Visiting on Business

[TSAW]

Hi NOLA Chowhounders
I'm coming to town on business, from snowy Calgary, next week and extending my stay two nights to checkout some music and great eats. My extended stay will be in the French Quarter. I've been to New O a few times before and love it. I think I've done all the touristy and 'as seen on Food network' restaurants already, like K-Pauls, Brennan's, Coffee Pot, Petunias, GW Fins, Emerils and half a dozen uninteresting places on/near Bourbon Street, to name just a few. I'm looking for a place the locals go to for some traditional food, that may be off the beaten path but that I can walk to. It's just me. I'm not looking for anything fancy. Lunch or dinner. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[louisiana]

Take the street car to Mandinas on Canal

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Mandina's Restaurant
3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119

[TSAW]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I was only there for 24hours but was able to make it to Cochon for lunch and Meauxbar Bistro for dinner. Both excellent suggestions. I think I was the only straight person in Meauxbar but no matter, the meal was DELISH. I hope to head back to New Orleans again....so much to see, so little time.....

Thanks again NOLA Chow Pals!

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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

[nomadchowwoman]

I'm going to throw in this suggestion--Meauxbar Bistro@corner of Rampart & St. Phillip--even though it may not be primarily traditional New Orleans food. The menu is somewhat eclectic, but not in a sloppy way, and the dishes themselves tend more toward traditional French than traditional New Orleans fare.

But it's a very nice, very comfortable place frequented by locals (and esp. FQ residents), the food is quite good, the staff is warm and welcoming to everyone, and they make great cocktails. The soup du jour is always good; last time i was there, it was jerusalem artichoke. Their salads are wonderful: my favorite is the beet salad, but the Lyonnaise is also delicious, and on my last visit, I had a wonderful salad with fried oysters and a Pernod dressing. The trout is fabulous, and it seemed everyone in the place had ordered it on that last visit. They make a great burger--but also a great steak. There's always a risotto special--it was shrimp and asparagus one night last week. One of my table mates ordered the crab cakes, and the bite I had was also delicious. But probably my favorite item on the menu are the mussels, done in a red curry broth. I'm not a huge fan of mussels as they so often are poorly prepared, but these are fabulous (and come with the requisite pommes frites). Now it's very hard for me not to order these, which is too bad because I also love the onion tart. Meauxbar has a wide-ranging menu, and I've found that it's a place where there's something to suit everyone. It's reasonably priced though not as inexpensive as one wants a neighborhood place to be. But then again it's no ordinary neighborhood place. It's just the kind of place I wish I could find, but rarely do, when travelling alone.

[edible complex]

here's my list of what I like in town. some may or may not work for you, but here goes:

My favorite restaurants in the French Quarter are:

Galatoire's (jacket required for men at dinner): oysters rockefeller, oysters en brochette, seafood stuffed eggplant, lamb chops béarnaise, crabmeat au gratin, fried soft shell crabs w/crabmeat, godchaux salad, soufflé potatoes.
http://www.galatoires.com/
Mr.. B's: great gumbo Ya-Ya, BBQ shrimp, any fish of the day plank grilled, and profiteroles for dessert.
http://www.mrbsbistro.com/index2.php
Irene's: the duck is amazing, and the chicken rosemarino is a classic Creole Italian dish.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/D41515.html
Muriel's at Jackson Square: good gumbo, goat cheese and crawfish crepes, puppy drum, and double cut pork chops.
http://www.muriels.com/
Iris in the Bienville House for veal cheek ravioli, mussels, foie gras, duck confit, sunchoke and cauliflower soup, scallops and skate wing.
http://irisneworleans.com/

Go to Cafe du Monde (riverside of Jackson Square) for beignets and coffee any time of day.
http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Check out Stanley on Jackson Square for breakfast or lunch. Scott Boswell also has Stella!, but this is his casual restaurant that cranks out some good food too:
http://www.stanleyrestaurant.com/
http://www.restaurantstella.com/

For raw oysters: Desire Bar in the Royal Sonesta, Bourbon House, Acme or Felix's in the Qtr., Luke in the CBD on St. Charles Ave., Pascal's Manale and Casamento's Uptown.
http://www.sonesta.com/RoyalNewOrleans/index.cfm?fa=diningentertainment.home
http://www.bourbonhouse.com/
http://www.acmeoyster.com/
http://www.felixs.com/
http://www.lukeneworleans.com/
http://www.neworleansrestaurants.com/pascalsmanale/
http://www.casamentosrestaurant.com/main/main.html
For good drinks: Carousel Bar at the Monteleone (a must visit), French 75 Bar at Arnaud's, Lafitte's Blacksmith, Absinthe House, Napoleon House, Hermes Bar at Antoine's, Chart Room on Chartres, Sazerac Bar at (recently reopened) The Roosevelt.
Central Grocery for muffalettas. These are great for the plane ride home. Be sure to check their hours, as they may be closed when you fly home. They pack well, so you can buy a day before flying. If you like your muffalettas warmed (which I do), then eat at Napoleon House or heat up the CG when you get home. I find it opens up the flavors of the meats, cheese and olive salad.
http://www.napoleonhouse.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Grocery

Green Goddess is the newest and most talked about in the Qtr.
Menu looks amazing:
http://greengoddessnola.com/

If you have a car or will take the streetcar, head Uptown for J'Anita's, Martinique, Clancy's, Patois, Coquette and Boucherie.

J'Anita's in the Avenue Pub on St. Charles Ave. for great BBQ for lunch. They also have the best fish sammich ever and the St. Chuck Duck po boy!
http://www.theavenuepub.com/food.htm

Martinique Bistro on Magazine has great food and a beautiful courtyard.
http://www.martiniquebistro.com/
Clancy's on Annunciation is terrific; get the oysters w/brie, sweetbreads, the smoked soft shell crab and the veal chops. and their frozen Brandy Alexander's are good for dessert.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/D41648.html
Patois on Laurel for rabbit, moules frites, and pork belly. This has become one of the best new restaurants and well worth trying. Open also for Friday lunch and Sunday brunch, if that fits in your schedule.
http://www.patoisnola.com/
Coquette is on Magazine St. and is open for for both lunch and dinner. The menu changes, but if they have the cod, get it. They have a great drink list, and I love their French 75's. There is also a great Pinot Noir from Melville which compliments their food.
http://www.coquette-nola.com/
Boucherie is on Jeanette just off Carrollton. They are open for both lunch and dinner. Get the Mussels w/Collard Greens, Fries w/Parm, Boudin Balls, Pulled Pork Cake, Brisket, Smoked Scallops and the ChocBacon Brownie. The Cote du Rhone works well here.
http://www.boucherie-nola.com/

Or, head to Mid-City for Mandina's on Canal St. for turtle soup, oyster po boys, and trout or Parkway Bakery and Tavern for the best roast beef po boys.
http://www.parkwaybakeryandtavernnola.com/
(Mandina's is cash only.
)http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/

In the CBD, across Canal St from Fr. Qtr., try Rambla in the International House Hotel for great tapas, Luke on St. Charles for oysters at the bar, duck and rabbit pate, choucroûte maison, and moules and frites, Domenica in The Roosevelt for goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, grilled radicchio, and any of the pastas and pizzas. If you are in town for lunch Friday, Restaurant August has a 3 course for $20.09 that is stellar. Other places: Herbsaint and Cochon (both Donald Link restaurants), Rio Mar, La Boca, a Mano (all Adolfo Garcia's restaurants).
http://ihhotel.com/restaurant.html
http://www.lukeneworleans.com/
http://www.domenicarestaurant.com/
http://www.restaurantaugust.com/
http://herbsaint.com/
http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/
http://riomarseafood.activepixel.com/
http://www.labocasteaks.com/index.html

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Mandina's Restaurant
3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Napoleon House Bar & Cafe
500 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Avenue Pub
1732 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Restaurant August
301 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Casamento's Restaurant
4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Rio Mar Restaurant
800 South Peters, New Orleans, LA 70130

J'Anita's Restaurant
1906 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA

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

Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130

La Boca Restaurant
857 Fulton St., New Orleans, LA 70130

International House Hotel
221 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA

Rambla
217 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

Green Goddess
307 Exchange Place, New Orleans, LA 70130

Bourbon House
144 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Chart Room
300 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Boucherie
8115 Jeannette St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Domenica
123 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70112

[CharlieH]

As far as WALKING someplace from the quarter, try Cochon, its in the warehouse district but not too far. Iris is in the quarter and very good, fun bar scene as well. If you don't mind taking the streetcar, you could go up to Mandinas, which serves old school Louisiana comfort food, very popular with the locals, and Parkway Bakery also accessible on the streetcar, is great for lunch or dinner.

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Mandina's Restaurant
3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

[richardhorner]

if you want to get a sandwich, I would recommend Parasol's on Constance St for a po boy, roast beef is a fav, and Casamento's on Magazine St for anything seafood related. For dinner, I think that Jacques-Imo's is fantastic. It was described to me as "traditional New Orleans food on acid". I think that that description is accurate, if a little odd. However, once you go there, you'll understand. Granted, none of these places are in walking distance from the French Quarter, but they're all worth a visit and easy to get to on the street car.

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Casamento's Restaurant
4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Jacques-Imo's Cafe
8324 Oak St, New Orleans, LA 70118

[FoodChic]

+1 for Casamentos!
http://www.casamentosrestaurant.com/main/main.html

Mandina's
http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/

Also add K-Jeans on Carrollton in there too. A must try!

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Casamento's Restaurant
4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115