[imcarthur]

Just to wrap this thread, I thought I would give the results of my restaurant results in NO over the last week as a thanks to all for the suggestions:

Day 1: Drago’s – Metairie $$

This is a local haven with awesome Char-broiled oysters. That’s why you go & that’s what you eat. The rest of the food was good but not at the level of their oysters. Family-type atmosphere.

Day 2: Redfish Grill – New Orleans $$

Noted as a highlight by many, we took a crowd & had a good meal. Not great but very good.

Day 3: Bacco – New Orleans $$$

Nawlins food with an Italian twist. Very, very good. The tuna & the beef were highlights.

Day 4: Luke – Hilton St Charles - New Orleans $$

We had a major party here with a table of 20. The size of our group overwhelmed the kitchen’s ability to serve us in a timely fashion. The last diner got his meal as many of us were finishing which wasn’t cool. Everybody really enjoyed their food however & a bunch of them returned the next night. An Alsatian menu which was also very different.

Day 5: Stella! – New Orleans $$$$

Just the 3 of us on the last night after the conference wrapped. This was true dining. Great food, great service, great ambience. A real treat.

As a side note, our group was slumming & most of our party were very casually dressed – jeans & Ts. This was a pro audio studio crowd with long hair & tats etc. Stella! was the stuffiest but they accepted us without comment or sneers.

And New Orleans is making a strong comeback but the Bourbon Street crawl is only a pale imitation of what it was in the past. At times, the hawkers outnumbered the revelers. A very visible police presence too.

Ian