The Mississippi River
But my saving grace was my friend Anne who recently spent a week in New Orleans and has impeccable taste in food and fun. I knew she wouldn’t disappoint and we basically squeezed in as many activities/destinations as possible from her list. Fortunately for you, she’s agreed to let me share a few of them.
We didn’t have time to go on a walking tour, although I’d love to explore more of the city and surrounding area next time we’re in town. Anne’s tour was led by a “knowledgeable history buff” and she mentioned she’d like to go on their weekend jazz walk on her next trip. Instead of officially “touring”, Dan and I spent all afternoon wandering through the French Quarter, the Warehouse District, and the Garden District, stopping in at tasty-looking places whenever we needed a snack, a drink, or a blast of cold air.
Anne’s a big fan of local art museums and suggested the Contemporary Arts Center and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Unfortunately, they were both closed on Tuesdays so Dan and I regrouped in the Contemporary Arts Center cafe, bought a few cool pieces of local art, and moved on.
This next recommendation is apparently a “MUST SEE” but we didn’t get a chance to check it out (and it probably would have been closed anyway considering our luck). According to Anne, the Backstreet Museum is “essentially someone’s house converted to store an amazing collection of second line and authentic Black Indian Mardi Gras costumes. They are gorgeous! It’s not open every day, but if there was one thing I could have differently, it would be that we go to this place earlier on. This small tour says a lot about NOLA and the true local heritage and customs (like how the Mardi Gras most people are familiar with is not the ‘real’ Mardi Gras). The owner will also tell you where to go at night for the best shows.”
On the food front, we stopped at a number of places for snacks and meals, including Cafe Beignet (beignets, chicory coffee, po-boy), Anne-recommended Surrey’s (salad, limeade), a random Mexican place on Magazine Street (beer, margarita, tacos), and Stanley (Eggs Benedict with fried oysters, orange juice, coffee). Dinner on Tuesday night was exceptional but I’m prevented from divulging too much information about the location since the locals don’t want the restaurant overrun with tourists and Anne made me promise not to tell. Dan and I were a little full from wine and cheese thanks to Ursuline Guest House and our host Bill (more on that in a minute) but we still managed to take advantage of the delicious Spanish offerings, including ceviche, garlic shrimp, and seafood paella. Yum, yum, yum.
Other suggestions from Anne that we didn’t get around to: gumbo from Gumbo Shop and fancy, all-out dining at Commanders Palace. Next time!
Before I move on to the “music” section, I just wanted to highlight a few recommendations from our host Bill. I’m trying to make sense of my notes during the wine and cheese hour (actually, it was more like two) but here are a few more places worth trying out:
-Acme Oyster House for oysters and just about anything else seafood.
-Clover Grill on Bourbon Street. This was suggested as a good place to go if you needed breakfast before, during, or after a hangover.
-Coop’s Place for Cajun food, specifically gumbo and jambalaya.
-Some place named Gregos(?) that I can’t seem to find online.
-Oceana for some of the best crab cakes that Bill has ever had.
Sadly, Dan and I started petering out by the music part of the night but we did stop in at d.b.a. and Anne also suggested we check out Howlin’ Wolf, Maple Leaf Bar, and anywhere the Rebirth Brass Band is playing. Even though we got back to the guest house embarrassingly early, it was really fun to walk down Frenchmen Street and listen to all the music pouring into the streets. On a Tuesday night no less. Can’t wait to go back.
Cool porch in the Garden District
Possibly the creepiest sign ever
Dan's looking a little groggy at Stanley's
Waiting for the cab in front of Ursuline Guest House
