Been there, Done that: Personal guide to New Orleans hotspots

A band leads a parade down Bourbon Street in New Orleans during the 2014 NBA All-Star weekend.

I’m an unofficial ambassador for New Orleans. If I was actually paid for the number of times I recommend it to others, I’d be able to retire.

To make it easier to point friends in the right direction, I’ve compiled a list of places we’ve visited over the years. The following are some of our favorite night spots and restaurants, as well as a few other tourist spots that are worth visiting. The list comes complete with links to the appropriate websites.

Today, I’ve entered these as a post. But the links can always be found at this page on my blog. 

Restaurants

• Brigtsen’s — Located at the intersection of St. Charles and Carrollton, this restaurant is a ways from the usual tourist haunts, but it’s worth the trip. It focuses on foods with a Creole/Acadian flair. The wait staff was friendly and attentive, and chef Frank Brigtsen came out to say hello to diners. It is located in a converted house and does not seat too many, so reservations are recommended.
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  Commander’s Palace, a landmark restaurant, is located in the Garden District.

  Commander’s Palace — This is THE New Orleans restaurant, and the place that gave Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme their start. A bit on the pricey side and tie or jacket are preferred, although business casual will suffice sometimes. It’s worth the effort.

• Emeril’s New Orleans — Wolfgang Puck said the banana cream pie here is the Best Food He Ever Ate in New Orleans. I don’t know how you’d just pick one item, but this would be in the running. Not super expensive. Emeril has two other restaurants in the city.
• Emeril’s NOLA — Located on St. Louis Street in the Quarter not far off Decatur, this restaurant is easy to get to. Frankly, I haven’t had better food in New Orleans. We ate there for a Sunday lunch, and the prices were not expensive. We had two entrees, dessert, drinks and coffee, and our bill was just over $87. We made reservations the day before, but they may not have been needed for lunch.
• K Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen — Paul Prudhomme cooks up dishes that honor his Louisiana heritage.
• Red Fish Grill — This is casual dining, but delicious New Orleans food. Located at 115 Bourbon St., so it’s just inside the Quarter, not far from Canal Street. BBQ oysters are a specialty, and save room: desserts are decadent.
• Cafe du Monde — Beignets and cafe au lait. Just as good at the end of the day as the beginning. Don’t expect to order bacon and eggs; you can get beignets or beignets. Try the chicory coffee — you’ll either love it or hate it. On Decatur Street at the edge of the French Quarter near the Mississippi.
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  Cafe Beignet, where the offerings are more than just beignets.

  Cafe Beignet — The storefront location is on Royal Street right next to the police station. Hmmm, a French donut stop right next to a police station. The beignets are good, and, unlike Cafe du Monde, they do offer other kinds of food, such as eggs, French toast, et cetera. They are not open 24/7. If you order a “coffee,” you will be given chicory coffee, so if that’s not what you want, be sure to specify your selection.

• Mulatte’s — Near the convention center, this casual restaurant features good Louisiana food and live cajun music every night. Very good corn and shrimp bisque.
• Deanie’s Seafood — In the French Quarter. Worth eating here for the free appetizer of new potatoes cooked in crab boil (read: spicy).
• Drago’s Seafood Restaurant — Located in the Hilton Hotel at the end of Canal Street and adjacent to the convention center. Charbroiled oysters are the best. Even if you don’t like oysters, give them a try. The corn and shrimp bisque is darn good, too.
• Mandina’s — Located in Mid-City at 3800 Canal Street, Mandina’s can easily be reached by the Canal Street trolley, but it is a ways out. This has been a neighborhood restaurant for decades and offers a mix of Creole and Italian food — what an interesting change of pace!
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  A well constructed and tasty muffaletta, Cajun potato salad and an Abita beer at Cochon Butcher.

  Cochon Butcher — The muffuletta is a unique New Orleans sandwich and is offered at many places around town. We’ve sampled several — including Central Grocery’s —  and none that we’ve found does it better than Cochon Butcher. Search the blog posts for a more extensive story and photos. This little restaurant is located near the World War II museum.

• Bon Ton Cafe — An authentic New Orleans Creole and Cajun restaurant on Magazine Street in the CBD, so it’s close to the Quarter.
• Napoleon House — This French Quarter bar and restaurant, just a couple blocks from Jackson Square, was recommended by a couple bloggers for its muffulettas. On a quest to find the city’s best, I had to check them out. Here’s a post on what I thought.
• Central Grocery — OK, it’s not really a restaurant, it’s, well, a grocery. But it’s also the originator of the muffuletta, the Sicilian sandwich that rivals the po’ boy for official sandwich of New Orleans. Located on Decatur Street near the French Market. Expect a line for those awaiting muffulettas. They’re big; a half is plenty for most men, a quarter for most women.
• Antoine’s — We went here for dinner on Valentine’s Day 2014. It’s located in the heart of the French Quarter at 713 Saint Louis St. The food is old-school New Orleans, and in my opinion, lacks the flair and creativity of a Brigtsen’s or Emeril’s.

Bars with a musical flair

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  Frenchmen Street features a number of small music clubs, including the Spotted Cat.

  Spotted Cat Music Club — Located on Frenchmen Street, this little bar is a great place to listen to live jazz. It opens in the mid-afternoon and closes late. It’s one of dozen or so bars with live music on Frenchmen Street. Check out the Apple Barrel, Blue Nile and Snug Harbor, too.

• d.b.a. — A much bigger venue than the Spotted Cat, which is just across the street, with lots of floor space for listening or dancing, and the band is spread across a large, elevated stage. A big wooden bar is accessible from two sides of the building. It offers a large variety of beers from across the country and even around the world, including a large selection of beers on tap, which isn’t always the case in NOLA. It also offers a number of specialty cocktails, but the night we were there, the bartenders weren’t keeping up with the simple orders, let alone the complicated ones.
• 

  Tipitina’s, New Orleans, La.

  Tipitina’s — Another landmark music spot is Tipitina’s, located at the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon streets. Tip’s history, as related on their website: “Tipitina’s began as a neighborhood juke joint, established in 1977, by a group of young music fans (The Fabulous Fo’teen) to provide a place for Professor Longhair to perform in his final years. The venue, named for one of Longhair’s most enigmatic recordings “Tipitina,” has survived in an ever-changing musical climate. In the past three decades, Tipitina’s has grown from a small, neighborhood bar into an international music icon. The venue has expanded into a two-story music venue…”

  

  Mark Mullins of Bonerama performing at Rock ‘n’ Bowl

  Here’s a link to a music video of the famous song of the same name, popularized by Fess, as he’s known popularly. This music video features another one of his popular tunes, “Go To The Mardi Gras,” which also features a prominent role on “Treme.” We went to Tip’s on a Sunday night, which is the weekly time for the Fais Do-do, or Cajun dance party. Bruce Daigrepont generally plays this gig, and we had a blast. Search the blog posts for more on this.

• Rock ‘n’ Bowl — Located in Mid-City on South Carrollton Avenue, this bowling alley/bar/music venue books some of the best musical acts in town. We saw Bonerama here in February 2014, and it was a great spot for a concert. For a post on this venue and a couple others, see this post.

Bars

• Pat O’Brien’s — The inventor of the Hurricane. Located in the Quarter. They serve food, too… but I never make it past the Hurricanes. They are best consumed while singing at the top of your lungs in the piano bar. There’s also a large open-air courtyard that’s great for soaking in the sun on a nice NOLA day.
• 

  Mixing a Ramos Gin Fizz at Tujague’s.

  Tujague’s — This bar (pronounced Two-jacks) along Decatur Street has an accompanying restaurant, too. But I never get past the bar. (Do you detect a theme here?) Don’t bother with a beer. Order the Ramos Gin Fizz and then ask the bartender what else is good. No doubt, it will be. UPDATE: Finally ate at Tujague’s. They offer a unique approach. They have a limited list of entrees every night, and every meal features five courses. The meal was OK, but I’d stick with the Gin Fizzes. An interesting sidenote: We ate there on Feb. 16, 2013, and were greeted by owner Steven Latter. He died on Feb. 18. UPDATE 2014: Faced with closure after Latter’s death, Tujague’s was sold and re-opened by Latter’s son, Mark. The new owner spruced up both the dining room and the menu. I’m eager to give this landmark another try.

• Tracey’s — This sports bar in the Irish Channel is a great place to watch a game. It has 18 TVs, and you’re sure to find some fans supporting your team. We’ve watched a couple of Husker games here over the years, and there are sure to be fans of nearly any team watching a game there.
• Sazerac Bar, Roosevelt Hotel — Named for what is believed to be the world’s first cocktail, the Sazerac is a New Orleans staple. The bartenders will gladly mix you one, and they’ll share a little history about the bar and the town. It’s an upscale bar, but feel free to walk in off the street. Be sure to take the link above to the website and read the story about how Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long educated New Yorkers on how to make another NOLA staple: the Ramos Gin Fizz.

Places To Go/Things To See

• Bourbon Street — Do I need to describe?
• Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral — This is likely the background on any live broadcast from NOLA, whether it’s a Super Bowl, Final Four, NBA All-Star or any other show. Jackson Square is ringed by artists selling their wares, and mule-drawn carriages line Decatur Street. Services are still held inside St. Louis Cathedral.
  

  Enjoying a walk around Jackson Square.

• New Orleans School of Cooking — Located in the French Quarter very close to Emeril’s NOLA restaurant, this attraction is fun for anyone interested in New Orleans food. We’ve attended a couple of the demonstration classes, which are hosted by a NOLA native. You’ll get to sample the dishes.
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  A pair of walkers and a runner make their way around Audubon Park on a trail that circles the park.

  Audubon Park — Located along St. Charles Avenue and easily reached by streetcar.

• Garden District Walking Tour — There are many companies that offer walking tours. You can see the houses of many famous residents — John Goodman, Trent Reznor, Anne Rice, Archie Manning — and tour a cemetery or three, among other things.
• City tour — Again, several companies offer tours. Ours took us through many different neighborhoods, past Lake Pontchartrain and through some of the Lower 9th Ward that is still rebuilding following Katrina. ADDENDUM: In November 2012, they stopped offering tours through the Lower 9th. Apparently, residents are tired of the tours going through their neighborhood … without some sort of compensation for the disruption.
• The National World War II Museum — This sprawling complex started out as the D-Day Museum, which was established here because the landing craft that made D-Day possible were manufactured in New Orleans. On my recent visit to New Orleans, the women attended a cooking school, and the men visited the WW II museum. It was a day well spent.
• Ghost tour — Several companies offer night tours of the supernatural in the Quarter. Most are offered at night. After a drink or two, it’s much easier to imagine the ghosts.
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  A streetcar heads down St. Charles Avenue. The neutral ground – the local term for the street median — is a popular place for runners because of its long unbroken stretch and the soft but sure footing it provides.

  St. Charles Avenue Streetcar and other routes — A great way to get around in lots of areas in NOLA. The St. Charles streetcar will drop you very near Brigtsen’s. Have you ever heard of “A Streetcar Named Desire”?

• City Park — There are a number of attractions at the park, including Storyland for the kids and the New Orleans Museum of Art, where we saw an interesting show of Civil War photographs as part of a travelling exhibition. The park is reachable by streetcar, but is the opposite direction from Audubon Park.
• Lake Pontchartrain — Looks more like an ocean than a lake. Take the Causeway — the longest continuous bridge over water — across the lake to the North Shore.

Places to stay

• Chateau LeMoyne — Just one block off of Bourbon and near Canal, this hotel was clean and a pretty good value.
• The Saint Hotel — Located in the 900 block of Canal. We stayed at The Saint shortly after its grand opening. It was built in 1909 as a hotel but was never opened as such. It was converted into office and retail space, and, after sitting abandoned for several years, was recently converted back to a hotel. It has a contemporary lobby and rooms. We stayed here during its first month or so in operation and it was a good deal; the rates have increased substantially since.
• Courtyard by Marriott near the French Quarter — This hotel is just a half block off Canal Street across from the French Quarter. Not exactly cheap, but for a good location in a major city, I thought it was a good value.

New Orleans: The whole town’s a musical stage

If you like live music, New Orleans is the place for you.

For choices, accessibility, affordability, variety, quality and just plain fun, I can’t imagine there’s a better place in the country.

Mark Mullins of Bonerama performs at Rock ‘n’ Bowl

NYC, just for its sheer size, probably has as many choices. Nashville, another music town, could compete. Maybe Seattle, possibly Memphis. There’s probably a few others in the discussion, but when you look at the whole package, it’s hard to beat the Crescent City.

On a recent trip, we managed to take in five different shows in four nights. And that’s only counting the formal shows, not the street musicians or the shows we glimpsed while strolling past various bars. And none of those shows were on Bourbon Street or in the French Quarter, the city’s two best known locations.

Our first night, we hit two different shows on Frenchmen Street, which has become the place to be for live jazz. We caught two sets by Miss Sophie Lee, who styles old-time jazz, at the Spotted Cat. And then we walked across the street and caught a set at d.b.a. by the Stooges Brass Band, which plays a hard-driving funk-rap-jazz-rock style of music.

The Spotted Cat is a simple little bar with a nearly ground-level stage. The audience is only arm’s reach from the band — and you’re never more than a couple dozen feet from the show.

Across the street, d.b.a. is a much bigger venue with lots of floor space for listening or dancing, and the band is spread across a large, elevated stage. A big wooden bar is accessible from two sides of the building. It offers a large variety of beers from across the country and even around the world, including a large selection of beers on tap, which isn’t always the case in NOLA. It also offers a number of specialty cocktails, but the night we were there, the bartenders weren’t keeping up with the simple orders, let alone the complicated ones.

We try to stop by the Spotted Cat every time we’re in town, but lately, we’ve learned it’s best to visit on a weeknight. Frenchmen Street, which is just steps beyond the French Quarter, may become overwhelmed by it’s own good reviews. If you don’t get into some of the bars early on a weekend, you’ll have a hard time getting in the door or claiming a spot of your own. If you like the crowds, by all means, visit on the weekend. But if you want a little elbow room, get there early or visit on a weekday.

Keeping my own advice in mind, we decided to head to Chickie Wah Wah, 2828 Canal St., on Friday night. Easily reachable by the Canal Street streetcar but far enough away that you have to put out some effort, this neighborhood bar is quickly becoming a favorite.

The drinks are reasonable, food’s available, the crowds aren’t overwhelming, the stage is easily viewed and the talent is top-notch.

Paul Sanchez accompanied by Susan Cowsill at Chickie Wah Wah

We listened to New Orleanian Paul Sanchez, late of Cowboy Mouth, and he was joined for a few songs by Susan Cowsill, who sang one of my favorites, “Crescent City Sneaux. ”

Sanchez has a long history of performing in New Orleans and around the country. He has appeared on and contributed to the HBO show “Treme,” including the song he co-wrote with John Boutte, “At the foot of Canal Street.”

Sanchez has also been working on a musical adaptation of the novel “Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans,” a book I read after our first trip to NOLA in 2008. The city’s story is told through the lives of nine people, sketched out between hurricanes Betsy in 1965 and Katrina in 2005. Sanchez and colleagues have written 39 songs for the musical and have released one CD of the music. I’ve searched, but can’t tell the status of their drive to get the show on Broadway.

On Saturday night, we headed to Rock ‘n’ Bowl, 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., for a performance by the high-energy trombone-centric Bonerama.

The sets included covers of Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World,” the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and the jazz classic (and a personal favorite) “Lil’ Liza Jane.” From their own catalog, they played “Bayou Betty” and, off the new CD, “Close the Door,” among others.

As you might guess, Rock ‘n’ Bowl lent itself to an eclectic crowd: there was a 60th birthday party, a class reunion, bowlers and, come 9 p.m., there was a dance-floor full of revelers, including the owner and one bartender doing things with a hula-hoop that would make the girls on Bourbon Street jealous. If you like brassy, up-tempo, funk-rock, Bonerama is the band for you. We’ve seen them once in Iowa (yes, Iowa) and once in NOLA, and I’d see them every chance I can.

We closed out the trip at Tipitina’s, 501 Napoleon Ave., on a Sunday night. Tip’s has great music throughout the week — generally rock or funk or rap or the like — but Sundays is (generally) reserved for the Cajun Fais Do-do, or Cajun dance party. It draws the locals itching to stretch their legs with a two-step and features the music of Bruce Daigrepont and his band.

This is the second time we’ve made the Fais Do-do, and we’ve had a blast. You’re likely to get asked to dance by the locals — particularly if you’re a female — and Bruce will serve his home-made rice and beans and shoot the breeze with customers during the intermission. He asked for requests at one point in the show, and they were happy to accommodate my plea for “Jolie Blon.”

Rock ‘n’ Bowl and Tip’s are both reachable by a combination of streetcar and buses, or you can take a cab to either, which is what we did this trip to save time.

Four nights, five widely different venues, and not a bad stop in the bunch. Every place in NOLA is fair-game for a show, including the streets and parks. If you make it to New Orleans, be sure to leave plenty of time to take in the live music shows. And, if time permits, you might even stroll down Bourbon Street.

♦ ♦ ♦

In this YouTube video, Paul Sanchez tells the story behind the writing of “At the foot of Canal Street:”

Sights of the Sounds

New Orleans band Bonerama performs at Rock ‘n’ Bowl on Feb. 15, 2014.

The stage sign for Chickie Wah Wah, 2828 Canal St., New Orleans.

Tipitina’s, 501 Napoleon Avenue, New Orleans.

Susan Cowsill sings “Crescent City Sneaux” at Chickie Wah Wah in New Orleans on Feb. 14, 2014.

Stooges Brass Band performs at the Frenchmen Street club dba on Feb. 13, 2014.

Paul Sanchez sings at a gig at Chickie Wah Wah on Feb. 14, 2014.

Miss Sophie Lee sings at the Spotted Cat Music Club in New Orleans on Feb. 13, 2014.

Gina Forsyth on the fiddle and Bruce Daigrepont on the accordion during a Feb. 16, 2014, performance at Tipitina’s in New Orleans.

Photos of the music venues and performers during a visit to New Orleans from Feb. 13-17, 2014. 

Been there, done that … and a bucket list, too

I started this blog as a way to share my thoughts on some of my favorite subjects, but it also serves as a reference and a repository for me.

I write a number of posts on running and training, cooking, art and my travels. These are a few of the avocations that bring joy to my life. It’s fun to share my thoughts on these subjects with others. It forces me to really think, to reflect, to look at subjects with a critical eye. It’s therapeutic, and it’s a creative outlet.

An evening stroll past Tujague’s on Decatur Street.

But the blog site also serves as a place for me to park information so I can readily retrieve it. I got tired of simply bookmarking sites on my web browser. I’ve got a million things bookmarked, and after a while, they become a jumbled mess.

So a couple of pages on my site serve as my own personal reference book … which can also be used by others. If you have any interest in these same subjects, I hope you’ll find them useful.

On the top menu, under “Places to Go,” I have listed two towns that we have visited recently, New York City and New Orleans. As I have come across places I wanted to visit or explore in these cities, I’ve included little write-ups on them and included links.

I’ve only visited New York once, so the links there are pretty small. That’s not the case with New Orleans.

Places to Go> New Orleans> Been There, Done That

This is a list of places I have gone and can personally recommend. I’m not a native, just an big fan of what I think is a unique, engaging American city. The locals may offer different recommendations, but these are what I can personally attest to. And when we visit, we generally quiz the locals to broaden our horizons.

Beyond the real obvious (Cafe du Monde, Pat O’Brien’s piano bar, Commander’s Palace, Bourbon Street and Jackson Square, all of which should not be missed by first-timers), I’ve included some places that a tourist may or may not normally go. There are so many choices in restaurants, bars and attractions in New Orleans that it can be hard to narrow the choices.

 

Bourbon Street revelers.

Among my top choices are: Brigtsen’s restaurant, Emeril’s NOLA and Emeril’s, Cochon Butcher and Drago’s. For bars, I’d recommend the Spotted Cat, Tipitina’s and Tujague’s (if for nothing other than a Ramos Gin Fizz). But there’s also Tracey’s (to watch a game) and Chickie Wah Wah (for live music). Bar hopping in Algiers is fun. Jeesh, where do you stop?

We’ve visited New Orleans three times in the past year, so the list of places we’ve been has grown rather fast. (Although not fast enough for me.)

But there’s never enough time to see all I want to see and go everywhere I want to go, so that’s why there’s another section…

Places to Go> New Orleans> Bucket list for NOLA

I keep this as a running list of places I want to go on my next visit. There are so many good places to get to, I can’t just remember them all. I have to keep them written down in some organized fashion.

As I review this list, I can’t believe I still haven’t attended a session at Preservation Hall. It’s been on the bucket list since the beginning, but somehow other things always get in the way.

I wanted to visit Carrollton Station on the last visit. We made it to the same general neighborhood (Brigtsen’s restaurant), but we didn’t make the short hop to Carrollton Station. That’s a regret.

I wanted to get to Howlin’ Wolf for more live music, but there just wasn’t time. I couldn’t remember the Maple Leaf, but it came to me when visiting with the locals at Tipitina’s. This time, I made sure to add it to the Bucket List.

 

Tipitina’s, New Orleans, La.

There are so many good places to eat in New Orleans, it’s impossible to get to them all. While listening to a podcast from WWNO — see the Useful Links section — I learned that there are now more restaurants in New Orleans than before Katrina, despite the population still being significantly less than before the hurricane.

Brennan’s is one of those touchstone restaurants that we somehow have never visited. Herbsaint is a place that I have heard many good things about, but we’ve never got there. The list goes on and on.

 

Many places have found their way onto the Bucket List through the recommendations of friends and fellow bloggers. WordPress offers a reader, and the reader can be set up to categorize blog posts that reference your favorite subjects. Add “New Orleans” to your list, and you’ll get lots of good stories.

I haven’t been very good at keeping track of where all the recommendations have come from, but I will now make a conscious effort to do so. One recent post that is a goldmine is from the blog eatdrinkculture.wordpress.com. Great blog in general, and here’s a link to a roundup of New Orleans restaurants. This post alone could keep me coming back for years.

My most recent visit to New Orleans was in mid-February 2013. We arrived the day after Fat Tuesday. We made the journey with several friends, which made the visit even more special. I was able to move a lot of items from the “Bucket List” to the “Been There, Done That” list.

But there’s still plenty left to explore in the Crescent City. And if you enjoy New Orleans or want some recommendations from an interested outsider, I hope you’ll continue to check back on my blog site because these pages are sure to be constantly evolving.

OFFER YOUR THOUGHTS: What are your recommendations for places to eat, drink, stay or explore in New Orleans?

The sights of New Orleans

Beads still adorn a fence along Magazine Street a few days after Mardi Gras 2013 in New Orleans.

Beads decorate a light post while a Mardi Gras mask dresses up a balcony in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

Light and shadow play on a tomb in St Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans.

Tipitina’s, New Orleans, La.

Live oak trees and moss throw shadows on a path through Audubon Park in New Orleans on a Sunday morning.

A group of street musicians entertain passers by on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans.

Click on any photo to launch the gallery. 

 

Music galore in Crescent City

The legendary Tipitina’s sits at the corner of Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas streets in Uptown New Orleans.

Bruce Daigrepont belts out a Cajun tune while fiddle player Gina Forsyth plays along.

Bruce Daigrepont and his band supplied plenty of rousing music for those looking to dance at the Fais Do Do at Tipitina’s on a February Sunday night.

Numerous street bands can be found on Frenchmen Street.

This brass band was belting out dynamite tunes on Frenchmen Street on a February 2013 night.

Johnny Sansone wails on his harmonica during a set on the Chickie Wah Wah stage at 2828 Canal St. In New Orleans.

Click on any photo to launch the gallery.

I got to check a number of items off my musical bucket list in a recent trip to New Orleans with my wife and friends.

Tipitina’s was the highlight of this trip. We attended the weekly Fais Do Do — or Cajun dance party — featuring Bruce Daigrepont and his band. They were raucous, and the locals certainly put on a display of fancy Cajun dancing.

As newbies, we stood out, but the locals and the band encouraged everyone to get on their feet. It was a friendly group, and fiddle player Gina Forsyth even took time to talk to our group as we entered the bar, and then mentioned the visitors from Keokuk, Iowa, during the first set!

Band leader Daigrepont supplied complimentary red beans and rice during the intermission, and what a treat that was. I’ve never heard of Mick Jagger serving fish and chips during a concert!

Great Cajun and Zydeco music, a friendly band and crowd, free dance pointers — I can’t recommend the weekly Fais Do Do any higher.

We also made two trips to Frenchmen Street, located in the Fauborg-Marigny, just outside the French Quarter. On Wednesday night, we heard another good band at the Spotted Cat. But the street bands were even more fun that night.

We returned on Saturday, and the bars were so overflowing that we didn’t stay long. We would have loved to hear John Boutte at dba, but it was wall to wall people. We eventually stayed for a few songs at Maison.

The takeaway for the day: come early on the weekend or come on a week night.

And we stopped by Chickie Wah Wah on Friday night. The bar is located quite a ways down Canal Street but easily reachable by streetcar. Loved the bar and talking to the locals. Johnny Sansone and a couple others played a few improvisational sets for the evening. Tift Merrittwas playing on Saturday, and the way Frenchmen turned out, I wish we would have returned for her. I loved some of Merritt’s earlier songs, so it would have been fun to see her in person.

If the trip showed anything, it showed just how varied the outstanding music can be in New Orleans. Where else would you find such a wide variety of top-notch music in friendly and inviting confines in a span of just a few days? Only in New Orleans.

Here’s a short video I shot of one of the street bands on Frenchmen Street: