Insiders Guide of things to do, eats and drinks in New Orleans

Over the years I have made a point of going on Manhattan House Tours and attending the Decorator Show House in our fair city – both are sponsored by the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, an organization that has been around for 104 years. Because of this, I was immediately drawn to an article titled “The Southern Dream” that I saw in Southern Living of August 2019.

I have heard the expression “The Bible Belt” for years. On the other hand, until I started doing research for this blog I had never heard the words “Dixie Alley.” I also queried a buddy of mine and she had never heard it either. That prompted me to write this blog and clarify these terms – including the well-known expression, “Tornado Alley.” I don’t want to bore you with a lot of information – rather, I’ve decided on quick bulleted points to get a number of fun facts across. Here goes:

On Friday, July 12th at 10 pm I decided to watch all four hours of Gone With The Wind on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Of course, I’d seen it many times before – sometimes in bits and pieces – so I thought it would be a good idea to watch the entire film straight through with no commercials and no breaks – except for the classy “Intermission.”

Plans are being made now by travelers planning to visit New Orleans during the December holiday season followed by Mardi Gras in 2020. In view of this I’ve decided to write an info blog filled with nitty-gritty details of what to expect when you arrive in THE BIG EASY. This is not a glam topic – it’s a useful one – so let’s get started.

In the past, you may have heard that New Orleans slows down a bit in the winter months. Well, the truth is: not much – there’s still plenty to do and see for visitors and those who like to have a good time. Let’s take a look.

For this blog I thought it would be interesting to compare two Tennessee cities that are 212 miles apart (a three-hour drive) and are roughly the same size. In 2017 the population of Nashville, the state capital, was 665,967 while Memphis was 652,231.

I came across an article that touched on a topic I’d never seen before. It appeared in the August 2019 issue of AFAR magazine, a relatively new publication that I signed up for recently. Sarah M. Broom, a writer who has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the New Yorker, among other publications has written an intriguing piece.

In the past months we’ve covered Bourbon, Royal and Frenchmen Streets in detail so now we’re going to move on to two lesser-known spots: St. Claude and Freret Avenues.   

Around 8:00 pm in late May, I was searching for something (anything halfway decent) to watch on TV. Programs such as: “I Love My 600-lb. Carcass” and “I Was a Nut Hoarder For 25 Years” didn’t inspire me. And then, I hit on a movie titled “God’s Little Acre” that came out in 1958, with Robert Ryan and Tina Louise, and is based on the best-selling novel by Erskine Caldwell – that I had never read. Within minutes I was caught up in this riveting film.

When traveling to, and staying in, the jazz-filled city of New Orleans it can be a good idea to “take a breather” and go on a side trip to smaller, quieter spots that are within reach. Let’s take a look.

I realized that, over the 74 blogs that I’ve written for Rathbone I’ve mentioned Marie Laveau, the so-called “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans” a number of times. But, I still don’t know very much about her. I said to myself, “This has to change.” So here goes.

KREWE OF BOO

Since 2007 this has been the official New Orleans Halloween Parade that takes place on Saturday, October 19th. It begins at Elysian Fields and makes its way through the French Quarter to Jackson Square, then wends its way to the Warehouse District and finally ends at the Convention Center. This parade is always held on the Saturday evening before the Halloween weekend (this year Halloween night falls on Thursday, October 31st).

The French Quarter is also called the Vieux Carré. This is the original city as planned by the French in the early eighteenth century. History seeps through the brick walls of the Quarter – which is heavy on tourists and light on locals.  

Here we are again! I can’t believe that a whole year has gone by. This takes us to the 30th year of the famous New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) that draws participants from far and wide. I’m happy to report that attendance in 2018 was over 20,000 (including 170 filmmakers). Plus over 200 films were screened according to the festival organizers. Filmmakers and cinema fans enjoy a unique camaraderie at this event. They know that The Big Easy has a well-earned reputation for having fun or, “Let the Good Times Roll.” CLICK HERE to read our 2018 blog on this subject.

On a road trip down from Tennessee to the Gulf Coast, travel writer Kevin West spins a tale of discovery in his April 2019 article for Travel & Leisure magazine. He begins with six very provocative words: “The devil was beating his wife as I crossed the Alabama state line. I was driving from Nashville, in a hurry to reach Muscle Shoals, and I had gotten to the point where I-65 snakes down from middle Tennessee’s Highland Rim. When the highway levels out again and runs straight, you’re in the cotton-growing Heart of Dixie, as Alabama has been known since the 1950s.”

August is a hot, take-it-easy month so I think it’s time to have some fun and take note of the rather exotic “flora and fauna” that exists in New Orleans and Louisiana (translation: plants and animals). I’m going to use the question-and-answer format to keep things simple.

Here are five more easy-to-find spots for drinking and fun in the famous Old Quarter of New Orleans.

1.     CHART ROOM Come and enjoy yourself at a great bar. The Chart Room is located at 300 Chartres Street. It’s open from 11:00 am to 4:00 am. It has a historical patina on the walls, creaky furniture inside and outdoor seating for people watching. More directly, it’s a low-key, cash-only French Quarter bar that sports an old-school jukebox.

Here are five easy-to-find spots for drinking and more in the famous Old Quarter of New Orleans.

1.     TONIQUE located at 820 N. Rampart Street, is open from noon to 2:00 am. This spot is described as “a bartender’s bar” because rumor has it that – on a Sunday night – bartenders go there to unwind.  One patron says, “My favorite bar in New Orleans – it’s a “hipster” fancy cocktail bar. They have a Happy Hour every day that features a specific drink for $5.00. I always have a Pimm’s Cup or a Moscow Mule when I visit New Orleans and both are the best I’ve ever tasted anywhere. It’s right across from the Louis Armstrong Park.

Is anything more civilized than afternoon tea? Here are four tea spots in Tennessee that you may want to look into at some point. Why am I writing about Tennessee? Well, I found there were 16 states in the U.S. that are considered “Southern” so I want to write about each one – in addition to New Orleans.

I’ve always loved the month of September because there’s lots of action. The weather is usually perfect and the kids are really excited about going back to school and seeing all their friends again. It’s also a great time to travel to New Orleans. My husband Peter and I visited late in the month of September and it was still hot – but not stultifying – so we had a marvelous time and made great use of New Orleans famous go-cups (nothing like that in stuffy old NYC).