Author: dan

Excerpt

NOLA things to do and see:

Natchez Steamboat —a two hour cruise on the Mississippi River. $24.50 cruise, $35.50 cruise and lunch.  This is an absolute must for the cruise…the lunch…not so special… Maybe

New Orleans School of Cooking—$27.00 for a “class” and 4 course meal. ($23.00 with coupons we have!)  Another absolute MUST DO! The “class” is watching a chef prepare your meal while he regales you with tales of Nawlins and fabulous humor! The food is some of the Best in the Quarter!

Swamp Tour—$49.00 with transportation. Most are 4 ½ hours from start to finish.…there is NOTHING like the serenity of the swamplands!   Maybe

Plantation tour—$50.00 with transportation. Most are 4 ½ hours from start to finish.    Not interested

City of New Orleans/Katrina combo tour —$55.00 both (4 ½ hours) Not interested

Carriage ride –French Quarter tours-$75.00 for 30 minutes for 4 people.     ok  for $15 each, half hour

Algier’s Ferry–FREE! 5 minutes across the Mississippi to Algier’s Point. Great ferry, great ride, beautiful homes on Algier’s Point     Might be fun

Haunted tours—$28.00 (ghost tour/voodoo tour/vampire tour/etc)    Yeah, no.

Cemetery tours—$26.00 goes to a cemetery and gives you the history       Ditto

Pub Crawls—$26.00 goes to different bars to try different “signature drinks” We’ll see plenty of bars without having to pay someone

Mardi Gras World-$18.50 for an hour tour. See floats in all stages of preparation for Mardi Gras.   Not interested

Harrah’s Casino- I have $25 gift certificate for a restaurant inside. Bambu Asian Grill

Streetcar rides—$1.25 each way…goes by the Garden District, City Park, etc A really fun way to see the city and surrounding areas without spending a fortune!    Sounds great to me!

IMAX$10.00 “Hurricane on the Bayou”    No thanks

Insectarium—$16.00 See all kinds of insects and creepy-crawlies    Eeeeeww!

WWII Museum–$16.00 entrance $10.00 additional to see film “Beyond All Boundaries”     Maybe

Garden District Tours–$26.00, 2 and ½ hours   Not interested

City Park –Free,  Said to be one of the most beautiful parks in the country…huge…we’ve been on the outskirts but never really IN the park…  ehhh…

Riverwalk Free   Just a nice, long stroll along the walkway of the Mighty Mississippi River… maybe

Riverwalk Mall–It’s a mall….nice, but still a mall…No thanks

Frenchman Street (jazz clubs) Eclectic mix of Bohemia and Jazz (clubs may charge cover)    Fun, lets do it!!!

Good Eats

Add to the list as we find more ideas

Clover Grill is open 24/7 for breakfast and good burgers and it’s inexpensive.

Johnny’s PoBoy Johnny’s Po Boy’s is in the FQ on St. Louis and has outstanding po boys.

Felipes Taqueria Felipe’s has great Mexican food using local ingredients.

Antoine’s, Mr. B’s and Luke both have a 3 course prix fixe lunch for $20.00 if you want to step up a notch. Antoine’s has 25 cent martini’s at lunch. Luke has 50 cent oysters and half price drinks each weekday from 3 PM to 6 PM. Dine at the bar if you like.
Antoines
Mr. B’s Mr. B’s has a fine Sunday jazz brunch. Antoine’s and Arnaud’s have a fine jazz brunch also.
Luke

Domenica in The Roosevelt Hotel has half price pizza and half price drinks between 3 PM and 6 PM every weekday.

Lucy’s Bar Go to Lucy’s Bar on Tchoupitoulas for a good 4 to 7 happy hour and $2.50 beer. You can walk there. Tell your wife to wear comfortable shoes.

Mimi’s in the Marigny and Port O Call are fine places for inexpensive dining. The burgers at Port O Call are outstanding.

Mimi’s -Tapas bar

Port of Call  (lines are very long) http://www.portofcallneworleans.com/

Here’s a link to cheap drinks in NOLA. www.neworleansdrinkspecials.com/current.php

Muriels -Jackson Square
Coops

INSIDER TIPS:

Trust me… New Orleans is the best place to celebrate a silver anniversary!!! For Sunday brunch, I recommend Muriel’s…it will be one of your splurges but the food is superb and the ambience is charming. The Bread Pudding is fantastic there and so is the Double Chocolate version at The Red Fish Grill. Johnny’s Po-Boys and Coop’s are two great places for laid back, no-frills eating (and observing…). On the day of your anniversary, make sure to go to The Carousel Bar in The Monteleone for a slow spin and a celebratory drink. And, as already recommended, go to Pat O’Brien’s…..let the piano players know it’s your 25th……they’ll make it special for you! Have a wonderful time and Happy Anniversary!

I recommend Pat O’Brien’s for a hurricane and return the glass at the bar (or if you cannot finish it, get it to go in a plastic cup) and they give you back $3 for the glass. Then go across the street to the voodoo shop and have a good laugh at the items in the place. I did that the first night I was there and I was quite buzzed.

One more thing I wanted to mention, The New Orleans School of Cooking is not a hand’s on class, (although they offer those at a higer price). It is a demo and meal. My DH is not a cook either and would have thought he was just going to be enduring it for me. He loved it. The Chefs are funny and the food is good. They serve beverages, (including Abita Amber beer), during the demo. I saw a lot of tag along hubbies and they were all having fun. If you can convince him to try it my guess is he will have fun.