I need New Orleans activity recommendations

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 01/23/2020 at 15:20 • Filed to: None

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I’m going to Mardi Gras next month. What's  there to do besides drinking an d gorging myself?

My ultimate plan is death by beignet, but I need to fill up a whole week prior to that.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:28

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WWII museum is top-notch. There is also the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, but I haven’t been to it.

Chariotoflove > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:29

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Wear lots of bead strings over a t shirt that reads, “ask me how I got these” and then hang out at the bar in Applebees ordering mozzarella sticks until they ask you to leave.

Ash78, voting early and often > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:29

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WWII museum. I haven’t been down since it opened, but my dad has (he’s a WWII guru) and said it’s probably the best in the world.

Just get outside the French Quarter. Even if it’s grabbing a stiff drink and riding streetcars through the Garden District.

Don’t visit the Hard Rock Hotel.

ttyymmnn > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy 01/23/2020 at 15:30

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Yes. Yes it is. 

Snuze: Needs another Swede > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:37

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HURRICANES AT PAT O’S! HURRICANES AT PAT O’S!!!

I once drank 2 and lived!

Oh... wait... you said not drinking... in that case ¯\_()_/¯  

TheRealBicycleBuck > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy 01/23/2020 at 15:39

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I’ve been there several times. It’s absolutely worth the trip.

MonkeePuzzle > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:43

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I was there just last week.

Commanders Palace filet mignon was worth ever penny

Mr B’s bistro for BBQ shrimp

Dragos for charbroiled oysters.

Aside from that, we downloaded an app called Lets Roam that did sort a scavenger hunt around a few parts of town so that we had a little self guided walking tour that got us away from some of the more common streets.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:46

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Dooky  Chase is one of the best restaurants in the whole damn city. Go there

TheRealBicycleBuck > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:55

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WWII museum (as others have mentioned)
Audubon Zoo
Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium

There’s a decent escape room if you’re into puzzles.

If you want to see a plantation, Houma House is about 45 minutes north and it stands out because they don’t rope off the rooms and allow you to handle many of the artifacts.

There’s a lot more to do, just let us know what kind of activities you’re into.

Maxima Speed > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:56

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Oh man!! I can taste that picture!! 

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/23/2020 at 15:56

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Dookey Chase? Doesn’t sound appetizing .

MonkeePuzzle > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 15:59

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also, there’s a Cafe du Monde at the airport now, so you can get a final beignet or two before departing, and of course immediately after arriving .

Dakotahound > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy 01/23/2020 at 16:02

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Yes, I agree, the WWII Museum is great. Be sure to watch the movie. It is narrated by Tom Hanks, and it is excellent.

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 16:04

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I honestly got nothing, but I didn’t particularly enjoy my time there. My suggestion is get out of the french quarter and see some natural beauty. Then again, I don’t drink and I don’t like being around people so maybe New Orleans was never for me.

whatisthatsound > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 16:15

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Here is the scoop, and I’m going to tell you. There are 3 places you should make the effort to go to.

K Pauls - This is a restaurant that is absolutely in my top 5 restaurants in the world. Order the steak medallions, and I promise you you won’t be disappointed. I’d call now to even see if you can get a reservation, but their twin filet in debris sauce is unbelievable.

Barrel Proof on Magazine street for unique beer and whiskey. Not cute unique, but like the norse gods from Highland park unique.

Stein’s Deli & Market- This place used to take hundreds of dollars from me when I lived close because they can get Cantillon and just about every other beer you want. They have a collection out front, but talk beer with the deli and they will show you their collection in the back and you’ll be singing dixie.

Sadly my favorite brunch place closed after 20 years, but all the brunch places are great just avoid Jackson square for brunch and take a drive around to eat at different spots in the morning.

Bonus round, want to get weird? Go to Snake and Jake’s Christmas lounge. Oh and as corny as it sounds, doing the swamp tour and watching a 12 foot gator launch out of the water for marshmallows never gets old, and the airboat captains are wild enough to entertain without that.

HammerheadFistpunch > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy 01/23/2020 at 16:30

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So long as you go in know this isn’t a hardware museum, more a stories museum.  There are some cool pieces but its absolutely about stories.  

RPM esq. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 16:33

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You can ogle the corpse of a construction worker that is somehow still dangling five stories above the sidewalk three months after the accident that killed him.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/22/us/hard-rock-collapse-body-trnd/index.html

Otherwise, drink and gorge yourself, duh.

Ash78, voting early and often > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 16:37

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25-cent martini lunch at Antoine’ s? I heard the food is pretty good, too, with Nice Prices and less crowded than Commander’s Palace.

So it’s NPOCP?

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 17:07

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Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop in Metarie. It’s a place where the locals eat, so get there early if you don’t want a long wait. We stopped there on a lark , and it was fantastic .

Cash Rewards > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 17:48

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Aquarium is great. Zoo and Audubon park are great. Magazine street can be fun.

For parades, the way to do it is go early, bring food and a grill, and camp out all damn day. See all the parades, large and small

WilliamsSW > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 18:00

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Swamp tour, visit a cemetery, eat all the food, visit the garden district via streetcar...

Honestly Mardi Gras isn’t the best time to visit - it’s a crazy party all year long anyways, just 10x less crowded.  But see the parade(s)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > WilliamsSW 01/23/2020 at 18:05

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I'm actually leaving three days before mardi gras proper, as airfare would triple in price if I stayed any later.

Saracen > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 18:25

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Aquarium

Insectarium

WWII museum

I enjoyed the guided tours, like the ghost tour.

The garden district is beautiful. Check out the cemetary tours.

Lots of fun shopping to do. If you like hot sauce, check out N’Awlins Hot Sauce. If you are a cigar guy, Cigar Factory New Orleans is awesome.

Food wise, there is a lot of fancy, amazing restaurants in NOLA (like Commander’s Palace, Red Fish.. ). But I love the cheap eats :

Mother’s Restaurant

Casamento’s

Acme Oyster House

Cafe Beignet

Cafe Maspero

Daisy Dukes

Best drunk food: Willie’s Chicken Shack, and Krystal Burger

Go to Pat O Brien’s for a Hurricane...soooo good.

Alternatively, just walk up and down Bourbon and Royal and decide what looks good.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Chariotoflove 01/23/2020 at 18:28

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Is that your Nawlins experience?

Chariotoflove > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 18:42

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Nope.  I just want to hear about how it went for you.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 19:45

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See the WWII museum , catch a show at Preservation Hall if you can, visit the Tulane music library, and stop at the Abita Brewery.

Shane Moore > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/23/2020 at 20:28

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All great suggestions. BUT I must suggest https://www.preservationhall.com/  if you want some great jazz. Huge history there and the requirements to play there are some of the strictest. Last time I went you still had to wait in line outside for a ticket as first come but they were working on getting online tickets. Very few places to sit and it’s pretty uncomfortable (wooden pews, no A/c) but after the music starts you forget about all that. 

BannedBadBoy > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 01/24/2020 at 09:36

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NOLA Motorsports Park, always something going on + great ka rt tracks.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/24/2020 at 10:10

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It’s more appetizing than the name doesn’t sound appetizing. That restaurant is legit, and the owner Leah Chase, who passed away last year was the inspiration for Princess Tiana in Disney’s   The Princess and the Frog.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/princess-tiana-leah-chase/4947054.html

M y wife and I were lucky to have met her 4 years ago and she was so sweet and welcoming at 93 in her wheelchair when I told her a local regular of hers (my uncle) had told me to go check the place out.