Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3044280/new-orleans-best-places-eat-drink-dance-and-listen-music
Lifestyle/ Travel & Leisure

New Orleans: The Big Easy made easy – the hippest hotels, the coolest bars, the finest dining, the dandiest dance clubs

  • You’ll want to get the best out of New Orleans in Louisiana, the birthplace of jazz, the home of Mardi Gras and Cajun and Creole cuisine, when you visit
  • No trip would be complete without spending time in the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, but there are many other places to visit, and to escape the crowds
Jazz musicians playing in the Spotted Cat jazz bar on Frenchman Street, New Orleans. Photo: Phil Clarke Hill/In Pictures via Getty Images

Languid, sultry, and imbued with a kind of ancient tropic mysticism, New Orleans is a city apart. “The Big Easy,” as it is known (or its better nickname, “The City that Care Forgot”) boasts a rich cultural heritage and vibrant public life that make it a must-visit.

Still, the secret is out: tourists flock to New Orleans year-round, especially for Mardi Gras in early March and the Jazz Festival in late April.

Tourists in New Orleans are also not known for being the best behaved. So if you are hoping to visit and want to avoid the most egregious scenes of public drunkenness and craven tourist haunts, do as the locals do: take your time, get off the beaten track, and let pleasure be your guide.

One of the most striking differences between New Orleans and the rest of the United States – other than being able to drink outdoors – is the prevalence of French cultural influences. New Orleans acted as the capital of French-owned Louisiana before it was bought by the United States in 1803, and in subsequent years, became the capital for the state’s vibrant Cajun and Creole communities.

Brennan’s in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Photo: Chris Granger
Brennan’s in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Photo: Chris Granger

“I consider New Orleans not a part of the United States but the most northern point in the Caribbean,” says James Williams, a local jazz trumpeter and vocalist. “From the food to the music, the architecture and – most importantly – the people, it’s the most vibrant place in the world.”

For a visitor, the Cajun-Creole divide will be most apparent in the food, and you should preserve time in your itinerary to try both.

The cafe in Hotel Peter & Paul. Photo: Hotel Peter and Paul
The cafe in Hotel Peter & Paul. Photo: Hotel Peter and Paul

The heart of New Orleans is the French Quarter, known for its classical French-influenced architecture.

Open doors and antique shutters beckon you from the slate streets into bar after bar for cocktails and live music, day and night. It is within easy walking distance of many of the city’s best shopping, food, and attractions – although pedestrians need to dodge the ever-present parades known as “second lines”, often a mobile jazz band followed by a wedding party.

The quarter’s bustle of drink-toting tourists is jovial and charming – and your nose will be bombarded with smells that are not always pleasant, from horse-drawn carriages to wafts of vomit from street gutters. Its most infamous street is Bourbon Street, the stage for every hen night and stag party in the Southern United States.

Brennan’s courtyard. Photo: Chris Granger
Brennan’s courtyard. Photo: Chris Granger

Despite being a tourism hub, the French Quarter remains an excellent place to eat. For high-end temples of Creole gastronomy – turtle soup, seafood gumbo, and gulf fish amandine – Brennan’s is one of the most renowned, and remains one of the best. Irene’s is another option for a romantic dinner, with a menu of Cajun-Italian classics that you will not find elsewhere.

There is more contemporary dining on offer too, such as Sylvain, a hip hang-out with turn-of-the-century decor that focuses on crafted cocktails and is justifiably famous for its crispy-yet-tender fried-chicken sandwich.

If you prefer your fried chicken outside the confines of a bun, then Coop’s Place is for you. This hole-in-the-wall bar would be easily missed, if not for the snaking queue that forms outside the door every day. People return for its casual Cajun comfort food, such as rabbit and sausage jambalaya, seafood gumbo, and signature Cajun fried chicken fried oyster po’ boys.

A cocktail at Cane and Table. Photo: Randy Schmidt
A cocktail at Cane and Table. Photo: Randy Schmidt

New Orleans is a breakfast lover’s paradise. For the best in the city, head to Magazine Street via the St Charles tram to Surrey’s Cafe and Juice Bar for their shrimp and grits and pain perdu (New Orleans-style French toast).

If there is one thing that New Orleans loves as much as eating it is drinking. There are bars to satisfy every desire, from the sophisticated artistry of cocktail bars such as Cane and Table in the Quarter, the Bouligny Tavern in Uptown, and the excellent Cure in a chic converted firehouse in the Freret neighbourhood.

It’s the more casual bars that best exemplify New Orleans’ charms. Places such as the dangerously underpriced but too-friendly-to-be-a-dive The Club Ms. Mae’s, where stiff drinks can cost as little as US$3. You come here for the prices, the friendly patrons and staff, and the air hockey and billiard tables – because this bar is dressed down to the bare cement bones.

The Spotted Cat jazz bar on Frenchmen Street, New Orleans. Photo: Phil Clarke Hill
The Spotted Cat jazz bar on Frenchmen Street, New Orleans. Photo: Phil Clarke Hill

New Orleans is where jazz was invented, and the city remains to this day one of the finest live-music destinations anywhere. From street musicians to high-class jazz pianists and bands of every description in almost every business (and even on occasion at the luggage carousels at the airport), music is impossible to avoid.

While far from undiscovered, Frenchmen Street remains one of the best places to hear music, both for its quality and variety. With its cramped quarters and worse-for-wear decor, The Spotted Cat Music Club is a legendary New Orleans jazz spot that musters a healthy-sized audience for performances daily. Just down the block is the rowdier and even tinier subterranean Apple Barrel, and the more spacious but still raucous Balcony Music Club.

The Carousel Bar, nestled in the lavish Hotel Monteleone, has drawn tourists for generations with its slowly revolving cocktail bar. Locals head to Gasa Gasa in Uptown, known for its eclectic music line-ups and outdoor murals.

Nathan Pitts Art in Franklin Square in New Orleans. Photo: Nathan Pitts
Nathan Pitts Art in Franklin Square in New Orleans. Photo: Nathan Pitts

For all its touristy galleries and shops peddling parasols and voodoo trinkets, New Orleans has a bustling arts scene. Support local artists by buying in the open air arts and crafts market in Franklin Square.

“New Orleans is just a great place to be if you want to make a living in the streets as an artist, performer or musician,” says Nathan Pitts, who paints colourful, cartoonish depictions of jazz musicians, overlaid with lyrics. “The city seems to have relatively fewer regulations than most other cities and even encourages you to express yourself in the streets. Other cities can be stifling for those things and end up with a less diverse population of artists.”

Pitts also sells his work art at Secondline Arts and Antiques, a warren of crafts and antique shops that showcases local artists’ work, and antiques surely hand-picked from Louisiana’s stylist past. “Being in the Deep South and being a city that is so open to many lifestyles, New Orleans feels like an oasis where people can fully be themselves,” says Pitts.

Williams says: “New Orleans is pure magic, where the history oozes out of the sidewalk and you can touch it in real time. Hell, New Orleans created the great Louis Armstrong, one of the most magical humans to grace the earth. That, in and of itself, tells you about New Orleans’ magic.”

The Queen’s Room at Brennan’s in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Photo: Chris Granger
The Queen’s Room at Brennan’s in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Photo: Chris Granger

Where to eat

Brennan’s Higher end traditional New Orleans fare perfect for celebratory dinners with rooms available for private dining. brennansneworleans.com

Irene’s New Orleans is home to a robust Italian population. For Cajun-Italians specialities, Irene’s is one of the best destinations in town. irenesnola.com

Brennan's turtle soup. Photo: Chris Granger
Brennan's turtle soup. Photo: Chris Granger

Avo Their short rib lasagne made with decadent slow-cooked meat will have make you want to return during your stay. Avo is in the Uptown – which is confoundingly actually downtown – neighbourhood and well beyond the tourist trail. restaurantavo.com

Coop's Place A must-try for great creole food in casual surrounds, justifiably famous for its fried chicken. coopsplace.net

Sylvain A seasonal menu showcases local ingredients and technique. sylvainnola.com

Surrey’s Cafe and Juice Bar A relaxed atmosphere with both healthy and decadent options, from avocado pesto sandwiches to Bananas Foster French toast. surreysnola.com

Cane and Table. Photo: Randy Schmidt
Cane and Table. Photo: Randy Schmidt

Where to drink and dance

Cane and Table Expert cocktails crafted to order and taste. caneandtablenola.com

Bouligny Tavern Elevated small plates and a great wine list in a town that can leave wine lovers wanting. Leave room for hush puppies. boulignytavern.com

Cure in New Orleans. Photo: Randy Schmidt
Cure in New Orleans. Photo: Randy Schmidt

Cure Mixology cocktail bar with an extensive menu arranged by spirit and strength. curenola.com

The Spotted Cat Music Club A popular, intimate (loud) live music club where you can enjoy some of the city’s best jazz and blues musicians. spottedcatmusicclub.com

Apple Barrel Even smaller than The Spotted Cat, this club has a more local, rowdy flavour and is a great bet for waiting out the crowds at “the Cat.” 609 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116.

Balcony Music Club Between the more well-trodden French Quarter and the less explored Marigny, it’s a great choice for live jazz and dancing at all hours. balconymusicclub.com

Hotel Peter & Paul’s schoolhouse guest room, in New Orleans. Photo: Hotel Peter and Paul
Hotel Peter & Paul’s schoolhouse guest room, in New Orleans. Photo: Hotel Peter and Paul

Where to sleep

Hotel Peter and Paul This beautiful, refined, historic hotel is surprisingly affordable given its sumptuous decor. hotelpeterandpaul.com

Soniat House For the full New Orleans experience. Entering the meticulously restored Soniat House in the Quarter is like stepping back in time. soniathouse.com

Additional Reporting by Jill Kapinus