Hola NOLA!

January 29, 2018

 

I didn’t leave America at all in the past year, and I plan on boring you with details in upcoming posts, but for now, let’s talk about New Orleans.

 

I’ve always wanted to come here and put it off for one reason or another. Then Hurricane Katrina came, and suddenly I felt a little guilty to want to visit for fun, y’know? But it seems to me that the city has bounced back and I found myself hitting this lovely town twice in a couple of months. And you know what? I’m kicking myself for putting off this visit for so long because as it turns out, NOLA is hands down the most interesting city I’ve ever been to. Mind you, there are prettier cities, grander cities, cooler cities. But there is nothing else like it.

 

 

A class-A foodie destination, it’s got personality in spades. NOLA is part spooky, part Euro-chic and part frat party, with everything you’re looking for and more. It’s like when you meet a really good looking person, and it turns out they’re smart, funny AND can cook.

 

 

Where to Stay

The Hyatt Regency in the Central Business District (that’s “CBD” to the locals) is a great, modern place to stay, with high-tech elevators that don’t have buttons (you choose your destination floor from an ipad) and an atrium-style setup with overhead views of the restaurant and bar below and gigantic windows looking out the front and back into different sides of the city.

 

 

 

There’s also the Hotel Mazarin, a boutique hotel in the French Quarter, if old school charm is more your jam and if you want to be at the heart of the action. Beware: it borders Bourbon Street so if you can’t sleep through a party like I can, then you may want to find quieter spots in the city.

 

 

Neither is on the list of New Orleans’ haunted hotel list, so if that’s how you want to get your kicks, feel free to pick from these options here.

 

 

What to Do

There’s nothing you can’t do here… NOLA has everything for the sports fan, the music lover, the degenerate (hello craps!), the architecture aficionado, the history buff, and of course (it goes without saying) the party animal. However, I highly recommend waking up early to get some beignets to go and take a quiet stroll through the streets of the French Quarter. The partyers have just gone to bed, the older tourists are just beginning to wake up, and you’re free to explore in peace. If you’re lucky, some street cleaning would have washed away puddles of puke and sticky spilled cocktails.

 

 

Where to Eat

New Orleans proudly calls culinary giants Emeril Legasse and John Besh its native sons (whose various restaurants appeal to all sorts of palates), and a rich history of French, Cajun and Creole influences lends itself to America’s most unique culinary experience. No doubt one of the best meals I’ve ever had was at ultra cool Shaya (in the middle of a dispute between its founding chef Alon Shaya and its owner, the Besh Restaurant Group as of this writing) but don’t let that stop you from enjoying their exceptional fare. Make reservations well in advance of your visit.

 

 

Borgne is great for casual-upscale seafood and there’s Compère Lapin for a hip, modern Caribbean take on New American dining. My favorite find, however, is the Bon Ton Cafe. It wasn’t even on my radar until my friend Darrell insisted that we needed to eat there, because John Besh’s Best-Thing-I-Ever-Ate is their crabmeat au gratin. When the concierge at the hotel overheard that we were heading to the BTC in the CBD, she remarked that only real foodies knew about Bon Ton. The crab au gratin is divine, but for the record, so is their shrimp étouffé.

 

 

 

 

Of course a visit to N’awlins is not complete without trying their beignet, and keep an eye on this blog for the upcoming Battle of the Beignets post.

 

 

If you’re headed to New Orleans soon for Mardi Gras, JazzFest, or any reason at all, give me a call. I’ll fly with ya.

 

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