New Orleans Restaurants
(A quick note...if you are driving from New Orleans to Natchez or vice-versa, I often send friends through Breaux Bridge to eat at Cafe Des Amis) That is a wonderful part of the world and if time permits...Avery Island is incredible. Do a map quest and see what you think...worth the trip if time allows.

So many of our guests add a trip to New Orleans when they are coming to visit…so here are a list of restaurants that will help you with our New Orleans experience.

These are all in the Quarter…which is such a great place to be.

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen 416 Chartres St.(504) 524-7394 – It will always remain one of my favorites because of Chef Paul and my dearest of friends Chef Marty Cosgrove…and Ms. Shawn and on and on. Come hungry because it is not for the light eater…but it is what New Orleans is about.

John Besh who owns Restaurant August, Besh Steak House and Luke in New Orleans, along with La Provence in Mandeville – just seek him out…eat at any or all of his restaurants. He is so very nice and so talented. Luke is the more casual of the three…he is definitely listed under fine dining.

Muriel’s 801 Chartres St.(504) 568-1885 Always very good food, pretty straight forward fare. Nice for a leisurely lunch.

Mr. B’s Bistro 201 Royal St. (504) 523-2078 Always rated by my friends as a great experience and remains on the list of favorites.

NOLA 534 St. Louis St. (504) 522-6652 My favorite of Emerils restaurants. I love to sit at the counter and watch and taste.

Galatoires 209 Bourbon St.(504) 525-2021 It still remains the essence of Old New Orleans and classic New Orleans Cuisine. I never tire of this restaurant and I never get there enough.

Dickie Brennans Steak House – 716 Iberville St.(504) 522-2467 Incredible Steak house with a hint of New Orleans. Great wine list.

Old Absinthe House 240 Bourbon St. (504) 523-3181 – just the coolest old bar on earth and good sandwiches.

Many of my other Favorites are included on the notes by Sharon Keating for About.com

This is a great site to get info on New Orleans http://goneworleans.about.com

These notes are by Sharon Keating for About.com

NEW RESTAURANTS IN NEW ORLEANS

Alberta This new restaurant at 5015 Magazine Street has the best Osso Buco in town. It's served with a wild mushroom risotto and foie gras butter and I had enough to save some for lunch the next day. Alberta's serves an interesting combination of French and Italian food. It's great, but can be a bit pricey.

Vizard's on the Avenue Vizard's at 2203 St. Charles Avenue has become my new favorite restaurant. Vizard's serves Mediterranean cuisine and I love the crab-crusted gulf fish of the day.

Iris This great new restaurant is in the Carrollton area at 8115 Jeannette Street. It's in an old renovated cottage and the portions here are large. Iris serves American food with an Oriental twist. I love the atmosphere.

JacksonThis restaurant in the Lower Garden District at 1910 Magazine is in an old building that has a reputation for being very haunted. I've never seen any ghosts, but the food is an interesting variety of fresh Louisiana ingredients and touches of International flavors.

7 on Fulton Fulton Street in the Warehouse/Arts District is becoming the new restaurant row. 7 on Fulton is at 700 Fulton, just two blocks from another great restaurant, Wolf's. 7 serves great Louisiana food, try the oysters.

La Boca Also on Fulton at 857, is La Boca, a new Argentine style steak house serving grilled meats and pasta paired with wines from Argentina and Italy.

Cochon Also in the Warehouse/Arts District is Cochon, a new Cajun restaurant. Try the homemade andouille and boudin sausage and the Louisiana crawfish pie.

Table one At 2800 Magazine Street, Table One is an elegant neighborhood restaurant in an historic building. The menu is varied and tasty.

StanleyStanley is a new restaurant in the French Quarter. It's located at 1031 Decatur Street. It's a great place for breakfast. Try the Eggs Stanley.

UPTOWN RESTAURANTS

The premier restaurant in the Garden District is Commander's Palace. It's been around since 1880 and only gets better. This is a place to dress up and enjoy a festive meal(jackets are required for men at dinner). Not only is the food great but the service is impeccable. Another dressy place is Emeril's Delmonico at 1300 St. Charles Avenue.

More CasualThere are some great places that are less formal in dress, but still upscale in menus. One of those is a cozy little French Cafe called La Crepe Nanou at 1410 Robert Street. Another is Bistro Italia Restaurant at 3226 Magazine Street. In my neighborhood, I like Pascal's Manale for great oysters and Italian food using fresh Louisiana seafood. It's at 1838 Napoleon Avenue. If you like Indian food try Nirvana Indian Cuisine at 4308 Magazine Street. It's on one of the good blocks for affordable antiques if you want to go early and shop. In the next block is Le Petit Grocery. That's a good restaurant to try also. Further uptown at 5908 Magazine is Martinique Bistro, a small French Bistro with outdoor patio dining. The Flaming Torch is at 737 Octavia, just off Magazine, is a great French restaurant.Matt & Naddie's Cafe at 937 Leonidas Street, and Dick and Jenny's at 5401 Tchoupitoulas St. are two more good ones. After a day of shopping on Magazine St. try either Table One at Magazine and Washington Avenue or Restaurant Lilette at 3637 Magazine St. for a relaxing meal. Also on Magazine Street look for a new restaurant, Alberta for some great veal.

Gautreau's Restaurant at 1728 Soniat Street is housed in an old pharmacy built in 1911. Gautreau's is primarily a local's hangout so there's no sign in front. If you go, be sure to take the address with you in case the cab driver isn't familiar with it. I love Clancy's at 6100 Annunciation Street and The Upperline at 1413 Upperline Street. Both offer a wonderful menu of classic Creole food. One of the newer restaurants is Vizard's on St. Charles Avenue at Jackson. It's in the Garden District Hotel so there's valet parking.

The Very Casual and The Downright Funky.

Jacques-imo Cafe at 8324 Oak St. for wonderful Creole food, and Domilise's Po-boys at 5240 Annunciation St, a family-run operation for over 70 years that makes some of the best Po-boys in town, top the list here. Other restaurants in this category are Frankie and Johnny's at 321 Arabella St., which has some great fried seafood, and Casemento's, at 4330 Magazine, a very casual restaurant serving great oysters. Joey K's at 3001 Magazine is another very casual place were you'll find a lot of locals at lunch time, and don't miss Rocky's at 3222 Magazine for some of the best pizza in town. If you're in the mood for some Italian food, try Nardo's at 6078 Laurel Street, about a block from Clancy's.