...obnoxious and stifling...
Yes you are but I'd still have a beer with you.
JoldMal,
I might be up in your area towards the end of the month, I'll be looking for a free beer.
So would I, you beaner. What week?
Not sure yet, going to Philly next week so I'll have a better idea about my schedule after that trip.
EDIT: Week of Dec 1st.
I will be in New Orleans on the 4th and 5th of December, but December 1-3 look okay.
Speaking of New Orleans, thats where I am at right now. Any recomendations on places to eat?
Check out Mulate's across Canal from the Quarter. This is TRUE Cajun food, with the real Zydeco music and line dancing (fun to watch but do not try it). It located in a huge warehouse-type setting. It is at 201 Julia. It gets lots of attention, so we never went there for years, but we were pleasantly surprised once we did.
Places we like in the French Quarter:
Just because I like you, coast, go to the Crescent City brew pub on Decatur. Preferably in the early evening (5 - 6 o'clock) before going to dinner elsewhere. Sit at the bar. Ask if Vernell (the oyster shucker) is working that night. You can't miss him. He is a very big black guy (heavy-set) and if he is there, you literally can not miss him). Tell him his friends from Sacramento sent you to him and that I told you that Vernell makes the best oyster shooters in the world. These are not menu items (unless management is there, which I found out makes a big difference - !!). Give him an appropriate tip (put it out on the bar for him to see - about 1 or 2 dollars per) and tell him to make it "special". Talk to everyone there because this is a friendly place and we seem to talk to people there all the time, but at the bar only. They also have the coolest t-shirts in red or black and well worth buying.
Of course, there is the Acme Oyster House, a New Orleans institution, also in the French Quarter on Iberville, I think. About one block in from Canal. Usually packed. We prefer to sit at the Oyster Bar. Buy one of their t-shirts as well but you kind of have to time when you go. They have pretty good gumbo, BBQ crawfish, oyster of course, but the best shrimp Po-Boys in the Quarter.
I do not go to Bourbon Street often, but Tony Moran's at 240 is like stepping back into an old Italian San Francisco restauant. If you go there, have the Pasta Buffa Ballo "A Grand Meatball with tomato sauce". Fun stuff.
For traditional, Antoine's is probably the best and is a bit fancy, but not too bad. I like them because they stayed open through Katrina.
Before Katrina, I would have recommended Brennan's on Royal across from the Court House (which is now open for touring and you should go if you can). Located in an 1803 building that once was the location of the first bank in New Orleans. We became friends with Manny, who once was the maitre' d but last time I was there he was working in construction rebuilding the place. This guy was amazing, though. He knows literally EVERYTHING about what is going on in the city and his stories are the best. He would sit with us and tell us things the average tourist would neve know or ever get to know. He also has given my wife and I two tours of the building in which Brennen's is located. There is a small access door near the entrance on the right just as you walk in the place. It is used by employees to hang up their coats and store belonging, but if allowed inside its narrow passage-way, it leads to a weird wall in the back where the safe for that bank is still located. It was too big to take out through the door, so it just sits there. On the wall next to it is a small door that leads to the Mississippi River. It once was a route used by the Underground Railroad.
Tujague's on Dacatur is a classic as well, just up a bit and across from Cafe Du Monde.
For brunch, either The Court of Two Sisters on Royal or the Commander's Palace in the Garden District.
That should be good for starters. But there are others. The Clover Grill for burgers (on Bourbon, but at the non-busy end) is something of an experience and the burgers are great. Lafitte's Blacksmith's shop on Bourbon nearby is the original Jean Lafitte's (the pirate) place.
Take the street car up St Charles (you should do this anyway - it is great and takes you through the Garden District) all the way to River Bend which will take about 40 minutes, just passed Loyola and Tulane Universities. Ask the driver where to get off. Walk towards the river (left of the direction the street car goes). This is the best sports bar in the city. All football games are shown and the beer selection includes everything. Cool place and very good burgers and the best oysters I had anywhere in New Orleans.
The Audubon Zoo, which you get to on the street car across from the universities, where the big Audubon Park is located, is one of the best zoos around. You can take the free shuttle to the zoo, or walk the mile straight through the park to it. We go every time we visit.
There is also a terrfic World War II museum near Lee Circle on the Street Car route. If you are interested in that history, this is a must. A nice little Civil War museum is also nearby.
