I know what you mean. When I visit family down there, it galls me that we have to carry concealed handguns just to feel comfortable enough to *risk* going out at night.
At Mardi Gras? Forget it. This isn't my idea of a "good time".
Tell you what, though... if you do find yourself down there, don't miss the WWII Museum. It was impressive to start with, and it just keeps getting better.
Concur. If you avoid holidays and weekends and just want to visit, weekdays are best, you can park easily and take your time.
The only "touristy" destinations I like in N.O. are Jackson Square and Cafe Du Monde. I'm a beignet-and-coffee addict, prostrate before my fried-carbo-donut god.
Central Grocery and its real-deal muffalettas are just across the street and over a couple of doors from Cafe du Monde ... half of one of those muffalettas will hold you all afternoon. Even without the beignets. In the evening, Mother's Cafe on Poydras, down near the foot near, ummm, between Baronne and Tchopitoulas, has the best red beans and rice in the solar system. You can tell walking in the door that it's damn good -- on a weekday at lunch, you see New Orleans businessmen in there, in their trademark black-and-white suits (black ties, black suits, white shirts). That's the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. You'll find those guys at Felix, too, a block off Canal in the Quarter, near the corner of Royale, I think. Felix does seafood.
Emeril's is just a few blocks upriver from Poydras ... in the old American Quarter. Parking's a beeotch. Food's good, though, and Emeril's famous.
I'd wait in line to get into Galatoire's, but that's the only thing I'd go into the Quarter for, myself, except for Jackson Square. Thirty-five years ago, I went in there with my cousin; I had the steak Bearnaise, and he had the Sirloin Marchand de Vin .... I remember them both vividly, we traded a cut. Great food! And that was before Galatoire's really came back and re-established themselves. My cousin, who'd recently spent a couple of years studying in Bordeaux, commented that Galatoire's looks like a typical family restaurant in the south of France, unpretentious except on the platter where it counts.
If you park more than a couple of blocks off Bourbon Street, don't stay in the Quarter past about 8 pm .... if you're staying late, use cabs and stay on Bourbon and Royale and there in Jackson Square. And yeah, it's a good idea to get a Louisiana carry permit -- and carry.