Heading to new orleans for four nights, we have anniversary reservations at gw fins, another at Irene’s and intentionally left the other two nights open for oyster happy hours, po boys and other stuffy stuff (as my 5 year old daughter was wont to say).
I’m sure we’ll have beignets at du monde, give a shout if you have suggestions!
I have a sightseeing/oyster happy hour suggestion, which is to take the St. Charles Ave. streetcar to hit both Sea Witch (1628 St. Charles) and then Superior Seafood (4338 St. Charles—sit at the oyster bar or the bar). At Superior, get yourself a frozen French 75, or two if you can handle it, then stagger back outside and get back on the streetcar to ride further Uptown and look at all the Christmas lights on the huge mansions that line the street all the way to the turn at Carrollton. At that point you can get off and get back on in the other direction to go back toward the FQ. It’s a slow and atmospheric ride, very fun in mid-December.
For beignets I would recommend the Cafe du Monde in City Park vs. the one in the FQ. Much nicer atmosphere, and you can do a lot of fun things in City Park (Sculpture Garden, Botanic Garden, NO Museum of Art, a walk around the lake, etc.).
For po-boys you cannot beat Parkway Bakery, and Domilise’s is also very good. There are other neighborhood spots too. If you want a muffuletta I would hit Napoleon House in the FQ for it—that’s my favorite. Central Grocery is still closed for renovations although their sandwiches are sold in packaged form at Sidney’s liquor store next door.
I have a restaurant list for visitors that I can link for you if you like, or if you can be more specific in what kinds of places you’re interested in, I can make suggestions.
N7 and Jacques Imo’s for fun. For sandwiches and other takeout, Verti Marte. The best Muff I’ve ever had was from Cafe Maspero.
Best charbroiled oysters are at Felix’s. Sit at the counter if you can. Great cocktails at French 75 bar or (of course) The Sazerac Bar @The Grand Roosevelt.
I had crab beignets that were 
at the French market. Best ice cream to be found is at Creole Creamery.
Bon appetit.
Thanks for the recommendations!
Incredibly, right after I posted, I came up with the idea of taking the streetcar to a Garden District walking tour, followed by happy hour at Superior for their French 75s. I’ll add Sea Witch to the itinerary as well. But man does not live on oysters and French 75s alone, should we just order dinner at Superior, or is there another spot nearby we should stagger over to?
We’ve been going to Café du Monde on the Riverwalk (much less crowded), but I love the suggestion for City Park! Inexplicably, my wife is not a fan of fried dough with powdered sugar, so I’ll only get one bite of this proverbial apple.
We don’t typically eat breakfast or lunch, which made po’ boys and muffulettas a bit tricky last visit. I’m thinking I can find something approximating a NOLA po’ boy in other Southern cities, so I might have to impose on my wife to split a muffuletta with me this time around.
I’d love to have your link, and I do have a few burning questions:
Thanks again!
thanks for this!
Thanks, I’ve heard Felix’s is the place although maybe drago’s in metarie might be better (but not as convenient). Wait, is drago the young villain from harry potter or maybe that’s draco…anyhow, maybe on our way out we’ll give it a try and compare it to Felix’s.
Crab beignets, mmmm.
The last time I was in New Orleans we hit Superior Seafood in the afternoon for some oysters and snacks during happy hour and the large slushy cocktails were the price of the regular/small, so we all got the large. We weren’t halfway through our cocktails when the waiter came over with another round of large cocktails, just said they were on the house. So yes, we did stagger out of there.
Inevitably I get a headache from slushy drinks, especially when there’s cheap champagne involved, but I guess, when in rome!
We favor Friday lunch because it combines a memorably good meal with a ringside seat to a great local social mealtime tradition. Galatoire’s and Commander’s top the list in the category. Depending on counting, Twelfth Night is either January 5 or 6 kicking off Mardi Gras season and the prospect of king cakes in all interpretations…
LOL. That’s the happy hour special, large for the price of small for the frozen drinks. There is also a pomegranate something-or-other but I find it way too sweet—stick to the French 75. Once, and only once, I made the mistake of ordering a second one. I was halfway through it when I realized just how way-too-drunk I was (full disclosure, I weigh 113 lbs so am a literal lightweight when it comes to alcohol). @vinouspleasure , take small sips to avoid brain freeze!
Re: Brigtsen’s, I am not a particular fan of that place. The food is tasty, yes, but it is VERY rich and heavy, to the point where Mr. travelmad478 and I struggle to finish one starter and one entree between the two of us. If you want a nice neighborhood place with a menu in that vein, but more creative and lighter, try Patois, which is a block from my Uptown house in a residential area. Clancy’s is one more block down—another very old-school place with very good, but very heavy food. A good strategy would be to get to Clancy’s right when they open at 5, sit at the bar and have Garth the bartender make you some of his excellent cocktails, and then stroll a block to Patois for your 6:30 reservation.
Re: driving, I do not find it difficult at all to drive here, but navigating can be confusing because of the whole “crescent city” thing. Cardinal directions mean almost nothing. You are well advised to use Google Maps or Waze to guide you. I have lived here for 7 years and I still use Waze a lot! You can also do just fine with walking and Uber/Lyft—you don’t need a car. Getting a rideshare is comically easy. The streetcar is not a great way to get around if you want to get where you’re going in less than an hour.
It is not softshell crab season, nor is it crawfish season, nor is it king cake season (the last starts Jan. 6 and continues until Mardi Gras). Come back in the spring for those.
Re: the rest of the menu at Superior Seafood, it’s fine but not memorable. There are far better places. Here is my restaurant list.
More to follow, but I’ll start you off with this:
If Salty Coasts are available, grab them. I am right now waiting for my return flight to LGA to take off.
thanks! i noticed that one of our reservations, Irene’s, is not on your list?
I have not been there, so I don’t have an opinion on it.
We had dinner here last night, and I was very impressed with it. I’m interested in what you think of the wine list - I enjoyed my bordeaux blanc, the first of a progression of four. And I made sure to steer clear of deep fry, which always makes me a little sick after the second or third bite. I did very well with
the MW-tini, which is gin, jalapeno, grapefruit and syrup, which I requested be left out of mine.
This snapper ceviche with habanero sorbet was terrific, but if I had to nitpick, I’d point out that the arugula is a little long in the tooth.
And although this pappardelle with scallops and snow peas strayed a bit from the menu description, I was very happy with it. The restaurant is known for its aged tuna (I think Theodora in Brooklyn does something similar), but this was not an option when we went. Maybe it will be for you, though!
we were there last visit and thought the food and service excellent. The wine list is fairly uninteresting, there are a lot of solid, recognizable wines but there are 1000s of more interesting labels they could have chosen. But I suppose they are in the business of making money and wanted a bunch of recognizable brands. And I’m not dogmatic when it comes to white wine and seafood but are people drinking those heavy reds with seafood? I guess so…
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Not me, but I’ve never been a heavy red gal. Appreciate the input!
You clearly know a lot more about oyster species, is that a gulf oyster? Last visit we went to trenasse’s happy hour and had huge gulf oysters that we loved. We also tried grilled oysters, didn’t love them but want to give it another go.
My favorites were from va, consumed at the Jefferson hotel, I should have asked for the species.
Best,
Yes, I don’t see too many gulf oysters up here, so I try to have at least a dozen when I’m in New Orleans. I was in search of Murder Points, which were recommended to me, and which are a “heritage” oyster from Bayou La Batre, AL. When I found them at Seawitch, I figured I’d better get the other two options as well, and Salty Coast (from Isle Dauphine, also AL) kind of blew me away.
On my previous trip, I had Apalachicola oysters at Peche, which I thought were super bland. Maybe they were having an off day.
