New Orleans Restaurants????
 

Anyone got the lowdown on somthing new and classy in NOLA? I have been to most of the better known ones like: Bayona, Pelican Club, anything owned by the Brennans, or Emeril Lagasse, etc., and I'm kind of tiring of those places...

Any suggestions, and please don't tell me Mother's :D

M8

This weekend, we are doing:

La Cote Brasserie

New Orleans Grill

Dick & Jenny's

All three of these will be new to me... and all have excellent ratings.

You'll enjoy Dick & Jenny's, it's a great place.

For something a little different, the food at Jacques Imo's is worth the wait -- although I'd hardly describe it as 'classy'.

I'm a fan of Cuvee, if you're looking for something a little more classy. Some people like Cobalt, but I don't find it terribly special. Herbsaint is a solid choice, although not new.

here we go again...
 

For (relatively) new and definitely classy, head to Stella! on Chartres, a couple of blocks the Quarter side from Esplanade.

Outstanding!

Have you tried GW Fins?

Formerly known as the Grill Room. It is a fabulous dinner but be prepared to pay big $$$. I don't bat an eye usually at what some consider "expensive" but geez Louise is this place spendy! Report back with your review. I would like to hear your take on it. It's also hotter than he!! right now in NOLA, dress cool but bring a shawl for the arctic chill airconditioning that seems to be blowing in every building.

A restaurant that is making lots of buzz with the locals is Ralph's on the Park. It doesn't show it on web page but you have to love a restaurant that has menu section called "Liquid Starters," only in New Orleans!

I second this. And would like to add August (in the CBD just off Canal) and Herbsaint (Warehouse District, just beyond the CBD).

Commander's Palace has a great brunch :)

If you mean the restaurant at the Windsor Court Hotel...been there done that. I thought it was just okay. I did like the bar area, however, since it's cigar friendly.

M8

This is one of Susan Spicer's restaurants. I thought it was okay, but I prefer here Bayona restaurant, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the world, and the one of her three where she actually works.

M8

Thanks for all the recommendations
 

I've done Dick & Jenny's already, and most of the ones above. However, Stella! is new to me. I hated that Brando movie, simply because of the Stella! shouting --- I go to their website and what do I hear :D

Okay, so I will try this place out. I will probably visit my regular places too, Bayona and The Bombay Club, and of course the Lucky Dog stand outside the poker room at Harrah's :D

M8

P.S. Anyone been to Gabrielle's lately? I was there about five years ago and am wondering how it is now.

Dick and Jenny's has my vote!!

If not, I have heard Galatois (sp?) in the french quarter is good as well.

I second the Cuvée recommendation. I ate there last week and was pleased. Smallish portions (if sharing apps, e.g.), but everything was interesting and fresh. Le Petit Grocery has some current buzz. Pascal Manale's in the Garden District is a standby for barbeque shrimp. If you're adventurous (it's in the hood), head out to Willie Mae's Scotch House (2401 St.Ann) in the Treme neighborhood for the best fried chicken in the South. This 89 year old woman just won a James Beard award.

We will be there from this Thursday through Sunday. Here are restaurants to go to based on "not your run of the mill" fine dining in NOLA:

1. Stella! - absolutely the best "newer" restaurant in NOLA, and my wife and I have eaten at them all several times over. Scott Boswell, a Louisiana native, is currently, in my opinion, the best chef in New Orleans. We attended the Iron Chef Italian dinner there last January (he worked with Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe in Japan for a while) and it was one of the great meals of my life. My wife and I will have our 10 year anniversary dinner here this Friday. It's located off Chartres Street next to the Hotel Provencial in a quite part of the French Quarter.
2. Restaurant August - John Besh, another Louisiana native, cooks up some mighty fine meals on Tchoupitoulas Street. Service can be spotty though.
3. Upperline - Jo Ann Clevenger, yet another Louisiana native, has one of the most interesting restaurants I have ever been to with walls upon walls of art by native Louisianans prominently displayed. Additionally, she will welcome you into the restaurant as if you were entering her home and escort you out after you have finished. My wife and I will be eating here on Saturday. Oh, and the food is mighty, mighty good as well.
4. GW Fins - absolutely the freshest of the freshest seafood that I have had anywhere in the world. Currently, they are offering fresh, I say again, fresh Alaskan King Crab. You would have to fly up to Alaska to savor this puppy. They also offer gulf stone crab, a different species than the one served in Florida, and it is as fresh as it gets also. Plus, the tables are seated very far apart from each other so you can enjoy the dining experience in a quite atmosphere. The waitstaff are some of the best I have ever been around. My wife and I will be eating here tomorrow. Another tip - get the apple pie for dessert.
5. Cuvee - if you love fine wine, you won't find a better wine list in New Orleans. Plus, the food can be exceptional.
6. Louis XVI - the absolute best dinner deal in NOLA, and possibly in the U.S. if you download the 2 for 1 entree coupon from the web. We have eaten here many times and have never been disappointed. Do a google search for "New Orleans coupons" and download the coupon. You might as well download them all while you're at it.
7. Brigtsen's - the best interpretation of "New Cajun" food in NOLA, in my opinion.
8. Herbsaint - this is Susan Spicer's and Donald Link's restaurant with a fresh, emphasis on fresh, take on Creole cooking. We ate here about a month ago and loved it. Unfortunately, it will be closed down until August 1 because of a fire.
9. Jacque Imo's - outstanding Cajun food, fun atmosphere, good prices - quintessential cajun food with the amazing attention to detail setting it apart from other Cajun food contenders. Be advised, no reservation, but the place is so much fun you won't mind having a drink and waiting for a table.

No good finishing without lunch recommendations. If you go nowhere else to eat in NOLA, you have to go to Drago's several blocks off of North Causeway Boulevard and try the charbroiled oysters. They are, without a doubt, the single best piece of food I have ever put in my mouth. I had tried to get my wife to eat oysters for 15 years to no avail. One bite and she now eats oysters - 'nuff said. They also have a 1 1/2 pound Maine lobster for $15.99, but I prefer the crab stuffed lobster tail. This is my favorite all-around place to eat in New Orleans when you take into account the food, atmosphere, service, and price. Most New Orleanians will tell you the same thing.

Off the opposite end of Causeway Boulevard (this time South Causeway) on Jefferson Highway, you will find the quintessential NOLA poorboys at Crabby Jack's. They are so good it hurts. Jack Leonardi, the Jack in Jacque Imo's, is the owner, and everything else is worth eating as well. Be prepared for a long wait as well, but it's worth it.

One other suggestion - if you like wine with dinner, go to the Vieux Carre winestore on Chartres street next to K-Paul's (actually worth going to if you haven't eaten there, although lot's of tourists) and ask to be taken into the back wine cellar where there is an amazing amount of fine wines. Buy your dinner wines here and take them with you to the restaurants. You will have to pay a corkage fee, but most of the restaurants charge from $10-$20 (a few are $30). You can save A LOT of money this way and still have great wine with your meals - easily enough to pay for your breakfast and lunch each day if you would have popped for a bottle from a restaurants wine list.

I will agree with Drago's which has awesome char-broiled Oysters. if you have a car stop and eat lunch here on your way back to the airport. This is not a tourist place by an stretch of the imagination it's in an area of town called "Fat City" which is a little seedy by Metairie standards. The food is worth the wait.

I disagree with Crabby Jack's as the "best" po-boy. Check out LaBella's, World Deli, or Come Back Inn if you want a really good po-boy in the Metairie/Jefferson area. My personal fave is Come Back Inn.

Come Back Inn
8016 West Metairie Avenue
Metairie, LA
Just East of Williams Blvd., near the airport
504-467-9316