| WHEN | WHO | WHERE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/1 Fri | Big Sam’s Funky Nation/Big Freedia | Tipitinas | |
| 12/1 Fri | Honey Island Swamp Band | Three Keys/Ace Hotel | |
| 12/1 Fri | John Papa Gros | d.b.a. | |
| 12/1 Fri | Cottonmouth Kings | Spotted Cat | |
| 12/2 Sat | Little Freddie King | d.b.a. | |
| 12/2 Sat | Smoking Time Jazz Club | The Maison | |
| 12/2 Sat | Fleur de Tease: Naughty Nutcracker | One-Eyed Jacks | |
| 12/3 Sun | Gospel Brunch | House of Blues | |
House of Blues
Southport Hall
D.B.A.
Joy Theatre
One Eyed Jacks
Orpheum
Santos Bar
Republic NOLA
Howlin’ Wolf
Tipitinas
The Maison
Ace Hotel
Champions Square
Rockin’ Willy’s
Civic Theatre
The Spotted Cat
Snug Harbor
Carousel Bar
Preservation Hall
Maple Leaf Bar
Bacchanal Wine
Bombay Club
Palm Court
Blue Nile
21st Amendment
Siberia Lounge
Rock n’ Bowl
Chickie Wah Wah
Hi-Ho Lounge
Google: New Orleans
My honest-to-god advice: daytime=inside, nightime=outside, drinking=breathing, sleep=for suckers.
Restaurants (good luck getting reservations, but you never know I suppose)
We had a good time poking around in the local wine shops and then bringing bottles into the restaurants. There were of course corkage fees, and we let the restaurants know we were bringing it in, but it saved us a ton of dough.
Absolutely the gem of the trip. A little quiet place on the edge of the Quarter. Easily one of the 2-3 best meals I have EVER had.
A little place that required a 10-15 minute ride away from the Quarter on the streetcar (which is worthwhile in it’s own right). They sat us at a card table, with a nylon tablecloth and mismatched plates/silverware. E had some unreal good fried chicken. The pumpkin andouille bisque was awesome.
All owned by the Brennan family. I had an extremely memorable 12oz filet mignon smothered in Bernaise FOR BRUNCH at the Palace Cafe. Awesome Bloody Mary’s as well. Brennan’s is famous for their brunch (which Loren mentioned). The Commanders Palace may be the most famous restaurant in NOLA (and it’s out in the Garden District, which is another worthwhile reason to go there). We had to skip our brunch reservation there as it was our last day and we just couldn’t face another plate of food. Red Fish is supposed to be awesome (the one in Chicago certainly is).
Owned by Paul Pruddhome, the huge fat guy who looks exactly like Don Deloise. Great, great, great food. The fresh bread basket was WAY better than it had any right to be. Good location in the Quarter, we sat on the upper balcony overlooking the street.
Two of Emeril’s places. We ate at Emerils, and while the menu looked great, the food was pretty eh. NOLA is supposed to be pretty innovative, yet also true to tradition.
MUST SEE: You have to go there and get the coffee with chickory (Cafe au Lait) and Beignets. It’s just an informal coffee stand. It gets you into the right frame of mind to drink all day.
Famous for their muffalotta sandwiches. GO HERE.
A little dive in the Quarter, we had the best gumbo (me) and red-beans-and-rice (E) at this place. It’s basically right next door to Pat O’Briens.
Other crap:
HOB gospel brunch
House of Blues has a pretty famous Sunday Gospel Brunch.
F&M’s
Dive bar that encourages HEAVY drinking. NOTE: come for the drinks, stay for the co-eds. NOTE2: I don’t remember how we got there (good sign), but I don’t think it’s too near anything…
Snug Harbor
Cool jazz spot in the outer Quarter
Tipitina’s
The uptown one is the original, famous (non air conditioned) spot. There’s also a new one in the Quarter. I saw Cowboy Mouth uptown in August, and sweated in every spot you’re not supposed to sweat. NOTE: Gold Bond is your friend.
Audubon Zoo
Aquarium of the Americas
huge park, huge zoo. Prolly not b-party material though.
Pat O’Briens
Go there. Get a Hurricane. Leave.
Marie Laveau
She’s a famous voodoo lady. A trip to a cemetary is advised, if only ’cause they’re so unusual and unique. The water table in NOLA is so high that no one can get buried below ground (they just pop back up, no joke) so everyone is in crypts. Freaky. We took a “Voodoo Tour” that gave us the lowdown and all the highlights. Bring a 12-er with you (no joke)
Cemetery & Voodoo pages
And remember, no matter what anyone says, there’s hardly any booze in the frozen drinks on Bourbon street. You’ve gotta drink at least 6-7 of them, especially if it’s hot.
And definitely don’t walk in the gutter on Bourbon St.