you said some of you will be in town for up to a week? Make the little over an hour trip over to Baton Rouge. Come check out LSU. I'm a senior also at LSU and I love seeing other campuses around the country. If i am somewhere and there is a campus nearby, I always try to go check it out. Also, try to find a little swamp tour. There is one on Bluebonnet in Baton Rouge. It's a walking tour on a boardwalk through a little swamp. Something really cool to check out if you're from up north.
If anyone is searching for places to stay remember Baton Rouge is only an hours drive up I-10 from New Orleans. There are hotels along the way in Gonzales also. You can look around Hammond too since it is just up I-55 from New Orleans. Lots to do in those areas also. Baton Rouge has the USS Kidd, a WWII era destroyer. There is a nice museum there and is walking distance to the Old State Capital. That is one of the more unique buildings you'll ever see. Also in the same area is the Louisiana Arts and Science Center. Great place if you happen to be traveling with the kids. If anyone is making a long week trip you can drive River Road to Baton Rouge and check out the plantation homes. Nottaway is on the west side of the river and is one of the nicest in the area. St. Francisville is another good place to see the antebellum homes. It is a bit of a drive since it is about an hour east of Baton Rouge.
Napoleon House in the heart of the quarter is a great place to get a great sandwich. Get a half a mufelatta (italian sandwich with ham salami olives olive oil). I also like the ham and swiss cheese po boy. In New Orleans, "dressed" means "with mayonaise, lettuce and tomatos", I always say "yes". They usually play classical music. Old joint, rumor has it the French in La. were going to go to Elbe and get Napoleon and bring him to live in New Orleans, at the Napoleon House. The big 3 of expensive restaurants are Commanders Palace, Antoines, and Gallatoires. Commanders is not in the Fr. Quarter, the others are. These are expensive. I took my family to Galatoires last XMAS for lunch, $25 for each entre, and a veggie is about $6. Had no wine, no desert, lunch with tip (five people) was $190. Coat and tie not required at lunch, but they had coats in the entry way, so I'm guessing required for dinner. World War II museum is well worth the visit. Plan on half a day there, and you'll barely get out. They cover both European theater and Pacific, more on the European. Stephen Ambrose helped put it together, he was the author of "Band of Brothers" book that became the TV mini series. Pat O's is Pat O'brien's Bar. In the quarter, great drinks. Go to the piano bar at night. During Sugar Bowl week, about every hour they may do the fight songs of Bama and Utah on these two pianos. Contest to see which crowd sings their song louder. This goes on until the crowd dies down, about 6 am the next morning! The Hurricane is a great drink. They are sweet, and you don't realize how drunk you are getting. Two usually is good to put me to sleep. I have never had so much fun anywhere in my life as getting drunk and singing loud at Pat O's piano bar, about 2 am, when you've been there since 7 PM. It will be packed, so ya gotta get in there early. Mike Anderson's Seafood Rest. is good moderate priced fried (La. Specialty) seafood. Mike Anderson was an all american linebacker for LSU in 69-70, then played for the Cinncy Bengals. Breakfast at Brennan's in the quarter is a great experience. Expensive, but great food. Arnaud's in the quarter has very good food and a bit cheaper than the big 3. I like Broussards in the quarter, put them just behind the big 3, may be easier to get into http://www.broussards.com/ . An idea, make your reservations THE WEEK BEFORE YOU GO. I'm not kidding, the best places will be booked a week ahead, booked SOLID. Take a river boat cruise on the Mississippi. Catch it near the Cafe du Monde. Acme Oyster Bar in the quarter for a good fried shrimp or fried oyster po boy (sandwich served on french bread). Reasonable price. New Orleans is the city that care forgot. RELAX. Take your time. Have a drink. Chill out. Get mellow. Smile. Nobody is going to watch what you're doing, they're too busy having a good time. You lucked into the best LSU forum on earth! PS: Now you are indebted to us. You must come back after the Sugar Bowl, or during bowl week, and give us some updates on this thread, how are you enjoying the trip, and what are other Utah fans saying. Geaux Utes! PPS: Tujaques in the Fr. Quarter. Old rest. and bar. Reasonable prices, good food. Get the boiled brisquet with horse radish sauce, house specialty. http://www.tujaguesrestaurant.com/ I didn't know it's BEEN OPEN 150 YEARS!!! Gotta be doing something RIGHT!!!
some awesome posts in this thread. i echo just about everything crip said. definitely go to port of call for a burger, it's one of the best and a hangover staple, get a "monsoon" or a bloody mary with it. also on a student's budget i reccommend cafe maspero (i call it maspero's) and you need to get the french onion soup. there's always a line (just like at mother's but it's never that bad) if no one's said this yet, you need to go to central grocery and get a muffaletta (pronounced muff-a-lotta). just trust me on this. if you're bringing a girlfriend i second the motion on the city park lights.
go to razoo's on bourbon and where your schools colors-- best time of your life-- however- just like our sec teams- we get pretty confident and please take all trash talk lightly. 2007 sugar bowl lsu vs nd was simply the best i sitll remember the large sign on bourbon street that hung for all to see: rudy sucks and quinn bleauxs!! classic good luck- i predict a 45-10 score
All good suggestions. The WWII museum is a MUST SEE. I am surprised I did not read anything about stopping at The Tropical Isle and get a Hand Grenade (nice sweet strong drink in a grenade shaped cup) or like others have said, I always stop at Pat O's and get a Hurricane. If you get both of those, you will feel just fine! Last year when I took the misses to Nola for the first time, she wanted to eat at Emeril's. We ate at one of his other restaurants named Nola. It was lower key and dress code was more casual...and the food and service was awesome. You will have a great time. Also, that time of year you can pick up a King Cake at Gambino's for Mardi Gras. I think this with everyone elses suggestions should be just fine. A lot to cram into a short time so make a return trip next fall and come see a game in Death Valley!!
Hey Tiger fans....these responses are awesome! Keep them coming! I will be linking this thread to 1) my school project and 2) Utefans.net, which hosts the main Ute fan forum. I'll also post my project back to this thread when it's done. So hopefully this thread will keep growing. All this information has been very beneficial and many Ute fans will appreciate it. We're very excited to be coming down to New Orleans.
Re: Hey Tiger fans....these responses are awesome! Try the boudin. It will change your life. Welcome to the board.
Wow. Some really impressive posts here. Pretty much sums up anything I could have said. Be sure to come back and share your work with us. As far as food this blog will lead you to the local places that make NO famous for eating. I linked it straight to the best dishes page, but browse around the rest of it. http://www.nomenu.com/BestDishes/ Edit: Forgot, please whip Bama.
All of these posts have offered great places to go and sites to see. Visit them, enjoy them, and experience what La. has to offer. I guess the best way to explain why La is so special begins with the reason this forum exists: Louisiana State University. You see, LSU is much more than the flagship university of the state; it goes much deeper than that. In a state that has consistently ranked at the bottom or close to the bottom in nearly every statistical category imagineable, LSU is the one rallying point for the entire state. While many in the state are Saints fans, it has always been the New Orleans Saints. It's not that way with LSU. And there is nothing like tailgating on the LSU campus on gameday. Every social class is represented, from the white color professional to the oil worker in the gulf. Tailgating and LSU isn't just something that happens on Saturdays like many colleges around the country; it is a culture. The LSU "Fighting Tigers" is not simply just a random nickname or mascot. The Fighting Tigers were a brigade who fought in nearly every major battle during the Civil War and actually took Cemetary Hill at Gettysburg for a short time. The first superintendent at LSU was none other than the hated William T. Sherman. But La and LSU has always shown a deep commitment to national service, and, outside of the service academies, no one in the country produced more officers to the war effort during World War II. The LSU fanbase is spirited and passionate, no doubt. But that's not without some reason. People from La have endured many stereotypes perpetuated by an ignorant entertainment industry and unknowing people in other parts of the country. This, in turn, has brought about a sort of "chip on our shoulder" mentality from many Louisianians, and much of this attitude manifests itself in the LSU fanbase. Enjoy yourself while you're there. Go to these places in and out of New Orleans and experience Louisiana. You'll find the people of Louisiana are some of the most welcoming and gracious people you will ever meet.
