Our Trip Report - 4/2 to 4/7

Warning - Long, verbose report to follow :)

We are just back from our trip, but I wanted to post some quick impressions of the places we ate, the things we saw and where we stayed. I got so much great information from this board I wanted to give back as much as possible!

Background:

My wife and I our in our mid-30s and live in Connecticut. I surprised her with this trip (I only told her we were going the day before we left) as a gift to celebrate our Anniversary.

Lodging:

We stayed at Avenue Garden on St. Charles in the Garden District. I was very pleased with our choice here. If you are expecting 4 star accomodations and all of the accompanying frills then this is not the hotel for you. If you are looking for a small hotel with more of an Inn-type feel with rooms that have ';some character'; and a great rate to boot then you might consider this property. The staff is so very friendly and were attentive and more than willing to help with anything we needed. The location was perfect for us, right ON the streetcar line and close enough to both the French Quarter and historic sections of the Garden District to make our frequent trips between the two very convenient.

Food (the highlight of the trip for me!):

Cafe Du Monde - Beignets and Coffee two mornings in a row. I%26#39;m craving them already!! DON%26#39;T stand in line! Walk around the back, find an empty table and sit down.

Louisiana Bistro - Wow! This place does not get enough love! We did the Feed Me tasting menu option and it ended up being the culinary highlight of the trip for both of us. We did the four course option and each one was better than the one before. The chef comes out to the table before you get started to see if you have any allergies or aversions to any particular foods and then...he%26#39;s off. He comes out with every course to explain exactly what you are getting and that really added to the overall experience. Outstanding! We had Crawfish Beignets with lemon burre blanc and jalapeno drizzle, Mirlitons stuffed with blue crab and tasso (which is this amazing smoked ham), Black pepper Quail on a bed of greens with a jalape帽o hollandaise sauce, and an Andouille stuffed pork with cheddar grits and a sweet-n-sour asian bbq sauce.... mmmm

Johnny%26#39;s Po Boys - We got a shrimp Po Boy and a ';special'; (ham, roast beef, cheese) Po Boy to go and ate them on the banks of the Mississippi. So so good. The restaurant was SOOOO crowded, if you are clausterphobic, beware! I wasn%26#39;t sure I was going to be able to get out with my food :)

Camilla Grill - We enjoyed getting here almost as much as eating there. ALMOST :) The streetcar trip down St. Charles through the Garden District was one of my favorite things we did. I instantly fell in love with this area of the city! There was a LONG line to get in to this local favorite, but BOY am I glad we stuck it out. What a great experience, Marvin (';Word';), the waiter kept us all entertained with his playful banter (giving all of the patrons ';knuckles'; as they sat down) and the food... wow... the food. We both had omelettes the size of school buses. Did I mention the omlettes come with FRENCH FRIES?? :) Yumm...We washed it all down with Chocolate Freezes and finished with a piece of Pecan Pie! Fries, shakes and pie for breakfast! My Mom would not approve ;)

Emeril%26#39;s Delmonico - I had made reservations here for our anniversary night and let them know we would be celebrating the occasion. The restaurant went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. Complementary glasses of champagne awaited us at our table and we were greeted with congratulations by each and every member of the staff we came in contact with. It was a very nice touch. We both started with wedge salads and, of course, we had steaks. My wife the Filet, myself the Rib Eye (the size of a small house and one of the best steaks I%26#39;ve ever eaten!). The menu is ala carte so we ordered a few different sides to share. All of which were EXCELLENT. We finished with Banana%26#39;s Foster prepared table side.

New Orleans School of Cooking - Not technically a restaurant, but we had a great, great meal here (Gumbo, Jambalaya, Bread Pudding, Pralines) and learned an awful lot about Cajun and Creole cuisine and New Orleans history. Highly recommended and well worth the price!

Coops - The classic ';hole-in-the-wall';, but wow is the food outstanding! The Fried Chicken was everything I had hoped it would be, served with a rabbit and sausage Jambalaya and cole slaw. Outstanding!

Acme Oyster House - Touristy, perhaps. But the best oysters I%26#39;ve ever eaten in all my life, without question!

Slice - This was a big surprise for us as I had not read anything about it anywhere, but it is right next to the hotel so we stopped in here once for lunch and once for a late night snack and REALLY enjoyed the pizza. This is big slice, ';New York style'; pizza and rivals what we get up here in ';pizza country';.

Some Other Random Thoughts...

Do take time to do a walking tour of the Garden District. We did our own, loosely following the one in the Frommer%26#39;s guide book. The houses are beautiful and breathtaking and the Lafayette Cemetery must be seen.

Bourbon Street was ';an experience';. Probably not one I would do more than once or twice in my life :) However, if any of you reading this were one of the Pirates in town for the convention (who knew there was a pirate convention!), thank you for making this trip even more memorable! My wife and I enjoyed all of the pirate sightings muchly, especially after a Hurricane or two :)

If you love jazz, do take time to get down to Frenchmen Street. We spent a night here drifting from club to club soaking in some of the best jazz and blues I%26#39;ve ever heard. The Spotted Cat and D.B.A. were our favorites.

Do stand in line for a set at Preservation Hall. We stood in the back for the first set and then grabbed a bench and sat through two more. These are musicians who live, eat and breathe music and you can feel it in every note they play.

We took a ';ghost'; tour through Haunted History Tours and although the guide was knowledgeable, overall I was not all that interested.

Do take some time and visit the Audobon Park and Zoo. Both are world class and a nice break from the ';city';.

Do stop at Southern Candy Makers for some Pralines. Wow... sugary goodness! Miss them already!

We took the Gray Line Katrina tour and I have to highly recommend this as well. We both had reservations about this before we booked it, but were glad we did. It was truly sobering but gave us some new perspective not only into how far New Orleans FELL as a result of this horrible tragedy, but how far they have come!

I am officially smitten. I%26#39;ve traveled a lot in my life but can%26#39;t remember falling in love with a city like I have New Orleans.

Enjoy your trip and feel free to ask any questions (if you are still awake after reading this tome!)

Jeremy and Lee

Our Trip Report - 4/2 to 4/7

Awesome report, Jeremy! Sounds like a gastronomical delight! Loved all the insights, gonna be in NO in 9days and counting!

Mimi

Our Trip Report - 4/2 to 4/7

Fantastic report! I%26#39;m heading down in about a month and a half. I can%26#39;t wait and these trip reports keep me counting the days! :)

I think yours is the second thing I%26#39;ve read lately about Louisiana Bistro. Very interesting. I%26#39;m thinking about giving it a try, even though I%26#39;ll be solo. I feel like I have breakfast and lunch places picked out in my head, but need some dinner options lined up for myself as well. How did you find the atmosphere at LA Bistro? Fairly casual or a little less so?

Thanks again for sharing all those fantastic details! Good luck getting readjusted in CT! (btw, I used to live in the West End of Hartford...pizza there was...interesting. hehehe)

Oh man, here we go again with someone finding Louisiana Bistro on Dauphine..we locals have to keep some secrets still secret...great creole/french food.

I have yet to try Louisiana Bistro, but I have a friend coming in town this weekend, so I%26#39;ll have to give it a shot!

OOHHH, Louisiana Bistro is right by my hotel, Dauphine Orleans! Gotta try it! Thanks, Mimi

Check out the website louisianabistro.net. Chef Mars does a great job with the food and is also an accomplished photographer as you can tell when you peruse the website with the photos of his menu dishes. Dress is casual.

I was there at the same time. I loved the pirates too! Your trip sounds darn near perfect to me. You got Johnny%26#39;s and Camillia which are the two faves I did not get to.

Hi Jeremy

How many days were you there? I will be traveling to NO in early May for 3 nights. Enough time?

Thanks,

Leanie

We were there for 5 nights and didn%26#39;t get to see/do/eat everything we wanted to. My advise would be to try not and cram too too much into your itinerary, leave yourself some time to just kick back and people watch. Some of my favorite moments from the trip are the days/nights we did just that :)

enjoy!