Help with a future visit...

[knifehandchop]

We (my wife and a couple friends) are going to visit New Orleans in late July and I've heard some good things about a few restaurants and was wondering if anyone could naysay or back them up, or perhaps suggest better .

Gautreau's

Bayona

Herbsaint

Thanks a lot in advance. We're coming in from Boston and New York, and would appreciate the aid.

[Gifted Gourmet]

eG New Orleans restaurant discussion

Hopefully, a quick reading of this thread at eG recently will answer some of your questions! Anything Mayhaw Man suggests will be highly trustworthy as far as the local cuisine goes.

[Mayhaw Man]

Welcome to eGullet. It's a great time to come to New Orleans, the rates are down and the reservations are much easier to get this time of year.

Here are a couple of past discussions that might help:

Typically New Orleans

How to gain 10 lbs in 3 days

Save Your Money

FWIW, I like Herbsaint more than Bayona, but that is wholly personal preference that is kind of hard to explain. Bayona is lovely, but a much more formal dining experience. Susan Spicer will be my candidate for the new Iron Chef when they get around to letting me decide (these things take time ).

I like Gautreau's. That being said, in that kind of dining catagory I would choose Upperline or Clancy's every time. I like them both, and they are similar types of places. I just think that the food and the experience (for me, anyway) is better at either of those places.

Have a great trip and let us know what we can do.

[Lynchie]

I'd also like to add my vote for Herbsaint. I went there in December 2002, and I still dream of the duck confit. The best meal I had during my stay in New Orleans, most definitely.

[Mayhaw Man]

I would like to reiterate a rec. for Upperline over Gautreau's. Once again, Gautreau's is very good, but Upperline is a serious food experience that is (in my opinion) a step up frim Gautreau's.

Make sure that you speak to Joanne if she is there. She is charming in the first place and is a veritable fountain of info about the New Orleans dining scene.

And she digs eGullet. What mo could you aks fo?

[fifi]

Check out any of the threads originated by Jason Perlow in this forum. They will give you a lot of information and are from his trip there. The pictures alone will blow you away.

[Jason Perlow]

Theres a index of topics at the end of this thread of the places we visited in our last trip. All of them contain photos.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30965&st=60

[Dave the Cook]

I had dinner at Herbsaint very recently. I'll post at length when I can string together more than two minutes at a time, but I give it a big thumbs up. Herbsaint emphasizes Lousiana-influenced American bistro food (if all those adjectives add up to something intelligible). It's informal, with an extremely well-executed menu and a decent wine list -- as well as a list of very interesting wine specials by the glass. I didn't get to Bayona, so I can't compare the two. I suspect that it wouldn't be a helpful comparison -- they don't have the same goals (except a general dedication to good food), price points, or even clientele (unless you're an eGull).

Upperline is a stand-out in a city full of exceptional restaurants. The duck etouffee, green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade, roast duck (with peach-ginger or port-red wine sauce), oyster stew, bread pudding and creme brulee are the best of their kind. I recommend the Louisiana Purchase prix-fixe, if they're still running it when you get there, and I'd go for the accompanying wine flight -- nicely matched, with generous pours.

And yes, Jason's threads are excellent.