Review: My trip to New Orleans
Well my week in New Orleans is over. The weather was beautiful the entire time I was here (20-25 C), and between such an exciting time with work, and sightseeing with my sister, I feel like I had such a special and unique experience here.
For those who are interested, here is my recap of the city and my trip:
Accommodation
Staybridge Suites (5 nights)
This was where I stayed for work. It is on the edge of the Warehouse District, and a good, central location to the area – right across the street from Mother’s Restaurant. This is a smaller hotel, but offers a fully functional in-suite kitchen as well as a breakfast buffet every morning. There was also free wireless internet. I like that there’s a snack shop open 24/7, a business centre, pool, and fitness centre. It’s also close enough to the conference centre that we walked there every day.
Place D’Armes (2 nights)
My sister and I switched to this hotel after my work obligation was over. This hotel is located right in the heart of the French Quarter, 1/2 block from Jackson Square. It’s really cute and quaint. We stayed on the 3rd (top) floor overlooking the courtyard. There is a continental breakfast every morning (which really wasn’t very good), a pool, and great seating areas in the courtyard. There is also a really nice balcony where you can see Jackson Square from. The pillows also weren’t that comfortable, and also there is no air conditioning – which was fine for this time of the year – but I can imagine how hot it would be during the summer.
Restaurants & Food
NOLA
This is one of Emiril Lagasse’s restaurant. It was fabulous, although quite expensive – wouldn’t have gone to it on my own, that’s for sure. We ordered BBQ shrimp and stuffed chicken wings for appetizers. I had a glass of house wine, and then the hickory-roasted duck for dinner. Dessert was mango sorbet. :) It was absolutely delicious. The service was excellent too, and the portion sizes are huge! I had enough left over to have them pack it up for me to take back to my hotel.
Tommy’s Fine Cuisine
My favourite dining experience in New Orleans. The restaurant has a great atmosphere – anywhere from restaurant seating, to a lounge atmosphere, to private rooms. The building is a maze, and we were seated in a semi-private area near the back. They mainly specialize in seafood. Because we were a party of 6, they suggested we order a sampler platter of appetizers. This consisted of escargots, 3 or 4 different kinds of oysters, mussels, crabmeat au gratin, and much, much more. The appetizer platter was more than enough for us, and I barely had room to eat my entree! They offered their standard menu, as well as specials that you could order off the menu. I ended up ordering pompano (fish) baked in a cream sauce with other seafood in parchment paper. It was very rich tasting, and completely unique. Dessert was tiramisu. :)
Riverwalk Mall Food Court
I ate here 3 times because it was right beside the convention centre, where I was working. The food was fairly good, by food court standards. Although, I must say, the prices were a bit on the expensive side. Still, it was conveniently located and offered a variety of food that I enjoyed shoveling into my mouth. It was also nice to have a view of the river.
Mother’s Restaurant
This place was right across the street from the first hotel that I stayed at. It was also featured on Season 1 of Man vs. Food. From our hotel window, we noticed a consistant line-up going out the door – starting from 11am onward. At around 5:30 we saw a lull in the line-up, so we quickly went across the street. Inside it looks like a deli, with tables throughout. You are given a menu when you enter, and are asked to line-up at the cash register. You pay for your food, and a waitress will come along and bring your food to you. My sister and I ordered a deep fried shrimp po’boy and a bowl of jambalaya, both to share. Portions are big. Also, while eating our food, in walked Joseph Gordon-Levitt with a few of his friends. :)
Market Cafe
We randomly stumbled across this restaurant. Although it’s hard to miss it, because it’s in the middle of everything. I was initially drawn to this place because of the open patio atmosphere and the live music. Plus, the place across the street was significantly more expensive. :) We ordered a cup of gumbo each, and then shared deep fried alligator and crawfish. The prices were reasonable and the food was pretty good!
The Old Coffee Pot Restaurant
This was another restaurant we randomly stumbled across while wandering around the French Quarter. This is a small, cute little cafe that offers great breakfast options. A few of the older waitresses have been working there for 40-50 years! The service is a little slow, but the women working there are super friendly and nice. My breakfast was good, but nothing to brag about. We wanted to order the crab balls, which is one of their specialties – but they were out of crab for the day – boo! And also, the portions are a bit small – perfect size for me – but not the breakfast sizes that you might be used to in other restaurants.
Krystal
Now I’ve been wanting to try this fast food joint for at least 10 years – for obvious reasons. :) The food was typical, but the experience was priceless.
Coop’s Place
This place was recommended to us by our tour guide, and also had really great reviews online – plus a well-priced menu. I ordered the Taste Plate, which offered 4 sample sizes of their more popular dishes. I was disappointed with my food. It tasted just okay, and I was expecting something better. But then again, it is a bar. So you can’t really expect too much. The portions are HUGE, so be prepared to share. The people that work there are nice, and it’s has a great atmosphere.
Cafe du Monde
Before going to New Orleans, I heard a lot about this place. Some said it was a must-see, others said it was overrated. Well, we personally loved it. There was a long line-up, but it went pretty fast. The prices were reasonable too. We each had an order of beignets (3 each) – which ended up being too many – we could have easily shared just one order. I also had a blended cafe au lait, which was delicious.
Sightseeing
Bourbon Street
We walked Bourbon Street twice. Once was on a Thursday night, and the other was on a Saturday night. We weren’t there to go crazy – just have a couple of drinks. It was really cool to walk the street, watch the street performers, and take in the atmosphere. The nightlife of New Orleans definitely rivals Las Vegas, and if I had to choose, I’d prefer New Orleans. Aside from witnessing a crazy fist fight between two girls, it was a great experience.
Jackson Square
I love that my favourite part of the trip was something that was for free. It was amazing that we could see Jackson Square from our balcony, and that our hotel was only steps away from it. There’s so much action happening around this area, and it seems like a really cool place just to hang out.
Cemetery Tour
We were originally going to take a walking tour of the cemetery for $20. But on our way to Cafe du Monde, we saw carriage tours being offered for only $30. So after some amazing beignets, we decided to splurge and go with the carriage tour instead. We spent the entire week walking around for hours and hours each day, so it was nice to finally get off our feet to see the sights. I like that on our way to the cemetery, our tour guide took the time to tell us about the history of New Orleans, the famous buildings we passed by, as well as celebrity houses.
Swamp Tour
This was my sister’s favourite part of the trip, and I have to admit that this was a great decision on our part. It was $50 each, including tip. The shuttle picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel, and the tour itself was about 2 hours long. We saw a bunch of alligators, turtles, snakes and birds, as well as villages only accessible by water, and some of the destruction left behind by Hurricane Katrina. I also really liked how the shuttle took us across town, so we got a little taste of what the rest of New Orleans looks like.
Thoughts
Cash is king. A lot of places only accept cash, and for the places that do accept credit card, usually it’s kind of a hassle. Even the cabs sometimes only take cash. There’s a huge sign at the airport that says all airport cabs accept credit card. But my driver told me that his machine was “broken” when it came time to pay. Luckily I had cash with me. And for most in-town cab rides, it’s cash only.
The buildings are stunning. I loved the architecture, and all of the colourful, unique buildings.
I wish we had a few extra days to check out more of the city, and take a couple more tours that we were interested in. I felt like we really rushed through every day, trying to cram as many sights in as we could. But still, we both really enjoyed our time. I had budgeted $400 in spending money for the week I was there, and although I haven’t completely tallied up my spending, I can tell you that I was under budget. :)
Finally, here are a few photos I took during my time there:
10 Responses to “Review: My trip to New Orleans”
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One of my favorite books is 'The Witching Hour' which is set in New Orleans. Ever since reading that, it's been on my bucket list to go spend some time in the Garden District.
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Never heard of the book, but the Garden district sure is beautiful. Puts you right back into the 1930s!
Nice work Krystal…. think you'd go back?
Yes, we wanted to take a tour of the Garden District, but again, we ran out of time. :(
Dan: If I were offered the opportunity to go again through work, I would definitely go. Likewise, if I were ever in the area, I would definitely try to make an effort to go back. But as for specifically taking a trip back to New Orleans, I don't think I would. Not that I didn't love the city, but there are just so many other places to see and do in this world!
Fair enough eh. There is a lot to see in this world, and tough to have favorites that are THAT good enough to come back to. That being said though, I was a huge fan of NOLA – great people, great food, great weather and a great city. What else is there to enjoy while you're on vacation? :P
What's the next trip for you?
I am headed to New York City for the first time at the end of May, San Francisco sometime this summer … and then Thailand/Cambodia tentatively in December. :)
Ack, I had the WORST experience at Emiril's NOLA when I was in New Orleans in December… the service was excellent, but the food was terrible. (Actually, my sister ordered the duck and that was the best meal out of our order.) I had a rabbit appetizer that was supposed to be pecan crusted but was so over-deep fried it tasted like cheap grocery store chicken tenders. And yes–the portions are out of control. I know everything's bigger in the US (my parents do live in Texas!) but the best foods have a certain curation or restraint to them… and sloppy plated portions do not qualify for $25+ price tags…
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Wow, beautiful photos, Krystal. You're very talented!
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Once you go to New Orleans, you never forget it. :) Fantastic photos, and way to go for doing so much in a small amount of time!
Wow, this looks like an awesome trip. I never had an interest in going to New Orleans before, but I think you may have planted a seed now!
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Love the pictures & your review of your trip. Thanks for sharing!