Yeah, I hit the hole in the wall place touted for the best subs. Another for another classic NOLA lunch (it was big, I had them cut it in 1/4s, ate some there, brought the rest back to hotel room).
Places I was suggested and hit:
Mother's - I think 3 times at least! Not real far from our hotel.
WW II Museum
We attended a famous old time jazz band performance, forgot the name. I think probably Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
The French Quarter, of course.
We booked an airboat swamp ride for our last day but a thunderstorm weather report nixed that.
I did trek to get this: muffaletta from Central Grocery, I think that's the one I had cut up and brought the remains back to the hotel.
Walked everywhere.
Took a trolley or bus (don't remember which) that went to Tulane, where a nephew was going to school.
Here's a consolidated list I made before going of what people in this forum recommended:
New Orleans -- Ideas consolidated -- 02/16/2018, 02/17/2018
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If you're looking for an inexpensive lunch, I recommend going to The Store (it's downtown not far from where you'll be staying) and getting a bowl of coup with potato salad. As far as I know the place isn't famous or anything, but the gumbo is delicious.
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Mothers
Elphenix: mother's is good for a ham biscuit on your way out of town.
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Lance -- Del Monico's
Commander's Palace (creole, expensive)
Elphenix: commander's palace and emeril's delmonico are going to be pretty similar.
Mulate's (cajun)
Elphenix: mulate's is not good. very underwhelmed last time i was there.
get fried chicken at willie mae's, grilled oysters at drago's out in metarie, raw oysters at felix's because the wait will be shorter than acme, and a proper roast beef po boy (seafood wasn't the original).
Johnny's and The Parkway for poboys
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Airboat swamp ride (2 people gave this a thumbs up!)
Darwin333: Oh, look at the airboat tours they are fun as hell too.
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Tons of great food. Some of the best stuff though was outside of the 'tourist' area.
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Make sure to hit a diner in the morning time as the sun rises's, all dem rollin hills .... fuggin gorgeous.
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Everything is either within walking distance or a short/cheap cab ride away. In the French Quarter they even have those little bike taxi things if you wander too far from your hotel and don't feel like walking back.
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Cafe Du Monde is an absolute must for the beignets and coffee. I also recommend Mother's restaurant for some roast beef with debris and gravy. An absolute must is a Central Grocery muffaletta, you gotta trust me on this one bud. You should definitely pop into Drago's at least for a dozen charbroiled oysters.
Elphenix: cafe du monde is both a tourist trap and an institution. you do it once because it's cafe du monde. but that's all you should do.
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Amazing place for breakfast: The Ruby Slipper
Hidden away great Po Boys: The back room of the Erin Rose bar. You'd barely know it was there.
There's also a hidden away only grilled cheese sandwich place that is really good if you're into that kind of thing.
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Craig123: My favorite in New Orleans: K-Paul's restaurant. The sauces are incredible.
For me Cafe Du Monde is overrated and not worth it. Go to a jazz club with live music.
AdamK47 - People go to Cafe Du Monde based on its fame. Their beignets there are cheaply made garbage. I had to use the bathroom there one time only to discover cockroaches scurrying everywhere. Terrible place.
Cromagnus: Go to Cafe Beignet instead. There are two a block away from each other, one on Bourbon st and one on Royal. I like the one on Royal because it's much more of a relaxing low key area. Much better than Cafe du Monde too, imo. For other restaurants I will always plug Cochon. They have a full sit down restaurant that is great but if you are looking for something quicker/easier they also have a place called Cochon butcher right around the corner of their building that has really awesome sandwiches.
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Yeah, there are better places to get Chicory coffee and Beignets in the French Quarter than Cafe Du Monde.
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Check out Willa Jean a few blocks from where you'll be staying.
Do not rent a car. Walk or Uber/Lyft (or taxi or bike taxi, street car is possible sometimes, but Brett says they are basically east-west)
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As for music, check and see what is playing at the House of Blues other than that you can literally walk down Bourbon, Decatur and a few other streets and when you hear something you like go inside.
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Burnitdown: Last time we were there, we fell in love with "Croissant D'ior" which was right by our Hotel "Le Richelieu".My biggest regrets from out last trip were that we didn't catch a Preservation Hall Jazz band show. We didn't hit the WW2 museum. I plan to fix that next time we are there.
Frenchman street is awesome.
French quarter may be overrated, but it's awesome too.
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Darwin333: If you are going clear to the other side of the Quarter I'd take a cab from the hotel, probably $7 or so at most. There is also a trolly that runs along the river, I haven't used it in forever but I am pretty sure they finished the extension so you should be able to walk down Poydras (your hotel is on Poydras) to the river, 5ish blocks, and hope on the trolly to take you to the other side of the Quarter too. I think it's $1.50 per person for the trolly so personally I'd just take the cab but when you are already in the quarter and your feet hurt keep it in mind. Bah, don't listen to the haters. I've never had any issues with Cafe Du Monde and it's basically a must for tourists. It's pronounced been-yeahs. Luckily for you Mother's is just a few blocks down Poydras from your hotel, Drago's isn't far from you either for some truly epic charbroiled oysters. Commander's Palace is absolutely great but quite pricey so be prepared to spend quite a bit, especially if you have wine with dinner. Mulate's is definitely not a bad choice, probably wouldn't have been on my list but you damn sure can't go wrong with them.
As for seafood in the quarter, I like Deanies, Oceana Grill, the shrimp poboys at NOLA poboys are to die for and crawfish are still pretty small but if want to try some real southern Louisiana boiled crawfish check out 3 Legged Dog Tavern. Charters House has some damn good jambalaya and red beans & rice as well as some pretty good seafood.
---> I can't stress enough how much you must get a muffaletta from Central Grocery! Don't be intimidated because it looks like they put the kitchen sink on a big ass sandwich, it is friggen awesome! I have friends that make me mail them some packed with dry ice a few times a year LOL. If you find yourself in the mood for a burger Port O Call is at the opposite end of the quarter from your hotel and has great burgers w/ insanely good baked potatoes and damn good drinks.
I would definitely hit up the World War Two museum and watch the 4D movie while you are there, the Tang experience is really cool too but not sure how much time you want to spend there, I'd pick the theater over the Tang if I had to choose just one. The Aquarium of the America's is a few blocks away from you and is awesome as well if yall are into that kind of thing.
24/7 Quartermaster's is one of my favorites