TR: Tried different eats this time

Just got back from another great weekend in New Orleans. When we went last November we tried at least one restaurant a day that we had not ate in before and were happy with them. Unfortunately, I can%26#39;t say the same for this trip. We tried three restaurants that we had not been to before: Oceana, Napolean House and Deanies.

We went to Oceana at 10 p.m. on Friday night (after the Hornets game--Go Hornets!). Loved this restaurant. The service was great. Our waiter, Ray, was very friendly and made us feel welcome. I had the crabcakes, my husband had the catfish plate and our daughter had the Taste of New Orleans. We all loved our meals. The price was reasonable as well. We will definately return. I wish I could be as positive about Napolean House and Deanies.

We went to Napolean House on Saturday for lunch. My daughter and I both had a small greek salad and a quarter muffaletta. My husband had red beans and rice and a quarter muffaletta. The salad was fresh and tasty. The red beans and rice were bland with a minute piece of sausage (about 2 inches long). The muffalettas were the not good at all. The meat was one layer thick and the cheese was also sparse. There was plenty of the olive salad, but come on, this is your speciality. Put some meat on them.

Deanies was a dossapointment as well. First of all, I did not like the fact that I had to give them a picture ID (driver%26#39;s license) to hold till I turned the buzzer back in when our table was ready. Do they have a problem with people stealing them? We weren%26#39;t too hungry so my husband and I had gumbo. My daughter had a seafood salad which she enjoyed. The shrimp and crabmeat were fresh and tasty. Wish I could be so positive about the gumbo. The only seafood that was in it was a few tiny mushy shrimp! No crawfish. No crab. No oysters. This was not shrimp gumbo, it was seafood gumbo. I asked how much the boiled crawfish was per pound. Our watiress told us that they were $7.99 a pound! So we didn%26#39;t get any. The table next to us had some and they were very small. So, when we return in October we will be going back to our favorites-The Gumbo Shop, Acme Oysters and Coops (went there for the first time last year and loved it)

TR: Tried different eats this time

We have been to NO several times and tend to go back to our faves so this year we were going to try and stretch a little......

Coops and Gumbo Shop are on our list and so was Napolean House - maybe we will just stop their for drinks and see what happens.

TR: Tried different eats this time

I%26#39;m sorry you didn%26#39;t like Napoleon House - it%26#39;s good for a quick bite (their muff is non-traditional, I like it better, just my opinion) and is such an institution. I would never tell anyone to cross it off their list completely.

I have never been to Deanies but will definitely not recommend it based on your review! I agree with the other poster, Gumbo Shop is a great mid-priced place.

I like the Bucktown branch of Deanie%26#39;s a lot more than the French Quarter, though they make a good boil at both.

I%26#39;m sorry about Napoleon House - usually, it%26#39;s quite good!

I%26#39;m going to have to give Oceana another chance from the reviews...

I like Deanie%26#39;s. Hate Oceana. Different strokes for different folks!

I agree about ';different strokes for different folks.'; If we all liked the same food and restaurants getting a table would be impossible.

Great report!! I also like the Napoleon House Muffaletta better than the traditional Central Grocery one. Sorry you didn%26#39;t enjoy it :( If you plan on visiting Oceana again, there is a great gift certificate on Restaurant.com..great deal...funny, but Oceana seems to be winning a lot of people over lately...including me, I can%26#39;t wait to go back and have the crab cakes again :) The Gumbo shop and Coops are great choices-I always get great meals there, definitely my favourite places to enjoy a delicious casual meal.

I agree with %26#39;different strokes%26#39; because I have never had a bad experience at Napoleon%26#39;s...it is my favorite place to eat in New Orleans.

I have to agree with Deanies in Bucktown being so much better than the one in the Quarter. We visit Nola every Spring and search for crawfish, crawfish and crawfish. One year a local told us to try the crawfish boil at Deanies so we tried the one in the quarter.What a disappointment.Tiny mudbugs to say the least. Later that night another local said we should have tried the Deanies in Bucktown. He insisted we would not be sorry. The following day we took his advice. What a difference! The crawfish looked like minny lobsters. To this day they were the largest crawfish we ever had. I think Deanies send the ';should be throwbacks'; to the quater and keeps the prime bugs for the locals at Bucktown.

I agree with you on Deanies, large portions, but nothing special. Napolean House in my opinion is good for one thing, Pimms Cup and that%26#39;s it. Thanks for the report.

We like Napoleon House just to sit and enjoy a drink, maybe have an appetizer but the food (to my taste) just doesn%26#39;t do it for me.

Our first visit we were told to try Felix%26#39;s or Deanies and neither of those places did anything for me either. I may try Acme%26#39;s though, I%26#39;ve heard good reviews about their food.

Although it%26#39;s a chain, we always enjoy appetizers at Ralph and Kacoos. Crawfish popcorn, a bowl of crawfish etoufee, hot from the oil hushpuppies, a cold beer and I%26#39;m good to go. I%26#39;m not crazy about their dinners, but the etoufee is nearly always perfect (again, to my taste).

Last April, we got a great crawfish/shrimp boil to go from a bar near the river. Can%26#39;t remember what the bar was called (in between the French Market and Jackson Square) and it was one of the best meals we had that trip. Took it back to our B%26amp;B and ate at the picnic table until we couldn%26#39;t move.

We do plan on eating at Coops this trip.

Ah two more days. . . and I%26#39;ll be home (figuratively speaking that is).

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