Down in Da Quarter

Go to Cafe Du Monde, eat beignets.

There is a treasure in New Orleans that many a tourist stop by, but sometimes those of us that live here skip over: the French Quarter. No area of town gets more hype and is as well-known outside of the city. And sometimes those of us that live here can have a lot of fun down there, sometimes, maybe not the Saturday before Mardi Gras, but sometimes. Although there will always be those strange Metairie and Kenner people who couldn't imagine traveling that far to fight for parking. Lucky for me, I live on St. Charles Avenue and as such I can hop on the streetcar (please don't call it trolley) whenever I need to get downtown. Unlike San Francisco regular people use the streetcar too and it's not expensive, just a $1.25 one way, or $3.00 for an all day pass. Just yesterday I hopped on the streetcar with my friend J.A. to go traipse around the Quarter in search of street musicians and a good time. I would say they we were quite successful at finding both.

While the hustle and bustle of Bourbon Street is a good time, it's very repetitious. It goes something like this: Pizza n' Daiquiri, Strip Club, Shitty Music Club, Bad T-shirt Shop, Chicken n' Daiquiri, Rinse & Repeat, and that's til you get to the gay section of Bourbon, which is pretty much the same, just gay. Venture out from Bourbon street after you get your drink and head over to Royal. Here you will find many a street musician proudly displaying their talents for tips. And you will stumble across some good music. We ran into Jackson Ramsey, playing the fiddle and belting bluegrass standards, which was awesome. I found Tanya and Doris to be especially captivating. They were playing around with, and improving over the top of some great classical jams. In fact if you want a taste you can check out this video, by clicking here. While J.A. and I wandered around the Quarter for awhile, we kept finding ourselves drawn back to this duo, or maybe it was just me. At one point, a friend of the violinist, Tanya, came up and she begged them to play, they declined offering money, and she said, "I don't want your money, just play for me." It was a beautiful moment.

L to R, top to bottom: Streetcar, Onion Rings, Cafe du Monde Employees,
Jambalaya, Who Dat Santas made of Cypress, Gumbo,
Pat O'Briens, Pat O's Courtyard, Street Sign next to STL Cathedral.

We of course stopped and got Beignets at Cafe du Monde just to feel extra touristy, but to be fair, they're freakin' delicious. After spending the day struttin' around the Quarter we hopped back on the streetcar and got off to go to Joey K's. You can find it on Magazine Street a little bit closer to uptown than Cafe du Monde! Ha. This little seafood joint has been attacked by the local artist Simon. If you've been around the city you've seen his stuff, or if you've just watched News with a Twist. Anyway, I think hangin' out in the Quarter, eating beignets and what not is pretty damn New Orleans. Oh yeah, and Geaux Saints, we still love you, even though you lost to the Chiefs. I promise to continue to support the hell out of y'all right now. WHODAT!! God Bless You Boys!

Yeah You Right, Joe.

The Tree & Liuzza's by the Track

See we don't just party ... we relax too.

Sometimes, you just need to take yourself on a date, and after the busy-ness of the past couple weeks it was time. And really, when I say I went on a date by myself - I  mean I went on a date with a tree. I'm in a committed relationship with the Chime Tree at City Park. If you've never found the Chime Tree (and yes it DESERVES capital letters) stop what you're doing, open your planner and make yourself a date with a tree. And while you're there, look around at all the other amazing things that City Park has to offer. (Fun fact: City Park has more square footage than Central Park) The walking paths alone offer a great retreat within the city. There is also the New Orleans Museum of Art which deserves a looksie if you get the chance. But honestly, for me, the best part of NOMA is what's outside in the Sculpture Garden.  There is a giant safety pin (as pictured above) giant fat women, horses made of sticks, stacks of guitars and even the Blue Dog. If you don't know about the Blue Dog, you should. If it feels like I'm givin' y'all a lot of directives about what to do - I am.

I made my waitress, the beautiful Heather take the photo of me eating.

If you want to have the perfect finish to your tree date - I know just the place, though the Chime Tree may not come with you. (In fact, I don't think they even let trees inside, let alone hire them ... bigots.) The place is Liuzza's By The Track, and this place is as real as it gets.  They are a New Orleans institution, a creole holy ground with horseradish infused Bloody Mary's that sell like hotcakes come Jazz Fest, and the food, My GOD, the food. I must admit the first time I came here - I sinned. I had just moved to the city and my friend Angelle was down to visit her family, she came and picked me up and took to this fine establishment and I ordered a turkey po-boy. At the time I was a mid-westerner through and through and I "thought" I didn't eat seafood. I was so wrong, and I apologize for that mistake. Now I know of shrimp, oysters, and the other fine things that come from the Gulf. I highly recommend getting the BBQ shrimp, their signature dish. I can't even begin to describe how good it is, or the garlic oyster po-boy, so effin' good you can barely handle it, and I might get in trouble for saying this, but I think they have the best gumbo you can get. And if you come here, we are going to Liuzza's. Angelle, sorry about the turkey po-boy, I have been learned in the ways of the Gulf South and their foods, and I repent. So, to sum it up, if you need an afternoon alone, go to City Park, sit under the chime tree, walk the 1/2 mile to Liuzza's and check out the graveyard on the way, and then NOM your life away, unless your allergic to shellfish, and then, just be sad.

Yeah You Right, Joe.

Enter Galactic - Beer-Strawberry

This past Saturday night I hopped in my good friend Amanda's car and we headed down Napoleon, parked at Rouses, and headed towards Tipitina's. It was still early in the night, unseasonably cool, (like 85 and breezy) and by 9:45 we had secured a spot just a few steps from the guardrail. The opening act, mynameisjohnmichael, came on at about 10 and played a funky indie-rock set. It was a six-piece band featuring, in classic New Orleans style, a brass section. They closed with that good ole Christian hymn, "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" and were joined by the trumpeter from Mumford & Sons, Nick Etwell. They did in fact "take me to church" as promised by John Michael himself, but if they took me to church, Galactic funked me all the way to Jesus.

Galactic is a funk band in the way that Led Zeppelin is a rock band, or like Earl Scruggs is a banjo player. That is - they are innovative, distinctive, and at the top of their game. To me, and this pains me to say (as a P-Funk Junky), Galactic plays the music I wish I could hear at a George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars show. But Alas, P-Funk plays a lot of hit or misses, and Galactic always delivers. They're a jazz-funk-rock all-night party band in which every member is more or less a savant; with a rotating set of guest vocalist and musicians, it seems to be an honor just to get to play with these people. They are a New Orleans band who "cut their teeth playing the biggest party in America: Mardi Gras." And in fact, they still play a three night run at Tipitina's during Mardi Gras (or at least they did last year), which is probably the nastiest, funkiest, most ragin' party to ever happen on a Monday night anywhere, ... just sayin'. Anyway, they were joined by Corey Glover, of In Living Color, and in fact played "Cult of Personality." Which I JUST FOUND OUT was Cult, all this time I thought it was Dose, OOPS! But the highlight of the night for me was when House Man, aka Theyrl DeClouet, the original vocalist for Galactic came out to sing "There's Something Wrong with this Picture," and then, yelling at Corey Glover to join him they played the hardest, nastiest, most beautiful thing I might have ever heard, "Bittersweet." If somebody recorded that show and has this, I will pay you. It was transcendent. I was literally taken over body and soul. I could continue to talk about how FREAKING AMAZING this show was, but I must move on.

Yes, their art is Jerry Garcia with a beer.

After a very late night at Galactic, (I left at 3am when my feet no longer had any feeling in them) I got up early (like 9:30am, which is early to me) and got ready to go to one of my favorite places in the city, Cooter Brown's. My friend LeeAnn picked me up and our collective WHODAT would have been hard to deal with, most especially for baseball loving yankees. And I was pumped, first of all, as LeeAnn says, "NFL season is the most wonderful time of the year." Second, it was a Saints game, and I freakin' love Saints games. And third, we were headed to Cooter Browns. I ordered food at this fine uptown establishment and while I didn't get it this time, I recommend the heart-attack-inducing Coon Ass Special: Two Crawfish Pies covered in remoulade on thick French bread. Also the wings, and the soft-shell crab po-boy, just go there and eat. SO GOOD.  They have more beer than everywhere else. Don't believe me? Check out the BEER LIST. One of my favorite things about Cooter's is that they even have out-of-season beers. Sometimes, especially for a noon game, I don't want to start with a dark beer, I want an Abita Strawberry. Y'know, a good breakfast beer. And while it's "supposedly" a spring seasonal ... they have it.

Unless you're at Cooter's, then this ad is a lie. 

And really, I can't think of anything more New Orleans, than drinking an Abita while watching the Saints, after a long night of live funk music. And while the Saints lost, at least football is back, funk is still played, and Abita still flows freely. But I gotta say, I miss Sean Payton.

Yeah You Right, Joe.