AMAZING LIST! And you and others are inspiring me to get my NOLA recco list sorted and online for all those I love who ask! For this work from home girl I might add Cherry Coffee uptown for a cafe. And for live music you gotta have a night at Maple Leaf Bar way Uptown. Lastly to while away some beautiful hours with wine, music and bites in a gorgeous garden I love Bacchanal.
I came back to this post because I am catching a train with my husband this weekend for a few days in New Orleans and he was looking up bookstores. Last time we went to Octavia, so we will try to get to some of the others this time.
Such a generous list! Agree - everyone can do their own googling.
I can’t recommend the podcast Beyond Bourbon Street highly enough. It’s by Mark Bologna who is earnest and thorough and shares a lot about a lot about New Orleans.
This is awfully generous of you, Jami! Thank you! I am saving all the information for future reference. I fell in love with your city through the books of Anne Rice, James Lee Burke and the novel Voodoo Dreams, by Jewell Parker Rhodes. In fact, I made a literary pilgrimage many years ago to visit the sites and sounds of James Lee Burke's wonderful Dave Robicheaux series...driving from New Iberia to New Orleans. I'd love to return someday, and staying in the quieter parts of town is just right for me. Best wishes to you for the new year!
Dang. We JUST returned from a trip to New Orleans. We had a wonderful time. While many of the regular places were hit-or-miss due to Christmas closings, we loved the slower than usual pace. My wife just had to see Yvonne LaFleur's dress shop. I bought my wife a scarf Miss Yvonne helped her pick out. What a treasure she is. Unfortunately Sno-La Snowballs just up the street was closed. We spent much of Christmas Eve in Garyville, LA with the Blood, Sweat, and Bonfires people. We got there a little earlier than was needed but we missed a LOT of traffic and met some great people before we watched the mallards go up in flames. I have never beed so close to exploding fireworks in my life. I now know where the term Crazy Cajun came from. Christmas Day we treated ourselves to a reveillon dinner at Jack Rose and it was a treat. I'll hold on to your suggestions should we find ourselves there again. Happy New Year!
I briefly went to LSU—a very short jaunt from NOLA—and your excellent list makes me pine for a long trip back there. Carnival season starts on Twelfth Night, y’all: folks at all these neighborhood spots will know how to plug in to local events leading up to Mardi Gras so if anyone traveling soon is reading this, be on the lookout 👀
This is just wonderful, and as someone who has lived as an exile from New Orleans since 1976 (stalker), it's wonderful to be reminded of the places I love & hear of all the new places I need to visit next time I come to town. I'm one of the people who has spent an entire day going from bookstore to bookstore. I am sad that some of my old standby's are no longer, but I love hearing of new places. I hated my high school (Grace King) so when I called in sick my mom would take me to the quarter and we'd spend the day eating gumbo and wandering the shops (way way back when clothing stores were privately owned and truly unique. Wish I had some of those clothes still! I took piano lessons at Tulane and am old enough to remember Lu & Charlies on Rampart Street-- and believe it or not, they'd let us kids in even though we were underage. We were there to listen to the music & as long as we didn't try to order a drink they didn't care. As long as we ordered their stuffed mushrooms they were cool. Countless beautiful times there listening to legends from Dr. John to Henry Butler, Clyde Kerr, Kidd Jordan, Herman Jackson, James Singleton, Johnny Vidakovich... so many wonderful times. Thanks for the inspiration & all the new places to check out.
Great recommendations! I’d add my local, Buffa’s, for live local music and pretty good bar food. When I moved here 23+ years ago, I quickly tired of the onslaught of requests for NOLA suggestions and put together this tip sheet. I try to keep it updated. https://www.elisamariesperanza.com/nola-tip-sheet/nor8rpn4d3ylbowc0xjtvh17vgy4zi
A special time in New Orleans about 20 years ago with a bunch of the usual touristy things and then a super special night at Snug Harper where we sat ten feel from Charmaine Neville playing her beautiful voice. Your lists make me want to go back.
Ooooooh, this is all excellent.
AMAZING LIST! And you and others are inspiring me to get my NOLA recco list sorted and online for all those I love who ask! For this work from home girl I might add Cherry Coffee uptown for a cafe. And for live music you gotta have a night at Maple Leaf Bar way Uptown. Lastly to while away some beautiful hours with wine, music and bites in a gorgeous garden I love Bacchanal.
I came back to this post because I am catching a train with my husband this weekend for a few days in New Orleans and he was looking up bookstores. Last time we went to Octavia, so we will try to get to some of the others this time.
Very helpful. Thanks as always!
Thanks to this post, took my visiting Dad to the Bywater and we did some damage at Parlour Books, then Satsuma, Pizza Delicious, and Crescent Park.
Ah that's great! Isn't that bookstore great?
Such a generous list! Agree - everyone can do their own googling.
I can’t recommend the podcast Beyond Bourbon Street highly enough. It’s by Mark Bologna who is earnest and thorough and shares a lot about a lot about New Orleans.
https://open.spotify.com/show/0rZEwj80aKMrgc50ouJ1nj?si=ofIYDQZRSi6mQXlLWUIFKA
Also recommend WWOZ as a generally pleasing station to have on while you make breakfast/putter in the morning if that’s your thing.
This is awfully generous of you, Jami! Thank you! I am saving all the information for future reference. I fell in love with your city through the books of Anne Rice, James Lee Burke and the novel Voodoo Dreams, by Jewell Parker Rhodes. In fact, I made a literary pilgrimage many years ago to visit the sites and sounds of James Lee Burke's wonderful Dave Robicheaux series...driving from New Iberia to New Orleans. I'd love to return someday, and staying in the quieter parts of town is just right for me. Best wishes to you for the new year!
Beautiful list! Thank you, Jami! 🩵
Great rec’s!
Dang. We JUST returned from a trip to New Orleans. We had a wonderful time. While many of the regular places were hit-or-miss due to Christmas closings, we loved the slower than usual pace. My wife just had to see Yvonne LaFleur's dress shop. I bought my wife a scarf Miss Yvonne helped her pick out. What a treasure she is. Unfortunately Sno-La Snowballs just up the street was closed. We spent much of Christmas Eve in Garyville, LA with the Blood, Sweat, and Bonfires people. We got there a little earlier than was needed but we missed a LOT of traffic and met some great people before we watched the mallards go up in flames. I have never beed so close to exploding fireworks in my life. I now know where the term Crazy Cajun came from. Christmas Day we treated ourselves to a reveillon dinner at Jack Rose and it was a treat. I'll hold on to your suggestions should we find ourselves there again. Happy New Year!
I briefly went to LSU—a very short jaunt from NOLA—and your excellent list makes me pine for a long trip back there. Carnival season starts on Twelfth Night, y’all: folks at all these neighborhood spots will know how to plug in to local events leading up to Mardi Gras so if anyone traveling soon is reading this, be on the lookout 👀
The Christmas lights photo was so lovely, made me feel so...there.
This is just wonderful, and as someone who has lived as an exile from New Orleans since 1976 (stalker), it's wonderful to be reminded of the places I love & hear of all the new places I need to visit next time I come to town. I'm one of the people who has spent an entire day going from bookstore to bookstore. I am sad that some of my old standby's are no longer, but I love hearing of new places. I hated my high school (Grace King) so when I called in sick my mom would take me to the quarter and we'd spend the day eating gumbo and wandering the shops (way way back when clothing stores were privately owned and truly unique. Wish I had some of those clothes still! I took piano lessons at Tulane and am old enough to remember Lu & Charlies on Rampart Street-- and believe it or not, they'd let us kids in even though we were underage. We were there to listen to the music & as long as we didn't try to order a drink they didn't care. As long as we ordered their stuffed mushrooms they were cool. Countless beautiful times there listening to legends from Dr. John to Henry Butler, Clyde Kerr, Kidd Jordan, Herman Jackson, James Singleton, Johnny Vidakovich... so many wonderful times. Thanks for the inspiration & all the new places to check out.
Thank you!
Great recommendations! I’d add my local, Buffa’s, for live local music and pretty good bar food. When I moved here 23+ years ago, I quickly tired of the onslaught of requests for NOLA suggestions and put together this tip sheet. I try to keep it updated. https://www.elisamariesperanza.com/nola-tip-sheet/nor8rpn4d3ylbowc0xjtvh17vgy4zi
A special time in New Orleans about 20 years ago with a bunch of the usual touristy things and then a super special night at Snug Harper where we sat ten feel from Charmaine Neville playing her beautiful voice. Your lists make me want to go back.