Looking for a relaxed spot for dinner.

[TravelinGert]

My husband says he isn't bringing a suit on vacation. He will have a nice dress shirt and plenty of nice polo shirts. He is six foot six and a big guy, so a borrowed jacket probably isn't an option. That means no Arnaud's, Commander's Palace, Galatorie's, or Antione's for dinner. A friend has suggested Stanley's, Vincent's Italian, or Broussard's.  I'm leaning toward Broussards of the three but wondered if anyone has other suggestions.

[princeton123211]

13 minutes ago, TravelinGert said:

That means no Arnaud's, Commander's Palace, Galatorie's, or Antione's for dinner.

Times have changed a bit. Jackets are requested, but no longer required, at Commander's, Arnauds, and Antione's. They are required after 5pm at Galatorie's. While most will have a jacket still, I would say that about 20% of the dining room did not last time I was at Commander's. 

[TravelinGert]

Thank you, Princeton123211! Which is your favorite?

Edited March 6, 2020 by TravelinGert

[princeton123211]

18 hours ago, TravelinGert said:

Thank you, Princeton123211! Which is your favorite?

If you haven't dined in any you really have to go to Commander's for your first dinner experience like this-- it's iconic and a classic.

 

You can actually do all of them if you want. Arnaud's has our favorite Sunday jazz brunch and the dress will be more relaxed for brunch. Also well worth checking out the Hermes Bar at Antoines, which will also be casual. 

[TravelinGert]

Thank you, princeton123211! We just made reservations for dinner at Commander's Palace and we're planning Antoine's for lunch. Unfortunately won't be there on Sunday for brunch, but I'm sure we'll enjoy breakfast at Elizabeth's. I'm excited to try the bread pudding at Commander's Palace, the charbroiled oysters at Antoine's, and the praline bacon at Elizabeth's. We're also planning to grab some beignets at Cafe du Monde and will be fitting in a show at Preservation Hall. Wish I had something for daytime but haven't figured out what that should be just yet.

[princeton123211]

On 3/7/2020 at 11:16 PM, TravelinGert said:

We're also planning to grab some beignets at Cafe du Monde and will be fitting in a show at Preservation Hall.

Pro tip: if you get a Hurricane at Pat O'Brien's to bring into Preservation Hall, as many do, just get one. It has plenty of alcohol for both of you. Taste good at first but you'll get halfway through it and then its like drinking boozy cough syrup. 

[TravelinGert]

Thank you for the hint! We'll make sure we just get one. 

[olemissreb]

On 3/7/2020 at 10:16 PM, TravelinGert said:

Thank you, princeton123211! We just made reservations for dinner at Commander's Palace and we're planning Antoine's for lunch. Unfortunately won't be there on Sunday for brunch, but I'm sure we'll enjoy breakfast at Elizabeth's. I'm excited to try the bread pudding at Commander's Palace, the charbroiled oysters at Antoine's, and the praline bacon at Elizabeth's. We're also planning to grab some beignets at Cafe du Monde and will be fitting in a show at Preservation Hall. Wish I had something for daytime but haven't figured out what that should be just yet.

 

At Commander's Palace, also try the turtle soup.  It is wonderful!!!

 

As for things to do during the day, there is the WWII Museum. My son and I spent 3 or 4 hours there (including lunch) and we didn't see nearly all of what we wanted to see. When we were there, there was lots of construction going on, so there is probably even more to see now.

 

Something else fun to do is to tour Blain Kern's Mardi Gras World. They show you how they make the floats for Mardi Gras and after the tour, there was a little outdoor bar where my son and I sat and had a drink and watched the ships go by on the river.

 

Something a little creepy, but really interesting is to take a tour of St. Louis #1 Cemetery.  Book through saveourcemeteries.org (might be .com).  I've done it twice now and while the tour was basically the same, the narrative from each of the guides was very different - both of them excellent though.

 

There is also the Aquarium of the Americas.  Or you could take a tour on one of the paddlewheel river boats.  You could also take the street car through the Garden District up to Audobon Park (not sure that's the right one). Then walk through the park to Audobon Zoo and tour the zoo.  They used to have a paddlewheeler that would take you from the zoo to the Aquarium (and yes they would serve drinks/snacks on the boat) so you could get a "3 fer" experience, but Katrina killed that.

 

Another place I would suggest for lunch is Central Grocery on Decatur street.  Get 1/2 muffaletta (or a whole if you are super hungry). Get it to go and then go next door (maybe 2 doors down) and get a bottle of wine and some "go cups" and take your lunch and sit up on the levee and enjoy the sunshine and watching the ships on the river.

 

This is a lot of stuff to do, and I'm not sure how long you will be in town.  I love visiting NOLA (just never want to live there again) and I still have so much I want to do like antiquing on Magazine & Royal, take a "ghost" tour, have a drink at the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel (pretty sure that's the right place).  So much to do.  So little time. And I haven't won the lottery yet. 🤣