One more suggestion. If you can squeeze in a Bloody Mary on the patio at the Columns Hotel uptown, I recommend that as well.

No need to Uber down in the quarter. It's all close.

Ruby Slipper for breakfast
Chartres House for lunch (in the front bar)
Infinite dinner choices

Matsui said:

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No need to Uber down in the quarter. It's all close.

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Thanks. I had read it may not be kid friendly (or adults not in a large group) walking, especially at night. Any truth to that? Obviously I'll have to keep their eyes away from some stuff.

The Monteleone is great. The indifference between a few blocks in the quarter is negligible. A few blocks is just a 1-2 minute walk.

Also, in the quarter I'd recommend Curio for dinner - really cool spot.

Electrical_Ag said:

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Matsui said:

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No need to Uber down in the quarter. It's all close.

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Thanks. I had read it may not be kid friendly (or adults not in a large group) walking, especially at night. Any truth to that? Obviously I'll have to keep their eyes away from some stuff.

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you don't want to be walking around quarter randomly with kids at night. but main lighted roads should be fine.

but really much more character out in Uptown or Garden District or down at the Bend (Oak Street, etc).

Electrical_Ag said:

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Matsui said:

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No need to Uber down in the quarter. It's all close.

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Thanks. I had read it may not be kid friendly (or adults not in a large group) walking, especially at night. Any truth to that? Obviously I'll have to keep their eyes away from some stuff.

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Don't go down bourbon street at night, most of the quarter is fine.

If you turn down a street after dark and feels sketchy it probably is. That said I spent 4 nights completely blitzed in NOLA for my bachelor party and the worst that happened was some dude tried to sell us coke, I had rougher nights drinking on 6th in Austin the few nights I've been out there than any in NOLA

One of most memorable breakfasts was Johnny's shrimp poboys and mimosas on balcony of Dauphine Orleans before heading to Saints game.

ETA, garlic crusted drum at NOLA is really good. Italian at Pascale's Manale.

CharlieBrown17 said:

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Electrical_Ag said:

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Matsui said:

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No need to Uber down in the quarter. It's all close.

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Thanks. I had read it may not be kid friendly (or adults not in a large group) walking, especially at night. Any truth to that? Obviously I'll have to keep their eyes away from some stuff.

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Don't go down bourbon street at night, most of the quarter is fine.

If you turn down a street after dark and feels sketchy it probably is. That said I spent 4 nights completely blitzed in NOLA for my bachelor party and the worst that happened was some dude tried to sell us coke, I had rougher nights drinking on 6th in Austin the few nights I've been out there than any in NOLA

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Saw a girl walking down bourbon in a Fish net dress and a buddy of mine also got sucker punched by some random dude. After getting hustled at Little Darlings strip club (story for another time. You can see their reviews on fb and are now closed) I vowed I'd never go back. Lol.

Clancy's if you can get in.

I am at JBs Fuel Dock now eating pizza with my kiddos.

Glad to know they're still open - cool place, friendly staff, and good food!

Don't know if you are a fan of oysters, but I always hit Acme Oyster House. Beer always seems colder there too.

Some great food recommendations here so I have nothing to add there, but I want to add another recommendation for visiting the WWII museum. It's one of the best museums I've visited. I'm a huge BoB fan and each exhibit is like an episode of that show. It helps to bring another perspective and fill in gaps. Also, the room featuring different aircraft is amazing. I visited it with my kids who were 8, 11, & 14 at the time and they all loved it.

Definitely stay at the Monteleone.

Places we like in the FQ:

Drago's
Deanie's
Acme Oyster House
Mr. Ed's - 2 in the Quarter
Crescent City Brewhouse
Louisiana Pizza Kitchen
Central Grocery or Frank's for muffalettas
Remoulade - casual side of Arnaud's (may be temporarily closed)
Mulate's by the Convention Center - (may be closed also due to COVID)
There's a little spot around the corner from the Monteleone called Country Flame - Cuban-Mexican. Nice for a change of pace from seafood.
Daisy Duke's for breakfast or a burger
Bayou Burger
Oceana Grill is pretty good even though it's a tourist joint on Bourbon

Kids will like the Hard Rock Cafe

crab cheesecake at Palace Cafe

Coops place - but no kids

Take the family to Mardi Gras World. It's a behind the scenes look at the tradition and building of the floats.

Clancys by a mile.

out of the rif raf, not touristy, food is ridiculous

Moscas was always good. It's a dumpy place but great food on white table clothe with waitresses that have been there forever. Saw Al Hurt eating there in the 80's.
A little out of the way but it was always worth it.
Oysters Mosca, spaghetti bordelaise, crab salad, and shrimp Mosca. Need to like garlic though.

https://www.moscasrestaurant.com/

Jnsag said:

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Moscas was always good. It's a dumpy place but great food on white table clothe with waitresses that have been there forever. Saw Al Hurt eating there in the 80's.
A little out of the way but it was always worth it.
Oysters Mosca, spaghetti bordelaise, crab salad, and shrimp Mosca. Need to like garlic though.

https://www.moscasrestaurant.com/

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Carlos Marcello's joint back in the day. That was a place you didn't go to years back. For the OP, this place is way out of town.

jetch17 said:

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Coops place - but no kids

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x2

Coop's website says they are closed due to Covid.

Long post but I'm cross-posting to the travel forum where this level of detail is maybe more relevant.

I've been to NOLA probably 15-20 times, but this past weekend coming back from Florida was the sketchiest it ever felt to me. To put this in perspective, I typically embrace everything about NOLA, the good, the bad, and the ugly/smelly. And we spent several days there within 6 months of Katrina.

CoVID has not been good to the quarter from what I've seen. First, the mask paranoia is much more palpable there right now than anywhere I've been since Boston this past summer. It was a noticeable difference from TX or anywhere else on the gulf coast.

But the bigger difference, and I don't know how much this might have been due to being much cooler weather than expected or what, was that there were more homeless per capita than I've ever seen, both because there were more homeless and less tourists/non-homeless than I expected.

We ate dinner at Adolfo's which I highly recommend if you can get in. It's small, neighborhoody and they might take your attempt to make a reservation by text, or you might have to hang out in the downstairs bar for an hour or two if there are seats available. Great seafood with an Italian/Cajun spin.

Adolfo's is in Fauborg Marigny (residential neighborhood plus great jazz on Frenchmen St, adjacent to the quarter) so we walked there a little before dusk, passing by Jackson Sq to Esplanade on Decatur. That area of the quarter has generally been going a little downhill the last few times I've been there, but it was essentially only homeless people and more than half of the businesses after you got past a hundred yards or less from Cafe du Monde were boarded up. It honestly looked like that section of the quarter has basically been given up on.

To add insult to injury, to all the people who were waiting in the long lines to get into cafe du Monde, the prime live music area next to the cafe had been taken over by one of the "homeless bands." Instead of the itinerant musicians who normally play there, who can be quite talented and are always at least organized and entetrtaining, the homeless bands are led by a guy or two with a modicum of musical ability and several guys who have been handed instruments and told to blow loudly. It was a cacophony of sounds and ruined those folks' Cafe du Monde experience.

It seems to me that the sole proprietor type restaurants and shops in the quarter have taken a big hit, resulting in more homeless encroachment into the quarter. It also appeared that the chains are continuing to push in from Canal a bit, so the character of the quarter is being squeezed on two fronts.

With more hotels and restaurants popping up in the CBD/Warehouse district every year, I hope this isn't a long term trend the quarter can't bounce back from.

I appreciate uptown and the garden district, and the CBD certainly has plenty of good hotel choices and increasingly good dining options, and I enjoy my time in those areas, but the quarter is what makes New Orleans truly unique among US cities IMO. Having traveled to San Francisco fairly recently as well, I hate to see two of my favorite cities struggling with some of the same issues.

The next morning it wasn't as bad, with more tourists to cover up and/or push out the homeless. So maybe my observations are skewed by time and place, a cool evening in that particular part of the quarter. Cafe du Monde was back to a good group of musicians outside the next morning, and the line was longer than I've ever seen it. While it's a tradition, that length of wait was crazy so we skipped it. Pro tip which I don't know if it is available in CoVID times anymore: you can get your latte and beignets thru the to-go line and grab a seat somewhere and still get pretty much the same ambiance.

I just remember being a poor broke college student and being able to live on mudbugs, red beans and rice, and Gator sausage from the French market, drinking a beer and sitting right on the sidewalk without any concerns or issues. It was always an interesting mix of folks, but felt safe and way less sketchy. NOLA has been through a lot in recent years, and I hope the trend in the quarter is reversible.

All good points and observations. The city is struggling to boost the quarter, but what may be a good option may be very divisive for half the city.

The bottom line is that locals don't go there except for Friday lunch at Galatoire's or for French Quarter fest.

With Covid, the mayor is trying to limit tourism to keep the case count down and to prevent a major local outbreak. That is not helping the FQ at all , but it appears to be rebounding now that some of the bars and music joints are now allowed to operate.

Frenchman st was great - it used to be the new Bourbon St, or the Bourbon for locals. It will take a while for that area to recover.

K Pauls closed permanently!

C uck Fovid!

Never had a bad meal there. This makes me sad.

Johnny's are good po-boys but keep in mind they close at 4pm.

I prefer Mahoney's which now has a 2nd location in the quarter. Much more room than Johnny's but can't go wrong with either.

Roast beef po-boy, dressed (no cheese!), extra pickles, extra blue plate, extra napkins.

Restaurant R'evolution has the best chicken/sausage gumbo on the planet - it is called "Death by Gumbo". They will split it for 2 people. It is actually whole quail stuffed with rice/sauce, then a chocolate brown rue poured table-side over the top. Their blue crab beignets are great too.

K-Paul's closing was the single greatest loss worldwide due to covid.

Never pass up an opportunity to eat Turtle Soup or BBQ shrimp (look up the shrimp so you know it isn't BBQ). Good BBQ shrimp is life altering. Deanie's makes a fine BBQ shrimp.

Bourbon at night isn't bad historically - just be very careful as you approach Canal St. Canal is insanely busy but still doesn't feel safe.

If you approach Rampart, particularly at night, turn and sprint the opposite direction.

When moving from Bourbon to perpendicular streets at night, just make sure there are others on the street. Royal St, Charters, etc. are all perfectly safe - just pay attention when switching b/w.

DTP02 said:

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Long post but I'm cross-posting to the travel forum where this level of detail is maybe more relevant.

I've been to NOLA probably 15-20 times, but this past weekend coming back from Florida was the sketchiest it ever felt to me. To put this in perspective, I typically embrace everything about NOLA, the good, the bad, and the ugly/smelly. And we spent several days there within 6 months of Katrina.

CoVID has not been good to the quarter from what I've seen. First, the mask paranoia is much more palpable there right now than anywhere I've been since Boston this past summer. It was a noticeable difference from TX or anywhere else on the gulf coast.

But the bigger difference, and I don't know how much this might have been due to being much cooler weather than expected or what, was that there were more homeless per capita than I've ever seen, both because there were more homeless and less tourists/non-homeless than I expected.

We ate dinner at Adolfo's which I highly recommend if you can get in. It's small, neighborhoody and they might take your attempt to make a reservation by text, or you might have to hang out in the downstairs bar for an hour or two if there are seats available. Great seafood with an Italian/Cajun spin.

Adolfo's is in Fauborg Marigny (residential neighborhood plus great jazz on Frenchmen St, adjacent to the quarter) so we walked there a little before dusk, passing by Jackson Sq to Esplanade on Decatur. That area of the quarter has generally been going a little downhill the last few times I've been there, but it was essentially only homeless people and more than half of the businesses after you got past a hundred yards or less from Cafe du Monde were boarded up. It honestly looked like that section of the quarter has basically been given up on.

To add insult to injury, to all the people who were waiting in the long lines to get into cafe du Monde, the prime live music area next to the cafe had been taken over by one of the "homeless bands." Instead of the itinerant musicians who normally play there, who can be quite talented and are always at least organized and entetrtaining, the homeless bands are led by a guy or two with a modicum of musical ability and several guys who have been handed instruments and told to blow loudly. It was a cacophony of sounds and ruined those folks' Cafe du Monde experience.

It seems to me that the sole proprietor type restaurants and shops in the quarter have taken a big hit, resulting in more homeless encroachment into the quarter. It also appeared that the chains are continuing to push in from Canal a bit, so the character of the quarter is being squeezed on two fronts.

With more hotels and restaurants popping up in the CBD/Warehouse district every year, I hope this isn't a long term trend the quarter can't bounce back from.

I appreciate uptown and the garden district, and the CBD certainly has plenty of good hotel choices and increasingly good dining options, and I enjoy my time in those areas, but the quarter is what makes New Orleans truly unique among US cities IMO. Having traveled to San Francisco fairly recently as well, I hate to see two of my favorite cities struggling with some of the same issues.

The next morning it wasn't as bad, with more tourists to cover up and/or push out the homeless. So maybe my observations are skewed by time and place, a cool evening in that particular part of the quarter. Cafe du Monde was back to a good group of musicians outside the next morning, and the line was longer than I've ever seen it. While it's a tradition, that length of wait was crazy so we skipped it. Pro tip which I don't know if it is available in CoVID times anymore: you can get your latte and beignets thru the to-go line and grab a seat somewhere and still get pretty much the same ambiance.

I just remember being a poor broke college student and being able to live on mudbugs, red beans and rice, and Gator sausage from the French market, drinking a beer and sitting right on the sidewalk without any concerns or issues. It was always an interesting mix of folks, but felt safe and way less sketchy. NOLA has been through a lot in recent years, and I hope the trend in the quarter is reversible.

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Appreciate this info - the wife and I have been to NOLA at least once a year over the past 30 years and went there on our honeymoon. I sure hope the FQ bounces back. We were there last in Feb. 2020 - right before Covid shut it all down.

About the lines at Cafe du Monde - about 5 years ago, we were in that long line with our son who was attending A&M at the time (and has since graduated). One of the guys working there saw his A&M shirt and said, "Texas A&M - come with me!" We got to skip the line and he gave us a prime table. Slipped him 5 bucks. Great time.

Adding my recs here. I've been to NOLA 15-20 times and is one of my favorite cities to visit.

Breakfast:
- Molly's Rise and Shine
- Cafe Du Monde
- Ruby Slipper Cafe
- Mother's Cafe
- The Camellia Grill

Lunch:
Domilese's Po Boys and Bar: Best po boys in town IMO
Guy's Po Boys
Central Grocery
Willie Mae's Scotch House
Cochon Butcher

Dinner:
Commander's Palace: My favorite restaurant in the United States
Jacques Imo's
Cochon
Tableau
Vincent's Italian Cuisine

Hit up the Irish Channel. A hidden away historical area on Magazine St. next to the Garden District. Don't remember the names of the restaurants but there is plenty to see. Would seem to be kid friendly for a few hours. Unique shops, walkable and some cool bars.
The roast beef po-boy at Parasol's is a must.
Have fun and be home by dark. NOLA is still as shady as ever.

Electrical_Ag said:

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Looking at travelling to New Orleans with wife + 2 kids (12 and 10). Please offer your recommendations on places we need to eat. Thanks in advance!

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Gumbo Shop
Drago's for the char broiled oysters

Mother's for breakfast. Be sure and ask one of the ladies on the line for their smothered hashbrowns. You will be the envy of your whole party!

I rarely hear other people recommend it, but my brother and I both love The Rum House on Magazine St. Amazing Caribbean style tacos.

Goody said:

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Clancys by a mile.

out of the rif raf, not touristy, food is ridiculous

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but with kids? I mean, same could be said for Upperline, Coquette, Lilette, Brigtsen's, etc. All great places out of FQ area and ridiculous food but not cheap and menus not really intended for an 11 year old.