I can’t believe anyone has not mentioned Oak Street
Jacques-Imo’s Cafe(but no Resy’s taken) and Maple Leaf Bar
both not to be missed.
Other Notables (some mentioned before)
August-Besh Rocks!
Bayona
Brigtsens
Herbsaint
Definently Frenchmen Street for Music and Howlin Wolf in The Warehouse District.
In a choice between Iris and Sylvain, any preferences? This is my last dinner slot to be filled 
Marshall - Thank you very much! I’ll check them out right now. My first 2 tries at swamp tours didn’t pan out (I have a tentative reservation for one that depends on some more people signing up).
Did you do the 6 passenger boat or the Small Tour Boat?
Jay, some great recommendations above, so I’ll just say make sure you hit Sylvain for their cocktails and food. Also, frankly, you will want to visit both Cochon and Peche. They are starkly different and both are great, but I would hit Peche last as it’s got great seafood and will be the lightest food you eat during your stay. You will need the cleansing after the places you plan on eating at.
Otherwise have fun, it’s a great town!
If you want more of a bistro feel with more action(louder, younger, faster) and specialize in cocktails, then Sylvain. Indoor and outdoor seating available as well.
For a more quiet setting, good service, and less hectic feel, choose Iris. More of a white tablecloth feel, and a nice selection of wines to go with their very unique and tasty dishes.
I love Iris and try to go every time I visit NOLA.
It sounds like Iris then 
. Than you!
Edited to say: Shoot! They’re closed on Sundays. Maybe I can switch it with the Herbsaint reservation.
I think Stella is doing some of the best cooking in NO now. It’s definitely not classic NO cuisine but does blend in local ingredients. For a comparison, think more like EMP. My first trip to August was disappointing but everyone I know loves the place so I’ll go back. I really like Bayona. Quaint and comfortable with a good blend of local dishes dressed up a bit. The sweetbreads and garlic soup are a must. Interesting wine list too. Susan Spicer has been around forever and she’s very approachable and fun to talk to. A trip to Drago’s would be wise as well for charbroiled oysters, even if just for a snack. Sorry I don’t have a lot to offer on other things to do as we just usually wander around and eat.
Did you do the 6 passenger boat or the Small Tour Boat?[/quote]
Jay, If at all possible, take the 6 passenger boat. You go places that larger boats cannot traverse.
Cheers!
Marshall
P.S. We loved Iris at our last visit.
Jay,
I would advocate an airboat ride in the bayou. We did this a couple years ago and it was a blast. Don’t remember the company, but we just called one from a brochure in the hotel lobby and they picked us up at the hotel and then dropped us off afterwards. I have been in many boats, but this was the only time in an airboat and it was a lot of fun- very different. We saw plenty of alligators including a 9’er or so that came right up to the boat as well as numerous other interesting flora and fauna.
This has probably been covered here or in other threads, but a very good day is to take the Street car out St Charles in to the Garden district, get off and explore for a bit along St Charles- the houses are beautiful. From there you are a short walk to Magazine St where you will find a great spot for a Po Boy in Mahoney’s and then right next door is Martin’s Wine Cellar where you will find the best selection of wine in NO outside of the Martin’s location in Metarie. They will have some interesting AFWE wines as well as a decent selection of just about everything else. Wlak back towards the quarter on Magazine and you will find several blocks totally different in character. Kind of a hippy vibe, lots of cafes, antique shops, and things of that nature. Last trip there that was one of our days from about 10-2 and it was a midday very well spent. Oh, if you are going to Mahoney’s, get there by noon or so or be prepared to wait- very good and very popular.
Bywater is the new Frenchmen St.
Thanks Marshall! I switched to the 6 passenger boat.
Sadly I couldn’t fit Iris into my planning. Maybe next trip
Current plans are:
Saturday
Jazz brunch at Commanders Palace
Garden District tour
Take the St. Charles streetcar to the end and back
Dinner at Herbsaint
Sunday
Old Coffeepot for breakfast
French Quarter Tour
Coops for lunch
Watch the Krewe of Barkus
Magazine Street antique shops
Dinner at Stella
Monday
Breakfast at Stanley
Aquarium or WWII Museum
? lunch
Swamp Tour (6 person boat)
Dinner at August
Snug Harbor
Tuesday
breakfast undetermined - probably whichever we preferred of Stanley and Old Coffeepot.
Aquarium or WWII museum
Head home
Thank you everyone for your help!
We might end up grabbing a bite to eat for lunch at the NOLA airport to be on the safe side. Anything worth eating at there?
Monday lunch = Mothers. On Canal about two blocks from where the streetcar stops on the way back to the quarter from the WWII museum.
See this thread:
What can I say? They have a right to be wrong. Was there just a couple of months ago and the etoufee was marvelous. (Also went to the Old Coffeepot, and it was good but not fabulous, and August was not up to our very high expectations). Heavy? You betcha. When you find a lite rendition of these dishes worth eating you let me know.
For Monday’s lunch, you might want to consider Johnny’s Po-Boys in the Quarter. It’s across the street from Emeril’s Nola. At the airport, Ye Olde College Inn is very good.
Sammies at Johnny’s are enormous, but I wasn’t impressed with the quality of mine (or my wife’s)
I went the first couple times we went to New Orleans. Agree with Neal. I found I wanted to like the place more than I actually did because of the atmosphere. The food just isn’t that amazing though.
Last night at dinner, the waiter described a dessert as a “light English toffee pudding”. I said yer kidding me, right?
The steetcar is down from around Louisiana as far away from the FQ as we could tell. You’ll switch to a bus, which is not romantic at all. We were planning to ride the full length as well but decided not to when we found out it would be on a bus.
You all don’t say what it was you had at Johnny’s with which you were not impressed. It’s hard not to like fried oysters on buttered French Bread and lemon, unless you don’t like oysters. And this is prime time for oysters.