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Going to New Orleans
- Thread starter Bunk McNulty
- Start date
New Orleans is a city that you don't really need to plan for. Just let it happen to you. It always works out. There's cool stuff going on everywhere all the time. Start listening to the live stream of WWOZ now and you will be up on what's happening in town before you arrive. Best radio station in the U.S.
Hear Hear! Some of the best bass I've ever heard in my life was at the Maple Leaf. Carl Joseph - a founding member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band - with a 5-piece guitar-driven band. He dropped one of those bullet mikes, that harmonica players like, down the bell of his sousaphone. I don't recall the amp, but the cabinet was a 6x10 Mesa slantback. It was Serious - no bass players with strings need apply. The crowd danced hard until the plugs got pulled.
Otherwise, on NOLA, a lot of change since Katrina. Eats are always great, at wide range of price points. Don't know what kinds of music you are into, but in the Quarter it seems mostly to be Classic Rock or R&B covers, and drunken tourists. Frenchman Street, Maple Leaf, Snug Harbor, Tipitina's - you can usually find something interesting, and I'm gonna guess that a scene is developing in the Warehouse District. Don't know what the Cajun scene in NOLA is these days, but if you have time, wheels, and a taste for that music, try to get out to Lafayette and the surrounding towns.
A great city - maybe the least American and most European of all US Cities - Enjoy!
Oh and don’t forget to shop at the Louisiana Music Factory - great record store with frequent live in-store performances. And eat a mufaletta at the Central Grocery!
YES on Central Grocery! And if going up Magazine Street, for superior low/midprice sit-down eats. check out Joey Ks.
The singer/bass drummer is kind of hot.Do ya mean Tuba Skinny? Cuz I saw them at DBA on Frenchman last October, bought two cds, plan to propose to the cornet player, and would consider the 8-hr drive to N.O. for the weekend to see them again.
Buy 1/4 of a muffaletta sandwich to go (they make a bunch and pre-wrap them; no waiting) at Central Grocery in the Quarter (923 Decatur Street) before you leave town to eat on the trip home. (A whole sandwich is about the size of a pizza and costs, like $50, could feed a large family.)
It's a short walk to/from Cafe du Monde in the French Market, the beignet and chicory coffee jernt that is a NOLA institution, a bucket list stop for first-timers. A few doors east of Cafe du Monde there a resto that is mostly patio and has one of the best working "tourist" bands in town; not schlock, really killin' stuff. A drummer I play w/ lived in NOLA for many years and says that this is a prize gig and that no one ever leaves this band, some of the best players in town. They have a particularly smokin' guitarist. You can see/hear them from the street. Invalid Link Removed
Also the "Streetcar Named Desire" trolley ride from the French Quarter via St. Charles St. through the Garden District (and back) is a great way to see some of the city while relaxing. You can catch it on Canal Street, ride it to the end of the line and back in about an hour. Fare is, like, a buck; you get a card that is good for several hours.
Also, if you've got some time, there's a fairly new museum in town, the WWII Museum. It is absolutely amazing; breathtaking, incredibly well done. It's near the Quarter, the trolley goes about a block away from it. It's one of the best museums in the country. The "4D movie," a short feature in a special theater, is unforgettable. Home
And, in the French Quarter there's another great museum at 520 Royal Street that has free admission called "The Historic New Orleans Collection." Incredibly well done, comprehensive and the price is right. While some in your party may want to shop for some tourist schlock in the Quarter, you can "kill time" in this place. They often have well-curated contemporary local art in some of the rooms. The Historic New Orleans Collection | The Historic New Orleans Collection
And for fun, also on Royal Street (628), you can pick up a Mojo Hand and some John the Conquerer Root at The Voodoo Bone Lady Voodoo Shop.
Music on Frenchman Street, as recommended, food as recommended. For a special meal, my favorite place is Upperline in the Garden District; reservations required. Amazing food, memorable NOLA experience. About a block from the St. Charles trolley line. Upperline Restaurant
Bon voyage and bon appetit!
It's a short walk to/from Cafe du Monde in the French Market, the beignet and chicory coffee jernt that is a NOLA institution, a bucket list stop for first-timers. A few doors east of Cafe du Monde there a resto that is mostly patio and has one of the best working "tourist" bands in town; not schlock, really killin' stuff. A drummer I play w/ lived in NOLA for many years and says that this is a prize gig and that no one ever leaves this band, some of the best players in town. They have a particularly smokin' guitarist. You can see/hear them from the street. Invalid Link Removed
Also the "Streetcar Named Desire" trolley ride from the French Quarter via St. Charles St. through the Garden District (and back) is a great way to see some of the city while relaxing. You can catch it on Canal Street, ride it to the end of the line and back in about an hour. Fare is, like, a buck; you get a card that is good for several hours.
Also, if you've got some time, there's a fairly new museum in town, the WWII Museum. It is absolutely amazing; breathtaking, incredibly well done. It's near the Quarter, the trolley goes about a block away from it. It's one of the best museums in the country. The "4D movie," a short feature in a special theater, is unforgettable. Home
And, in the French Quarter there's another great museum at 520 Royal Street that has free admission called "The Historic New Orleans Collection." Incredibly well done, comprehensive and the price is right. While some in your party may want to shop for some tourist schlock in the Quarter, you can "kill time" in this place. They often have well-curated contemporary local art in some of the rooms. The Historic New Orleans Collection | The Historic New Orleans Collection
And for fun, also on Royal Street (628), you can pick up a Mojo Hand and some John the Conquerer Root at The Voodoo Bone Lady Voodoo Shop.
Music on Frenchman Street, as recommended, food as recommended. For a special meal, my favorite place is Upperline in the Garden District; reservations required. Amazing food, memorable NOLA experience. About a block from the St. Charles trolley line. Upperline Restaurant
Bon voyage and bon appetit!
I would describe it as a humoristic but sincere response. I was kind of grossed out by my trips to New Orleans. I travel a fair amount, and New Orleans is on my list of places to avoid. Maybe it would be worth going to something like Jazzfest, but not Mardi Gras or a trade meeting.
okcrum
in your chest
New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. One of the things I love most about the place (I've been twice, once just before Katrina, once ten years later) is that you don't even have to go to clubs to hear great music -- there are people on every street corner and public park who would be elite players in most cities' music scenes, but in NO they're just another cat.
There's also an intoxicatingly loosey-goosey, unstructured vibe to the place. It's hard to put into words, but it makes sense that this is where jazz started because it feels like everybody is kind of improvising life there. Couldn't be more different from my home city, Boston, which I also love.
For food: if you like oysters, make sure you have some, because they don't come better than this. Last time we were there we ate at GW Fins, an upscale fish place, and Evangeline's on Decatur Street, which is a bit more touristy, but really good.
Also, when you eat breakfast there, be sure your heart is ready for it. "Low-fat" does not appear to be a word in the NO vocabulary. You can go back to granola and smoothies when you get home.
There's also an intoxicatingly loosey-goosey, unstructured vibe to the place. It's hard to put into words, but it makes sense that this is where jazz started because it feels like everybody is kind of improvising life there. Couldn't be more different from my home city, Boston, which I also love.
For food: if you like oysters, make sure you have some, because they don't come better than this. Last time we were there we ate at GW Fins, an upscale fish place, and Evangeline's on Decatur Street, which is a bit more touristy, but really good.
Also, when you eat breakfast there, be sure your heart is ready for it. "Low-fat" does not appear to be a word in the NO vocabulary. You can go back to granola and smoothies when you get home.
Coop's is a dive we usually hit.... great vibe there, nothing fancy.
Frenchman street -- you can spend hours/days there listening to music at various venues.
Preservation Hall -- I also thought it was worthwhile. Classic & tasteful music.
Quarter - lots to see/do
Find some BOUDIN, find some etouffee, find some gumbo, red beans & rice, etc...
HAVE FUN!!!!!!! NOLA IS AWESOME!
Last year there was a group that went for my 40th bday... after literally barhopping all day long... we ended our night with beignets at Cafe du Monde -- looked up and we were sitting right next to Sturgill Simpson. Super nice guy & he even enjoyed talking to us too.
Frenchman street -- you can spend hours/days there listening to music at various venues.
Preservation Hall -- I also thought it was worthwhile. Classic & tasteful music.
Quarter - lots to see/do
Find some BOUDIN, find some etouffee, find some gumbo, red beans & rice, etc...
HAVE FUN!!!!!!! NOLA IS AWESOME!
Last year there was a group that went for my 40th bday... after literally barhopping all day long... we ended our night with beignets at Cafe du Monde -- looked up and we were sitting right next to Sturgill Simpson. Super nice guy & he even enjoyed talking to us too.
Rock n' Bowl
Tipitina's
The Maple Leaf
Centrai Grocery
Haven't been there in years. The Rock n' Bowl used to have two bands.One at each end.
Tipitina's
The Maple Leaf
Centrai Grocery
Haven't been there in years. The Rock n' Bowl used to have two bands.One at each end.
On my first visit to NOLA, I was standing on the sidewalk with my party while we were trying to figure out how to get on one of those trolleys. A local lady stopped and asked if we needed help. I said, "Yeah, we're trying to figure out how to get on one of these trolleys." She said, "Well, first of all, it's a 'streetcar'."
NOLA doesn't have "trolleys", they have "streetcars", and the locals will correct you.
On my first visit to NOLA, I was standing on the sidewalk with my party while we were trying to figure out how to get on one of those trolleys. A local lady stopped and asked if we needed help. I said, "Yeah, we're trying to figure out how to get on one of these trolleys." She said, "Well, first of all, it's a 'streetcar'."
Of course you're right. It's not "The Trolley Named Desire." My mind is like Swiss cheese sometimes.
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Some people refer to it as the northern most Caribbean city. That checks out with me.
My advice as a native is don’t waste all your time in the French Quarter. Go uptown to Oak St. Eat at Jacques Imos and go see a band at the Maple Leaf Bar next door. That’s the real New Orleans
