Restaurant suggestions for two College grads

[mersailes]

I'm planning a 5 day trip to NO in December to celebrate finally graduating college. What are the absolute must dos and must dines for two recent college grads? I'm always up for the unusual and don't mind paying for good food, but I don't want to break the bank.

Thanks for your help.

[edible complex]

had a great lunch at Bacco's yesterday. they are still doing their 2 course lunch for $15 and $0.10 martinis.

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Bacco Restaurant
310 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

[uptownlibrarian]

You're coming at a great time for dining deals. Are you staying in the Quarter? Will you have a car?

Many restaurants in the French Quarter present multi-course prix fixe Reveillon menus that are good values. Check out this website:

http://www.neworleansonline.com/chris...

Click Cuisine, then click View Reveillon Menus. Of the restaurants listed, the best IMHO in the Quarter are Galatoire's, Pelican Club (I've gone here for Christmas Eve several times and always had a great time), Mr. B's, The Rib Room, and Melange, but go through the menus and see what strikes you.

Also you can have a great lunch at one of the iconic places for much less than you'd spend on dinner. For example, August and Emeril's both have multi-course lunch specials that are laughably affordable, like $20.

You can always drink your dinner, but there are options for good, cheap food at night if you aren't up for a fancy meal. Two bars, Yo Mama's and Buffa's, have fantastic burgers. Buffa's is 24 hours and Yo Mama's serves late. Or try Moon Wok for good, filling, and super cheap (2.99) Vietnamese poboys. There are a few 24 hour convenience store type places that serve poboys. Verti Mart is one. One of the more unusual places in the Quarter is the West African restaurant Bennachin. They have good prices and are BYOB to boot.

As a rule of thumb, avoid places with a menu barker on the sidewalk. You'll see this on Bourbon Street and a few places on Royal and Chartres.

Have fun!

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Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130

Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Pelican Club Restaurant & Bar
312 Exchange Alley, New Orleans, LA 70130

Bennachin Restaurant
1212 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Moon Wok
800 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70116

[edible complex]

add Felipe's (301 N. Peters) to your late night list and cheap eats and drinks.
http://www.felipesneworleans.com/inde...

[mersailes]

I found a great deal, and we are staying at the New Orleans Intercontinental. We will have a car with us. I will definately check out the reveillion menus, and August for lunch sounds great.

[uptownlibrarian]

You'll be right by Luke, which is across the street from the Intercontinental in the Hilton. They have a daily set menu for dinner which is a good deal, as well as a daily happy hour with cheap oysters on the half shell ($.25 I think) and good drink prices.

Having a car gives you very easy access to other parts of town, but you will also have the hassle of paying through the nose for parking at the hotel.

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Half Shell Restaurant
1106 Saint Mary St, Thibodaux, LA 70301

[MikahHou]

Just a little tip about parking, as valet at hotels in the city are outrageously priced: Park in the Harrah's Casino parking garage. Then get a "players card" and play for 20 minutes (I usually put a $5 in a video poker machine and play very slowly for 20 mins), you then can get your parking ticket validated for free parking -- regardless of how long your car is parked there. The walk from the Harrah's garage to the Intercontinental is only a few blocks...

[unocal]

i recommend luke as well...the oysters are $0.25 apiece, and i got a grey goose martini for $4! this certainly made my day, and the oysters were fantastic (p & j's). the special is only good from 3-6 though, just as a heads up. also, if you're in the mood for a really well made margarita, el gato negro is a newer mexican spot across from the french market that uses all fresh fruits and house made simple syrup in their drinks. it was a $10 drink, but it was SO yummy, and worth it imho. i did not eat there, but from talking to one of the guys there, he said it's mostly locals dining there, so that's good to know about. not that you'd wanna eat mexican in NOLA, but you never know. i had chilaquiles at the green goddess that were damn good, and i asked them to add a scoop of fresh crabmeat to it (this was after much debating cuz lotsa stuff on their menu sounds awesome). but i honestly never thought i'd eat those for lunch, that's for sure! also, expect to pay between $20-30/lunch if you are hitting a decent restaurant. i think my cheapest lunch one day was a BBQ shrimp po boy from liuzza's by-the-track, and that was $14 w/ just water to drink (after tax + tip). to me, that's not cheap, but i if you want good seafood, you're gonna pay for it...enjoy!

[Hungry Celeste]

Since you have a car, make time to venture to NO East or to the Westbank for Vietnamese food. If you're pinching pennies on some meals to splurge on others, head to Dong Phuong Bakery on Chef Menteur, where a damn good bahn mi (sandwich) will set you back from $2.50 to $4, depending on fillings.