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by Sara Roahen
Founded in 1718 by French colonists who saw the promise of commerce in this soft, curving land near the base of the Mississippi River, New Orleans has always been a city of entrepreneurs and idealists, the gutsy and the fanciful. Spain arrived. And Africa. Sicily, the Caribbean, and others. The creative interplay between cultures gave birth to the jazz, Mardi Gras, and incomparable cuisine that make this place extraordinary. Hurricane Katrina dealt a blow in 2005-the current population (around 360,000 in 2011) falls far short of prestorm numbers. Yet, from the historic French Quarter at the city's heart to the tree-shaded boulevards of Uptown to its west, the streets of shotgun houses in the Bywater to the east, the Treme to the north, and beyond, the music remains strong. The pageantry is spectacular. And the classic restaurants-Creole, Cajun, and otherwise-make food that's as delicious and vibrant as ever. Here are some of our favorite legendary places to eat, drink, and stay in New Orleans. -Sara Roahen
(209 Bourbon Street; 504/525-2021) The lion's share of old-school New Orleans dining rooms is located in the French Quarter, where the zing of paprika-laced shrimp rémoulade punctuates the Friday lunch at the centenarian Galatoire's.
Antoine's
(713 St. Louis Street; 504/581-4422) Antoine's, the originator in 1889 of oysters Rockefeller, spoils patrons with butter-soaked seafood like trout Pontchartrain topped with lump crabmeat.
Arnaud's
813 Rue Bienville (504/523-5433) Between courses of Pernod-spiked escargots en casserole and buttery speckled trout meunière at Arnaud's, diners may tour the restaurant's Mardi Gras museum, a spectacle of scepters and gowns.
Brennan's
417 Royal Street (504/525-9711) Nearby Brennan's is most beloved for its multicourse breakfasts (cocktails encouraged) and flaming bananas Foster.
823 Decatur Street (504/525-8676) Rounding out the French Quarter's quintet of classic Creole restaurants, Tujague's is the biggest stickler for tradition, offering only a six-course table d'hôte menu at dinnertime, with specialties like brisket in spicy Creole sauce; its standing-room-only bar serves up red beans and rice on Monday nights.
Dooky ChaseandYe Olde College Inn
2301 Orleans Avenue (504/821-0600), 3000 S. Carrollton Avenue (504/866-3683) Gumbo remains a constant in the city's classic restaurants, high-end and hole-in-the-wall alike. A gumbo excursionist can eat for days without ever tasting the same gumbo twice, from the version made with seafood and chaurice sausage (a Creole chorizo) at Dooky Chase, the restaurant that desegregated fine dining during the Civil Rights era, to the turkey and andouille gumbo at Uptown's beloved Ye Olde College Inn.
Mr. B's Bistro
201 Royal Street (504/523-2078) Mr. B's Bistro in the Quarter is famous for its gumbo ya-ya. The dish, whose name is Creole slang for "all talking at once," is chockful of chicken and sausage in a dark long-cooked roux.
Upperline
1413 Upperline Street (504/891-9822) A few miles uptown at Upperline, the signature is a rich duck and andouille gumbo.
Brigtsen's
723 Dante Street (504/861-7610) Farther along, in Riverbend, Frank Brigtsen uses filé (cured and ground sassafras leaves), a seasoning and thickener adopted from the Choctaw Indians, in a refined gumbo made with rabbit at Brigtsen's.
Charlie's Seafood
8311 Jefferson Highway (504/737-3700) At Charlie's Seafood, Brigtsen's casual spot out west in Harahan, he prepares it homestyle with okra, shrimp, and oysters.
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Avenue (504/899-8221) You never know what style of gumbo might be in the pot at Commander's Palace, the Garden District Creole grande dame, which offers a rotating selection of the Creole soup, along with originals like bread pudding soufflé.
401 Magazine Street (504/524-3386) The gumbo is good, but the crawfish bisque is the soup to try at the Cajun restaurant Bon Ton Cafe.
Felix's Restaurant andamp; Oyster Bar
739 Iberville Street (504/522-4440) Fried Gulf oysters are po'boy staples, but the bivalves find their true calling in raw form at the city's classic oyster bars, like the no-frills Felix's Restaurant andamp; Oyster Bar.
Casamento's and Pascale's Manale
4330 Magazine Street (504/895-9761), 1838 Napoleon Avenue; 504/895-4877 The chatty shuckers consider the gift of gab part of the job at Casamento's and Pascale's Manale, old-line Italian restaurants and oyster bars whose cuisine arrived from Italy in the late 1800s.
Tommy's Cuisine
746 Tchoupitoulas Street (504/525-4790) Tommy's Cuisine, in the Warehouse Arts District just west of the Quarter, features a full slate of traditional Creole dishes such as oysters Bienville and crabmeat Sardou.
Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur Street (504/525-4544) For 'round-the-clock coffee and dessert, Cafe Du Monde is the city's most popular attraction. The café's chicory-darkened roast and hot-from-the-fryer beignets are unparalleled-unless you're a partisan of Morning Call Coffee Stand.
Morning Call Coffee Stand
3325 Severn Avenue, Metairie (504/885-4068) The newest location of the 143-year-old local institution brings café au lait and those powder-sugar New Orleans-style donuts to City Park, the town's ever-improving expanse of green.
3811 Saint Charles Avenue (504/899-9308) The city's storied hotels and restaurants are among the best places for a well-crafted drink. There is no more picturesque spot for enjoying a Sazerac, the city's official cocktail made from rye whiskey, bitters, and liquorice-flavored Herbsaint or absinthe, than the front porch of the Columns Hotel in the Garden District, thanks to its Victorian Lounge Bar.
300 Poydras Street (504/595-3305) At the Swizzle Stick Bar in the Loews Hotel, bar chef Lu Brow revives vintage cocktails like the hair-of-the-dog Corpse Reviver #2, a lemon-spiked combination of gin, Lillet, Cointreau, and absinthe.
French 75 Bar
813 Rue Bienville (504/523-5433) Another new-wave bartender with old-timey sensibility, Chris Hannah turned the French 75 Bar at Arnaud's into an international destination by perfecting old favorites and concocting updated New Orleans-inspired ones like the Moviegoer, gin blended with orange curaçao, Averna amaro, and lemon.
Old Absinthe House
240 Bourbon Street (504/523-3181) At the Old Absinthe House, you can sample all manner of Big Easy cocktails-brandy milk punch, Ramos gin fizzes, mint juleps-as well as admire the marble fountains that bartenders once used to drip water over sugar cubes into absinthe.
Blue Nile and The Spotted Cat
532 Frenchmen Street (504/948-2583), 623 Frenchmen Street (504/258-3135) Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny east of the Quarter is the place to go for a nightcap and its natural New Orleans pairing: music. At Blue Nile, you might catch country bluesman Washboard Chaz or the raucous Big Sam's Funky Nation, while The Spotted Cat features all kinds of jazz.
Vaughan's
800 Lesseps Street (504/947-5562) In the Bywater, the iconic trumpeter and singer Kermit Ruffins packs Vaughan's every Thursday night, serving barbecue and red beans as a lagniappe.
Preservation Hall
726 St. Peter Street (504/522-2841) The Quarter's legendary Preservation Hall carries on its mission to preserve and present Dixieland jazz.
Tipitina's
501 Napoleon Avenue (504/895-8477) Uptown at Tipitina's , Sundays are usually reserved for a Cajun-style fais do do, or dance party.
300 Gravier Street (504/523-6000) Though it's only 29 years old, the Windsor Court drips old Southern luxury, from afternoon teas to lavish marble baths. In the Polo Club Lounge, choose a Vieux Carré cocktail (imagine a dressed-up Manhattan) to accompany the sounds of live music.
Roosevelt Hotel
123 Baronne Street (504/648-1200) The restored Roosevelt Hotel, where Louisiana's notorious Depression-era governor Huey Long allegedly had his own suite, still offers some residential-size accommodations. The Sazerac Bar, with its controversial Paul Ninas murals depicting the Old South, is a fancy setting for the namesake cocktail or a Ramos gin fizz.
Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street (504/523-3341) The Hotel Monteleone boasts the Carousel Bar, a revolving bar in the round. Hotel suites are named for writers who loved the place, including Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
by Sara Roahen
Founded in 1718 by French colonists who saw the promise of commerce in this soft, curving land near the base of the Mississippi River, New Orleans has always been a city of entrepreneurs and idealists, the gutsy and the fanciful. Spain arrived. And Africa. Sicily, the Caribbean, and others. The creative interplay between cultures gave birth to the jazz, Mardi Gras, and incomparable cuisine that make this place extraordinary. Hurricane Katrina dealt a blow in 2005-the current population (around 360,000 in 2011) falls far short of prestorm numbers. Yet, from the historic French Quarter at the city's heart to the tree-shaded boulevards of Uptown to its west, the streets of shotgun houses in the Bywater to the east, the Treme to the north, and beyond, the music remains strong. The pageantry is spectacular. And the classic restaurants-Creole, Cajun, and otherwise-make food that's as delicious and vibrant as ever. Here are some of our favorite legendary places to eat, drink, and stay in New Orleans. -Sara Roahen
RESTAURANTS
Galatoire's(209 Bourbon Street; 504/525-2021) The lion's share of old-school New Orleans dining rooms is located in the French Quarter, where the zing of paprika-laced shrimp rémoulade punctuates the Friday lunch at the centenarian Galatoire's.
Antoine's
(713 St. Louis Street; 504/581-4422) Antoine's, the originator in 1889 of oysters Rockefeller, spoils patrons with butter-soaked seafood like trout Pontchartrain topped with lump crabmeat.
Arnaud's
813 Rue Bienville (504/523-5433) Between courses of Pernod-spiked escargots en casserole and buttery speckled trout meunière at Arnaud's, diners may tour the restaurant's Mardi Gras museum, a spectacle of scepters and gowns.
Brennan's
417 Royal Street (504/525-9711) Nearby Brennan's is most beloved for its multicourse breakfasts (cocktails encouraged) and flaming bananas Foster.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Tujague'sClik here to view.
Credit: Todd Coleman
823 Decatur Street (504/525-8676) Rounding out the French Quarter's quintet of classic Creole restaurants, Tujague's is the biggest stickler for tradition, offering only a six-course table d'hôte menu at dinnertime, with specialties like brisket in spicy Creole sauce; its standing-room-only bar serves up red beans and rice on Monday nights.
Dooky ChaseandYe Olde College Inn
2301 Orleans Avenue (504/821-0600), 3000 S. Carrollton Avenue (504/866-3683) Gumbo remains a constant in the city's classic restaurants, high-end and hole-in-the-wall alike. A gumbo excursionist can eat for days without ever tasting the same gumbo twice, from the version made with seafood and chaurice sausage (a Creole chorizo) at Dooky Chase, the restaurant that desegregated fine dining during the Civil Rights era, to the turkey and andouille gumbo at Uptown's beloved Ye Olde College Inn.
Mr. B's Bistro
201 Royal Street (504/523-2078) Mr. B's Bistro in the Quarter is famous for its gumbo ya-ya. The dish, whose name is Creole slang for "all talking at once," is chockful of chicken and sausage in a dark long-cooked roux.
Upperline
1413 Upperline Street (504/891-9822) A few miles uptown at Upperline, the signature is a rich duck and andouille gumbo.
Brigtsen's
723 Dante Street (504/861-7610) Farther along, in Riverbend, Frank Brigtsen uses filé (cured and ground sassafras leaves), a seasoning and thickener adopted from the Choctaw Indians, in a refined gumbo made with rabbit at Brigtsen's.
Charlie's Seafood
8311 Jefferson Highway (504/737-3700) At Charlie's Seafood, Brigtsen's casual spot out west in Harahan, he prepares it homestyle with okra, shrimp, and oysters.
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Avenue (504/899-8221) You never know what style of gumbo might be in the pot at Commander's Palace, the Garden District Creole grande dame, which offers a rotating selection of the Creole soup, along with originals like bread pudding soufflé.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Bon Ton CafeClik here to view.
Credit: Todd Coleman
401 Magazine Street (504/524-3386) The gumbo is good, but the crawfish bisque is the soup to try at the Cajun restaurant Bon Ton Cafe.
Felix's Restaurant andamp; Oyster Bar
739 Iberville Street (504/522-4440) Fried Gulf oysters are po'boy staples, but the bivalves find their true calling in raw form at the city's classic oyster bars, like the no-frills Felix's Restaurant andamp; Oyster Bar.
Casamento's and Pascale's Manale
4330 Magazine Street (504/895-9761), 1838 Napoleon Avenue; 504/895-4877 The chatty shuckers consider the gift of gab part of the job at Casamento's and Pascale's Manale, old-line Italian restaurants and oyster bars whose cuisine arrived from Italy in the late 1800s.
Tommy's Cuisine
746 Tchoupitoulas Street (504/525-4790) Tommy's Cuisine, in the Warehouse Arts District just west of the Quarter, features a full slate of traditional Creole dishes such as oysters Bienville and crabmeat Sardou.
Cafe Du Monde
800 Decatur Street (504/525-4544) For 'round-the-clock coffee and dessert, Cafe Du Monde is the city's most popular attraction. The café's chicory-darkened roast and hot-from-the-fryer beignets are unparalleled-unless you're a partisan of Morning Call Coffee Stand.
Morning Call Coffee Stand
3325 Severn Avenue, Metairie (504/885-4068) The newest location of the 143-year-old local institution brings café au lait and those powder-sugar New Orleans-style donuts to City Park, the town's ever-improving expanse of green.
NIGHTLIFE
Victorian Lounge Bar3811 Saint Charles Avenue (504/899-9308) The city's storied hotels and restaurants are among the best places for a well-crafted drink. There is no more picturesque spot for enjoying a Sazerac, the city's official cocktail made from rye whiskey, bitters, and liquorice-flavored Herbsaint or absinthe, than the front porch of the Columns Hotel in the Garden District, thanks to its Victorian Lounge Bar.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Swizzle Stick BarClik here to view.
Credit: Todd Coleman
300 Poydras Street (504/595-3305) At the Swizzle Stick Bar in the Loews Hotel, bar chef Lu Brow revives vintage cocktails like the hair-of-the-dog Corpse Reviver #2, a lemon-spiked combination of gin, Lillet, Cointreau, and absinthe.
French 75 Bar
813 Rue Bienville (504/523-5433) Another new-wave bartender with old-timey sensibility, Chris Hannah turned the French 75 Bar at Arnaud's into an international destination by perfecting old favorites and concocting updated New Orleans-inspired ones like the Moviegoer, gin blended with orange curaçao, Averna amaro, and lemon.
Old Absinthe House
240 Bourbon Street (504/523-3181) At the Old Absinthe House, you can sample all manner of Big Easy cocktails-brandy milk punch, Ramos gin fizzes, mint juleps-as well as admire the marble fountains that bartenders once used to drip water over sugar cubes into absinthe.
Blue Nile and The Spotted Cat
532 Frenchmen Street (504/948-2583), 623 Frenchmen Street (504/258-3135) Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny east of the Quarter is the place to go for a nightcap and its natural New Orleans pairing: music. At Blue Nile, you might catch country bluesman Washboard Chaz or the raucous Big Sam's Funky Nation, while The Spotted Cat features all kinds of jazz.
Vaughan's
800 Lesseps Street (504/947-5562) In the Bywater, the iconic trumpeter and singer Kermit Ruffins packs Vaughan's every Thursday night, serving barbecue and red beans as a lagniappe.
Preservation Hall
726 St. Peter Street (504/522-2841) The Quarter's legendary Preservation Hall carries on its mission to preserve and present Dixieland jazz.
Tipitina's
501 Napoleon Avenue (504/895-8477) Uptown at Tipitina's , Sundays are usually reserved for a Cajun-style fais do do, or dance party.
HOTELS
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Windsor CourtClik here to view.
Credit: Todd Coleman
300 Gravier Street (504/523-6000) Though it's only 29 years old, the Windsor Court drips old Southern luxury, from afternoon teas to lavish marble baths. In the Polo Club Lounge, choose a Vieux Carré cocktail (imagine a dressed-up Manhattan) to accompany the sounds of live music.
Roosevelt Hotel
123 Baronne Street (504/648-1200) The restored Roosevelt Hotel, where Louisiana's notorious Depression-era governor Huey Long allegedly had his own suite, still offers some residential-size accommodations. The Sazerac Bar, with its controversial Paul Ninas murals depicting the Old South, is a fancy setting for the namesake cocktail or a Ramos gin fizz.
Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street (504/523-3341) The Hotel Monteleone boasts the Carousel Bar, a revolving bar in the round. Hotel suites are named for writers who loved the place, including Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.