Uptown is not a nearby location, i.e., Dante's, Jacques-Imo's. He wants a restaurant recommendation primarily in the French Quarter, not too formal, not Italian, etc.

My recommendations:

http://www.bayona.com

http://www.restaurantstella.com

http://www.sylvainnola.com

http://www.pelicanclub.com

http://www.mrbsbistro.com

http://www.redfishgrill.com

lerasp, these are all nice restaurants in the French Quarter and should fit the criteria that you listed. All are within a relatively short walk from your hotel.

Thanks for coming to visit our city and I hope that y'all have a great time celebrating your anniversary.

edited to add:

I'm adding a fairly new FQ restaurant, with the caveat that I haven't been to it, however, it is getting some good reviews. I do like the chef, Greg Sonnier.

http://kingfishneworleans.com

also, read this about Kingfish - http://neworleanslocal.com/every-man...g-at-kingfish/

For an anniversary dinner, I'd recommend Stella or Bayona from this list. I'd also throw Herbsaint (not in the Quarter but an easy walk or cab ride) into the mix if looking for something a little more casual. (Stella would be my choice, but its cuisine is the least "local" of these three.)

thank you all for the recommendations! looking through them now.

Greg Sonnier? From Mystery Street (in the 90's)? Cool.

I like to send first-timers to the Palace Cafe for good old-time New Orleans food in a very nice room. Plus, there will be at least one Perlis Seersucker suit there.

You're going back in the time machine if you remember Mystery St. Café.

Palace Café is another good recommendation but, technically it isn't in the French Quarter (by one block). LOL!! Oh, & I do have a seersucker shirt on now. :D

I ate at Kingfish last month, about a week after it opened.

There were some definite service issues, but that's not uncommon for a new restaurant, hopefully they'll get them worked out. My food was very good, the cracklin appetizer & the namesake Kingfish. My girlfriend's steak was ok, a bit overcooked.

Palace Cafe is good, but over two weeks of Jazzfest, between myself and acquaintances, at least 4 credit cards used there were skimmed/cloned and used fraudulently.

Re: Kingfish. That's why I usually wait at least a month before I try a new place. I can't believe how many "Yelpers" will trash a restaurant during the first couple of days it's open. Glad you acknowledge the fact that you went when it was only open about a week.

Re: Palace Café. What was their response after you reported the fraud? Do you know if they found the guilty employees? What a major pain. Thanks for the heads up.

I'd recommend any of the various John Besh restaurants if you're going to be downtown. IMHO August is the best restaurant in the city and unlike the Big Three it is slightly more laid back. Luke is awesome but it is more of a European feel than local, however the oysters are great. I'd definitely recommend making a stop at Luke for their happy hour every day from 3-6pm.

Restaurant R'evolution is supposed to be fantastic although I have yet to try it: http://www.revolutionnola.com/

If you are looking to venture out of the Quarter, I'd recommend Upperline. It's in the Garden District and has some of the best food in the city. It has a great menu with local flavors. It's my favorite restaurant Uptown. http://www.upperline.com/

The manager I spoke to was apologetic and concerned. He asked for the date of the dine, where I sat, etc. Whether they're able to track anything from that, who knows...

How's this for "time machine": Years ago, I took the streetcar to work at Shell Square. In those days (the early 90's), there were still some older fellows on the car wearing seersucker suits, saddle shoes, and straw hats.

No time machine necessary as that is still common today. :)

we are back now after a wonderful long weekend in NOLA. Thank you everyone for your advice and comments. here's where we ended up eating:
Restaurant August - fantastic! meal and overall experience was on par with top restaurants in NYC and in the country. excellent meal, good service, unhurried, seated immediately at our reservation time. lovely overall!
the rest were more casual affairs -
Royal Oyster House - good etouffe and grilled oysters, service so-so, but fun to sit on the balcony for great peoplewatching
this weekend was the Oyster Fest in the park in front of FQ (don't remember the name of it). All the top restaurants had tents there and were selling small portions of 2-3 things off their menu. We went back over two days for several helpings of Drago's charbroiled oysters. thgey were fantastic! Also sampled RedFish Grill oyster tacos (great!), Borgne buffalo shrimp po-boy, and a few other things. this was our lunch both days.
Had beignets at Cafe du Monde - mneh. one and done. i can see how some love them - they were fresh, hot and doughy, but i'd just rather have a different type of desert (or a plain croissant for a bready-thing).
We stayed at W French Quarter and had breakfast there - it was surpringly good and reasonably priced. excellent omelets and yogurt/granola.

Restaurant R'evolution is supposed to be fantastic although I have yet to try it: http://www.revolutionnola.com/

I can confirm this...R'evolution has become our favorite restaurant in NOLA. I kind of rolled my eyes at trying a hotel restaurant (Royal Sonesta), but it was fabulous. Interesting NO influenced food and excellent service. It is one of those restaurants that balances being cool and of the moment with being extremely comfortable: tables nicely spaced, clean lines, not too fussy. I think food lovers of all ages would like this place.

Definitely stop by Luke for happy (3-6p weekdays). Classy place with 1/2 off drinks and wine by the glass. Oysters are 50 cents each.

A glass of wine, a dozen oysters and a bowl of gumbo makes for an inexpensive meal.

I'll be in New Orleans briefly overnight in December. A friend wants to join me for a late drink but the bar at the MSY Hilton where I'm staying closes at 11 and she won't be there til 11:30. Anyone know a decent bar out by the airport that would be open late?