New Orleans....close to my home....I can help with some suggestions. I agree that, in the city that is famous for food we'll have to be careful to be considerate of all persons' needs. The Court of Two Sisters in the Quarter has a huge.....I mean huge....buffet in a very New Orleans-y atmosphere where all would be comfortable. and the Cafe' du Monde coffee and beignets cafe is back up and running on the riverfront, at the French Market.

There is plenty to do that doesn't revolve around food. Aquarium.... WWII Museum is stunning...streetcars are running again down St. Charles Avenue(part of it, anyway)....Harrah's Casino downtown at the river....Jax Brewery (shops) at the river...French Quarter...Art Shops (ie. George Rodrigue's Blue Dog art)...jazz on the street and flowing out the doors in the Quarter...Acme Oyster House....Canal Street (Canal One has exclusive shopping....not for me, but maybe for others)....The Superdome......Audubon Park and Zoo...paddlewheel ride down the river to the zoo.....dinner cruise down the river.....Magazine Street for antiques and boutiques and cafe's...

You'd want to stay either in the Quarter or close enough to walk around it. You'd have to drive to the WWII Museum and to the Zoo, but everything else is walkable.

There are not many cities where so many things are so easily accessible.

When/if we get closer, I can make some sugg. about hotels.

I have such a full plate these days with family matters that I can not be in charge of such a large undertaking, but as a Louisianan, who spent many years there in college and my husband's medical school...and whose son lives across Lake Ponchartrain....I can be a big help.