{"id":4749,"date":"2013-01-26T08:45:37","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T13:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=4749"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:39:37","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:39:37","slug":"new-orleans-travel-tips-developed-as-fans-of-nolas-food-jazz-and-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/new-orleans-travel-tips-developed-as-fans-of-nolas-food-jazz-and-people\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orleans travel tips, developed as fans of NOLA's food, jazz and people"},"content":{"rendered":"

My husband and I haven’t missed a Jazz Fest since Katrina and we lived in New Orleans for three months in 2011, so we often get requests from friends about what to do. I’ve compiled an ever-expanding list to share when someone asks.<\/em>
\nThese are my NOLA tips — I welcome your additions, questions or objections:<\/em>
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\"John
John Tebeau and Colleen Newvine Tebeau on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Easter 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nIn general, New Orleans is more a state of mind than a place. People move slower, they\u2019re less concerned with what you do than where you ate last night, music and art are everywhere and there\u2019s such appreciation for creativity … so don\u2019t worry as much about your to-do list as about experiencing how it feels to be there.
\nDo an obligatory walk down Bourbon Street one night, maybe on your way to something more your speed. It’s a younger, drunker, rowdier crowd than I want to be part of, but it’s worth seeing a never-ending street party.
\nMuch of the best music we’ve seen has been unplanned. If you stroll down Royal Street during the day, for example, a fantastic band typically plays on the street in front of Rouses grocery store. That\u2019s sort of what New Orleans is about: serendipity.
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Bikes are a great way to get around New Orleans — it’s flat as a pancake and traffic’s not bad. Rent bikes and buy or bring lights and a bell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThat said, as a traditional jazz fan, I suggest Irvin Mayfield’s<\/a> for a civilized happy hour, Fritzel\u2019s<\/a> on Bourbon Street for a little later in the evening, and Spotted Cat<\/a> and\/or dba<\/a> on Frenchmen Street at the end of the night.
\nWednesday night, go to Preservation Hall<\/a> on St. Peter just off Bourbon. It might be hot. There\u2019s no AC. There are very few seats and they don\u2019t sell drinks, so wear comfy shoes and get the obligatory hurricane to go from Pat O\u2019Briens next door. But Preservation Hall Jazz Band is typically in town Wednesdays and the hall is unlike anything else I\u2019ve experienced. It\u2019s like a temple to trad jazz.
\nJohn is a sazerac fan and he really loved them at Old Absinthe House<\/a> and at Napoleon House<\/a>, both in the Quarter. The Sazerac Bar<\/a>\u00a0is beautiful and just a short walk from the Quarter in the Central Business District.
\nHave a drink at Lafitte\u2019s Blacksmith Shop<\/a> on the far end of Bourbon Street and sit on the sidewalk if you can. (You\u2019ll find that with no open container laws, you can just get a drink and stroll wherever you want with it.)
\nSt. Claude is to New Orleans <\/a>as Bushwick is to Brooklyn. It’s the younger, edgier entertainment district. The All-Ways<\/a> or the Hi-Ho<\/a> can launch an evening there, or maybe you’ll end your night at Spellcaster<\/a>.
\nCoop’s<\/a> has crazy-good Cajun-inspired pasta and is among the best fried chicken in town. There generally a line, but the bar next door, Molly’s<\/a>, has friendly bartenders and delicious frozen Irish coffee, so you can get a drink in a go cup and treat the line as your happy hour.\u00a0 Service can be a little gruff at Coop\u2019s but they deal with drunks, tourists and drunk tourists all day so I don’t take it personally.
\nRelated: Molly\u2019s has good free wifi and several outlets, so if you must do a little work, it\u2019s a pretty great remote office.
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If you go to New Orleans during crawfish season, take advantage of local tradition and eat some boiled crawfish — they’re a lot of work for not much meat, so I tend to focus on the corn and potatoes, which soak up all the spices in the boiling water.
This painting is by my husband, John Tebeau.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nOf the well-known restaurants in walking distance of the Quarter, I would do lunch at K-Paul\u2019s<\/a> (they do a cheap self-service lunch that I liked better than dinner) and\u00a0 dinner at Emeril\u2019s<\/a> (because I don\u2019t care how cliche bam became, the guy still knows his chow). Galatoire\u2019s<\/a> is an institution, jackets required, excellent people watching and nola.com says the new chef is improving the food<\/a>, though that\u2019s almost secondary to the scene.
\nJohn\u2019s favorite roast beef po boy is at a divey bar called Parasol\u2019s<\/a> in the Irish Channel, adjacent to the Garden District. You could take the St. Charles street car<\/a> for an afternoon ride and hop off for a meal. Also, the firecracker shrimp po boy at Parasol’s is so delicious.
\nPeople will tell you to go to Cafe du Monde<\/a> for cafe au lait. It\u2019s iconic and open 24 hours so it can be worth doing. I think Cafe Beignet<\/a> on Royal Street is better. Besides good coffee and beignets, which are heavily powdered doughnuts, it has a side door that opens to the police department … a short cut for cops to get doughnuts? C\u2019mon. That\u2019s beautiful.
\nTake the St. Charles street car to see the big old houses where the wealthy folks live, then if you haven’t seen the devastation and reconstruction in the Ninth Ward, get a cab or a tour<\/a> through the Brad Pitt houses (formal name is Make it Right<\/a>) and the Musicians Village Habitat for Humanity <\/a>neighborhood.
\nIf you get ambitious, taking a swamp tour <\/a>might be touristy but it’s an interesting insight into a totally different way of life and ecosystem. You’ll lose much of the day, with the bus ride out and back, but if you have the time, it’s a nice reminder that there’s more to Louisiana than Bourbon Street.
\nRelated posts on Newvine Growing:<\/strong><\/p>\n