I am going to New Orleans!

i'm going soon too - recommendations of places to stay?

I've only been once, so I'm not a good person to ask. Last year we actually won a raffle for a four-day stay at a Marriott in the Business District. Awesome place with a courtyard pool and an amazing buffet breakfast that had everything — alligator and andouille included. This year we're using my mother-in-law's time share at the Quarter House, on Chartres Street.

http://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2012/07/hubigs_pie_are_more_than_a_des.html

Hubig's pies bakery burns down

http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2012/07/5-alarm_fire_breaks_out_at_hub.html

Kermit Ruffins gets OK to re-open Mother-in-Law Lounge. Nice.
http://www.offbeat.com/2012/08/16/ruffins-wins-mother-in-law-loungesoon-reopens/
Didn't he recently open a new joint in the Treme? He's staying busy. Taking my second trip to NOLA next month and I hope to see him this time. Last year we took a cab to Vaughan's only to be told that Kermit was out of town. We stayed and had a ball anyway.

http://www.empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/2013/emp-pop-conference-2013-new-orleans.aspx

Register now, free for all April 18 through 21st

American Routes radio show anniversary concert that weekend plus a big brass band gig I may attend

Plus gf and I need to make it to various food/restaurant places listed above in the limited time we have

Flying in Thursday

I like going buckwild and causing random ruckus as much as anyone but I've always found that the titty-flashing thing to be useless unless you know the chick and you got a good chance of hitting it that very night....the same reason I don't go to strip clubs....what's the point.....whenever you see pics or video footage of mardi gras flashing theres always those ugly old guys in the background smiling and laffing like they're loving it....stop lying son, youre going to go home and wank about it, that's all....if you've got time left, best spend your time on real macking...it'll last longer.....DUDE, YOURE GETTING A DELL

― Ramosi, Sunday, February 3, 2002 12:00 PM (11 years ago)

RIP

getting on a train to here in two hours with 0 plans once I'm there. willing to be guided on music recommendations as this thread has done since time immemorial (Offbeat listings isn't loading for me btw)

Hostel has a whiteboard with the day's suggested gigs up, Hot 8 at Howlin' Wolf tonight, DONE

Gonna splurge and finally go to the Ponderosa Stomp Music fest at Rock n Bowl Friday the 2nd and Saturday the 3rd, plus some panel discussions before then starting during the day Thursday and Friday. Air B n B lodging...

Hmmm, where to eat...

where you staying/how far are you willing to travel?

will you have a car?

Right now, not planning on having a car (but may change my mind--Need to get from airport to lodging and back; and to Stomp events too). Staying near the intersection of Carrollton and Claiborne avenue from Wednesday night arrival at 5:30 pm at the airport to Sunday at 6pm. The Ponderosa Stomp conference (and record sale ) during the day Thursday and Friday is at the AC Hotel by Marriott at 221 Carondelet St. The Stomp DJ party Thursday night is at DBA, and Ponderosa Stomp is from 6:30 pm to 3:25 AM Friday and Saturday nights

you can take the claiborne bus (#16) from carrollton and claiborne down to the CBD where the conference is. you could also take the streetcar but the bus is way, way, way faster--i took it to work every day for many years.

as i'm sure you know it's an easy walk from carrollton/claiborne to rock n bowl.

airport cabs are like $35 bucks each way, which is annoying. there's the E-2 JET bus (ie jefferson parish, not the new orleans RTA) which runs right by tulane and carrollton (a little bit further up from rock n bowl). i can't vouch for its reliability these days though. also probably kind of a drag with luggage.

if you plan to have downtime and are adventurous i would recommend a car as most of the ~really good~ restaurants are a drag to get to via public transportation. this includes the great vietnamese restaurants like tan dinh, dong phuong and pho ga quang minh; the stone cold classic new orleans/sicilian joint mosca's, in avondale; superior po boy shops like koz's, in lakeview; and lakeview/bucktown seafood places like r&o and blue crab. (don't underestimate vietnamese food in new orleans.)

of course there are many many many amazing places to eat very close to where you are staying, though the outstanding choices around there are less new orleans-specific.

clearly i miss new orleans very much.

Thanks. I do have great Vietnamese food near me in the DC area, though I guess hybrid New Orleans Vietnamese would be cool.

Good advice re bus over the streetcar

Is Koz's in Lakeview really that much better than Broadview, Quarter Grocery, Parkview or Gene's? Or is it just unique for that barbequed ham po-boy?

I mean Parkway

i think so but it is possible that the differences are only apparent to those who have eaten many thousands of po boys. a lot of it comes down to the bread, of which there is a correct choice (gendusa's) and incorrect (anything else, especially the dreaded leidenheimers). also the shrimp sandwich at koz's is easily the best in the city imo.

gene's is good but largely entertaining for the atmosphere. i think the food is better at hank's, a few blocks down st claude, and the vibe there is a truly new orleanian blend of hilarious and threatening.

i personally don't care for parkway at all but i know i am in the minority. in the midcityish area i recommend avery's po boys on tulane ave in the hourly motel district. mostly people from the nearby courthouse/OPP/bail bondsmen and construction workers from the giant hospital site.

in the fq i think the best choice is either johnny's (touristy af but great sandwiches) or verti marte (a little pricey and they use seeded leidenheimer's but good nonetheless). i will also rep quartermaster.

I'm going to be in New Orleans this weekend for the first time for a conference; staying on Poydras a couple blocks from where curmudgeon's conference was held.

I will have no car and know absolutely nobody else in the entire city. My wife has been there twice without me (once for a conference, the other time for moral / drinking / crying support with a friend who had originally planned the trip with her husband before finding out he was cheating on her), and I have seen Treme. That's basically the entirety of my knowledge of the place.

What should I do and eat? I want to see live music and eat good food. I don't care too much if things are touristy or cliched if the food or music is worth it. I'm up for the random cab / Uber trip but will most likely be on foot.

Adam and others can give you ideas. The New Orleans Brass Bands thread on ilm might be helpful too.

The 2 days of Ponderosa Stomp music conference at the AC Hotel by Marriott was mostly fascinating although I wish some of the interviewers had also used visuals and audio. A couple of 'em just assumed everyone knew all the arcane 1950s and 60s music details about obscure soul and rockabilly that they did. The conference ended up including food for lunch. Probably shoulda gone elsewhere but decided to eat their red beans and rice and muffelatas. One morning I even just had breakfast down the street at diner like place Daisey Dukes.

Did not have time to make it out of the city to Adam's fave places, though we did do a swamp gator tour. My catfish poboy at Quarter Grocery was good but not great. Had a pricey great meal at Herbsaint and a just ok pricey one at Commanders Palace. Because we were goin to the Stomp Friday and Saturday nights from 6 pm to 3:30 am, ate dinner one night there and once at Ye Olde College Inn next door. Saw a great second line parade. The 1st annual Treme Fest had the great singer John Boutte, Treme Brass, Kermit Ruffins and many others.

We also ate muffelatas at Cochon Butcher. They were good. Did not make it to Felix or Acme or Drago's for char-broiled oysters, alas.

Friday the 9th the all women Pinettes Brass Band are at Bullets and the Lost Bayou Ramblers, an energetic, raucous Cajun accordion and guitar band from SW Louisiana are at Siberia. Some brass bands play on street corners. Often there's stuff on Frenchman street.

This Saturday the 10th thing has me curious (could be great or horrible)--
Beasts of the Southern Wild Wordless Music Orchestra feat. Lost Bayou Ramblers and Conductor Ryan McAdams at Saenger Theatre

Deacon John and The Ivories at Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall October 9, 2015, 6:30 pm

http://www.offbeat.com/event-search

Neisha Ruffins

at Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge

October 10, 2015, 8:30 pm

New Breed Brass Band

at d.b.a.

October 10, 2015, 11:00 pm

New Breed Brass Band

d.b.a.

Hustle feat. DJ Soul Sister

at Hi-Ho Lounge

October 10, 2015, 11:00 pm

To second a few of curmudgeon's recommendations and offer a few of my own:

I highly recommend coming to see the Pinettes at Bullet's on Friday night. I go to that almost every week. It's not the greatest neighborhood to be walking alone at night if you're new to the city, so you should probably cab it - there's no cover charge at the show. Dooky Chase's in Treme and Mr. B's Bistro in the quarter are very good for soul food and gumbo, though they're not cheap. I had a very good, and inexpensive, alligator sausage po-boy at Cajun Mike's on Baronne, though I'm sure all their other po-boys are good too. I've never been to Cochon Butcher but I had their cochon de lait po boy at Jazz Fest, and it was delicious.

There are often brass bands playing in Jackson Square until around 5 in the evening, so you should swing by there one day after picking up a muffuletta at Central Grocery if you get a chance. New Breed is well worth seeing, too.

Off topic, but I was delighted to see this unaired Hannibal Buress pilot have some fun hyjinks at Camellia Grill.

http://www.thefader.com/2015/10/06/hannibal-buresss-unemployable

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/dining/ella-brennan-new-orleans-restaurants.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

New Orleans restaurant/food critic Brett Anderson writing in the NY Times about 91-year old Commander’s Palace owner

A typical evening for Ella Brennan begins with cocktails. They are delivered from Commander’s Palace, her family’s restaurant next door to her mansion in this city’s historic Garden District.

Was just in New Orleans last week and had some fantastic food at a number of places, although not Commander's Palace this time. Wish I didn't have to come home so soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/obituary-lolis-elie-dead-new-orleans-civil-rights-lawyer.html?_r=0

an undaunted civil rights pioneer whose advocacy as a lawyer, protest organizer and negotiator helped propel the racial desegregation of New Orleans

His son was involved with the Treme tv show

x-post- where did you eat Moodles?

I am going to New Orleans! Where should I go?

Primary interests include:
music of all types (would enjoy visiting locations of musical history in particular)
graveyards
gardens/mansions you can visit and walk through

I am interested in food, but really am not a huge EATER (like I can't eat gigantic amounts of food at one time and will be hanging mostly by myself so not sharing huge plates)
I am not interested in heavy drinking

Mr. Jaq and I were there recently and made a sort of music pilgrimage to a laundromat near Louis Armstrong park. Apparently used to be a recording studio. There was live music in a park off Canal on Wednesday evenings (toward the river) - continues through the summer. We enjoyed the jazz brunch at the Palace Cafe (Saturdays and Sundays), but heard really good things about the same thing at the Court of the Two Sisters. What I loved best was when I'd get bitters and soda to drink (often, it is my favorite thing), servers would ask after what kind of bitters. I had some amazing plum bitters and lots of Peychaud's - such a nice change from the default angostura.

I am going to New Orleans! First time back to Jazzfest since 2008. Hope it isn't ridiculously overcrowded. I have an awesome AirB&B house 6 blocks from the fairgrounds.

Went for a weekend a couple weeks ago - my wife and I had both been but never together. Amazingly flew out a few hours after the airport closures ended the government shutdown and flew back into Detroit right as the polar vortex blizzard was hitting.

Ate a bunch of good food, slept in a pitch black room with no dog or kid waking us up, ate edibles and road the streetcar / walked 9 miles one day around the garden district and it was amazing.

https://gonola.com/food-drink-in-new-orleans/five-multigenerational-black-owned-businesses-to-visit-in-new-orleans

Willie Mae’s
Dookie Chase
Lil Dizzy’s Cafe
Neyow’s Creole Cafe
Me. Okra

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/travel/big-freedia-five-places-to-eat-and-visit-in-new-orleans.html

Rapper Big Freedia’s 5

1. Morrow’s restaurant
2. Neyow’s Creole Cafe
3. Republic NOLA on bouncebeat night
4. Cafe du Monde
5. Manchu Food Store for its fried chicken

X—post — damn autocorrect...that’s Mr. Okra

Had a couple fancy meals in New Orleans that I'd highly recommend if you are looking for something like that:

Tea service at Sucre
Brunch at Brennan's

I'd go back to either of these in a heartbeat.

Avery's has the best seafood gumbo I've had in a restaurant but they were just featured on a guy fieri episode so go during off hours.

So the New Orleans Jazzfest booked The Rolling Stones as a big 50th Anniversary coup, charged jacked up prices for tickets, sold out immediately (Jazzfest has never been able to sell out before) and now Mick has a medical issue and the Stones have cancelled their tour. What a cluster, I bet the JF office is an insane and horrible place to be this morning. (I booked first weekend, in part to avoid all this hoopla.)

https://www.nola.com/jazzfest/2019/03/rolling-stones-cancelled-for-jazz-fest.html

Rumour is Fleetwood Mac will be filling.

The grey hairs that clog the the field with their portable chairs should be happy.

JazzFest never appealed to me. I can understand others paying premium prices for classic/legacy mainstream musicians, but the times I've been I've circulated between the Congo Sq (R&B/urban) and Gentilly (indie) stages, almost impossible due to the press of people. Of the hundreds of artists this year, I've a lackluster interest in Kamasi Washington, and that's it. The fest needs to rely less on boomer artists to stay relevant going forward. Voodoo and Buku are more my thing.

I'm a grey hair (no chair) but I won't be seeing any of the mainstage acts (unless you count the tribute to Fats Domino with Irma Thomas, Bonnie Raitt etc.)

As a gigging blues musician I'm interested in Taj Mahal and locals like Alvin Youngblood Hart, and there's some interesting world music making its way over from Festival International in Lafayette. As long as there is trad jazz, brass bands, and Mardi Gras Indians, I'm happy. (Both of the fests you linked are a generation or two apart from my tastes.)

I agree with Dan re going to Jazzfest to see brass bands, old-school New Orleans r’n’b, etc. I like the gospel and Congo Square global music too

I would even argue that it's better to go to French Quarter fest (or the now-annual Original Brass Fest in Congo Square) to see this stuff, rather then messing with Jazzfest at all.

Does TBC still busk outside of the festival, or are they too old/professional for that now?

I am more curious about Essence Fest there than Voodoo.

I also loved the one Ponderosa Stomp I attended there, and was sad to see on FB that they’re taking a hiatus ( although doing a 1 night thing with a few acts in Brooklyn and some small things in New Orleans too)

I don't know why I have yet to give French Quarter Fest a try. I guess I just fell in love with Jazzfest in 1988 and keep clinging to that, although I haven't attended in a decade. It does seem like the rapidly escalating price of Fest is to subsidize to booking of Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen, and I don't go see them anyway.

FQF is great! Way more chill and focused on the local musicians that I actually want to see.

lol, now Fleetwood Mac canceled because of illness

food is cheaper at FQF too, used to be maximum $4 for any dish (idk if that's changed).

i once saw a serene dr john being driven around FQF in a golf cart. like a buddha. i have since aspired to a similar beatitude