Musings
- Excellent Conference Hotels
SANS is always looking for the best in conference hotels - Stephen Northcutt describes some of them.
The Hyatt Manchester is my favorite San Diego conference hotel - August 8th, 2009
What hotel should I choose in New Orleans - May 17th, 2008
The Marriott Wardman Park is my favorite Washington DC conference hotel - Updated August 8th, 2009
What hotel should I choose in New Orleans
May 17th, 2008
By Stephen Northcutt
When the SANS conference was coming to New Orleans we needed to select the best possible hotel. New Orleans was getting ready for Mardi Gras and we wanted to be close to the action, but not so close we could not retire for the evening. We selected the Sheraton on Canal Street, which is, bar none, the place to stay in New Orleans: it is a great hotel and convenient to everything. I was even able to watch the Krewe Du Vieux parade from the 4th floor of the hotel (I am from Kauai and it was a bit cold for me to just stand around and watch the parade). I even ponied up $40 to attend the party, met some great locals and learned a lot about the history and purpose of Krewe. So many of the instructors, like myself, were really craving Creole, and we ate very well.
If you know you are coming to New Orleans, my strongest suggestion is to book the kitchen table at Commanders Palace. You will need four people and the sooner you book, the better, it sells out. This was the only restaurant we visited that required a taxi; it is in the garden district, which is not to be missed. Notable culinary experiences right downtown and within a couple blocks of the Sheraton include:
- Brennans. At least once make sure you show up for breakfast, it is like no other breakfast in the world, and to be completely decadent, try the bananas foster. Kathy and I went together for supper, we went a bit early and for three quarters of our meal we were the only ones in a wing of the restaurant with our own dedicated waiter. Can't promise that will happen to you, but I can promise a world class wine list. It is no longer 35,000 bottles as it was before the hurricane, but, like everyone in New Orleans, they are rebuilding.
- Palace Cafe, literally across the street from the Sheraton. Give them a call, they have a fixed price menu if you dine around 6 PM, so we got the works for forty dollars a plate and I had the best grilled fish I was to experience on the trip.
- For more casual dining where you feel comfortable if you are not wearing a sport coat or a suit, we found the Redfish Grill to be the ticket. I intended to get some pecan encrusted catfish before I left and I still feel they have the best tasting alligator sausage and seafood gumbo in the city.
- Kathy had to leave a couple days before me, so I snuck into the original Popeyes on Canal street across the street from the Sheraton for dark meat chicken, a buttermilk biscuit, and Cajun rice.
1. http://www.sans.org/
2. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/
3. http://www.sheratonneworleans.com/
4. http://www.kreweduvieux.org/
5. http://www.eastjeffersonparish.com/culture/MARDIGRA/HISTORY/history.htm
6. http://www.sans.org/training/instructors.php
7. http://www.sans.org/training/instructors.php#Northcutt
8. http://www.commanderspalace.com/
9. http://www.tourneworleans.com/garden_set.html
10. http://www.brennansneworleans.com/
11. http://www.brennansneworleans.com/breakfastmenu.html
12. http://www.brennansneworleans.com/r_bananasfoster.html
13. http://www.brennansneworleans.com/winecellar.html
14. http://www.igougo.com/dining-reviews-b135188-r2-New_Orleans-Palace_Cafe.html
15. http://www.redfishgrill.com/
16. http://www.redfishgrill.com/recipe_display.php?id=1
17. http://neworleans.citysearch.com/profile/4441165/new_orleans_la/popeyes_chicken_and_biscuits.html
18. http://www.frenchquarter.com/
19. http://neworleanswebsites.com/cat/ar/gl/gl.html
20. http://www.sanfrancisco.com/arts/
21. http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/
22. http://www.riverwalkmarketplace.com/html/