What About Felix's........Friend Of Mine......

[Littleman]

Friend of mine just called and said the oytsters were preshucked and plain and service was not good at all. What's a better place. I know Acme is good but I always thought Felix's was best and Acme got the overflow.

Are there any other great oyster bar's in NO. Thanks.

[creolequeen]

Felix's Uptown is very okay, but I can't speak for the one in the Quater. Casamento's is great is you're uptown, and Cooter Brown's is good too, along with the atmosphere, beer, and tv's everywhere!

[Troika]

So felix's uptown is decent? I just moved onto Magazine and i'm getting real tired of eating sushi every day. How are the prices? oh, and does Salt Water Grill have any specials or is it just now jaegar's?

[uptownlibrarian]

No, it's not really decent, espeically compared to Casamento's. Saltwater Grill has $2.00 pitchers of Abita and .50 cent oysters on Mondays and maybe Tuesdays too.

[Adrienne]

I just ate at Felix's and we thought the oysters (raw, fried, and steamed or sauteed) were all delicious. We were served very quickly which makes me suspect some pre-shucking, but they were very cold and fully wet, so however they're keeping them is working for me.

As far as prices--
1 dozen raw for $8.95
Fried platter (fries + side) for $14.95

They also have a bunch of poboys for under $10. I think if you live on Magazine this is definitely a good place to keep on your list, if only because it really is good enough for a ridiculously fast, fairly inexpensive place where you can get a table immediately on a Friday night at 7pm and where you can hear each other talk.

[Mrs_S]

Felix's preshucks if you are sitting at a table. The bar is where it's at. My husband and I (from Boston) just visited last weekend for our first time since 2004 (and we'd visited maybe 8-10 times since 1988) and Felix's bar in the Quarter was our first stop. Oysters were huge and shucked fresh and the shuckers were great. Made us happy to be back! Acme is OK but does get terribly crowded. Yeah, we're tourists but Felix's makes us feel at home.

[twangster]

Just a minor correction from above ... the free oysters at Le Bon Temps go from about 7 to 9:30 on Fridays. I'm no expert but I think they're delicious. Plus you get great free music from Joe Krown (or a sub when he's on tour).

I was at Felix's last night and had a dozen at the bar, which also were good ... one twist there is that they gave us the ingredients to make our own cocktail sauce, which was fun.

[malenky]

thanks for helping in validating the enjoyment to be had in the oysters from Le Bon Temps.

[JGrey]

Is there anyplace that gives you prepared cocktail sauce with raw oysters? Every place I've been lets you mix your own.

[uptownlibrarian]

Six days to Casamento's opening (Sept. 11)!

What do you all think of big oysters vs. small oysters? I can't really taste a difference, but a few people I know refuse to eat the bigger ones, claiming that they're less tasty. They ask you if you want big or small at Casamento's, so I need an answer by Tuesday!

[Hungry Celeste]

I like smaller ones, whether fried or raw. I don't like having to take multiple bites out of an oyster.

[uptownlibrarian]

So it's not so much about the flavor? Do you detect a difference in flavor between sizes?

[Blumie]

If they're the same type of oysters, the size shouldn't matter much. Differences in size attributable to differences in variety can make a significant difference in taste.

[Hungry Celeste]

All gulf oysters are the same kind/species. I think that big ones can be spongier, not as firm-fleshed; not so much a different taste as a marked difference in texture.

[Blumie]

I agree with that.

[uptownlibrarian]

Thanks folks.

[pdxwindjammer]

"The oysters are ok, but you will be elbow to elbow with god-awful tourists."

Mythomane, I represent, uh, I mean resent that remark. As with any location such as NOLA, there are many ugly tourists out there so I can understand your frustration as a concierge. I am sure there are plenty of good tourists out there that help fatten your wallet. It sounds like you are in the wrong industry!

Maybe your attitude would be different if you were the owner of the restaurant. I hope you are one of the locals I sit next to this week so I can change your perception!

Cheers!

[Adrienne]

I'm a transplant, and to me the oysters down here all have a similar (wonderful) quality to them, but up North when I was served large oysters they were from down South and when I was served small oysters they were kumamotos, from Japan -- those tasted very different to me, also wonderful, just different... but I don't think I could explain what the difference was. I guess I was just tasting a different ocean!

[JazzyB]

We've had them shucked to order standing at the oyster bar at Felix's uptown as well as in FQ. Casamento's' is a good choice and if you're in Metairie, Bozo's bests them all. They also have an outstanding oyster po'boy ...IMHO, the best.

[malenky]

Also, Friday nights 6-8 at Le Bon Temps they have free oysters shucked in front of you...they are pretty good too.

[mythomane]

Umm. There are a reason those oysters are free at the Bon Temps. Casmentos, Felix's, or Drago's if you want to make the hike to Fat City. Acme is a trap/chain. The oysters are ok, but you will be elbow to elbow with god-awful tourists. If you are in the quarter and dont mind spending, the Bourbon House is excellent -- sit at the bar or you will be looking down the barrel of a $200 check.

[southerngal]

I have lived here less than a year. Not being from this area, I have been curious about negative comments about tourists. It seems to me that the ecomony of New Orleans depends heavily on the "god-awful" tourists. Would the great resturants of New Orleans thrive with only local patrons? Not intending to be critical.......Just truly wondering.......

[uptownlibrarian]

As someone who works in the Quarter, I can assure you that it's far more god-awful to walk through streets devoid of visitors than to rub elbows with out-of-towners at Acme.

[mythomane]

Many people that visit New Orleans aren't there so much for the food (though there are some that are) but instead are there to "party down." Gratefully, most of them never make it past Bourbon Street, let alone the French Quarter. The economy that is New Orleans has never been flush. It is a poor city, separated from the rest of the country not only spiritually, but until the early 70s by very real geographical barriers. We are a port city for sure, but one whose character tends to assimilate rather than bend with forces from the outside. In my opinion, a good traveler not only accepts these differences but embraces them. Having been a concierge in the Quarter for many years I am more than familiar with the ugly breed of tourist that visits New Orleans, and for my part can do without them. The restaurants, being as good as they are, will not suffer much from losing that kind of business.
Uptownlibrarian: I prefer a cool empty street to one full of tourists. I think that is a matter of personal opinion.
As far as the oysters at the bon temps -- they are free because they are second rate. I love the bon temps. It is a great place to get drunk and see live music. I lived directly across the street for years. The bar was, effectively, my patio. The food, however, is not so hot. In my youth I would myself eat those oysters, but with age comes some wisdom. Oysters are like loaded guns. They are not to be played with.

[malenky]

well, say what you will about the oysters at le bon temps, but I stand by them. Maybe it's been quite a few years since you've been and at that time they were second rate. I don't eat food that is second rate.

[malenky]

and what is that reason that you think???

I know the shucker and they have turned away oysters several times since they weren't to standard. They are perfectly fine oysters, very briney and big (which I like them big).

[Frolic]

Could he has meant Felix's Uptown? It's true that they don't shuck to order, but the French Quarter location used to. Of course, their shuckers weren't very good, so I always got shell in my oyster.

The Bourbon House is a great oyster bar, although it's expensive. Casamento's, which reopens in early September, is another good option. The oyster bar at Pascal's Manale is great. Grand Island by Harrah's has a nice oyster bar. Also, Cooter Brown's is a good place for beer and oysters.

[malenky]

Pascale's Manale has a great oyster bar as does Cassamento's.