How To Make Coolinary A Weekend Experience

There is nothing like planning to hang out with some cool friends knowing the destination is New Orleans.

Some of my favorite memories of hanging out in my city is going experience Coolinary. During the month of august there is a real treat for anyone in the city, the chance to experience all the fine dining the city has to offer at a discount.

In august for the past 3 to 4 years we have gone to New Orleans and made amazing memories. Coolinary is when the top exclusive restaurants in NOLA take a portion of their menu and offer a 3-5 course meal for an average of $40.

This is a huge deal because for many of the restaurants one entree is at least that or more. Last year we planned an amazing weekend in NOLA. We stayed at the Westin hotel right off Canal St. By staying downtown we were always walking distance to all the great restaurants downtown. Here is some of my favorite moments from that weekend.

Our First Stop:

So, we got into town around 10am on the first day. We were hungry so we met our friends at the Ruby Slipper on Magazine St. This was a cool place to start the day we hung out had a good brunch and enjoyed catching up with all our friends. Breakfast was pretty good. I got the southern breakfast minus the green tomato lol. All in all it was a good start and we had a great time chilling. This was the beginning of a great trip. It was cool to just chill out. It was a no stress no worries chill atmosphere. Click Here to check out the Ruby Slipper.

Time to check in:

Next stop was to go to the hotel and check in. The Westin is one of my favorite hotels in NOLA. There are three reasons I love it. The first is the view. The lobby is not on the first floor like all your regular hotels. The Westin did it different. The Lobby is on the 11th floor overlooking NOLA. It’s crazy. So, I’m a sucker for scenery. So, that is #1. Next up the Hotel itself is inside the canal place, this is a mall downtown and there is a Morton’s steakhouse and lots of shopping, Starbucks all inside the mall.

The Lobby is not just a place with a view but there is a big sprawling lobby with lots of seating and a bar where you can get a drink, and hang. There is also live music being played on the grand piano. True NOLA style. Click here to check out the Westin Hotel.

Next Stop Lunch:

So, this was not an ordinary Lunch, it was more of a Jazz Brunch. We ate at Commanders Palace! This was my first time going and having this experience. So, growing up I heard a lot about this place. It was always compared to Emerils. So, our experience was a little different than normal. My wife had a friend who knew people who worked at commanders. We were given the VIP treatment.

The view was awesome we sat upstairs in the corner and the meal was crazy! I had the peached glazed boudin stuffed quail with the creole gumbo. That gumbo was some of the best I ever had. It was Crazy! Then I finished my meal with the bread pudding soufflé….wasn’t sure I could walk after that lol. The service was the coolest experience. From the amuse bouche to the desert, every course was delivered to the table for everyone at the same time. It was completely awesome. We also had a live band taking our request for the table to play music while we ate.

It was a meal I won’t forget. 1 out of 10 for commanders palace…it was a 1500!! I was completely impressed and for me this is the best restaurant in town. I need proof that something better exist. If you are in town, this has to be on the list. Click here for more info on Commanders Palace.

Needed Time for dinner: 

After stuffing our face all day we were all half dead after lunch. We all went back to the hotel sat in the lobby and got a drink. We were trying to prepare ourselves for dinner. We had the Bourbon house on the schedule. So, we decided to go walk off some of the food in the river walk. This is another cool bonus to staying at the Westin.

The river walk is like 3 minutes from the hotel. So we walked and shopped for a lil bit. We ate beignets even though we had just ate. It’s crazy how when you are stuffed until food becomes available lol. After walking through the river walk we then went back to the hotel so we could freshen up change and get ready for dinner.

Before we went to dinner we made one stop right around the corner from where we would eat dinner. We took a moment to chill in the Davenport Lounge. It’s located inside the Ritz Carrollton hotel. We were a little under dressed for the occasion but we still chilled for a moment. Next time we will go and listen to some jazz.

Winding down the evening: 

Our next stop was dinner. We had reservations to eat at the Bourbon house. This was a real chill laid back environment. There was a long list of bourbon to try and they didn’t disappoint. We had Charbroiled oysters crab claws and rib eyes. It was a great evening. This is where we were introduced to the Angel’s envy bourbon. We were eating good food and sipping with friends. It’s was a cool night in NOLA. Every time we see the friends we went to NOLA with, we all say we got to do it again. To make reservations at bourbon house Click Here.