I just want to add that any neighborhood restaurant will have great food, ie gumbo, jambalaya, fried or blackened fish. Of course some may be better than others. Just don’t think that you have to go the big name restaurants and spend a bunch of money. Of course the great restaurants will have good food, but the difference in Louisiana is you can get great food at a gas station.

Mardi Gras Day is February 17 this year . Sounds like you'll be there after the nonsense is over .
The Aquarium didn't impress me . I've been to the WWII museum twice. If you're into that kind of history , it's a must see. In the Quarter , stay off the side streets after sunset and do not engage with the street critters .

I will second both the nominations for Deanie's at the Lake and Mr.B's.

I was lucky enough to see President Reagan going in there during one of his visits after he was out of office.

A word of caution about Deanie's. On my first visit there I ordered the large seafood platter for lunch as I am no slouch when it comes to devouring seafood. The waitress looked at me a little funny but didn't say anything.

It took me two days to eat it all.

Guess I should have known that anyplace that served a complimentary big bowl of Cajun seasoned boiled potatoes as an appetizer might not be the place to go big.

Updated my initial post with more

Lots of great suggestions, everyone.

Too many great food choices so we just have to pick and go from there.

I’ve seen it mentioned a few times, but I have to mention it again — Commanders Palace. It is a fantastic dining experience. If that interests you, make reservations now! It fills up pretty quickly, especially if you want to do the Martini lunch. What is that? Oh, 25¢ martinis during lunch on Thursdays (limit 2). It’s a fun experience, but they do have a dress code.

If you like art and antiques, check out MS Rao. It is half museum and half antique store. It took us a few hours to go through it. Admission is free. This was the only place that I’ve seen a Norman Rockwell painting in person. Also, there are prices listed so if you’re looking for a Tiffany lamp and have a spare six-figures, you’re in luck!

I’d stayed at the Hotel Monteleone once. It’s a nice hotel, but it was noisy. We were on a decently high floor, but still had some noise. At 2AM, a guy started playing trumpet outside the hotel…badly. He didn’t leave until someone gave him money to leave.

We stay at the Omni Royal. We chose a courtyard room. The views suck. The rooms are dated. The beds are queen. The best part is that it’s quiet all the time. Even during French Quarter Fest, we hadn’t heard any noise whatsoever. That’s my hidden gem.

If you like wine and want to venture out kind of far, we like Bacchanal. It’s a fun wine bar in a residential neighborhood. They have beer and maybe spirits as well. The food is good and they usually have live music. It can get busy, but it’s a lot of fun.

For oysters, I like Acme Oyster house and my girlfriend likes Felix’s. Acme usually has a long line. Felix’s is usually pretty easy to get into.

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, but you do have to be aware. There are plenty of scams for tourists. If someone comes up to you with a stupid bet or tried to give you something, politely decline. If you engage, they may harass you until you relinquish some cash. If you’re polite and decline, they’ll move on. My girlfriend decided to engage and I had to politely, yet forcibly ask the gentleman to leave us alone. He wanted twenty bucks and he got me yelling loudly about scamming people. Thankfully, I got the attention of some officers in the area and he left. Don’t engage. Tell your friends to not engage.

If you like absinthe, check out the Old Absinthe House. We had visited the attached bar (not sure if it’s associated), but we were lucky. We went there and it was almost empty. There were some guys doing a ghost podcast and they asked for a tour. The staff shut down the place and said we could leave, stay downstairs or join the tour. We did the tour. It was a lot of fun.

Good luck! Have fun! Maybe stop off at the Roosevelt for a Ramos Gin fizz. It’s expensive, but it’s delicious.