Unless you are really into fried food and hollandaise, the traditional creole leaves me actually somewhat sick to my stomach. Let’s face it even if you like this you probably should not eat it every meal or every day. I don’t usually eat food that heavy so it usually doesn’t agree with me. Galatoire’s, Brennan’s and to a somewhat lesser degree K-pauls left me feeling this way but I think that is because I got the blackened fish at K-paul’s which avoided the whole fried/ hollandaise trap.

Warning…ask how things are prepared…lots of stuff is fried and it doesn’t necessarily say so on the menu. My Mom got tripped up this way before because she can’t eat fried food.

Our tour guide said in the french quarter.,,” The wealthy French did not feel that their houses had to necessarily be large….you will see the difference in the American houses built at the same time. ..Enormous …with matching lawns.”

You could tell she thought the French had more taste. I kinda’ agreed with her. If you are interested in architecture in early America…it is Heaven.

I wished I had researched New Orleans before I went. Built quite a bit by the Irish. Would have liked to have known the Irish influences. Best food I have ever eaten outside NY …as a tourist . You will be a different person when you get home.

I wanted to move there.

Re po’boys: Domiliese’s or Parkway Bakery for roast beef; Mandina’s for shrimp or oysters.

You can eat yourself out of your clothes and out of your pocket in this town, but choices have to be made. I’d pick Galatoire’s. They take reservations now for the upstairs. If it’s important to be seen (and the locals think it is) then you stand in line for a table downstairs.

Ok well in that case…I would still recommend everything I did except maybe the Aquarium and Insectarium as you can probably see that in a lot of other places.

I would add:

Historic New Orleans Collection for French Quarter Museum…

For a dive restaurant that has outstanding Creole Italian food to to Adolfo’s above the Appple Barrel on Frenchman St. No reservations so go early and wait in the Apple Barrel. This is a quentisential New Orleans experience. The food is awesome. The atmosphere is classic NOLA. Afterwords take in the sounds of the clubs on Frenchman. This used to be the place where only locals went but it has been discovered, hasn’t ruined it yet.

Avoid: Most restaurants on Bourbon (except Galatoire’s & Felix’s).

If you are not in town for the weekend festival you can go to the “Wednesday at the Square” concert at Lafayette square for the flavor of a festival it is 5pm to 7:30 pm on Wednesday. It is free of course. http://www.wednesdayatthesquare.com/index.html

If you have any questions about the area where you are staying/what is near there and stuff in general I would be happy to share what I know with you just email me. I have lived in NOLA for 20 years now!! Crazy!

I scanned the comments for suggestions for you and tried not to duplicate, but you never know…

Ok you some Peanut friendly activities. I have nieces and nephews 4 and under so I have some ideas about these things even though no Peanuts of my own.

The Aquarium and Insectarium are downtown in the French Quarter and are good activities during the heat of the day which is to be avoided naturally. These are very kid friendly. There is also a Children’t Museum on Julia Street. The WWII museum is not for small children though it is very good and worth visiting.

The French Quarter during the day is quite charming and has many street artists and performers for kids to see. There are historic homes that kids might enjoy where they talk about how people lived in the old days and cooked in fireplaces and interesting things like that. My parents took us to these as I child and it was an eye opening experience. Herman Grimma is one. Beauregard-Keys house is another.

http://www.hgghh.org/

If you venture to the New Orleans Museum of Art at City Park, the museum has a permanent collection (small, one room but pretty cool) of Faberge eggs and other Faberge created works of art. The rest of the Mueseum is nothing special, but the Bestoff Sculpture Garden might be fun as it is out of doors.

If you have a car or rent one for a day, a drive out to some of the Plantation homes of River Road is pretty cool. There are many to chose from in the area. Destrehan Plantation is the closest I think.

Have some Gumbo. There is a place on St. Peter near the Cathedral called the Gumbo Shop. Sounds touristy I know but the gumbo is very good and reliable. It is not extremely fancy so it is somewhat family friendly.

The streetcar ride to Uptown is very nice kids usually like the streetcar and gives you a break from walking. If you can make it to Magazine Street uptown try: La Divina Gelateria for yummy gelato written up in the NYTimes, Joey K’s for a neighborhood restaurant with lots of local favorites, Sucre for fancy desserts, Martinique Bistro for generally yummy fare that can be eaten al fresco (the duck is awesome), Mahoney’s Po-Boys has the best Fried Shrimp anywhere in the city IMHO!

There are two great festivals going on in New Orleans near Bayou St. John the weekend of Memorial Day one is the Greek Festival put on by the Green Orthodox Church…incredible food and Greek Music…great family fun. The other is the Bayou Boogaloo… http://thebayouboogaloo.com/

Both of these festivals give a great flavor of what New Orleans life is all about. Good food, good music and a good time. The great thing about these festivals is you can see the great live music without going to a smoke filled club and if you have little ones in tow…well they can come too! How fun is that! Bring a blanket for the peanut and parents to lay on, lots of sunscreen, a hat and be sure to hydrate. Our heat is pretty serious this time of year and we don’t want anyone ending up in the emergency room. If you are lucky there will be a breeze off of the bayou to help with the heat. If you go later in the day the heat is not as bad of course. Don’t worry about looking like a tourist, dress for comfort not fashion as we locals tend to do the same! Shorts and workout tops are everywhere. Wicking fabric is your friend!

Ok so what else can I say except have a great time and be safe!

Mandina’s!

It’s not in the French Quarter; but easily reached on the Canal St streetcar, 38 blocks from the river.

sent to see what was on the vintage 429 site that i linked at 91
they have a nola coupons link at the bottom..
a few things in there, like 1/2 off dinner entrees and tours.
http://www.neworleanscoupons.com/
they also mentioned a coupon book you can get that has a variety of things in there, through that link.

bet you can find some more for places you know you want to see and things you want to do, like the gardens.