Things To Do
Cafe Degas.
$$. French lunch/dinner, A+ patio. (Or head next door to The Bell.)
Parkway Bakery & Tavern.
$-$$. Favorite poboys. Skip the line! Order at the bar or the hidden dining room directly across from restrooms.
Cane and Table.
$$. Cuban-Creole. Great cocktails.
Sylvain, The Will & The Way, Peychaud’s.
$$. All great cocktail + courtyard combos in the French Quarter.
Liuzza’s.
$-$$. Two locations, classic Creole food.
Pulcinella!/The Original Nite Cap.
$$. Italian food downstairs and burlesque upstairs.
Pal’s Lounge, Bar Redux, Bud Rips, Evangeline Lounge, St. Roch Tavern, Carrollton Station.
$. Bars that are a little dive-y, a little neighborhood-y. Most have food!
Bayou Bar.
$$. For a fancier, sit-down jazz moment. Rooftop bar upstairs.
Buttermilk Drop Bakery.
$. Liv’s favorite donuts. Will never stop talking about them.
More food recs:
Queen Trini Lisa (Trinbagonian, Dan’s favorite meal here); Jamila’s Cafe (Tunisian); Atchafayla (Cajun/Creole, also jazz brunch!); Casamento’s (oysters); Porgy’s (seafood market/eatery); The Drift Inn Diner (our new neighborhood spot); the Joint (BBQ); Nighthawk/Rice Vice (pizza + sake); Bub’s NOLA (burgers); Sneaky Pickle (lots of veggie options); Turkey and the Wolf (incredible sandwiches! Expect line!).
More cocktail/nicer beverage recs:
The Gilded Perch (inside swanky 1886 house/hotel); Bouligny Tavern (gastropub); NightBloom (vibe-y); The Delachaise Wine Bar (small plates + patio); Faubourg Wines (small plates, cute); Bacchanal (live jazz/wine bar, great outdoor setup!).
Venues:
Tipitina’s, Gasa Gasa, Maple Leaf, Chickie Wah Wah, AllWays Lounge & Cabaret. Lots of venues on Frenchman St. for our after party!
Activities:
The Ogden. NOMA's Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Get your fortune told in the French Quarter: most shops are schedule-ahead for readings, or you could always do walk-up with the readers who set up in front of the cathedral in Jackson Square. Cemetery tour (you’ll learn a lot at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1). If still warm enough, do a pool (Lost Coyote Restaurant + Pool, The Country Club, The Chloe, Hotel Saint Vincent, The Garden District Hotel). Sail on Lake Pontchartrain/seafood after. Get a taste of Mardi Gras traditions at the Backstreet Cultural Museum. Go to a jazz brunch. Ride an airboat in the swamp (Honey Island or Jean Lafitte). Drive over the longest continuous bridge over water in the world (the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway) and eat/shop/walk along the lakefront in Mandeville. Window shop at the ($$$) antique shops on Royal St. or ask Liv for her vintage shop list. Take the ferry to meet us in Algiers Point on Saturday! Eat, drink, see live music, be merry!!