Locals’ Guide to New Orleans

Kim Roberts, Development Director

Bar / Music:

• Check out the Maple Leaf on Tuesday nights to hear Rebirth Brass Band!

Restaurants:

• Head over to Willie Mae’s Scotch House for the best fried chicken in New Orleans.
• Stop by Borgne – Brian Landry’s Oyster Spaghetti is amazing.
• For a delicious breakfast, bagels with smoked salmon at Stein’s Deli.

Craig Turner, Construction Director (also Scottish)

Bars:

• Finn McCools, Banks St, Mid-City. Sports bar, great food, smoke free, cheap booze, pub quiz and other games nights, great craic.

Restaurants:

• Treo, Tulane Ave. Great, affordable food & drink, art gallery.

Shopping:

[Editor’s Note: Craig would like it stated for the record that he doesn’t do shopping.]

Parks:

• Audubon Park, Old oaks, beautiful scenery, golf course.
• Palmer Park, corner of Claiborne & Carrollton, uptown. Art market last Saturday of the month with local artwork for sale.

• DBA & Tipitinas – both great local and international musicians. John Boutte is a legend.

Other:

Visit Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans, where thousands of Scottish highlanders were killed due to the inadequacies and bad leadership of the English General Edward Pakenham. I believe that Major General Andrew Jackson was quoted as saying how bravely they fought despite being badly led to a massacre.

Delia Woods King, Homeowner Counseling Senior Manager

[Editor’s Note: Craig doesn’t shop – but thankfully the lovely Delia Woods King does!]

Shopping:

• Canal Place – If you are looking for upscale stores for all shopping enthusiasts, this is the spot to shop. It is very relaxing,  often not crowded and also has a great adults-only theatre where you can grab a cocktail, dinner and a movie.
• The Riverwalk – One of the newest shopping attractions is this outlet mall. If you are looking for New Orleans souvenirs, find them here as you enjoy the scenery on the Mississippi River.
• Magazine Street – A beautiful street that runs from downtown New Orleans and ends Uptown at Audubon Park where you find lots of boutiques, local souvenir shops and many places to dine.

Cesar Rodriguez, Procurement Manager

Bars:

• Tonique – small, intimate and some of the best bartenders in the city
• Finn McCool’s – One of the best  Irish pubs in the nation!

Restaurants:

• The Joint – Brisket, need I say more?
• Baru – Great Latin food with a kick of Cajun style
• Bacchanal – Great live music in an outdoor setting plus great food and wine.

Parks:

• Crescent Park New Orleans – In the hip Bywater neighborhood and designed by AIA Firm of the Year Eskew Dumez + Ripple

Personal tip:

• Stay away from the Hurricanes and Hand Grenades

Tom Darden, Executive Director

‎Bars:

• Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop – Oldest bar in the Quarter (some say the country, post Louisiana Purchase). Interesting mix of tourists and locals. Candle-lit atmosphere with piano sing alongs. Be careful with the 151-saturated cherries.

Restaurants:

• Dante’s Kitchen at Riverbend. Highly recommended for brunch. Spectacular eggs benedict.

Tanya Harris, Community Outreach Manager

Restaurants:

• Café Dauphine (Holy Cross)
• Drago’s (foot of Canal Street)
• Parkway Bakery (Bayou St. John)
• Mother’s (CBD)
• Two Sisters (French Quarter)

Bars:

• Circle Bar (Lee Circle)
• ANY bar on Frenchmen Street
• Mimi’s (in the Marigny)

Music:

• Frenchmen Street (Marigny) has a wide variety of live music and good local atmosphere

Parks:

• Armstrong Park (in the Treme)
• Crescent Park (in the Bywater)

Coffee:

• Fair Grinds Coffee (off Esplanade / Fair Grounds area)

Other:

• The Healing Center  (In the Marigny @ St. Roch and St. Claude)

James Mazzuto, Solar Director

Bars:

• The Carousel Bar – The bar is an antique carousel that turns. Nice drinks.
• Napoleon House – Famous for their Pimms Cup. Built for Napoleon when he was banished but he never made it.

Shopping:

• Southern Candymakers– They make a variety of special pralines including sweet potato and coconut.

Personal Grooming:

• Aidan Gill – Place for a hot shave and a scotch. Carry cufflinks, elegant ties, old school shaving accessories.

Jordan Pollard, Design Manager

Bar:

• Vaughn’s – This is a classic New Orleans dive bar in the Bywater. It is dark on the inside, you have to use a buzzer to get in, and they clearly have not renovated since the 1800’s. They have great shows throughout the week, and it is small and intimate. You never know who you will run into at Vaughn’s!

Restaurant:

• Adolfo’s – Adolfo’s on Frenchman is the perfect restaurant that is in the Marigny, near the French Quarter, but not over-run by tourists. They have a pretty simple menu: Fish or Steak. The beauty of this is there are several amazing Creole-Italian inspired sauces to go over each. Sauce on steak? You are damn right they put a sauce on steak. I suggest the Ocean Sauce. Bring cash and expect to grab a drink at the Apple Bar below before you get a table – because Adolfo’s doesn’t do reservations.

Shopping:

• Frenchman Art Market – This little open air market on Frenchman is a perfect place to walk off your dinner at Adolfo’s. It has a variety of handmade goods and art from artists and artisans living in New Orleans. This is also a place to catch glimpses of actors and actresses that are also checking the market out while taking a break from shooting movies. Just don’t take photos of the celebrities or harass them. In fact, don’t even really look at them. That is the quickest way to look like a tourist and the quickest way to make the locals angry.