On 2010-05-12 06:33:46 -0700, Tracy said:

> I agree that the "famous" places are most likely traps.
> We are just looking for good food. Nothing necessarily fancy.

Does "fancy" mean expensive? Or table clothes? Or tie-mandatory for gentlemen?

Commander's Palace is quite famous and it is certainly no trap. Men
must wear jackets and "no jeans" if memory serves, making it "fancy",
I'd guess. Every trip starts with a run to Acme Oyster House. I
certainly hope they still have product for sale. It's good food, and
fancy by no estimation.

Especially in the French quarter, the funny thing about "traps" is that
without good food they can't make it three months. Without significant
local business such places go under. And this was the case pre-Katrina.
Bad joints die in New Orleans and pretty quickly.

Though they are likely expensive, I've heard good things about:

Brigtsen's
Dante's Kitchen
Clancy's
August
Cafe Amelie
Bayona

Somewhere in the French quarter, for lunches I go through as many po'
boys as I can, with soft-shell crab always the most memorable.

You might want to check yelp.com. I am impressed with what they have
grown into in socal over the past couple of years. It's true you have
to use some logic. If a place has eared 4.5 stars but with only 3
reviews, it's meaningless.

I find myself reading almost nothing but the negative reviews. If a
place has 8 or 10 of them but they are all fussy or vague (e.g. "I
thought the food was bad but my boyfriend loved it." Or "Who wants to
eat anyplace that doesn't have pizza by the slice?") you can easily
disregard.

I find that short negative reviews might as well not be there, but the
long detailed negative reviews means danger!
--
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly
find fault with, you will not do much. -- Lewis Carroll