Friday, May 13, 2016

Favorite Places in New Orleans

Fried Chicken Platter at Emeril's
This blog is my friend Jaye's suggestion, although my colleague, Steve, is headed to NOLA later this month. New Orleans is one of those places that you must visit at least once. Here are my faves from many trips over the years!

Emeril's
800 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Truth be told, I was terrified that I would be disappointed with this place. So many times, you go to the celebrity chef places and the hype does not match the experience. With Emeril's, I was not disappointed. The location is beautiful, service stellar, and food fantastic.
Bone Marrow at R'evolution
August, 301 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Lunch buffet at Dooky Chase

Lüke, 333 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
Part of Chef John Besh's restaurant group, August is the more formal older sibling of Lüke, the louder, brighter bistro. Both provided excellent service and well executed dishes. At August, the foie gras three ways was delicious, and at Lüke, incredibly good fried oysters and raw bar.

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Great place to get small dishes to share, like cured meats, rabbit, crawfish pie, okra, and other down home Cajun cuisine in a modern, relaxed environment. They have a lot of local brews and truly strange cocktails. Do not try the beet juice cocktail. I don't know what I was thinking.

Restaurant R'evolution
777 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Beautifully presented food, hip atmosphere and a more adventurous menu than most places in the French Quarter.

Dooky Chase
2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Traditional soul food from the original celebrity chef of soul food. Mrs. Leah Chase visits the dining room regularly, and while we didn't get to talk with her, we did see her hovering during the lunch buffet. Darn good fried chicken.
209 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Shrimp Gumbo at Lil Dizzy's, photo by Jim Anderson
I love this place and try to visit every time. It is classic, old school N'awlins fine dining. I love the souffled potatoes, turtle soup, and any of their fish or shrimp preparations. Guys must wear a jacket. Ask for the cafe brulot at the end of the meal.
1403 Washington Avenue New Orleans LA 70130
THE place for Sunday Jazz Brunch. It's an elegant, classic, well-deserved destination restaurant. Save room for the bread pudding.

Lil Dizzy's Cafe
1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116
Thrilled to find this locals' place: Sunday brunch here is delicious, inexpensive, and you really get a peek into local life.

Erin Rose, photo by Jim Anderson
811 Conti St, New Orleans, LA 70112
A great local bar where you meet REAL LOCALS! Incredibly good value on drinks, especially since you're only one block off of Bourbon Street, and not a single neon blended drink to be found. Once when we visited, we met retired twins from Tennessee heading to Texas for NASCAR and a local parish Justice of the Peace who sang Irish songs. So cool.

Cafe du Monde 
800 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116
This is the place where EVERYONE goes to get beignets and chicory coffee. It is a bit of a tourist trap, but that doesn't make the beignets any less tasty. Word of warning, do NOT wear black to this place. You will be dusted with powdered sugar, no matter how careful you are. Also, coffee refills are NOT FREE so be careful when the server asks you if you want a refill. And bring cash.
401 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Classic New Orleans for jambalaya, etouffee, red beans and po'boys. Expect a line at lunch time--just get in line, belly up to the counter and order some down home comfort food. My first time, I got the oyster po'boy but really wanted the combo platter, which is what Jim had. Since then, I seem to repeat the po'boy, but Jim usually repeats the combo, so it's all good. Sharing is caring.

Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Yes, it's been on a bazillion travel shows, but it's still pretty cool. Hard to get a seat at the actual bar, though, so be patient.

923 Decatur St., New Orleans, LA 70116
Stop here to get a muffuletta to take on the plane. (PS: Steve, the hot sauce shop is next to Central Grocery.)


This post first appeared on the Alice's Restaurants blog. All photos by me unless otherwise credited, usually to Jim Anderson because he's there eating with me.

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