Laissez les bons temps rouler! New Orleans is a city that indulges in the good things in life – eating, drinking, music, and revelry. For a city this epic, it deserves more than one name: La Nouvelle-Orléans, Crescent City, the Big Easy, the City that Care Forgot, and NOLA. There is live jazz on every corner – from the sidewalks to dark clubs.

Escapades | Must Sees | Clubs & Watering Holes | Culture | Food | Food at Jazz Fest

ESCAPADES

Mardi Gras

Fat Tuesday is the last day of Carnival before the beginning of Lent. NOLA throws a wild party the week before. Revelers wear fanciful costumes. Large decorated floats toss beads into the crowds along the parade. Brass bands in the second line strut in the streets.

Jazz Fest

The Crescent City is a perfect host with its mesmerizing culture and deep roots. Jazz Fest showcases jazz other genres such as: blues, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, R&B, rock, funk, folk, and hip hop. The joie de vivre flows out on the streets after everyone has left the festival.

Swamp Tour

Take a pontoon boat in the Atchafalaya Swamp. The wetlands are home to the largest cypress forest in the nation as well as herons, egrets, snakes, and alligators. The boat captains are colorful characters with hilarious tales about the moss-laden landscapes.

Paddleboat Cruise

Step on board a slice of a bygone era when showboats plied the waterways. The paddle steamer’s giant paddlewheel will propel you through this storied landscape. You will be entertained by a jazz band as you enjoy a creole dinner.

Haunted Tour

NOLA is a metropolis for the ancients. Dark and mysterious courtyards on every street, sordid stories at every corner. Past generations speak through music, architecture, and food. There are tours of the city where guides will take you on a walk through the macabre.

MUST SEES

Jackson Square

This square was renamed after the Battle of New Orleans’ hero, Andrew Jackson. Many artists display works on the iron fence. Near the Mississippi, Café Du Monde efficiently delivers its famous beignets.

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street is at the center of New Orleans. All forms of revelers, carousers, and merrymakers pour through the street, sidewalks, and nightclubs. There is definitely an anything goes credo that astonishes unlike any other place.

Frenchmen Street

The best spot to catch jazz is on Frenchmen Street. From little clubs brimming with live music in corner windows to impromptu jam sessions on the sidewalks, the energy seems to thrive wherever you look. There is always a surprise just around the corner.

Preservation Hall

The improvisations and syncopations are performed in a cozy space. Watching a show at Preservation Hall with its curling paint and fogged up windows provides a glimpse of the Jazz Age. The room is so small that a handful of people get to sit on the floor mere inches from the musicians.

French Quarter

The French Quarter has an air of mystery with its green courtyards. Yet, the wrought-iron balconies really make this place exotic. Long galleries cast intricate and ornate shadows on the streets below.

Bywater

Bywater is by the natural levee on the Mississippi River. There are funky homes, vibrant warehouse murals, watering holes, and patios. Homer Plessy sat in a “whites only” car, but the Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court ruling justified segregation.

Tremé

Tremé was the primary neighborhood of NOLA’s free people of color. The town square of Tremé was called Congo Square where people could congregate, dance, and make music. Improvisational African rhythms and European structures merged into jazz.

Jazz Historical Park

New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park is a park in the Tremé neighborhood. It celebrates the birth of jazz in NOLA. The nearby Louis Armstrong Park has a statue of Satchmo with his trumpet as well as a line of jazz musicians on the move.

St. Roch

St. Roch got its name from the yellow fever epidemic of 1867. A parish priest promised to build a chapel in honor of St. Roch, patron of good health, if no one perished. St. Roch’s above ground tombs protect graves from water damage.

Seventh Ward

NOLA’s floodplain soil is especially apparent here in the crumbled and potholed roads at the highway underpass. A church lists 87 homicides up to April. Many of the neighbors give us a warm greeting. A friendly local even offers to drive us to Jazz Fest.

Esplanade Ridge

Esplanade Avenue was the Creole “Millionaire’s Row” with stately 19th century mansions. Edgar Degas stayed at his mother’s family mansion. A canal from Lake Pontchartrain begins glowing as its shoreside mansions turn on their lights.

Mississippi River

The mighty Mississippi has a long journey to the Gulf. Cargo ships pass the major cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. The river names landmarks on either side – broadcast stations begin with ‘K’ to the west, ‘W’ to the east.

CLUBS & WATERING HOLES

The Spotted Cat

The Spotted Cat is in the heart of Faubourg Marigny. The bands play in the corner by the front window, so you can get a taste before you go in. Once you are at this legendary live jazz music venue, it is elbow to elbow standing room only.

Blue Nile

Look for the glowing blue lights. Catch local acts like Water Seed. Water Seed uses a flute, sax, trumpet, guitar, drums, piano, and singers for their unique future funk, soul, and R&B sound. There is a piano in the back Jon Batiste used to play here.

Café Negril

The layout at Café Negril is narrow and sideways with the bar to your back and the stage on the other side next to the mural of Bob Marley. Because of the layout, you can get much closer to the musicians.

d.b.a.

d.b.a. is a long narrow corridor with wooden planks on its walls and ceilings. With its stage at the back, it is a great place to catch up and coming local acts.

30°/-90°

As you enter the Marigny from the French Quarter, this is one of the first live venues on Frenchmen. On the first night, the band played covers of rock and hip-hop hits from the 90s. On another night, the singers belted out R&B classics.

Bamboula’s

A bamboula was a bamboo pole with goat skin stretched on top. It was central to Creole music and dancing at Congo Square. Listen to the night’s band against a backdrop of brick walls and framed brass instruments.

Bacchanal

Bacchanal has a nifty setup. First, you grab a table. Next, you select a bottle of wine and bring it in a bucket of ice. Then, you order delectable charcuterie for your table. The large “backyard” is the perfect setting for jazz before the sun sets and hipster lights turn on.

Carousel

Hotel lounges normally offer relaxation from the hectic world outside. How about some dizziness inside? At Hotel Monteleone, there is a revolving carousel bar. Enjoy a finely crafted Ramos Gin Fizz while you are slowly spinning on the inside.

The Joint

The aromas from this pit in the Bywater will draw you in. The Joint smokes great slow cooked brisket burnt ends, brisket, and pork ribs. The peanut butter pie is pretty tasty as well. The bar is pretty well stocked and has some intriguing cocktails.

CULTURE

Mardi Gras Indians

Mardi Gras Indians are African Americans who celebrate Carnival in regalia inspired by Native American ceremonial attire. Each suit has beads and features weighing 100 pounds. During parades, revelers dance and sing their unique traditional songs.

Colorful Homes

The vibrancy and vitality of the locals extend to their dwellings. During festival season, things that glimmer and shimmer stream from rooftops. Shotgun houses have rooms connected without hallways, such that a bullet could pass end to end.

Typewriter Poetry

Poetry and lyricism is woven into the city’s fabric. Verses fly through the air at different rates and decibels. Look for enterprising typewriter poets with stool and stand. Keys will clack and the machine will ring. The typewriter poet furiously hammers out bespoke verse in a matter of minutes.

FOOD

Cajun vs Creole

Cajun merged West African, French, and Spanish techniques to produce dishes such as gumbo, boudin, and jambalaya. Creoles blended West African, French, Spanish, Native, and Sicilian styles for crawfish étouffée and shrimp creole. Creoles use okra and tomatoes in addition to the holy trinity.

Gumbo

Gumbo consists of broth, meat, vegetables, and a roux served over rice. The dark roux is a thickener that adds color and flavor. The holy trinity lends onions, bell peppers, and celery. Dooky Chase’s Creole seafood gumbo contains shrimp, chicken, and smoked sausage.

Jamabalaya

Jambalaya is a mish mash of rice, meat, vegetables, and spices with African, Spanish, and French roots. The Creole one-pot dish at Coop’s Place consists of rabbit, chicken, sausage, shrimp, crawfish, ham, tomatoes, and the holy trinity.

Crawfish Étouffée

Crawfish Étouffée is a slow-simmered thick stew of spices, holy trinity, and crawfish, smothered over white rice. Unlike a gumbo, a blonde roux is used before caramelization takes hold.

Po’ Boy

Po’ boys are served in fluffy and crispy French bread. The fillings range from roast beef or ham to shrimp or oysters. A po’ boy is dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo. It originated to feed hungry striking streetcar conductors.

Beignets

Beignets are squares of deep-fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. Acadian settlers brought this treat first to Canada and then to Louisiana. Café du Monde is the best place to find beignets, and is located at the end of the French Market.

Oysters

Oysters on the half shell, chargrilled, stuffed in a po’ boy, there’s no wrong way to enjoy oysters. They are fresh from the Gulf and delivered in giant sacks. Remember that they are best during months with the letter ‘r’, so get ready to slurp and shuck to your heart’s content!

Crawfish

Crawfish, crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs … whatever you call them, they are delicious. A good old crawfish boil is probably the way to go. Seasonings, potatoes, sausage, and of course crawfish, all go in the pot. Peel the tail, pull the meat, suck the brains (optional).

Muffuletta

The bread is crispy on the outside with lots of sesame seeds. Inside, the bread is soft and fluffy. Between the bread, there is salami, ham, and mortadella, all warm and savory. The provolone cheese is slightly melted. The crunchy olive salad delivers an ideal amount of brininess and tanginess.

Boudin

Boudin is a sausage of pork, rice, and Cajun spices in a pork casing. At Cochon Butcher, try the soft regular and smoked boudin with mustard and pickles. You can also try them as deep-fried and breaded boudin balls.

Turkey Necks

At Toups, the fried turkey necks are sweet and savory. It takes work to pluck the meat from the bones. But, not much since it falls off the bone at the merest touch. The tender meat has a crispy coating that goes well with the sweet and spicy pepper jelly and boiled peanuts.

Shrimp Creole

Shrimp Creole is a dish of shrimp in a mixture of diced tomatoes, holy trinity, cayenne pepper, over rice.

Rillons

Rillons are a Cajun dish of pork belly cubes that are caramelized with red wine and sugar. The slow braising creates sticky and tender pork candy.

FOOD AT JAZZ FEST

Crawfish Bread

Saucy crawfish tails and gooey cheese stuffed in a fresh bread pocket.

Seafood Mirliton Casserole

Like a moist and dense crab cake or stuffing with crab, shrimp, and crawfish, and mirliton (chayote).

Crawfish Sack, Oyster Pattie

Crawfish Sack: Purse-shaped dumpling filled with spicy herbed crawfish filling.

Oyster Pattie: Puff pastry topped with oyster cream sauce.

Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy

Whole fried crab and pickles on French bread, with butter, lemon, hot sauce, and tartar sauce.

Alligator Pie

Buttery flaky crust filled with browned ground alligator (tastes more like beef than chicken) and rice.

Cochon de Lait Po-Boy

Tender smoked pork shoulder on French bread with slaw.

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