RESTAURANTS I HOPE ARE IN MY FUTURE Boucherie Casamento's Cochon Butcher Coquette The Delachaise Domilise's Po Boys Dooky Chase High Hat The Joint La Petite Grocery Lil Dizzy's Cafe St. James Cheese Company Stanley Three Muses Toups Meatery Willie Mae's Scotch House
We went to Pat O'Brien's for a round on Friday afternoon and it was terrible. Well, unless you're looking to hang out in crowded bars with 50-somethings who like to dress like Britney Spears circa 2001 in which case it is awesome. Also, hurricanes are not tasty. Overall, the French Quarter is very pretty, but Bourbon Street is even worse than I had feared and so much of the area is so crowded. Kind of a shame because the architecture is lovely but it is hard to really take it in because there are so many people everywhere.
When we didn't make it into Preservation Hall, we stopped in here and I was so. annoyed. I was like, "Why the fuck are we in an Irish bar, listening to dueling pianos, in fucking NEW ORLEANS?" LOL. I didn't enjoy the experience.
Our favorite time to walk around Bourbon Street was Monday (we had a late flight that day). The weekends were just too crowded. We also booked our trip during some big event so it was even more crowded than normal. Frenchmen Street is where it's at!
Ditto the previous recs for Jacques Imos. Louisiana Bistro and Muriel's were also good. Lafitte's (waay down on Bourbon St. ) was perfect for some afternoon beers.
If you take a swamp tour, just remember that alligators are hibernating in January. I went in January and was disappointed, although seeing the swamp is cool too. I liked the aquarium.