I'm heading there on my bachelor party Oct 7-10 (for the first time) and wanted to get some recommendations from Obner to pass along to my best man since so many of you have know the city really well.

I've taken a look at Derris' adventures from 2005 here and here, and there is definitely some good stuff there. Also wanted to see if there was some updated info since that trip was 5 years ago.

We arrive Thursday night and leave Sunday afternoon. My best man and another buddy hooked it up to defer costs with hotel certificates, so we are staying at the Roosevelt Hotel on Baronne - feel free to take that into consideration: http://www.therooseveltneworleans.com/a ... cation.php

Some things we are looking for:
- Nice dinner on Saturday that takes reservations (14 guys) - nothing overly-expensive
- Some off the beaten path bars/eating spots to mix in with the touristy stuff we will inevitably do (Pat O's, Acme, etc)
- Potential activities to kill time during the daytime (besides the casino) - Friday and Saturday

Much apreesh ahead of time.

no tips, but congrats dude.

The only times I've been to New Orleans were pretty much just epic bouts of getting shitfaced.

For Bloor's bachelor party we ate at Restaurant August, which might be a little out of the range you're looking for, and missed eating at Cochon (which I really wanted to do) and we killed time by watch UGA get gang fucked by Tennessee.

There's always this approach:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5083&hilit=loogar+takes+new+orleans

What was that Gentleman's Establishment we went to? (the one we enjoyed, not the one that required a post visit acid bath)

Thanks man.

I did forget that the hotel has a pool - so that could be at least one day.

Also - my best man went to NO for a bachelor party the other week and went to Galatoire's for the dinner - so that's on the level of what we are looking at if that helps. Cochon might definitely be an option as well

I've wanted to go to Cochon but they've always been booked up when I've been in town.

In general, listen to whatever advice Kingfish has. I think he recommended Mr. B's Bistro to me a couple of years ago and it was great.

For general drinking, I'd say wander Bourbon Street at Happy Hour and listen for live zydeco and look for the 3 for 1 beer specials. See Dwayne Dopsie if possible. After happy hour, dinner and a couple of Hurricane's at Pat O'Brien's get the hell away from Bourbon Street. Either go catch a band somewhere or go to Frenchman's Street or both.

Those were the two we visited on my '03 trip and we left with a similar feeling. We actually hired girls from Rick's for a private party in an upstairs room at Arnaud's.


Music Venues:
One Eyed Jacks
Republic
House of Blues
Tipitina's
Howlin Wolf
Maple Leaf
Circle Bar
Hi-Ho Lounge

Larry Flynt's sucks
If you must do a strip club on Bourbon, Ricks is the no brainer
For the best strip club get a cab and head here, thank me later
http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=UTF ... CBMQnwIwAA

For food, this place is awesome, I am friends with the owner (Neil). Mention my name (just say wilked) and he will hook you up.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dantes-kitchen-new-orleans

I will let the reviews speak for the place, but it really will blow you away. A little off the beaten path, which is good...I used to live there and recommend getting away from the tourist area a little. Stop at Columns for a drink on your way back on the Streetcar

They even have a Bachelor Party specific page: http://www.visionsmensclub.com/web_pages/bph_n.html and an entertainer gallery: http://www.visionsmensclub.com/web_page ... ers_n.html

Best late-night local joint is the F & M Patio Bar. But if you're there before 2:30 or 3am you're too early.

Don't forget to get the cheesey fries at F&Ms

Congratulations, man.
The only time that I was there was my freshman year in college. And I don't remember much about that trip for obvious reasons.

Have a great time.

Damn, i completely missed that this was Tommy's bach party and not just one he was attending or planning. Reading comp FAIL.

Congratulations indeed.

Thanks guys. I'll pass these along to my best man, but please keep any more recommendations coming (ATTN: KINGFISH)

congrats, tommy.

and i so thought this was an ft post.

OK, more recommendations (note, I lived there two years)

Coyote Ugly has a fun bachelor party thing, stop in for 1-2 drinks. I wouldn't stay for longer than that though. We had a hot bartender that was doing a great job seeing how far she could push the bachelor's limits

Obviously get a hurricane or two (one for the lightweights, two for the drunks in the crew - they are strong) at Pat O Briens

We rented a mansion in the Garden District on the cheap, I understand you have hotel rooms but this sort of made the bachelor party...people could hang out outside on the deck, kick back with drinks and tell stories. Frankly these times were the highlights of the weekend. In hotel rooms you don't have that luxury, and when you are out it is just not the same. Check homeaway.com if interested.

Depending on the number of nights, I highly recommend doing one night in the Marigny, just off the French Quarter. That is where locals hang out, it will be a very different and cool scene. Cafe Brasil is a good spot, but just walk around and see what is good. There is also the best burger joint in the US there (Port of Call)

Skip Cat's Meow, waste of time. Skip any strip club advertising sex shows, waste of time. Minimize Bourbon in my opinion, there is a lot of great stuff beyond that.

If you are looking for tail, a good spot around Bourbon is Gold Mine (make sure it is late nite). If your buddies can't get some cat there they won't get it anywhere. This is the place to hit at 1-2AM, then grab a few gals with that right combination of drunkeness and hotness and head to F&Ms at 3-4AM.

Sounds like wilked needs to make the trip as the official NOLA who-ah tour guide

Thanks wilked...lots of great information. Thanks everyone for the congratulations.

Galatoire's is pretty high end and if you go, a sport coat is required for dinner. Restaurant August is ridiculously good but like Loog said, it's pricey. I think it'd be doable but you'd need to limit your drinks during dinner to keep at Galatoire's prices and really, who wants to do that. But if there is one thing to splurge on, it'd be that. Looking at my thread from a few years back, some of those places aren't even there anymore. We were there a month before Katrina hit. Still, I stand by Dickie Brennan's steakhouse. Still one of the best meals I've had down there. Really manly. Lots of wood panelling and a cigar shop in the restaurant but I realize most people want more traditional Nawlins fare.

I've heard good things about Cochon but I'd also recommend a place called Jacques-Imo's. It's actually down near the place wilked recommended (Dante's). I think that's the Mid-City area, or Garden District, or in the middle. FemDerris' NOLA friends have taken us there before and it's legit Cajun food. Nothing really fancy inside but the food is great and reasonable when comparing to places like Commander's Palace, Galatoires, etc. I think the most expensive entree is $20. The cool thing about that area is that from your hotel, you can walk half a block, get a cold beer, and hop the St. Charles streetcar and ride it all the way there. It's about a block or two from one of the stops. There are also some cool bars around there as well for after dinner drinks. You can then just hop back on the streetcar (comes by every 10 minutes or so) to the Quarter. Could be a good option to get out of the Quarter for a while.

Here is the site:

http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com/

Couldn't get the menu to come up on the link so here's a sample menu:

http://www.jacquesimoscafe.com/menu.htm

Also, for the first half dozen times I went I always went to the Quarter but the last 2 times I think I spent maybe an hour down there each time. FemDerris' friends have taken to a lot of other areas that are really cool as well. The thing is though, the Quarter is just perfect for a bachelor party where you want to cut loose. And, like wilked and Billyg mentioned, Pat O's gets a bad rap for being on touristy Bourbon St. because it's a really cool place IMO. Get a table on the back patio and hang for a while. The weather should be really nice. They have a piano bar room there that I spent one NYE in that was pretty fun.

The best part is that you can walk almost anywhere around there with a drink in hand which lends itself to Bach party success. Agree with wilked as well about finding down time. As referenced in my thread from before, my crew had a long afternoon at the house we had just hanging out that was nice.

Look like you'll be there for lunch for 2 days. If you never been then, yes, you should hit Acme just because it's a landmark. But, one day, and I'd say Saturday, you should check out Drago's Seafood Restaurant and get the grilled oysters. It's down by the water between the water and Harrah's (walking distance from your hotel). Eat in the bar area where they have tv's, gorge on some oysters and watch college football.

Not much else besides that. Bars are endless and everyone has their favorite. I'll offer these if only for historic value. You could hit them if you're just bar hopping during the day in the Quarter:

Napoleon House- on tourist maps, etc but it's the oldest bar in New Orleans (I think) and was for real built for Napoleon but he never made it because he surrendered to the British after Waterloo. Also, decent place to hit for lunch with outdoor patio.

The Absinthe House - I just like the location of this one and the bar is right on the street. It's in an historic building and yes they serve absinthe (at least a legal version). Good place for people watching.

Carousel Bar - In the Hotel Monteleone and is famous for, well, actually being a rotating bar with carousel-like flourishes decorating. Kind of novelty but kind of cool and it's A) air conditioned and B) in a really nice hotel. 1 block off Bourbon on Royal.


Bottom line: just hit the streets, start drinking, and find some trouble to get into.

Snake & Jakes

http://www.yelp.com/biz/snake-and-jake- ... ew-orleans

I have some very fond memories of this place.

New Orleans is pretty crazy, you guys.

Thursday:
First off, the Roosevelt is baller (this and the following photos were taken by my buddy Dan).

I was one of the last to fly in on Thursday night, got into the hotel, had a few High Lifes and then immediately set off for Bourbon and the bar Little Tropical Isle where they serve hand grenades. Was immediately challenged to hand grenade chugging contest by Jimbo (one of the tasks that the guys had for the weekend - more on this later). I won and then we headed off to check out other bars on Bourbon.

On the street, my brother Brian's task was to get five girls to sign their name on my body with a sharpie. The first girl politely printed her name on my wrist, then the rest proceeded to lift up my shirt and sign their names in broad strokes on my chest. This almost led to a fight when a guy tried to sign my face before my other brother Andy stepped in and threatening to fight the guy, who turned out to be a marine (my brother was in the army). Andy almost got arrested when he wouldn't stop mouthing off to the cop, but luckily that was averted. You can sorta tell how much writing went on in this photo (creeping up onto my neck), where my buddy Dan found an asian girl and an irish girl for me to take a photo with (his task, though it was completely fortunate that he completed it with one photo). Note how squinty and asian I look in the photo.

Eventually after lots of drinking we decided to go to the casino at 1:30. One of my buddies, Leebay, got a little too drunk and just a little too excited and decided to start tackling us at different points along the street towards the casino. Well J-Twice didn't like that idea, brushed him off, and Leebay went flying head-first into a street sign pole. Totally broke his nose. He kept fretting about it, and some of the other guys were being nice when J-Twice finally said, "Look at me. (inspects nose) Yea, your nose is broken. Get the fuck over it." He eventually went to the doctor at 5am when his uncle who lives in town picked him up to avoid going to the NOLA ER. Lost some money at the casino (my last time gambling with my own money) and got to bed between 3-4am.

Friday:
Woke up with a shit-ton of writing still on my body (as well as some scratches from the sharpie) and did my best to wash it off before lunch. We went to Pat O's for lunch, but not because of the food. Because of this 3 gallon monster, which we drank afterwards in the courtyard.

Our waiter said he had only seen 2 groups finish the Magnum Hurricane in his 1.5 years working there and that most big groups had trouble finishing it. However, I'm not sure if I believe him since me and 9 other guys promptly finished it in about 40 minutes, no biggie.


Headed to the casino afterwards, where Jimbo had this brilliant idea before the trip to give everyone 10 dollars to bet on a number in roulette in order. Winnings would go to the group for lunch or dinner or towards the magnum hurricane. The second person, Tommy T, put his $10 on 28/29 and the next three spins promptly go 28, 29, 28. Odds of this were calculated to be something like 6859:1 (HOLLA). J-Twice also hit a number later, so we walked away with about $660 after tip. This was ridiculously awesome and fun. Had a Vieux Carre at Carousel Bar afterwards and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at Drago's, and I thought the char-broiled oysters were awesome.

Hit up Bourbon St. (again), eventually went to Rick's Cabaret, where a lot of the group filtered out until there was a core of 4 of us who hit up bars afterwards. My buddies did a great job of steering hot girls and bachelorettes my way to either kiss me on the cheek and/or dance with me throughout the weekend, and this night was the most fun of that. Stayed out until about 4:30am.

More in a minute...