The New New Orleans
As the city continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina, there’s plenty of new attractions to love.
WEB BONUS:
Old New Orleans Favorites: Not New, but Not to Be Missed
- Mid City Bowling: The locals call this place Rock-and-Bowl because live music (often zydeco) performances accompany the sound of bowling balls crashing into pins. 4133 S. Carrolton, (504) 482-3133
- Café Du Monde: This café walks the razor-thin line between local favorite and tourist mecca, thanks to the consistently incredible light and chewy beignets. Visit cafedumonde.com for locations.
- Canal Street Ferry: Take this free ferry anytime between 6 a.m. and midnight. It runs from the bottom of Canal Street (by the aquarium) across the Mississippi to historic Algiers point, a charming, walkable old neighborhood.
- Emeril’s New Orleans: Emeril’s flagship restaurant continues to live up to the hype. Here it is possible to get closest to the pre-Food Network Lagasse vision, and it is impossible to get a bad meal. 800 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 528-9393
- Faulkner House Books: This bookstore, tucked into a narrow French Quarter alleyway, is William Faulkner’s old living room. The shelves are packed floor to ceiling with hand-selected books, and hard-to-find gems abound. 624 Pirates Alley, (504) 524-2940
New Orleans is no stranger to rebirth. It seems the bigger the disaster, the more enthusiastic the revival, and post-Katrina New Orleans is proof with its bevy of new eateries, attractions and commemorative T-shirts.
STAY
With sparkling chandeliers and gold-plated columns, the Roosevelt Hotel (therooseveltneworleans.com) is a paragon of resurrected glory. The recently reopened hotel, with rooms starting at $278, has amenities ranging from historic (antique mailboxes on each floor) to modern (mp3- ready alarm clocks).
In a lesser city, there would be no reason to leave hotel grounds. A day spent taking in views of the skyline from the terrace pool, then ambling downstairs for a Ramos gin fizz at the legendary Sazerac Bar and dinner at John Besh’s Domenica restaurant would be well spent. But this is New Orleans, and the Roosevelt is conveniently nestled right next to the nonstop party known as the French Quarter.
PLAY
New Orleans is a city of artists and musicians, and many of them call the neighborhoods just east of the Quarter home. Known as the Marigny and the Bywater, they have become the epicenter of cultural development in the “new”New Orleans.
One of the best ways to experience this resurgence is a gallery tour. Start at the studio of Dr. Bob (drbobart.net), where piles of Sharpies and plastic doll legs await placement in his wooden folk art pieces. Stop at the sleeker Ken Kirschman artspace (nocca.com) before ducking into Sidearm Gallery (sidearmgallery.org) to take in the eclectic mix. For riveting portraiture check out Porché West gallery (porche-west.com).
The National WWII Museum (nationalww2museum.org) is also an ideal spot to spend an afternoon.You can listen to tanks rumble and feel the ground shake in the newly opened 4D Solomon Victory Theatre. Music will always be the cornerstone of a night in New Orleans, and some of the best is made on Frenchmen Street in the Marigny. The sound of upright bass wafts out of the recently re-opened Spotted Cat, working like a magnet on passersby.
EAT
They say it’s impossible to find a bad bowl of red beans and rice in New Orleans.Maybe so. But you may not even have room after sampling the offerings at the city’s newest hot spots.
Ignatius lays claim to a new classic in its alligator boudin-stuffed meatloaf, served with a creamy horseradish sauce, corn maque choux and potatoes. Another new restaurant with a penchant for pushing the limits of traditional Cajun food (think spicy grilled pork ribs with watermelon pickle) is Cochon (cochonrestaurant.com).
Bacchanal Wine (bacchanalwine.com), tucked away in the eastern edge of the Bywater, has the entire city enthralled. It’s easy to fall under its spell— what appears to be a wine shop with an incredibly eclectic selection opens up to a secret courtyard designed for ideal consumption of said wine, with cheeses, light food and music. Every effort should be made to visit on Sunday, when a New Orleans chef cooks an elaborate yet affordable menu.
If you dare to snack, newly planted artisans across the city are creating nationally renowned andouille (at Cochon Butcher, cochonbutcher.com) sea salt-speckled chocolate bark (at Sucré, shopsucre.com) and hand-selected cheeses (at St. James Cheese Co., stjamescheese.com).
