True New Orleans

By Adam Karlin

Bottom lines? Deadlines? There are more important things in life: eating the best food in the world; drinking to excess while listening to unparalleled live music; taking time to watch the bugs on Bayou Saint John. But what really makes one “New Orleanian” is fighting for this still damaged city. The most beautiful thing about this town isn’t the obvious French Quarter; it’s the way citizens are rebuilding and re–imagining NOLA on a daily basis.

Thread Count

Built in 1798 and sweating romance through its screened porches and lazy gardens, the House on Bayou Road (504–945–0992) is a wonderfully converted Creole mansion. A hardly less luxurious option–with a location as central as you please–is the Cornstalk Hotel (800–759–6112), a beautifully conceived B&B. On the edge of Faubourg Marigny, a locally loved, less touristy alternative to the French Quarter, is the budget–friendly Lamothe House (800–367–5858), decked out in filigree and rococo flash. If you’re into more modern digs, downtown’s Loft 523 (504–200–6523) is an interior designer’s dream, all clean lines and hip, austere ambiance.

Food Fix

The po’boy is an overstuffed, better version of your sandwich; have the roast beef version at the glorious Parkway (504–482–3047) and thank us later. How good is bacon? Brown sugar? How about bacon cooked in brown sugar? Find out at Elizabeth’s (504–944–9272), which crazies up haute Louisiana cuisine in a funky shack in the artsy Bywater. Raw oysters are locally loved, sample a few–fresh shucked with a beer–at Casamento’s (504–895–9761; closed in summer). Mat & Naddie’s (504–861–9600) will have you dreaming happy fantasies of duck fat fried chicken, among other goodness plucked from their locally sourced menu.

Night Out

Here’s the only insider’s tip you’ll ever need: Leave Bourbon Street. No locals go there, and the bars are lame. Opt instead for real NOLA spots, like Snug Harbor (504–949–0696), one of several excellent jazz clubs on the live music epicenter that is Frenchmen Street. In the French Quarter, treat yourself to a lovingly mixed cocktails at the hip–yet–down–to–earth Tonique (504–324–6045). There’s great neighborhood bars on Magazine Street; the amazing St Joe’s (504–899–3744) could well become your second home. One of the best live shows in town goes down when Kermit Ruffins gets his “party on” Thursday nights in Vaughn’s (504–947–5562), the happiest music shack around.

Don’t Miss

Besides hosting an excellent collection of modern, folk and classical art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (504–539–9600) hosts fun free concerts on Thursday evenings. For an exhaustive exploration of local history–particularly via their wonderful walking tours–visit the Cabildo Museum (800–568–6968). The local street culture, one of the most unique in America, is the focus of the small but fascinating Back Street Cultural Museum (504–522–4806). If you need some green space (and potential alligator sightings), City Park (504–482–4888), besides being beautiful, is the nation’s 5th–largest urban park.

Stone’s Throw

Drive east to the Lower Ninth Ward to the House of Dance and Feathers, a community–run museum dedicated to educating the public on the cultural traditions of the still–rebuilding Lower Ninth Ward. While technically in Orleans Parish, areas north of the French Quarter are usually ignored by tourists. In Saint Roch, north of Faubourg Marigny, pop into KKProjects (504–415–9880), which manages community arts projects in the surrounding low–income neighborhood, exhibiting fascinating galleries and public artwork. Not far from here, F&F Botanica (504–289–2304), unlike all those corny shops in the French Quarter, is an authentic repository for voodoo/Santería spell components and religious souvenirs. In Gretna, south of the city, try the excellent cuisine of the Louisiana Vietnamese diaspora in the unassuming Kim Son (504–366–2489).

The Lowdown

Kermit Ruffins, who plays for local label Basin Street Records, is one of the city’s greatest jazz trumpeters.

Best regular music gig (besides yourself)? Rebirth, Tuesday nights at the Maple Leaf. It’s a hot one, especially if you’ve never been to New Orleans.

What’s your favorite post–Katrina rebuilding project in the city? I love the homes Brad Pitt is building–they’re good stuff in my old neighborhood.

Saints or Hornets? Oh the Saints, of course. I love the Hornets, but I been a Saints fan for a loooong time. I just got a giant fleur–de–lis tattooed my chest!

What $100 Buys You in New Orleans

A handmade hat and bottle of perfume from Yvonne La Fleur, who has outfitted generations of Southern female aristocracy.
A ticket to Jazzfest, during the last weekend of April and first weekend of May, with enough leftover to gorge at the local food stalls
Art from the Art Market of New Orleans, held on the last Saturday of every month, at the corner of South Carrollton and South Claiborne Avenues.
Expensive tobacco goodness (plus some fine cognac) at Dos Jefes Cigar Bar, tucked away towards the bottom of Uptown.

Adam Karlin is a writer based out of where he is. He has written Lonely Planet’s New Orleans City Guide, and was the author of the first edition of Lonely Planet’s New Orleans Encounter guide.

Tagged: New Orleans, House on Bayou Road, Cornstalk Hotel, Loft 523, Casamento’s, Mat and Naddie’s, Snug Harbor, Ogden Museum, Cabildo, Kermit Ruffins, KKprojects, Basin Street Records, Jazzfest