Dave's New Orleans and New Iberia

[pamala]

Here's a good general topic thread to discuss Dave's Louisiana...the sites, the food, etc... Just saying Louisiana and food has me craving a fried oyster po-boy.

[jbenham]

What a good idea! First question, how far is New Iberia from New Orleans? I got the impression it was quite a ways. We will be staying at the JW Marriott on Canal St. Can you hop on a street car and pretty much get where you want? I get the impression that everyone has been to Cafe du Monde except us. Even up here in Northern Wisconsin, just mention it, or mention New Orleans and they have had beignets at Cafe du Monde!

Fried oyster Po Boy? Can you fax me one? That sure got my attention!

[jbenham]

You have been really helpful already! I'd ask you about Don Schula's steak house which is in our hotel, but this is New Orleans, that would be sacriligious, wouldn't it?

[pamala]

Hi Jeff,

You will be just about right on the line between the Quarter and downtown. The street cars will run you down St Charles past the beautiful old homes, to Loyola and Audobon Park. The cars do not run past downtown into the Quarter. If you check out a Quarter map, you'll see that the whole area can be walked.

New Iberia is 2 hours from New Orleans.

Please do try a fried oyster po'boy, a big plate of crawfish ettoufe', and the beignets!

[jbenham]

I looked up ettoufe which in turned caused me to look up roux. This is like reading a Robicheaux novel, keep dictionary handy! It looks like it would be good with crabmeat, one of my favorite things. I am going to take a wild guess that you have better crawfish down there then we have up here. I have a walking map of restaurants of what I think is the French Quarter. We will be closest to Cafe Giovanni, just for a point of reference.

[pamala]

If I have my directions right, the Quarter will be directly northeast across Canal, while you can ride the street car southwest (on St. Charles) through the Garden District.

[mlerc]

Jeff,

It may be sacrilegious, but I can testify Shula's is also VERY expensive, and worth every penny. One in the Westin near my home. We celebrated my birthday and our 20th anniversary last October there. Somehow did not pay any attention to the a la carte details and the wonderful service sort of made us stop asking how much those asparagus were costing us. As I had made the reservation, my handsome devil said he would pick up the restaurant tab. It was double the hotel bill. As Mr. B said, you cannot find a bad meal in N.O., but at Shula's you can certainly find an expensive one. You are in the seafood capital of the world, I still recommend Galatoire's.

We look forward to your report.

Marilyn

[pamala]

If we're not minding the huge dinner bill, I think Brennan's is a must (for THE best bananas foster ever). Commander's Palace in the Garden District is also world famous, and a guaranteed 5 star meal. Poor Jeff. You've got some tough decisions to make. Maybe you should just eat 6 meals a day while in NOLA.

[LeeCook]

We found menus from one end of the budget spectrum to the other. A couple of times, we had lunch at the House of Gumbo in the Quarter, just a short walk from our hotel (Bourbon Orleans Hotel). There was another restaurant in the quarter, but the name escapes me....my wife had blackened catfish with crawfish etouffee and I had barbecued shrimp. both were awesome, not too expensive. I think we spent about $40. Our final night in NOLA was spent at Emeril's, and we were treated like royalty. The wine list was the size of our local telephone book....the least expensive bottle we could find was $35. My wife had a pork chop that must have weighed 8 pounds. I had stuffed redfish that just blew me away. The main thing was the service. We were constantly descended on by the wait staff, and never had to ask for anything. It was just great. We didn't see Emeril, but heard that he was there the following night. That dinner cost us about $180. I agree with JLB, though....I don't think a person can find a bad meal in New Orleans. Can't wait to go back.

Lee Cook

[whitey2]

Mr B's Bistro is my favorite, don't pass on their BBQ Shrimp, and get extra French bread to soak up the juice.

Acme for Oysters

Mothers for Roast Beef P00rboy