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.