Taking a trip on the Crescent - Now, you tell me!

[tricia]

I am sure that not drinking alcohol would not be an issue anywhere. Just relax, buy a soft drink, and give a big tip!
I have heard some jazz musicians busking on the streets, I wonder if you might hear "Tuba Skinny", a you tube favourite of mine:

IIRC, the band is set up on a stretch of Royal St. where cars aren't allowed, and musicians often play.

 

[Rasputin]

The three times I was at Acme, I ate alone at the counter for lunch, early afternoon. Ate nothing but oysters and had great conversations with the older gentlemen shucking them for me. They loved to talk, and as long as I kept asking, they kept shucking. A perfect way to pass an hour or two.

That is good to know. When my daughter and I were at the Acme, it was peak dinner time and was crowded with a line outside. As I said it was not possible to conduct a conversation and whatever the waiter said, we couldn't hear either. Never had that problem at Felix's and the food is just as good, probably less expensive, and little or no line.

I think the Acme gets all of the high school tour groups visiting New Orleans since it is a spiffy-looking place. These groups tend not to go to Felix's which looks like it was last remodeled in 1953.

However the Acme has a nice website and if you sign up, they will send you some coupons (or they used to.)

There are many other great places to eat in New Orleans. I would recommend Johnnys PoBoys (for lunch or breakfast), Commander's Palace, esp. for lunch (they have a dress code and they do not hesitate to turn you away if you are not up to code), Superior Seafood on the St. Charles streetcar line, Ye Old College Inn (probably would need a taxi or Uber to get there and back) and Central Grocery for a muffuletta.

The only place we did not care for was the Gumbo Shop. Long wait and the food was not that good - wish we had gone to Felix's.

As for music, I will second the recommendation of Frenchman Street - lots of great places there. You can call places ahead and ask what their cover charge/drink requirement is. I would also recommend Preservation Hall. Also the Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon St. - in my opinion, it is usually the only good place for music on Bourbon Street but my wife might not agree. I think it is too sedate for her and she likes to watch the drunks.

Please keep in mind that these comments and suggestions are pre-pandemic. Hard to say what is going on now.

Hope this helps and hope you have a great trip. Please post a report to let us know how things went.

 

[BoulderCO]

Another fun thing to do in NO is to try the Gumbos. Just about every restaurant serves their own version it and it makes for a perfect inexpensive lunch. One week when I was there I tried Gumbo at different places every day for lunch. They were all Very different and all excellent - In some cases more satisfying than the much pricier meal I had for dinner.

 

[tricia]

Personal favorite cheap eats in and around the French Quarter: Verti Marte on Royal St.---it's a tiny, ancient convenience store with a kitchen in the back that makes huge, juicy, drippy, savory poboys. No place to sit, but you're a short walk from a park near the French Market. (I'll second the recommendation for the rabbit jambalaya and a beer at Coop's near there too.) Killer Poboys on Dauphine between Iberville and Bienville offers a very different kind of poboy--simpler and less sloppy combos of excellent ingredients. And if you're up for cafe au lait and beignets, the line at Cafe du Monde near the river can be ridiculous---but they've got a branch on Bourbon St. serving up the same goods, with outdoor tables.

Finally, not food: Take the ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers and back. Lovely way to spend an hour or so.

 

[Rasputin]

Finally, not food: Take the ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers and back. Lovely way to spend an hour or so.

That is a great suggestion but I have a word of warning: the ferry has no public restroom as I discovered a few years ago. So go, before you go.

Any of the national park facilities, the jazz museum, and the Historic New Orleans collection properties are great places to visit as is the World War II museum.

 

[Rasputin]

You can take the street car from Union Station to within a couple of blocks of the hotel.

I understand that the streetcar line which serves the Amtrak station has been out of service due to the building collapse on its route and perhaps for other reasons as well. Is it back in service? Maybe someone can give us an update.

 

[me_little_me]

I understand that the streetcar line which serves the Amtrak station has been out of service due to the building collapse on its route and perhaps for other reasons as well. Is it back in service? Maybe someone can give us an update.

No but they do claim to have al alternative. See this page and click on "49".
NORTA

 

[John from RI]

Now, another (perhaps?) problem. I want to go hear jazz and blues....but, I don't drink. Now, being around people who do drink does not bother me at all. But, will it bother the places I go to that I am not buying alcoholic beverages? Maybe there are places where I can spend a lot of money on food, so they won't mind?

Seek out Preservation Hall; your hotel clerk can tell you how to get there and it it within walking distance. Authentic jazz, no food or beverages are served and admission is only a contribution. You will have to sit on the floor.

 

[John from RI]

Personal favorite cheap eats in and around the French Quarter: Verti Marte on Royal St.---it's a tiny, ancient convenience store with a kitchen in the back that makes huge, juicy, drippy, savory poboys. No place to sit, but you're a short walk from a park near the French Market. (I'll second the recommendation for the rabbit jambalaya and a beer at Coop's near there too.) Killer Poboys on Dauphine between Iberville and Bienville offers a very different kind of poboy--simpler and less sloppy combos of excellent ingredients. And if you're up for cafe au lait and beignets, the line at Cafe du Monde near the river can be ridiculous---but they've got a branch on Bourbon St. serving up the same goods, with outdoor tables.

Finally, not food: Take the ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers and back. Lovely way to spend an hour or so.

Excellent suggestion. The ferry is free and you go any time. Also for a few bucks you can get a boat ride around the New Orleans area of the Mississippi; it is inexpensive and fascinating.

 

[AKCNACBobJensen]

I am sure that not drinking alcohol would not be an issue anywhere. Just relax, buy a soft drink, and give a big tip!
I have heard some jazz musicians busking on the streets, I wonder if you might hear "Tuba Skinny", a you tube favourite of mine:

 

[Alice]

Seek out Preservation Hall; your hotel clerk can tell you how to get there and it it within walking distance. Authentic jazz, no food or beverages are served and admission is only a contribution. You will have to sit on the floor.

Preservation Hall also has incredible musicians and I like that it is a small place, no binoculars needed. They take requests for tips that you walk up and hand over personally.

 

[BlackDiamond]

would recommend Johnnys PoBoys (for lunch or breakfast), Commander's Palace, esp. for lunch (they have a dress code and they do not hesitate to turn you away if you are not up to code),

That's cool that they still have dress codes. I find the loss of dressing up for meals disconcerting although I'll admit I get lazy at times and don't dress up. I remember in 1972 a friend and I turned away at Antoines because we didn't have ties. They did let us in at Brennan's though and we had a nice meal there, with Bananas Foster of course.

 

[Rasputin]

That's cool that they still have dress codes. I find the loss of dressing up for meals disconcerting although I'll admit I get lazy at times and don't dress up. I remember in 1972 a friend and I turned away at Antoines because we didn't have ties. They did let us in at Brennan's though and we had a nice meal there, with Bananas Foster of course.

The Commanders Palace dress code is here. They are a bit more relaxed at lunch than at dinner. However when we were last there in 2019, one of our friends, a Probate Court Judge, was politely turned away at lunch for wearing shorts.

https://www.commanderspalace.com/reservations

 

[Rasputin]

Preservation Hall also has incredible musicians and I like that it is a small place, no binoculars needed. They take requests for tips that you walk up and hand over personally.

Preservation Hall is a great place but I suggest that you check their website and read the FAQs to make sure you have no surprises. Note that your ticket entitles you to attend one 45 minute show after which you are required to leave and the next audience waiting outside enters for their show. It is not a place where you stay for hours unlike many other music venues

Preservation Hall has a great band and the membership is fluid and seems to change frequently. The trombone player at Preservation Hall the night we were there was playing trombone a few nights later at the Irvin Mayfield Jazz Playhoure (now known as the Jazz Playhouse) at the Royal Sonesta. Great music at both places.

 

[GAT]

the ferry has no public restroom as I discovered a few years ago. So go, before you go.

Not a problem for us old sailors. We always followed the maxim, "If you must bust, bust to leeward." (pronounced "looard")

 

[UserNameRequired]

...a Probate Court Judge, was politely turned away at lunch for wearing shorts.

https://www.commanderspalace.com/reservations

I always wondered what got worn under the Judges Robe

 

[DonNewcomb]

I understand that the streetcar line which serves the Amtrak station has been out of service due to the building collapse on its route and perhaps for other reasons as well.

I don't know for sure but it sounds like something that would happen in NOLA.

Preservation Hall also has incredible musicians and I like that it is a small place, no binoculars needed. They take requests for tips that you walk up and hand over personally.

Last time I was in Preservation Hall (many years ago), there was a big rotten hole in the floor in the back of the main room. It was just that decrepit. Music was good but I could have sworn there were rats watching from the shadows, waiting for someone to fall asleep.

I'd suggest a Central Grocery muffuletta sandwich but I'm still pissed at them for becoming a sandwich shop instead of one of the best ethnic Italian groceries around.

In fact, when I did tours of the Quarter for the foreign students, I'd begin, "Welcome to Disney Land. Everything you see here is fantasy, nothing is real. In the '60 there was a harness maker in this building. This was a family grocery store. Ship chandlers lined this street. Here was a greasy spoon where the longshoremen ate after their shifts at the docks, which totally blocked the view of the River. 10% of the Quarter was a brewery. There were truck loads of watermelons in the French Market. You could go to Morning Call at midnight and have coffee, sitting with a cop, a couple in a tux and evening gown and the brewery worker getting ready for his shift." It all started to change in the 70s. All the stuff that made the Quarter real was chased out, gutted, rebuilt and replaced by T-shirt shops and kitsch. I actually find it mostly depressing.

Any more when we go into town it's to visit Auntie. Parking in the Quarter is outlandish. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I don't know for sure but it sounds like something that would happen in NOLA.

Last time I was in Preservation Hall (many years ago), there was a big rotten hole in the floor in the back of the main room. It was just that decrepit. Music was good but I could have sworn there were rats watching from the shadows, waiting for someone to fall asleep.

I'd suggest a Central Grocery muffuletta sandwich but I'm still pissed at them for becoming a sandwich shop instead of one of the best ethnic Italian groceries around.

In fact, when I did tours of the Quarter for the foreign students, I'd begin, "Welcome to Disney Land. Everything you see here is fantasy, nothing is real. In the '60 there was a harness maker in this building. This was a family grocery store. Ship chandlers lined this street. Here was a greasy spoon where the longshoremen ate after their shifts at the docks, which totally blocked the view of the River. 10% of the Quarter was a brewery. There were truck loads of watermelons in the French Market. You could go to Morning Call at midnight and have coffee, sitting with a cop, a couple in a tux and evening gown and the brewery worker getting ready for his shift." It all started to change in the 70s. All the stuff that made the Quarter real was chased out, gutted, rebuilt and replaced by T-shirt shops and kitsch. I actually find it mostly depressing.

Any more when we go into town it's to visit Auntie. Parking in the Quarter is outlandish. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer.

Sadly this happens to all popular tourist destinations over time!

 

[Bob Dylan]

Would you mind posting the name of the New Orleans hotel here? I am planning an April trip San Francisco-Chicago-Atlanta-New Orleans-Palm Springs-San Francisco and I want to spend two or three nights in New Orleans. My favorite hotel, le Richelieu, does not appear to be open then, and I would love to check out yours. Thanks. (Incidentally, my routing has me on the Crescent from Charlottesville on down.)

Consider the Plas D' Armes on St Ann St ( behind the Cathedral and conviement to everywhere).

Of all the hotels I've stayed in ( many ) in the Big Easy, it's by far my favorite!