going for a weeding next month and want to hit up a few spots

Will have wife and kids so its not going down after dark unless we find some fam who watch these kids while we go out and play.

Staying right downtown at the Hilton Riverside

Good eats?

Good vibes?

Art/museums?

Good music?

There is a festival while we are there so more than likely we hit that up on Saturday at some point.

Make sure you go to the butcher side, not the restaurant side.

Lucy’s Retired Surfer’s Club, Willa Jean and Copper Vine were good as well. There was a breakfast spot we walked about an hour in a downpour from the Ace Hotel (though I stayed at the Old 77 and really loved it) but I can’t remember the name (it was in the middle of a residential neighborhood, on the corner?)

Otherwise, I was there just last summer but I was usually at Erin Rose by noon, back by 6 and back again by 2 and despite really wanting to make it over to Bywater absolutely never was able to escape the Bourbon Street vortex. We were 16 childless, hedonistic assholes. If you want to feel how old NO can feel, Lafitte during the day for a quickie could be cool.

I saw two great shows, can’t remember the more low key one in a slightly “classier” part of town but it was like an open square with bars and restaurants wrapping around it? The other was at Krazy Korner where we did shots out of womens’ cleavage so…not for kids!

I’d go back this afternoon if I could but that was definitely a PPP fueled trip.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

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i think i got burned about 6 times on those watered down things. Even ordering a double and it still hit like a virgin drink.. and I'm a lightweight

Willie Mae's fried chicken was pretty bomb, you may have to wait in line. I think we waited around 40m.. Really i feel like any fried chicken you get in NO is gonna be the shit. during some down time, i had some popeye's chicken strips because it was next to the hotel and they were the best chicken strips i've ever eaten.

Frenchman street is like a more chill alternative to Bourbon, but I'm definitely not saying to avoid Bourbon.. i really enjoyed Bourbon outside of the watered down drinks.

i don't have a lot of food spot recommendation. Pretty much every random place we picked was pretty great. basically everywhere you walk you're gonna fun good music and eats.

they have a great WWI museum there.

Like every random place we ended up in had amazing food. Even the chargrilled oysters in the Hilton we stayed in were some of the best we ever had (my NO cousins say it is better than Acmes).

I feel like NO is a hard city not to have a good time in.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I went to a random spot on Decatur and ordered some gumbo. The waitress was like "honey, you don't wanna get gumbo from here" and recommended another spot down the street. I still got it as an appetizer and it was the best gumbo I'd ever had in my LIFE, that is until I went to the spot the waitress recommended (I can't even remember, but I think it was also on Decatur...)

There has long been a pipeline of Vietnamese refugees into Louisiana and then to California and out west

My lil sister's husband is Vietnamese born outside of NO who then moved to Santa Ana, CA so that adds an interesting wrinkle to food you can find down there

They try to drown you in strong likka. We got there early at like 1pm in the day so we may of had the strong pour staff but after 2 rounds we were dizzy drunk.

damn phone lol

>they have a great WWI museum there.

Food -

Check out Drago's in your hotel for charbroiled oysters. They are grilled oysters with a garlic butter sauce with french bread for dipping. If you like oysters, it is a must try. - https://www.dragosrestaurant.com/

For creole food, avoid the spots in the quarter and go to Neyow's - https://neyows.com/

For a fancy Black owned spot in the Quarter, check out Cafe Sbisa - https://www.cafesbisanola.com/

Have some Popeyes while you are in town. It tastes better here than anyplace else.

Good Vibes -

If you are into yoga check out Magnolia Yoga - https://magnoliayogastudio.com/

Right next door is a cool coffee shop, Backatown - https://backatownnola.com/

Here are two spots to get books and some culture -

Bayou Road and Community Book Store - the block is full of Black owned New Orleans businesses - https://readcbc.com/

Baldwin and Company - new arrival but a very cool spot to have coffee, chill and check out some art - https://www.instagram.com/baldwinandcompany/?hl=en

Congo Square - Worth a visit. It is in Louis Armstrong Park - not far from the French Quarter. On Sundays they have music, vendors and food. - https://www.instagram.com/congosquaredrumcircle/?hl=en

Museums -

Studio Be - Highly recommended - BMike created this artist space to house his murals that focus on history and culture. Really good fir the kids. https://studiobenola.com/

Down the block from Studio Be - JamNOLA - interactive art installation. Will also be great for the kids. Make reservations - https://jamnola.com/

New Orleans African American Museum - https://www.noaam.org/

WWII Museum - one of the best museums in the country. Dedicated to telling the story of World War II.

Music -

Check out WWOZ's Livewire - It lists who is performing at most of the music venues in town every day - https://www.wwoz.org/calendar/livewire-music

Check out the festivals in town. Good for the kids, food and great music.

Now I can rest easy.

>Have some Popeyes while you are in town. It tastes better
>here than anyplace else.

I mentioned Popeyes earlier in this post as just an in-between thing. But thought of this post because I just had Popeyes at an airport, and it was the worst popeyes I ever had. Especially compared to NO which was fucking amazing.

Pre-Congo Square, it’s colonialists playing European music (and presumptively enslaved people playing African music surreptitiously whe they could and Native Americans playing the indigenous music of their nations), but Congo Square, where enslaved Africans gathered on Sundays (their off day in New Orleans) was where African music was blended with European music (and instruments) to lay the foundation for American music as we know it. So yeah, visit there.

Don’t know if anyone mentioned Mothers for brunch or if it’s even still open

I haven’t been home in a while. Was back late last year but did not really get to explore much.

Older pre-Katrina spots like Cafe Brasil and Tipitinas were awesome but no idea if they are still open

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com

If I go back I'm definitely going to visit

Looks like they got drum circles and live music from the IG link above but I'm really curious if there are more extensively curated museums and music stores etc. I'mma have to do my googles.

I heavily fuck with vinyl and music history so if it was up to me a trip would revolve around music and food

Museums related to music and Black experience in New Orleans:

Ashe Cultural Arts Center - https://www.ashenola.org/
New Orleans African American Museum - https://www.noaam.org/visit
Black owned and led Tours - https://www.knownolatours.com/ - Treme Walking Tour
New Orleans Jazz Museum -run by the State - https://nolajazzmuseum.org/

New Orleans has a bunch of good record stores. I am big into vinyl myself. I am a fan of Peaches on Magazine Street, Euclid Records and Domino Record Shack. They all specialize in different things but are run by knowledgeable people with a solid collection of local artists and rarities.

Also, if you are into New Orleans vinyl, join https://tipitinasrecordclub.com/. Trust me, worth every penny.

I heard New Orleans got picked clean back in the 90s lol (but in all seriousness digging in N.O. is on my bucket list)

As somebody who collects jazz and used to work at a shady label that put out N.O. funk and jazz reissues I am a big fan of the local scene, so I will definitely check out Tipitina's Record Club!

Get a drink at (or honestly just go to check out) Lafittes Blacksmith Shop. It’s on Bourbon but after all the circus shit. It opened in the 1700s and it’s so dope.

Walk it once just so you can say you did, but Frenchman Street at night is great.

And the musicians on Bourbon are often white transplants, whereas on Frenchman, they're Black natives. And better/more consistently good music at the bars there.

Great breakfast at Surreys.

Willie May's has great fried chicken, but can be they've got pretty short hours.

And if I remember correctly, you don't really need to wait in line at Cafe Du Monde, you can just grab a table. And there's a take-out line that moves much faster.

we still had a ball but I got to do none of the stuff I wanted to do as far as trying food recommendations.

Hotel was right next to the French Quarter Festival so that was cool. Also went to the Aquarium.

Will def go back without the kids because I had a great time but it was kid friendly as hell this time around.

Driving in from Baton Rouge.

If you are coming down this weekend (Thurs - Sunday), go to Jazz Fest. You can get all of those things in one place.

My wife and I are foodies and almost every place that we went to, had great dishes.

If you don't like/allergic to seafood though, NO might not be as enjoyable.

If you are without dietary restrictions however, you really can't go wrong. Even the snacks (beignets, pralines, etc.) are fabulous.

If you wander into a spice shop, don't try anything above an 8 on the heat scale or you will instantly regret it. LOL.

Luuke, Saint Lawrence, District Donuts for food. Make the walk-up line for Cafe du Monde. Then just wander with your food and coffee. Erin Rose has great bloody Mary’s. In the Garden District, there’s a great bar called Bulldog. Across the street is a seafood market. They’ll steam crawfish or shrimp for you. Take it to the Bulldog and buy a couple pitchers of beer and you can eat you steamed seafood at their outdoor picnic tables.