We’reTexas

Brothers III, best country jukebox in town. These pics are from the Steppers and Prince of Whales. The Prince of Whales that year entered out of a house on St. Charles. A tourist family from Georgia stopped and asked if it was a parade. I waved at the band, weed smoke and kids selling vodka and beer out of red rider wagons and said, sure. At least I was honest. Edit: incredibly I made it out to Bar Marilou and Peche. I miss my pre-COVID endurance Edit: in the last video you’ll see a girl with a Brees jersey. She was with Steve Gleason, who is pretty much now a patron saint of New Orleans. Didn’t take any footage but the second line loved having him out there Yet another edit: in the Steppers coming out video you’ll see a guy in a yellow jersey and cowboy hat. That former poster from TOS scrumptiouschef. He has been here in the 9th ward for a while. IMG_3189.MOV IMG_3126.MOV IMG_1463.MOV

I forgot about thread for a long time and have a few years of pictures saved up. Wednesday was the anniversary of NOLA’s first COVID case, and we were lucky enough to have been in town for Mardi Gras and New Years. What a different world. Mardi Gras - parades, Tip’s and one last pre-COVID night in the front room of Clancy’s. Lady and Gentleman Rollers, right before New Years. IMG_3198.MOV IMG_3189.MOV Prince of Wales

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The French were not super supportive of the Iraq War in 2003. There was a movement to rebrand french fries as freedom fries. I don't remember if the change was actually made in the Capitol cafeteria.

Freedom fries?!?

Saffron. This was the best dining experience I’ve had in almost three months in NOLA. We went when they opened in 2017 and it was great, but tonight they were just operating on full cylinders. I remember going to Shaya after they won their James Beard award in 2016 and there just being an energy among the staff - that’s what I felt here (two years after its own James Beard nomination). I obviously wouldn’t recommend it if you come here once a year, but if Shaya is on your list, this should be too. Higher, actually. It’s Indian, but the cooking of an Indian immigrant who came to New Orleans thirty years ago to work in a hotel and remained to raise a family and become a New Orleanian himself. Chef Vilkhu actually came to every diner in person this evening, and both his kids work the floor. Oyster bed loaf. Caramelized onions, curry leaf, garlic. Gulf seafood biriyani. Edit: not pictured is the curried gumbo, but the NYT does it justice. Ms. Mae’s (now officially Igor’s Ms. Mae’s the Club, with a patio and a clean bathroom and a curfew - strange times).

Got it, would think Sidecar would hit the spot. Bayou Beer Garden shares a patio with its sister bar Bayou Wine Garden. Bacchanal is obviously the best spot in the city for outdoor wine and music - they won’t have sports but Parleaux Beer Lab around the corner should.

Sidecar is actually part of the Rusty Nail, the Bama bar and the best game watching spot in the WHD. My other favorite spots for game watching are Finn McCool’s, Bayou Beer Garden (day drinking in general), Tracy’s, Cooter Brown’s and Fat Harry’s. Also the breweries on Tchoup should have outdoor viewing (maybe not Urban South).

If you want to go uptown for brunch, would recommend Atchafalaya or Cavan. But good call on Urban South - it’s my favorite of the Tchoup breweries. They’ll have crawfish in the afternoon too. Can also bounce around the Irish Channel bars like Parasol’s (roast beef po-boy now best in town under new ownership IMO) and Tracy’s. Mondays are tough. Link places are open so you could do Peche if you want to stay around the FQ. If you want casual, Mandina’s and Liuza’s by the track (Mid-City/BSJ) and Franky and Johnny’s (uptown) are very classic NOLA places that are open. Finally, Mother’s sucks. If I hadn’t been in NOLA in a decade and wanted one sandwich before leaving town, I’d stop at Parkway for a roast beef or Liuzas by the Track for a fried garlic oyster (my dinner last night, actually).

Frady’s, roast beef and cheese.

Little Bar still going strong, not exactly in a crowded area. Hopefully the surge was just caused by spring breakers and Bourbon becomes less shit-showy next weekend. The Pic had a good article today on live music. Looks like the big venues will reopen in the next month or so. Bullet’s is opening next Tuesday with Kermit, and I definitely recommend that as a spot for music. Finally, for day drinking and oysters, check out Side Car. It’s a new spot in the Rusty Nail patio that has been getting a lot of buzz. Checked it out last night and it lives up to the hype.

Bars closing? Well, yes - these are just ad hoc decisions made to protect their employees and guests depending on conditions. Off the top of my head, Molly’s is only doing go-drinks, the Carousel Bar is lounge-only, Chart Room is very limited indoors. Bourbon is just a total disaster right now (also, two people managed to get shot on Saturday despite the curfew) so would recommend avoiding the FQ.

Practically speaking, I don’t think it will make much of a difference. I’ve been here for two months now and tourism is just dead. There’s plenty of trash packing Bourbon, but it’s otherwise easy to get a reservation anywhere. The curfew is the biggest thing, since many bars begin winding down around 10. As for music, you just have to follow people on Instagram/Twitter since OZ Livewire, etc are still down. The biggest thing in the city is dba hosting bands on the street Fri 4-8 and Sat/Sun 2-8. The Maple Leaf is going to have concerts at Zony Mash Beer Project this Saturday. Keep a lookout to see if Tip’s does another outdoor concert. The Sonesta has been hosting Big Sam on Wednesdays, and I imagine they’ll now have more acts on weekends. Finally, since Bourbon is getting out of control, note that many of the locals’ bars in the FQ like Erin Rose, Lafitte’s Blacksmith and Absinthe Bar are closing to avoid the crowds.

How was Cho Thai? One of the last new places on my list to try out. Also second Justine, grabbed a bite there before Jewel of the South a few weeks ago and it was outstanding - especially the blue crab remoulade blanc.

It’s Monday in New Orleans so you know what that means (Lil’ Dizzy’s again for the second time in four days).

Most places here are closed Sun-Wed right now. Depends on what your are looking for, but LPG is open.

Forecast for Saturday is looking great. The Channel should be hopping, I’ll probably start there and then head to Finn’s.

I’m really bad at taking pictures, but I feel like I owed the thread something. Veal chop and sazerac at the Clancy’s bar tonight. Clancy’s is my favorite restaurant. It’s not necessarily my favorite cooking in NO, but it’s incredible food in an incredible atmosphere. Clancy’s is an Uptown institution, and the front dining room is a great people-watching experience. It’s part of the fabric of New Orleans. I really can’t describe Clancy’s better than Brett Anderson did in his last meal before Katrina. Clancy’s went through an equally hard time during COVID. Clancy’s reopening in July was especially poignant. My wife and I were in town last September and managed a table in the front room, and it was first time we’d felt to normalcy in months.

Yep, only 4 years old and a great restoration of a historic place. Pre-COVID had a great bar and raw bar. We are staying here for a few months and may stay there for a few weeks - rates are cheap right now.

Finally did the tasting menu at Saint Germain. As big natural wine people, we’ve been coming to the bar since they opened, but have never done the dinner. People in the industry will tell you it’s the best restaurant in NOLA at the moment, and I have to agree - it was an outstanding experience. I never went to Square Root, so can’t compare. I think a few on this thread have asked about it, so I’d like to toss a recommendation out there. On a more casual note, Lil’ Dizzy’s reopened a few weeks ago. The owner had shut down due to COVID, but his son and his wife decided to take over. Had lunch today and was as good as I remember - besides Dooky Chase, it’s the anchor of Creole cooking in Treme. Please visit to support them if you are in town.

Louisiana has carefully entered the next reopening phase based on promising positivity rates, keeping its mask mandate in place. Louisiana is being governed more thoughtfully right now than Texas. Let that sink in.

One thing I forgot to add is always check if you need reservations for any place that basically isn’t a dive bar. It isn’t hard to get into restaurants, but many bars have conditional restaurant permits and those get busy. For example, it’s very hard to pop into Columns, the Chloe, Bacchanal or Barrel Proof for a drink.

Bars are now open for limited indoor service, but many have set up outdoor situations (I had no idea that Snake and Jakes, Brothers III and Ms. Mae’s all had back patios). I generally stay away from the Quarter but it’s pretty open (in a bad way - Bourbon gets absolutely packed).

I’ve actually been here for two months (we are remote until the end of the year). The city is certainly subdued but somewhat open. There are actually bands playing all Saturday and Sunday outside Spotted Cat and dba is open to serve drinks, which has been great. Tip’s sometimes has bands outside as well. The 11 pm curfew certainly makes things wind down early but I’ve had a great time so far.

I could go on at length about NOLA, but this sums it up. I spent two years seriously looking into moving there. I was an associate at a big law firm in Houston. I couldn’t justify it financially in any way - a first year lawyer at a big firm in Houston makes as much as a junior partner in a “big” NO firm. That’s a pretty good illustration of the disparity between the two cities in terms of financial opportunity. I do think the insularity is less of a factor nowadays. The post-K newcomers are predominantly in the non-profit and tech sectors, and they are not the types to care about getting into Comus or the Boston Club. But the Airbnb economy has grossly distorted the housing market.