Active in New Orleans

By Christina

Christina writes and edits Travelling Companion. Her writing covers  expeditions, food, and culture for the blog.

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Active in New Orleans

My first encounter with Jazz was in Jackson Square which is in the French Quarter. The street musicians played the style of jazz music which I imagine you would hear during Mardi Gras parade. They were very entertaining. Our New Orleans jazz experience was enhanced at Frenchman Street where we saw musicians walking up and down the street with their instruments either coming from or going to a gig that lines the street. I would recommend that you spend an evening exploring Frenchman Street and experience the diverse types of Jazz offered. I found the most interesting to be at Cafe Negril where I again encountered the Caribbean influences in New Orleans. At the club the band blended Caribbean beats with traditional jazz music and what resulted was a unique sound which I had never heard before. 

Even with all of these experiences, the musical highlight for me in New Orleans was Preservation Hall. Located in the French Quarter, and housed in a building which seemed abandoned from the outside, it hosts traditional New Orleans Jazz nightly. The venue offers the option of reserving "Big Shots" seats which come with the best view and vary in price depending on the show. Preservation Hall also offers day of tickets which can only be paid for in cash and are available for $20. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show and were able to get tickets to see Preservation Legacy Band with Clive Wilson. The wait was more than worth it and this show was the best Jazz I have ever heard and certainly my highlight of the trip. Inside preservation hall you feel transformed back to another era and I was carried away by the melodic music. I recommend that anyone going to New Orleans stop at Preservation Hall.

Overview
New Orleans is well known for its party atmosphere and there is certainly a lot of that, after all you can walk around the city with containers of alcohol, but there is a lot more the city has to offer in terms of food and music. In 2018 New Orleans is celebrating its 300 birthday.  Over the past three centuries NOLA was influenced by so many cultures including Spanish, French, Southern, and Caribbean, and as we explored the city I felt the blend of these cultures.

Food
​Food is central to any New Orleans experience.  For my birthday we celebrated at one of the top-rated restaurants in the city Restaurant August. This restaurant is located in the Central Business District not too far from the French Quarter and housed in a 19th century French-Creole building. As soon as you walk into Restaurant August you feel the old traditional New Orleans style. We had the prefix menu and all of the food was delicious and I particularly enjoyed the venison. Even though the food was very good at Restaurant August I did not enjoy the atmosphere. Most of the clientele at the restaurant was older and the overall atmosphere was very stuffy. As a young couple we felt out of place.

We also dined at Compère Lapin which blends Caribbean and Creole food and is located in the Warehouse Arts district in New Orleans. This restaurant was in one word amazing! Compère Lapin offered a significant contrast to Restaurant August. The restaurant had a hip vibe and crowd of all ages. The Chef Nina Compton grew up in Saint Lucia and cut her teeth in Miami and the food reflects this experience. One highlight of the menu for me as a Caribbean American were the Conch croquettes. Conch is a staple dish in The Bahamas but difficult to find in The United States. For me the standout dish was the Roasted Half Chicken with Peas and Rice. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture before I ate it!

Conch Croquettes at Compère Lapin

Before coming to New Orleans everyone said I must have a beignet at Cafe Du Monde. We showed up on the second day of our trip and were intimated by the long line outside. However, don't let this stop you from trying Cafe Du Monde because the line moves quickly and the beignet covered in powered shower are delicious. As a tip, Cafe Du Monde only accepts cash and has a very limited menu. Because of the limited menu you should either have the beignet as a snack, since Cafe Du Monde is open 24 hour a day, or order multiple beignets for breakfast. We also tried two of New Orleans staples while walking in the city, a po-boy sandwich and gumbo. I would recommend you try both.

Cafe Du Monde

Shrimp Po Boy

Gumbo

Music
Music resonates from every quarter of New Orleans at almost every hour of the day. If you are a music lover you can't help but enjoy New Orleans. One of the things which I learned during this trip is the diversity that exists in jazz music. One thing you should be prepared for is that several music establishments in New Orleans only accept cash and many artists seem to rely on cash tips.

Vaso

The Spotted Cat Music Club

My first encounter with Jazz was in Jackson Square which is in the French Quarter. The street musicians played the style of jazz music which I imagine you would hear during Mardi Gras parade. They were very entertaining. Our New Orleans jazz experience was enhanced at Frenchman Street where we saw musicians walking up and down the street with their instruments either coming from or going to a gig that lines the street. I would recommend that you spend an evening exploring Frenchman Street and experience the diverse types of Jazz offered. I found the most interesting to be at Cafe Negril where I again encountered the Caribbean influences in New Orleans. At the club the band blended Caribbean beats with traditional jazz music and what resulted was a unique sound which I had never heard before. 

Jackson Square

Cafe Negril

Even with all of these experiences, the musical highlight for me in New Orleans was Preservation Hall. Located in the French Quarter, and housed in a building which seemed abandoned from the outside, it hosts traditional New Orleans Jazz nightly. The venue offers the option of reserving "Big Shots" seats which come with the best view and vary in price depending on the show. Preservation Hall also offers day of tickets which can only be paid for in cash and are available for $20. We arrived about 20 minutes before the show and were able to get tickets to see Preservation Legacy Band with Clive Wilson. The wait was more than worth it and this show was the best Jazz I have ever heard and certainly my highlight of the trip. Inside preservation hall you feel transformed back to another era and I was carried away by the melodic music. I recommend that anyone going to New Orleans stop at Preservation Hall.

Preservation Hall may not look like much from the outside but inside you will find some of the best jazz in the United States