spectacular. Beautiful setting, impeccable service, outstanding food. And we also had dinner at Restaurant August (Chef John Besh), on Tchoupitoulas Street in the CBD. Also spectacular, but in a much more jacket-and-tie setting.

But the highlight of the trip, in all seriousness, were the char-grilled oysters at Felix's, on Iberville in the Quarter. All we ate there were the oysters, so I can't speak to any of the other menu items. But I am not joking when I say I'd fly to NOLA for those oysters tonight if I could afford it.

Some of the other bars/restaurants we went to in the Quarter: Royal House (Royal and St Louis); the Hermes Bar at Antoine's (around the corner for Royal House on St Louis); of course Cafe Du Monde (on Decatur at Jackson Square) for beignets, but I could skip that next time; the Bon Ton Cafe (on Magazine in the CBD) where we had excellent mudbug ettouffe (they'll give you a recipe card if you ask and are polite to your server) and saw James Carville, who is apparently a regular.

But despite how wonderful the food was, my abiding memory of NOLA is of music. Everywhere. Food may be the lifeblood of NOLA, but music is the heart that pumps it. Street performers in this sort of 'bayou chic' garb playing outstanding jazz and blues everywhere you go. Look for Yes, Ma'am and Tuba Skinny - they were fantastic. (Especially YM) I can't even look at the word 'royal' now without immediately thinking of Royal Street in NOLA and hearing that soundtrack in my head. But that's a good problem to have. And the best part - they're playing, like, on the steps of a Louisiana appellate courthouse and a city police district HQ.

Last tip: Avoid Bourbon Street. It's terrible.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

And I apologize for the lengthy reply.... that's just how I am.

lfmichaud

@Matthew Snyder‌ Don't apologize that was full of very interesting informations! I'll keep that in mind next time I go to NOLA. Haven't spent much time there. I was disappointed at Commander's Palace. Pleasantly surprised at Cochon restaurant. You need to try the Cafe du Monde beignet at least once and listen as much live music as you can!

ParkerCook_66639

@Matthewsnyder That's exactly what I was hoping for! Felix's is just around the corner from my hotel so I'll definitely be stopping there! I watched the episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network about New Orleans and Alton Brown said Cafe Beignet was the place to stop. It's much closer to the hotel than Cafe du Monde so I'll probably go there.
@louis-frederic apparently the boudin at Cochon is spectacular.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

My wife's former boss is from New Orleans, and he made the suggestion of Felix's.

Actually, what he said was, "Everyone knows about Acme. Don't go there; the lines are super long and the food is so-so. You want to go to the place across the street." So as we were planning our trip, I went to Google Maps Street View and looked to see what was across the street from Acme. And across the street from Acme is..............................

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Laissez les bons temps rouler

quasius

New Orleans isn't that far from me in Houston, so I've been there a number of times over the years. The last time I was there, I had one of my top 5 meals ever at R'Evolution - a collaboration between the absolute Cajun master John Folse and the equally amazing Rick Tramantpo. It's right off Bourbon street in the French quarter but don't let that deter you. I literally licked my plate clean on the Death by Gumbo.

I've also had amazing meals at Herbsaint, Cochon, and Cochon Butcher.

I think I just read that Stella recently closed. Like yesterday recently.

As for nightlife, I recommend ditching Bourbon street for Frenchman. A few other places to wet your whistle: the Carousel Bar in the Monteleone, Belloq, and Cure.

Oh, and daiquiri's at Daiquiri Place Café on St. Charles.

SteveM_20803

Muffalettas' at Napoleon's, drunk or sober they are the best sandwich around. I speak from experience as it is the first stop every time I have been down there. The Acme Oyster bar is lots of fun too.

anthony_34093

My favorites from my last trip were Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Cafe Amelie, Eat Nola, and Sylvain.

Jack_Mayer_85396

Drago's for charbroiled oysters? Haven't been in years, but I remember that ...

ipreferale

We have enjoyed as most have, Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Bayona and Mondo. Boucherie was a standout. Acme, Drago's etc. are also a fun place to eat, we down their oysters raw and charbroiled. We also like any little dive that happens to be boiling crawfish that afternoon.

ParkerCook_66639

Just to report, I had a great time in New Orleans. I was there for the International Food Technologist's expo and was able to visit a few different restaurants while I was there. I got to my hotel around 11:30 and most of the places I wanted to visit were already closed so I got some crawfish etoufee at the Old NOLA Eatery and it was pretty good. Every morning I stopped by Cafe Beignet for some beignets and lemonade (I'm not a coffee drinker) and was able to get a shrimp and crawfish carbonara po boy along with some raw oysters at Desire oyster bar. They were delicious to say the least. I've never had oysters before and I loved them!
That night I was able to visit Restaurant R'evolution. I was on a tight budget so I limited myself to the fire grilled oysters and the Death by Gumbo. They both were spectacular! They offered me a tasting spoon of ceviche and the bread and butter course was spectacular with multigrain bread and maple butter. Afterwards they brought out a jewelry box with various confectionaries. As I was by myself I was able to sit at the communal table right in front of the kitchen and chat it up with the chefs.
My last day in New Orleans I was able to get down to the Napoleon House for a mufuletta. As good as Restaurant R'evolution was this sandwich had to be my favorite meal of the trip. They served it warm with melted cheese plus the briney-ness of the olives....it was awesome.
Thanks for all of your tips. I had planned to visit more places but ran out of time!

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Parker, sounds like a great trip! Glad you enjoyed it ...

albertwygant_44357

think I must be the only person in the world who doesn't like the

Jar Jar Duck! Well... I didn't dislike it, just wasn't my fave; I found

the smokiness a little too intense and almost bitter.Have a peek here. most

of my favorite dishes in town would probably come from Uchi or Uchiko.

At the latter recently, i had an absolutely amazing dish that the waiter

described as "basically just a big pile of uni," so you can't go too

wrong with that, haha...