Day 1……….My wife (DW) and I went to NO this past weekend. I’m 44, she is 37, this was my second trip there, DW’s forth. I went with her for the first time last June, and admittedly I enjoyed NO better then I thought I would, hence the return trip to try some things we discovered last trip, but didn’t have time to do.
Flew out of DFW and flight was slightly delayed. Got to NO, grabbed a cab, and was at Country Inn and Suites within the hour. I originally booked Drury Inn last November when I was planning the trip due to better prices and reviews, but when I rechecked things before we left, I discovered Country Inn (CI) went down in price and we got a much better rate at CI (saved $50 a night), so I booked CI again. Also, we stayed there last year and were satisfied.
CI is a nice hotel located on Magazine 2 blocks west of Canal Street, and 1 block north of Harrah’s. It has an accommodating staff, very clean, and has a decent morning breakfast for a quick bite to eat. One common critique though is that the rooms are small, and I will say, our room was the size of a large bedroom and nothing more. BUT, people need to remember the building is over 100 years old, and was originally a set of warehouses, so they had to design the rooms with what they had available! With that said, the exposed brick wall is rather charming and gives the hotel an old school feel.
The first night we ate at Oceana Grill. Since the first day was basically a travel day and I knew we would be hungry, I wanted a decent place to eat that we did not need to dress up for. Plus, I bought a $25 certificate for $2 on Restaurant.com. We arrived around 6 and was seated in the very nice courtyard. It wasn’t very busy, but that changed by the end of our meal when all tables were in use.
Our waiter was very good, and recommended the crab cakes for an appetizer. They were delicious, some of the best I ever had. My DW got the tuna special, which was a tuna filet over a crabcake with a crawfish sauce. It was excellent, and probably the best entrée’ we had on the entire trip. I got crawfish etouffe’ which was also better than I expected. For dessert I got the bread pudding which was a nice size serving and also very good. In overview, the Oceana Grill was a better than expected dining experience and a great start to our trip! I highly recommend it.
After dinner we went to Monteleone for a few drinks at the carousel bar, my DW wanted to see it and it is nice, though I thought it was funny the bartenders had to hop over the bar to take a break or whatever. This is where I discovered one of my new favorite beers, Abita amber. I decided to try it since it is a local brew, and was surprised how well I liked it. We did 3 or 4 circles at the bar, and then went back to the hotel since we had been up since 5:45 a.m. because we had both worked ? day before we left.
One thing I noted walking back to Country Inn at night, last June there was construction going on and Magazine street was dimly lit, but we still felt safe walking back. On this trip, the street was very well lit, so that was another plus.
Day 2 to come......
TR---Oceana Grill, Country Inn,Carousel BarGreat trip report, can%26#39;t wait to hear the rest!! I too, really enjoyed Oceana...especially the crab cakes..mmmmm..and that Restaurant.com gc is great :)
TR---Oceana Grill, Country Inn,Carousel BarThank you that was fab.Love hearing the foodie bits.Going to NOLA first time in July.Got me all excited.
Day 2…..Cafe du Monde, Shopping, Margaritaville, Cocktail Tour, and Remoulade…..We started off at the obligatory Café du Monde, and I enjoyed my first ever beignet. We were standing in the orders to go line for about 10 minutes when we saw a table open up, so we quickly sat down. I thought the beignets were good, especially for the price, but I would not wait an hour for them like some people claim to have done. Thus, I am glad I had the experience and was able to check it off my to do list.
We then did some shopping, it’s amazing the price differential of the same items from store to store, especially along Decatur. We bought a few t-shirts and other items. About the prices, at one store we found 2 shirts we liked, one was $15.99, the other $18.99, but decided to comparison shop We went down the street a few doors, and the $15.99 t-shirt was $13.99, but the $18.99 at this store was $20.99. Thus, if you have the time, shop around and you may save some money. Since they were regular gift stores, I didn’t feel right negotiating like I would do in Mexico, or even later at the French market.
We then went to Margaritaville gift shop and got a few more t-shirts since I am a Parrott head. When checking out, the clerk gave us some free drink coupons at the restaurant so we decided to stop in for a quick lunch. I had a frozen margarita and Gumbo, both were quite good. My DW decided to try the muffalotta, I know, blasphemy trying a sacred sandwich at a chain restaurant! It was OK, and not bad for a light lunch, but later on my DW felt a little nauseous, thinking it was caused by the olive salad on the sandwich. Also, we got the onion rings which seemed to be battered in the same mix as the buffalo wings, red tinted and hot, they were not good at all. I didn’t ask if this was a mistake(?), or was how they usually made them, guess I should of.
While eating at Margaritaville, my DW spied a purse at the French Market across the street she wanted to look at, which is a Coach knockoff for about a twentieth of the price, and instead of a “C” on it, there’s a “G”, thus we call it a Goach. They didn’t have price tags on the purses, but several vendors were selling the same purse. Well, the “negotiating” started at $40, and we finally purchased it a few tables down for $25. Here I don’t mind doing that.
We then went to Jackson Square to try and find a painter we saw there last June. My sister collects clowns, and the painter painted clowns on old roof shale, so I wanted to buy my sister one for her Birthday. Unfortunately, we did not find him. I asked some other artists and they did not remember his name, but said he sometimes comes out on the weekends. We tried to look again for him on Saturday, but it was raining and only a few artists were there. Thus, if anyone knows who I am talking about, I’d love to find out his name and see if he has a website.
On Friday afternoon we took the cocktail tour from Gray Line. We took a plantation tour last June and a couple on the tour raved about the cocktail tour they had taken the night before, thus it was added to our “to do” list. It is a walking tour, $24 a person (drinks NOT included), and you visit 4 to 6 bars and learn the history behind the bar, and the drink it is known for. It’s not a club crawl, but some people in our group of 10 were feeling pretty good at the end!
Our tour guide was Joe, who was very knowledgeable about both, the history of New Orleans, and the bars we visited. Joe did mention the tours vary from day to day depending on the amount of people in the tour, day of week, etc. but they have around 20 bars they’ll regularly visit. We went to 5 bars, and my DW and I split most of the cocktails, even trying absinthe, which was first used as medicine for upset stomachs and was a banned liquor in the U.S. until 2007. Evidently back in the day absinthe had hallucigenic qualities, and if you drink several of them, I can see that happening!lol Anyway, it tastes like black liquorice, and the presentation was neat to watch. Oh, and my DW claims it made her stomach feel better from our earlier lunch, the only thing I noted is that night I had quite vivid dreams that I actually remembered the next morning.
We had a fun group, and the tour lasted 3 ? hours. Also, Joe actually wrote a book about the tour that is available in some of the bars and bookstores. I was impressed Joe nonchalantly mentioned the book, and wasn’t pushy at all trying to sell it.
After the tour, which ended with a Sazarac at Arnaud’s since Antoine’s was having a private party, my DW and I decided to have dinner at Remoulad’s, which is basically Arnaud’s lite. It was a nice dinner, we split the taste of New Orleans which had gumbo, stuffed crab, and red beans and rice. It was all pretty good. We then walked down Bourban Street, enjoying the party atmosphere for the upcoming St. Pat’s Day.
Enjoyed reading your TR...thanks for posting! Next time you go, don%26#39;t be hesitant in the gift shops about attempting to negotiate prices, especially if you have a few items.
Most of those gift shops do not have T-Shirts that are all that different from the one next door, and the one next door to that. Have cash in hand and ask,
';Could you do better if I buy 2?';, etc. Most will not let you walk out if they see green.
Thanks for the TR, especially since we too picked up Restaurant.com certs during an 80% off sale for Oceana Grill!
Day 3(Last Day)……Cooking School, GW Finn’s……. We attended the New Orleans School of Cooking class, which is more of a demonstration. It was informative and quite well done. Our instructor was Anne, and the only negative I have to say is her intro. of New Orleans cooking went way to long, and almost put my DW and I to sleep. The cooking itself was interesting and well paced. She made Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding, and Pralines, all were very good, and I now have the knowledge and understanding to try and make all 4 recipes! It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out! It was a nice way to spend 3 hours on a very rainy Saturday.
On our way back to the hotel, we went into a few shops, and then went into Kerry’s Irish Pub on Decatur. When we entered, there was only another couple at the bar, but that was soon to change. Shortly after we heard police sirens, and then 2 mini-busses pulled up and out came a marching brass band, and lots of drunken Irishmen in green tuxes! Evidently they had a parade earlier, and now were “visiting” all the Irish bars in town. They were a lot of fun, and left about ? hour later, only after adorning my DW and I with lots of green beads. We later saw some of the same group that night up on the balcony of the Royal Sonesta viewing another St. Pat’s day parade in the FQ.
We went back to CI to get ready for dinner at GW Finn’s. Last year, we had dinner here after we were engaged, and it was one of the best dining experiences we ever had. I made reservations back in Nov., and when our waiter, Daniel, came to our table he acknowledged our return visit. We ordered a bottle of wine, my DW is a chardonnay drinker, I prefer Riesling, so Daniel recommended a New Zealand un-oaked Chardonnay which was a perfect compromise (I apologize for forgetting the name).
Daniel was very knowledgeable of the menu and offered several suggestions. We started with the crabcake, which was good but I have to give the ones at Oceana Grill the nod, maybe because at Oceana they have a very good crawfish cream sauce on top and at Finns it is served dry. We both had fish dishes, I had Lemon Sole, and my wife had Pompano, both were well presented and excellent. We also shared a side of grilled asparagus, which was very good and I have never seen asparagus with such thick stalks.
For desert I again had bread pudding, which was delicious. They add chocolate chunks to it. The service was excellent, though the busboy in training could use some more training. The waiter was very good, the food was well presented, and the atmosphere is very nice for a romantic dinner.
Some reviews have said the restaurant is noisy, I didn’t notice this at our table, which was near the middle, but when I went to the restroom, it was noticeably louder in that area, so it may all depend on where you are seated. It was a wonderful dining experience and we will be going back again.
We left on Sunday morning. All-in-all it was another wonderful trip to NOLA, and we may even go back for another long weekend next year, afterall, we added even more things to our NOLA “to do” list!
And thanks for the info. Zoke! I will try negotiating next time.
Thanks for your report!
Whenever I see a line at Cafe du Monde, I always walk over to the Riverwalk to get my beignets and cafe au lait fix. I wouldn%26#39;t wait an hour for beignets (though I%26#39;d definitely come back at an off hour to eat at the original), and the Riverwalk branch looks out over the water.
I just had dinner again at GW Fins this weekend, and it was pretty good. Not the best seafood I%26#39;ve had in New Orleans, but very good and service was excellent! We were seated in one of the booths along the main area, and it wasn%26#39;t loud at all, though the restaurant was full, so I bet location does matter.
Worldtraveler, we may have crossed paths, I was at Finn%26#39;s on Saturday, went there right after the parade around 7.
Is the other Cafe Du Mond your talking about in the mall? I remember seeing one there on my last trip.
Yup, it%26#39;s a distinct possibility :)
And yes, the other Cafe du Monde branch is in the Riverwalk, which is on the other side of the Aquarium, near the World Trade Center and Hilton Riverside.
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