I am going to New Orleans!

though he usu. flees town around carnival time.

Dan's booking his tickets right now.

If you do go to New Orleans and have exactly the same tastes as me, try visiting the Aquarium, the Palm Court jazz supper club place, the Napoleon House restaurant, the Columns Hotel for afternoon cocktails (it's out on that road the street car goes down, Charles' Street?) and things like that. You should try and go on a swamp tour as well so you can tell your friends how you saw wild crocodiles and stuff too. and cemetary tours are interesting too, but try and not go on one run by hammy goths.

I also liked The Charles' Tavern, which was on Charles St. It was local, and did nice burgers. And we would have gone to the funky butt if we'd been there a night longer.

The Palm Court is completely fab though. You get to dress up all smart and eat an expensive meal while actually quite good music is played in the background. when we were there they had the last of the Inkspots performing for us. Which was nice.

We also liked the Voodoo Museum. It has an air of being about coining it in off the tourists but still manages to communicate a sense that voodoo is a real religion. And a not uninteresting one, I've decided syncretic religions are the way forward.

Oh, and for toptastic all-american fun, nickie, go to the rock 'n' bowl. you get to drink beer, play bowling, and listen to a live band play zydeco. Zydeco is only enjoyable when drunk, and bowling is the only sport where one's performance improves with alcohol.

rarr.

After gently nudging a pedistrian with my bumper trying to inch through an intersection the gentleman proceeded to pull down his pants and press his rear against the driver's side window. A cop came over, threw him in a paddy wagon and helped me through the intersection. yay cops. boo bare drunken frat boy asses.

A great lie about New Orleans: the locals call it Nawlins. They don't - they call it Neworlens.

new orleans is brilliant.

The food in NO is about the best I have ever eaten.

I wish I was in New Orleans.

Food is un-fucking-believable and not expensive.

http://www.nolaed.com/March2004/foodfiles.htm

http://www.cnetco.com/~bsieb/Streets%20Of%20New%20Orleans/images/The%20Acme.jpg

http://photos26.flickr.com/35403627_c504b0f0db.jpg

http://photos21.flickr.com/35404604_947e7177da.jpg

cafe du monde, you mean? ;-)

From my hotel room window. It's tough to fall asleep with Bobby Lee lookin' in atcha like that.

yes i am speaking about new orleans in the present tense.

http://photos31.flickr.com/38911623_8525fac004.jpg

http://photos31.flickr.com/38911726_f2036af148.jpg

http://photos29.flickr.com/38912013_dddc8b9f0a.jpg

in the old days, buildings were made to last!

http://photos33.flickr.com/38912173_a91409d224.jpg

http://pics.livejournal.com/madolan/pic/0000y53d/s640x480

http://photos30.flickr.com/38912228_07909c2075.jpg

http://photos32.flickr.com/38912270_74eca98b68.jpg

http://photos26.flickr.com/38912089_c9250d7cf9.jpg

http://pics.livejournal.com/madolan/pic/0000zk61/s640x480

It wasn't my birthday, but thanks anyway!

http://photos27.flickr.com/38912337_91f385be5e.jpg

http://photos29.flickr.com/38912391_3bdab68549.jpg

We waited in line for an hour to get into Mother's! While we were waiting, a man who called himself "Elvis" stopped by and serenaded us with "Falling In Love With You".

It was worth the wait. I was just thankful to be seated, and my friend chose to investigate his gumbo a bit more in depth.

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8826/4d0f6fu.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1007/cef58pl.jpg

http://www.wwoz.org/html/k-doe_second_line/news_k-doe_2nd_brass.jpg

Now, it means parades in the community. A Social Aid & Pleasure Club hires a brass band or two and people follow them through the neighborhood for four hours, dancing and getting drunk and eating smoked sausage on whitebread. It's also used to refer to the dancing itself ("second-lining").

It's basically the best thing ever, and I'm sure there's gonna be one as soon as there are streets again.

Who all in this piece is going to Tape Op Con 2006?

This was most likely Randy Elvis aka Saints Elvis, who dances at Saints games and runs a bar downtown called The Corporation, where ILxors have karaoked happily.

I hadn't made any concrete plans yet, but I was thinking about it.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT07/refresh/AL0708W5_sm2+gif/203214W_sm.gif

damn

they say they're prepared

yeah fucking right.

I bet the Republicans are soooooo happy about this.

worrying about a potential disaster getting grossly politicized is a lesser worry right now.

may be evacuating tomorrow night to avoid traffic, unless Gustav decides to hit the Yucatan instead.

i'm holding out for a little while. projected paths don't really mean anything until the storms get into the gulf. not to say i'm not worried, but the chicken little feeling around the city is a little upsetting.

I feel the same way, but being stuck in 10 hours of traffic on the interstate really bites, especially with baby crying and dogs whining. The bummer is the closest place we can stay is like 9 hours away. Middle of the night, baby sleeping=much nicer evacuation.

good luck guys, hope it's a miss

One source says possible category 4 at landfall. I'm trying my best not be nervous, but having been displaced before, it's hard. And there is a part of me (and many others here) who are dying for an excuse to move away. Being broke in the middle of it makes it worse, because I want lots of wine and fancy cheese right now.

wow. the city is kind of panicking. and it's not really the government or media that are riling people up. I heard from several sources this afternoon that there was a mandatory evacuation in effect in orleans and that anyone not out of the city by 6pm tomorrow was going to get picked up by the national guard and bussed out of here. then i go and watch the news and the anchors and public officials are all calmly detailing plans that could possibly be put into effect over the next few days. I think these are weird signs of some kind of mass scale persecution complex. People are convinced that they're going to get kicked out of town and are in outrage about it.

Heading out in less than 3 days, will be there for a long weekend. Got a couple of things already in the plan. Anyone around and wanna grab a drink at some point?

Where did Adam go? He is the only recent New Orleans-based poster I know about. At least from the New Orleans Brass band thread over on ILM that Jordan started.

Jordan (from Wisconsin not Jordan S.) goes there alot. Have you looked at Offbeat (either the magazine or online)?

adam's still there (i crashed at his place last time i was in town). if i was going this weekend i would see rebirth at tip's on friday and see if there's a second line on sunday.

I wanted to be in New Orleans this weekend for the Ponderosa Stomp. Obscure old-school r'n'b and rock and more artists at the House of Blues Friday and Saturday night, and special panel discussions and interviews with them (by a who's who of music critics and historians) during the day. It used to take place between Jazzfest weekends but they moved it.

www.ponderosastomp.com

Pricey but I bet it's worth it

So some people I work with were ragging on New Orleans because when they went there for a work conference, and went to Bourbon Street at night they found it dirty and full of drunks. No they did not go to other parts of the city or to nice restaurants or live music clubs.

i am going to the stomp on saturday.

has that earthquake died down yet

i am super stoked about barbara lynn, sugarpie desanto and wendy rene

Wish my pals had been able to go. Maybe I should have just gone anyway. Watched Barbara Lynn's hour long show in DC streaming on the Kennedy Center website. Good, but I bet she'll be even better there.

The Ponderosa Stomp "Insane Rock n Roll" Fest in New Orleans (plus the J & H Fest)

I Love Music thread on the Ponderosa Stomp. I see that Ann K. Powers and others are tweeting from there

oh i'm here. if i didn't work all weekend i'd be all over the stomp.

for those visiting: i work at a bar called v4ugh4n's (not sure my bosses know how to google but never too safe) and while it is generally a sleepy neighborhood bar (kermit ruffins nights aside) we do it up big for saints games. which is to say: if you want to see the atlanta falcons get the shit knocked out of them surrounded by rowdy 9th ward drunks pre-sunday-stomp, that is the place to be. i'll be behind the bar. people get really loud. my boss makes food for halftime, good food.

800 lesseps in the 9th ward or what realtors call "bywater"

The whole weekend crashes to a close at One Eyed Jacks on Sunday night with a final blowout featuring Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan of the Flamin' Groovies, the A-Bones and the Jim Jones Revue. from Keith Spera's article in the NO T-P

hey i'll be there next weekend if anybody knows of good shows to catch or whatever.

bump. pulling into town tonight. anything going on? also, thinking about exploring the coast south of NO so if anybody knows of cool towns down that way to check out...

Glancing at Offbeat, if were pulling into NO tonight, I'd go see The Soul Rebels at Le Bon Temps.

adam, would you happen to be the bartender with the husker du shirt?

yup. second choice would be shamarr allen (at irvin mayfield's club in the quarter). but tomorrow looks great - rebirth @ howlin' wolf, and tbc brass band @ tipitina's ("free friday" series along with a bunch of younger brass bands).

cool thanks. got in too late last night to check out the Soul Rebels.

http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/UnsungHeroes.htm

Unsung Heroes of Rock museum exhibit

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/09/a_weeks_worth_of_good_music_st_8.html

bands at tipitina's were great last night. dealing with a broke down car in Houma now unfortunately.

Going to be there next week...
I was there once before in 2006, and because of the company i was keeping, spent too much time on Bourbon St. and not enough in the French Quarter or the Garden District.
My wife and I are much more interested in the architectural/cultural history than "looking to party"...
Any suggestions of where we could go wandering? Residential areas worth exploring? Good idea to rent bicycles?
Thanks for any tips anyone has to offer...

i'm here. tell me stuff to do that the guidebooks won't tell me to you.

I only know the stuff guidebooks tell you. Or maybe they don't tell you. So I say - go and drink mint juleps on the verandah of the Columns Hotel.

i sent you a fbook message

Check Offbeat magazine website for events (not perfect but this New Orleans music mag might list some interesting stuff)

what area of town are you in?

PoBoys at Domilise's on magazine is a good place to start.

You really should've made the move a week ago, though.

This is a pretty good listing of more off-the-beaten-path events: http://noladiy.org/

Hot 8 are playing at the Wolf Den on S. Peters on sunday.

Find boiled crawfish stat.

^^^YES

Domilise's vs Mahoney's ?

(i'm ashamed to say I've had neither)

i suspect Domilise's wins character/atmosphere hands down?

I haven't been back to NOLA since Donna's bar closed and then reopened under new management, but in all my past trips to the city this place was a favorite:

http://www.donnasonrampart.com/

broadview seafood >>> anywhere on magazine

(for crawfish & po boys)

I prefer Domilise's (they offer a split osyter/shrimp poboy that's pretty much my holy grail) but Mahoney's is nothing to complain about.

Not sure if it's still in operation, but the cafeteria on Loyola's Law School campus (corner of broadway and st. charles) used to be operated by the owners/chefs of vaughn's, which is some of the best soul food you'll find anywhere.

never actually made it out to broadview, which is a shame since i lived in that neighborhood for a hot minute.

My favorite place to get crawfish is on Jefferson Highway way out in the suburbs called "Bobby's Seafood". Almost as good as my uncle's.

Also, your sunday morning should be hot glazed donuts from tastees and then head down to maolly's at the market in the quarter for the best bloody marys. If you want amazing margaritas at any point hit up taqueria corona on magazine.

molly's* clearly.

Hank's on St. Claude is my fave crawfish joint. Sketchy part of town, though.

not that sketchy imo? just a few blocks away from gene's po-boys, which doesn't have seafood but their hot sausage is all-time.

Hank's is great! Also, a buddy of mine is putting on a backyard party/show (TATERBUG,BUOYANTSEA,TRACEYTANCE,BLEAKENDATBERNIES) at 3152 St. Claude if you're already in the neighborhood. Can't really vouch for any of the bands except buoyant sea (my buddy) who makes spunky mandolin noise punk.

Sad that the St. Roch Market never reopened post-K. I loved that place.

Has anyone eaten at Mosca's?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/22/101122fa_fact_trillin

Yes!! It's quirky in all the best N.O. ways -- out of the way location, seemingly unchanged for half a century, cash only...) Oysters Mosca is food of the gods.

Not sure if it's still in operation, but the cafeteria on Loyola's Law School campus (corner of broadway and st. charles) used to be operated by the owners/chefs of vaughn's

you mean dunbar's. vaughan's is the bar that i work at. if you like strong drinks and misery come visit. also i make the best bloody marys in the city but if you order them when it is dark outside i will make fun of you.

crawfish are still pretty small and $$$. cold weather sort of delayed the season. i had some the other day and they were tasty if a lot of work.

hank's is good but hood as fuck. it's a little better since a bunch of the gutter punks barbecued themselves but still full of crackheads. also they changed ownership over the past couple years so crawfish is no longer their focus. mosca's is good but a trek.

domilise's is for tourists.

jordan is right about broadview seafood. also near there is mchardy's chicken. fucking great.

go to the bakery at dong phuong on chef menteur highway in NO east (past all the strip clubs and hot sheet motels) and get banh mi and other vietnamese baked treats (the restaurant there is ok, no great shakes, but go to the bakery shop).

Ha! I always get Vaughn's and Dunbar's mixed up because the Saints had a running back for about a 3rd of a season in the 90s named Vaughn Dunbar. And Domilise's rules and you know it.

kinda bougie i guess? (lol Expensive Sandwiches), but if you find yrself in the Warehouse District definitely check out Butcher on Tchoupitoulas.

also lol @ like every recommendation on this thread revive being about food

domilise's does a nice hot sausage but stay away from their roast beef.

right next to butcher is a place called nola grocery. dude does awesome sandwiches and has the best boudin in town. also they are real po boys, not the $12 finger sandwiches the yuppies are buying next door. though i love cochon, the fancy pants sit down place from which butcher sprang.

cochon you can eat like a motherfucker, get loaded and tip well for like $60/person. one of the best deals in town.

still haven't made it into Cochon; aren't both owned by the Herbsaint dude?. i gotta rep for Butcher's pork belly & pastrami sandwiches tho.

I survived on 32" po boys from Hanks this Mardi Gras.

As far as donuts go, I'm throwing my lot in with The Buttermilk Drop. Haven't actually been there, but I hear it's just as good as the baker/owner's old place Henry's, which used to be on St. Claude.

Oh, and any suggestions on what to get at La Boucherie? Going there tonight, never been.

i like their simple stuff, i think they get in over their heads with the ambitious dishes. the pulled pork cake sounds awesome but resist the urge. new orleans is great for many many many things but pulled pork is not one of them, even at the joint (who have the closest thing in town to good barbecue [tho people tell me hillbilly bbq in harahan is good but if i'm going to harahan i'm going to the shimmy shack]).

Okay, I am going to be here next month and I am already hungry. Jordan, can you send me some TIPS ON YOUR FAVORITE PLACES?

I need to get back to New Orleans

for sure, i'll email you. what part of town will you be in?

We're staying in the French Quarter

oh and you can just FB message me if that's easier since my ILX login isn't linked to my current email address.

done

just go to Verti Mart and get a poboy. walk a few blocks and eat it on the riverbank.

thanks Jordan!!

so they re-opened after the fire?

also quarter grocery has better po boys at like half the price, imo

(not to hate on verti marte though, it's been there for me when i needed it [ie very late at night after a gig, when gene's was too far away].)

i moved from NOLA in 98, last visited in 07 or so and Verti Mart was still going. i read about the fire but forgot about it. don't think i've ever gone to quarter grocery but my love for verti mart did start with late night deliveries of a wonderful assortment of goods (and good poboys). getting a poboy and eating it down by the river was probably my fav. thing to do in the quarter though. otherwise it's just a few nice buildings, a bunch of shitty tourist traps and some overpriced art shops.

vm reopened but people have told me that the new, clean kitchen doesn't produce food as tasty as the filth encrusted griddle of yesteryear.

it's just a few zillion nice buildings! I am consistently amazed that so many blocks of historic architecture survived anywhere in tear-it-down America.

Going for a week after the BCS crowd clears out -- would love it if everyone who lives/lived there or has been there would name one must-eat-at place. I've been studying Tom Fitzmorris's nomenu.com site like it was for the freaking bar exam.

bump?

a banh mi (or two) from dong phuong bakery in the east. it's the best sandwich in town, it's less than 3 bucks, it's a weird and wonderful drive if you go through the lower ninth and arabi and chalmette and up the 510 over venetian isles and past the NASA assembly plant.

tom fitzmorris is terrible, btw. he is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to super-traditional new orleans food but anything ethnic freaks him the fuck out. also he shills like a motherfucker for any shitty restaurant that gives him money--check out how hard he pimps andrea's in metairie. andrea's is laughably bad, like famously truly awful, yet he swears up and down that's it's one of the premiere NO-style italian joints. which is a damn lie.

however daily reading of his "diner's journal" is recommended as his relationship with his family as described is those columns is hilarious. there's all these passive-aggressive digs at his wife, fitz cluelessly wondering why his daughter is perma-single, some weird euphemistic writing around his son's "creative" west coast lifestyle. i half-think (hope?) it's all a brilliant troll.

also go to mosca's. mosca's is great.

trillin on mosca's

Don't forget this I Love Music thread re New Orleans--

New Orleans Brass Bands S/D

Brett Anderson who used to write for the Washington City paper for a bit way back seems to be still writing restaurant reviews for the Times-Picayune

http://www.nola.com/dining/

Was just reading about Mosca's yesterday, sounds good. Thanks for the rec and Trillin link. Re Fitzmorris, thanks for the heads-up. I'm not taking everything he says as gospel, but the site is a great reference repository to get a general lay of the land. I've been kind of following Anderson's series on finding the best roast beef po-boy in the city.

Bear's Grill in Slidell is on our route into the city, pretty well recommended from what I've seen, so we're probably going to have dinner there on day 1.

A friend's friend is the chef at Cochon, which is in the Warehouse District. It was very good. Pork-focused, obviously.

I am obsessed with burgers from the Clover Grill on Bourbon Street. I'm not sure if they are actually super good or if it's that they have good associations for me. When I lived in NOLA for 6 months I ate there just about every week. It's a small all-night place, the burgers are really thin, and they cook them under hub caps.

Wm, have you been there before?

I know that people turn up their noses at Acme Oyster House b/c it's so touristy or whatever, but GD, the grilled oysters on the half shell are profoundly delicious.

Jesse, that's not the first Clover Grill burger recommendation I've gotten. Hmm,,,

xp -- been to New Orleans? Yeah, a couple of times in the mid 80s. This'll be my first time there in 25 years.

i've never had a bad meal at cochon, they lay the vibe on pretty thick but the food is good and reasonable for fine dining, last time i was there a group of six went buck wild, couldn't see the table for all the food, drunk as fuck, for $360 incl tax/tip.

i also love clover grill burgers. they are straight off the truck sysco pucks but for whatever reason (3am) they taste so good. brett anderson wrote a piece for the oxford american a few years ago on the new orleans hamburger, which he (at least then) posits is as important to our culinary heritage as the po boy (ignore fitzmorris' "poor boy" affectation) or the muffaletta. port of call is the most famous NO burger joint. don't go there. buffa's, across the street, has equally good burgers and is maybe the most depressing bar in the city. it's great. (nb the NO style burger is a huge, loosely packed cheap-meat patty on a disintegrating bun typically served with unmelted shredded cheddar on top and a baked potato on the side. brewster's in chalmette is another good place. clover grill is a more typical diner-style burger. the cheffy burger trend has finally reached us but you can probably already get that stuff where you live.)

as AS important

Clover Grill = yum. I ate there for breakfast years ago when I was there, never forgot it!

Non-food stuff that I enjoyed:

- Swamp tour. We fed alligators hot dogs and marshmallows. It was the second time I had seen people feed alligators marshmallows, which they use b/c they float and are very visible to the gators. The older lady who drove us back to the city in a bus was a terrifying driver and she hated alligators. She said that when she and her husband are driving their RV, they swerve to run over alligators. That wasn't the fun part of the trip, but it was memorable.

- Ghost tour. The guide was kind of a douche, but it was still fun. I would probably do a non-ghost tour next time. It was funny how the was virtually a Nicholas Cage's New Orleans tour. He bought a lot of the French Quarter, and he had a pyramid-shaped tomb built for himself in St. Louis cemetery #1.

- Just walking around. The Marigny, where you're staying, is gorgeous, and has pretty places around every corner.

- Drinks at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. At night they have a piano player and singer. It's mostly lit by candles.

- There are two gay guys who own mini ponies that they take for walks in the Quarter. I have seen them in front of the Clover Grill and in other touristy areas, collecting tips in garters around the horses' necks. Those horses are so AWESOME <3. Your kids would love them, though you would have to take them in somewhat racy parts of Bourbon Street. Not sure how sensitive you are about that kind of thing, but it's not THAT shocking (no naked men hung up by their ankles being whipped), and some people bring their kids down there.

Lafitte's: http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/eTvsHTq5hTI1aB6ahaBYiw/l.jpg

xps -- Good to hear that others love Clover Grill! I thought I might just be loving them b/c of the vibe. They definitely are totally cheap-o pucks, but delicious regardless.

Oops! Mini HORSES, not ponies. They are very clear on that point. They are HORSES, not PONIES. They live in the Marigny, so maybe you might see them around.

Racy parts of Bourbon St not a problem -- our daughter is 23.

Who knows, the guys with the horses might be the owners of the B&B we're staying at. They say they're NO tour guides as well as B&B owners.

Oh. OK, your daughter can probably handle seeing some "sexy" t-shirts and sad strippers.

Can I be a nerd & recommend the D-Day Museum? Really terrific museum, even if you're not much of a WW2 buff.

Also Museum of Confederacy had a great array of civil war artifacts, worth a peek if youre into that kinda thing.

new orleans pharmacy museum! right next to napoleon house, cheap, weird.

oh and hey be cautious wandering around bywater and the marigny, armed robberies are through the roof. i've lived in new orleans a long time and shit is for real right now. eg the chick i hired to watch my dogs while i was on vacation the other week got grabbed, thrown into a car and driven to an atm. a block from my house (on the marigny/bywater border basically). at 9pm. there were 4 unrelated armed robberies within a 4 block radius that same night. not trying to rain on yr vacation but sometimes b&b owners forget to mention this stuff.

Yikes! Thanks, we'll be super careful. Pharmacy museum is on the short list, btw.

I'm a big fan of Dick and Jenny's on Tchoupitoulas. Their fried green tomatoes appetizer is out of this world. If you're gonna do tourist charbroiled oysters I'd take Drago's over Acme. Sylvain on chartres near jackson square has great cocktails if you're into that. It feels sort of too cool for school to me, but my SF gf feels quite at home there.

Also, it's a hideous tourist bar, but Pirate's Alley right by Jackson Square always gives me the eeriest feeling at night and is the only place I've ever been where I might actually concede that a place's history could leave it with some kind of supernatural aura. It almost feels like the ground is shifting or something.

WmC I just saw on another thread that you're in NOLA now. I hope you find the miniature horses.

Also I hope you will post many pictures! Would like you to make this thread your journal of this trip, but I know that's asking a lot.

Going to Jazzfest first weekend, first time in New Orleans since 2006.

Best food value for the dollar: lunch at K-Paul's
Overrated: breakfast at Brennan's
Sheer heart attack: chargrilled oysters at Drago's

Thanks. Heading down Thursday and flying home Monday.

So neither Broadview nor Slim Goodie's are open late?

meant to post this on here earlier. it's my wonderful friend jennifer's site. all things NOLA food. restaurants and recipes abound. browse for ideas!

http://www.foodorleans.com/

I see Jazzfest scheduled Pancho Sanchez/Terence Blanchard and The Texas Tornados at the same time. I'd opt for the latter since they're not in a tent.

It's a tough call though. Also at that time reggae band Steel Pulse, Buckwheat Zydeco, Bon Iver, Beach Boys and Real Untouchables Brass Band (don't know this last group).

Jazzfest friends of mine coined the disease name FOMS: Fear Of Missing Something. Generally at any point in the day there are 2-3 (or more) great options. I've become kind of a (self-described) expert at balancing acts I can't miss, acts have seen before but would gladly see again, stuff new to me I've only read about... I often see half of one show and half of another, but figuring out which to start with vs. end with is another trick.

Rule #1: don't leave a show you're enjoying to see something else.

Rule #2: don't over-schedule (hard one for me.) Leave yourself open to the serendipitous moment.

Rule #3: stop in to the gospel tent, jazz tent and Economy Hall often, even if you have no idea who's playing.

only been there once, but I could have easily spent the whole weekend following Rule 3

Okay, jazzfest stream on youtube is cool. Sound is a little glitchy, and Marcia Ball's voice is pretty ragged today, but this is better than work. Nice that they have two stage channel choices.

Will check that out later.
I moved around a fair amount for weekend 1 this year, although I decided to stay put and just see Dr. John and Springsteen at the end of Sunday afternoon.

In non-fest stuff--

Ate at Dooky Chase's one night and it was better than some yelpers and others have said. Had that "Jewish C______" at Slim Goodies one morning. My meal at Meauxbar was fairly good, but gf's was just ok.

I thought the food at Dooky's was pretty good when I was there, maybe not excellent, but the atmosphere and vibe of the place was super nice.

I put my youtube comment here rather than Jordan's brass band thread because at the moment the viewing choice is between Marcia Ball and Bruce Hornsby. They're focusing on the big stages, because I assume they're using the jumbotron feeds for this, so no brass bands or Indians.

we went to willie mae's one morning, couple blocks away from dooky chase. good fried chicken but i probably didn't need to eat so much of it for breakfast.

Ha. Saw Willie Mae's, and thought I need to stop here next time.

I wonder which brass band I heard/(saw through the fencing) practicing early evening last Thursday in Armstrong Park as we were on our way to Meauxbar?

Yeah, Willie Mae's is another place where the chicken wasn't quite the ZOMG best in the world that foodies started obsessing about, but the vibe was great.

I think my alltime A+ food plus ambience was Eddie's on Law Street, long gone.

broadview is still first in my heart

Jordan, have you been to L'il Dizzy's? Eddie's son Wayne runs it, but I haven't been.

lil dizzy's is the best! benny jones took us there for the first time after we played a funeral w/treme bb a number of years back.

Cool, it's on my bucket list.

Voice of the Wetlands Allstars: mostly too jambandy for me, and too much noodly blues harp, but Big Chief Monk is out there now, and Johnny Vidacovich is just killin' it.

Going back to NOLA in September with my wife. During our visit last year we heard live music at Vaughan's, Howlin' Wolf, d.b.a., Spotted Cat and Preservation Hall — and of course on Royal Street and the corner of Canal and Bourbon. We also checked out the Carousel Bar, Sazerac Bar, Cochon, Mother’s, Lafitte’s, Central Grocery, Napoleon House and some other spots, touristy and otherwise.
Places we didn’t get to visit that we’d like to check out this time around: Tipitina’s, Maple Leaf Bar, Bullet's, Mimi’s in the Marigny, Snug Harbor. Where else?
And does anyone know the current status of K-Doe's Mother in Law Lounge? I keep reading conflicting reports.

i'm going soon too - recommendations of places to stay?

I've only been once, so I'm not a good person to ask. Last year we actually won a raffle for a four-day stay at a Marriott in the Business District. Awesome place with a courtyard pool and an amazing buffet breakfast that had everything — alligator and andouille included. This year we're using my mother-in-law's time share at the Quarter House, on Chartres Street.

http://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2012/07/hubigs_pie_are_more_than_a_des.html

Hubig's pies bakery burns down

http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2012/07/5-alarm_fire_breaks_out_at_hub.html

Kermit Ruffins gets OK to re-open Mother-in-Law Lounge. Nice.
http://www.offbeat.com/2012/08/16/ruffins-wins-mother-in-law-loungesoon-reopens/
Didn't he recently open a new joint in the Treme? He's staying busy. Taking my second trip to NOLA next month and I hope to see him this time. Last year we took a cab to Vaughan's only to be told that Kermit was out of town. We stayed and had a ball anyway.

http://www.empmuseum.org/programs-plus-education/programs/pop-conference/2013/emp-pop-conference-2013-new-orleans.aspx

Register now, free for all April 18 through 21st

American Routes radio show anniversary concert that weekend plus a big brass band gig I may attend

Plus gf and I need to make it to various food/restaurant places listed above in the limited time we have

Flying in Thursday

I like going buckwild and causing random ruckus as much as anyone but I've always found that the titty-flashing thing to be useless unless you know the chick and you got a good chance of hitting it that very night....the same reason I don't go to strip clubs....what's the point.....whenever you see pics or video footage of mardi gras flashing theres always those ugly old guys in the background smiling and laffing like they're loving it....stop lying son, youre going to go home and wank about it, that's all....if you've got time left, best spend your time on real macking...it'll last longer.....DUDE, YOURE GETTING A DELL

― Ramosi, Sunday, February 3, 2002 12:00 PM (11 years ago)

RIP

getting on a train to here in two hours with 0 plans once I'm there. willing to be guided on music recommendations as this thread has done since time immemorial (Offbeat listings isn't loading for me btw)

Hostel has a whiteboard with the day's suggested gigs up, Hot 8 at Howlin' Wolf tonight, DONE

Gonna splurge and finally go to the Ponderosa Stomp Music fest at Rock n Bowl Friday the 2nd and Saturday the 3rd, plus some panel discussions before then starting during the day Thursday and Friday. Air B n B lodging...

Hmmm, where to eat...

where you staying/how far are you willing to travel?

will you have a car?

Right now, not planning on having a car (but may change my mind--Need to get from airport to lodging and back; and to Stomp events too). Staying near the intersection of Carrollton and Claiborne avenue from Wednesday night arrival at 5:30 pm at the airport to Sunday at 6pm. The Ponderosa Stomp conference (and record sale ) during the day Thursday and Friday is at the AC Hotel by Marriott at 221 Carondelet St. The Stomp DJ party Thursday night is at DBA, and Ponderosa Stomp is from 6:30 pm to 3:25 AM Friday and Saturday nights

you can take the claiborne bus (#16) from carrollton and claiborne down to the CBD where the conference is. you could also take the streetcar but the bus is way, way, way faster--i took it to work every day for many years.

as i'm sure you know it's an easy walk from carrollton/claiborne to rock n bowl.

airport cabs are like $35 bucks each way, which is annoying. there's the E-2 JET bus (ie jefferson parish, not the new orleans RTA) which runs right by tulane and carrollton (a little bit further up from rock n bowl). i can't vouch for its reliability these days though. also probably kind of a drag with luggage.

if you plan to have downtime and are adventurous i would recommend a car as most of the ~really good~ restaurants are a drag to get to via public transportation. this includes the great vietnamese restaurants like tan dinh, dong phuong and pho ga quang minh; the stone cold classic new orleans/sicilian joint mosca's, in avondale; superior po boy shops like koz's, in lakeview; and lakeview/bucktown seafood places like r&o and blue crab. (don't underestimate vietnamese food in new orleans.)

of course there are many many many amazing places to eat very close to where you are staying, though the outstanding choices around there are less new orleans-specific.

clearly i miss new orleans very much.

Thanks. I do have great Vietnamese food near me in the DC area, though I guess hybrid New Orleans Vietnamese would be cool.

Good advice re bus over the streetcar

Is Koz's in Lakeview really that much better than Broadview, Quarter Grocery, Parkview or Gene's? Or is it just unique for that barbequed ham po-boy?

I mean Parkway

i think so but it is possible that the differences are only apparent to those who have eaten many thousands of po boys. a lot of it comes down to the bread, of which there is a correct choice (gendusa's) and incorrect (anything else, especially the dreaded leidenheimers). also the shrimp sandwich at koz's is easily the best in the city imo.

gene's is good but largely entertaining for the atmosphere. i think the food is better at hank's, a few blocks down st claude, and the vibe there is a truly new orleanian blend of hilarious and threatening.

i personally don't care for parkway at all but i know i am in the minority. in the midcityish area i recommend avery's po boys on tulane ave in the hourly motel district. mostly people from the nearby courthouse/OPP/bail bondsmen and construction workers from the giant hospital site.

in the fq i think the best choice is either johnny's (touristy af but great sandwiches) or verti marte (a little pricey and they use seeded leidenheimer's but good nonetheless). i will also rep quartermaster.

I'm going to be in New Orleans this weekend for the first time for a conference; staying on Poydras a couple blocks from where curmudgeon's conference was held.

I will have no car and know absolutely nobody else in the entire city. My wife has been there twice without me (once for a conference, the other time for moral / drinking / crying support with a friend who had originally planned the trip with her husband before finding out he was cheating on her), and I have seen Treme. That's basically the entirety of my knowledge of the place.

What should I do and eat? I want to see live music and eat good food. I don't care too much if things are touristy or cliched if the food or music is worth it. I'm up for the random cab / Uber trip but will most likely be on foot.

Adam and others can give you ideas. The New Orleans Brass Bands thread on ilm might be helpful too.

The 2 days of Ponderosa Stomp music conference at the AC Hotel by Marriott was mostly fascinating although I wish some of the interviewers had also used visuals and audio. A couple of 'em just assumed everyone knew all the arcane 1950s and 60s music details about obscure soul and rockabilly that they did. The conference ended up including food for lunch. Probably shoulda gone elsewhere but decided to eat their red beans and rice and muffelatas. One morning I even just had breakfast down the street at diner like place Daisey Dukes.

Did not have time to make it out of the city to Adam's fave places, though we did do a swamp gator tour. My catfish poboy at Quarter Grocery was good but not great. Had a pricey great meal at Herbsaint and a just ok pricey one at Commanders Palace. Because we were goin to the Stomp Friday and Saturday nights from 6 pm to 3:30 am, ate dinner one night there and once at Ye Olde College Inn next door. Saw a great second line parade. The 1st annual Treme Fest had the great singer John Boutte, Treme Brass, Kermit Ruffins and many others.

We also ate muffelatas at Cochon Butcher. They were good. Did not make it to Felix or Acme or Drago's for char-broiled oysters, alas.

Friday the 9th the all women Pinettes Brass Band are at Bullets and the Lost Bayou Ramblers, an energetic, raucous Cajun accordion and guitar band from SW Louisiana are at Siberia. Some brass bands play on street corners. Often there's stuff on Frenchman street.

This Saturday the 10th thing has me curious (could be great or horrible)--
Beasts of the Southern Wild Wordless Music Orchestra feat. Lost Bayou Ramblers and Conductor Ryan McAdams at Saenger Theatre

Deacon John and The Ivories at Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall October 9, 2015, 6:30 pm

http://www.offbeat.com/event-search

Neisha Ruffins

at Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge

October 10, 2015, 8:30 pm

New Breed Brass Band

at d.b.a.

October 10, 2015, 11:00 pm

New Breed Brass Band

d.b.a.

Hustle feat. DJ Soul Sister

at Hi-Ho Lounge

October 10, 2015, 11:00 pm

To second a few of curmudgeon's recommendations and offer a few of my own:

I highly recommend coming to see the Pinettes at Bullet's on Friday night. I go to that almost every week. It's not the greatest neighborhood to be walking alone at night if you're new to the city, so you should probably cab it - there's no cover charge at the show. Dooky Chase's in Treme and Mr. B's Bistro in the quarter are very good for soul food and gumbo, though they're not cheap. I had a very good, and inexpensive, alligator sausage po-boy at Cajun Mike's on Baronne, though I'm sure all their other po-boys are good too. I've never been to Cochon Butcher but I had their cochon de lait po boy at Jazz Fest, and it was delicious.

There are often brass bands playing in Jackson Square until around 5 in the evening, so you should swing by there one day after picking up a muffuletta at Central Grocery if you get a chance. New Breed is well worth seeing, too.

Off topic, but I was delighted to see this unaired Hannibal Buress pilot have some fun hyjinks at Camellia Grill.

http://www.thefader.com/2015/10/06/hannibal-buresss-unemployable

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/dining/ella-brennan-new-orleans-restaurants.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

New Orleans restaurant/food critic Brett Anderson writing in the NY Times about 91-year old Commander’s Palace owner

A typical evening for Ella Brennan begins with cocktails. They are delivered from Commander’s Palace, her family’s restaurant next door to her mansion in this city’s historic Garden District.

Was just in New Orleans last week and had some fantastic food at a number of places, although not Commander's Palace this time. Wish I didn't have to come home so soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/obituary-lolis-elie-dead-new-orleans-civil-rights-lawyer.html?_r=0

an undaunted civil rights pioneer whose advocacy as a lawyer, protest organizer and negotiator helped propel the racial desegregation of New Orleans

His son was involved with the Treme tv show

x-post- where did you eat Moodles?

I am going to New Orleans! Where should I go?

Primary interests include:
music of all types (would enjoy visiting locations of musical history in particular)
graveyards
gardens/mansions you can visit and walk through

I am interested in food, but really am not a huge EATER (like I can't eat gigantic amounts of food at one time and will be hanging mostly by myself so not sharing huge plates)
I am not interested in heavy drinking

Mr. Jaq and I were there recently and made a sort of music pilgrimage to a laundromat near Louis Armstrong park. Apparently used to be a recording studio. There was live music in a park off Canal on Wednesday evenings (toward the river) - continues through the summer. We enjoyed the jazz brunch at the Palace Cafe (Saturdays and Sundays), but heard really good things about the same thing at the Court of the Two Sisters. What I loved best was when I'd get bitters and soda to drink (often, it is my favorite thing), servers would ask after what kind of bitters. I had some amazing plum bitters and lots of Peychaud's - such a nice change from the default angostura.

I am going to New Orleans! First time back to Jazzfest since 2008. Hope it isn't ridiculously overcrowded. I have an awesome AirB&B house 6 blocks from the fairgrounds.

Went for a weekend a couple weeks ago - my wife and I had both been but never together. Amazingly flew out a few hours after the airport closures ended the government shutdown and flew back into Detroit right as the polar vortex blizzard was hitting.

Ate a bunch of good food, slept in a pitch black room with no dog or kid waking us up, ate edibles and road the streetcar / walked 9 miles one day around the garden district and it was amazing.

https://gonola.com/food-drink-in-new-orleans/five-multigenerational-black-owned-businesses-to-visit-in-new-orleans

Willie Mae’s
Dookie Chase
Lil Dizzy’s Cafe
Neyow’s Creole Cafe
Me. Okra

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/travel/big-freedia-five-places-to-eat-and-visit-in-new-orleans.html

Rapper Big Freedia’s 5

1. Morrow’s restaurant
2. Neyow’s Creole Cafe
3. Republic NOLA on bouncebeat night
4. Cafe du Monde
5. Manchu Food Store for its fried chicken

X—post — damn autocorrect...that’s Mr. Okra

Had a couple fancy meals in New Orleans that I'd highly recommend if you are looking for something like that:

Tea service at Sucre
Brunch at Brennan's

I'd go back to either of these in a heartbeat.

Avery's has the best seafood gumbo I've had in a restaurant but they were just featured on a guy fieri episode so go during off hours.

So the New Orleans Jazzfest booked The Rolling Stones as a big 50th Anniversary coup, charged jacked up prices for tickets, sold out immediately (Jazzfest has never been able to sell out before) and now Mick has a medical issue and the Stones have cancelled their tour. What a cluster, I bet the JF office is an insane and horrible place to be this morning. (I booked first weekend, in part to avoid all this hoopla.)

https://www.nola.com/jazzfest/2019/03/rolling-stones-cancelled-for-jazz-fest.html

Rumour is Fleetwood Mac will be filling.

The grey hairs that clog the the field with their portable chairs should be happy.

JazzFest never appealed to me. I can understand others paying premium prices for classic/legacy mainstream musicians, but the times I've been I've circulated between the Congo Sq (R&B/urban) and Gentilly (indie) stages, almost impossible due to the press of people. Of the hundreds of artists this year, I've a lackluster interest in Kamasi Washington, and that's it. The fest needs to rely less on boomer artists to stay relevant going forward. Voodoo and Buku are more my thing.

I'm a grey hair (no chair) but I won't be seeing any of the mainstage acts (unless you count the tribute to Fats Domino with Irma Thomas, Bonnie Raitt etc.)

As a gigging blues musician I'm interested in Taj Mahal and locals like Alvin Youngblood Hart, and there's some interesting world music making its way over from Festival International in Lafayette. As long as there is trad jazz, brass bands, and Mardi Gras Indians, I'm happy. (Both of the fests you linked are a generation or two apart from my tastes.)

I agree with Dan re going to Jazzfest to see brass bands, old-school New Orleans r’n’b, etc. I like the gospel and Congo Square global music too

I would even argue that it's better to go to French Quarter fest (or the now-annual Original Brass Fest in Congo Square) to see this stuff, rather then messing with Jazzfest at all.

Does TBC still busk outside of the festival, or are they too old/professional for that now?

I am more curious about Essence Fest there than Voodoo.

I also loved the one Ponderosa Stomp I attended there, and was sad to see on FB that they’re taking a hiatus ( although doing a 1 night thing with a few acts in Brooklyn and some small things in New Orleans too)

I don't know why I have yet to give French Quarter Fest a try. I guess I just fell in love with Jazzfest in 1988 and keep clinging to that, although I haven't attended in a decade. It does seem like the rapidly escalating price of Fest is to subsidize to booking of Katy Perry and Bruce Springsteen, and I don't go see them anyway.

FQF is great! Way more chill and focused on the local musicians that I actually want to see.

lol, now Fleetwood Mac canceled because of illness

food is cheaper at FQF too, used to be maximum $4 for any dish (idk if that's changed).

i once saw a serene dr john being driven around FQF in a golf cart. like a buddha. i have since aspired to a similar beatitude

fqf is def a good time.

I’ve always liked going down to NOLA *during* Jazzfest, even if I don’t make it to the actual festival (which, if memory serves I’ve probably only gone to maybe three times). weather’s usually pretty good and there’s tons of stuff/ music going on in all the local haunts

What are the best liquor stores in N.O., with an emphasis on amari and other liqueurs? I've been recommended Keife & Company and Martin Wine. I'm going down for a couple of days at the end of this month.

Don't know about amari but Keife was the only place I could find Becherovka 18 months ago

Thanks! The N.O. event that I was going for has been rescheduled, so I may or may not make the trip this month.

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/entertainment_life/article_e0e12f22-9520-11e9-8dd4-2b995adb9059.html

Geno’s Po-Boys in that Pink building closing down after 50 years. Will be sold and replaced with condos. Business post-Katrina hasn’t been the same. Article provides more details

Gene’s I mean

https://64parishes.org/new-orleans-pop-festival

50 years ago, 2 weeks after Woodstock

A young Deacon John played as well as many who had also been at Woodstock

Seven years is too long! Flying out on Sunday for a week and staying on Frenchmen Street. Hope to finally get to the Maple Leaf for Rebirth on Tuesday. Also plan on seeing Kermit at his Mother-in-Law Lounge and Corey Henry at Vaughan's Thursday night.
Any hot new bands in the R&B or jazz vein that I should be checking out?

Recommendations on any new clubs or reasonably priced restaurants would also be welcome.

Huh, I thought I saw on social media that Rebirth wasn't doing Tuesdays anymore and that TBC had taken it over, but maybe that was just temporary (Rebirth is listed on their website).

was about to highly recommend sneaky pickle on st. claude for excellent and fairly cheap eats, but just looked and they're temporarily closed due to a fire! next time, maybe.

https://www.wwoz.org/programs/inthestreet

Second line parade link ( usually on Sundays)

An Offbeat mag editorial was touting St Claude Street

Big 6 Brass Band

Avery's on Tulane has the best restaurant gumbo I've had outside of Prejean's in Lafayette (and pretty damn good poboys, too).

avery's used to be in my lunch rotation, great french fries too

I thought I saw on social media that Rebirth wasn't doing Tuesdays
Don't know about that, but I just learned they're not playing the Tuesday I'll be there. They're on tour elsewhere, apparently.

Same exact shit is popular there now as when I lived there 20 years ago. What a shithole. Fun to visit for a few days though.

We had an epic time. One of the highlights was seeing Michael Doucet play to a small dinner crowd at Three Muses on Frenchmen. (We had seen him perform with Beausoleil to thousands at a music fest in Rhode Island just the week.) Bought him a drink and had a nice chat with him. Real genuine, friendly guy. He recommended some good restaurant/cocktail spots, including Cane & Table on Decatur, which was indeed special.

Please stop jumping under parade floats. 2 in 4 nights, after some 38 years without fatalities among Mardi Gras spectators.

Uh. More like don’t reach for beads and trip and fall. Sad accidents

endymion is the absolute worst, the whole vibe of the krewe and the metairie-convenient mid-city route bring really bring out the lsu polo straining over a sunburnt gut brigade

I am going to New Orleans this weekend, and also the weekend after that.

This weekend is for a wedding, and I'm a little concerned because it's with a group of Milwaukee people and I don't drink very much these days. Adam, any recommendations for Marigny/Bywater bars (or anywhere between there and the Garden district)? I think they would like Bud Rips, Vaughan's, idk. I'm just used to going wherever the good brass bands are playing.

i've been gone for 6 years (!!) so my knowledge is well out of date but:

1. i worked at vaughan's for a long time so i am biased but any non-thursday evening there is a good chance to view firsthand the effects of long-term alcohol abuse, really gets deep into the 1970s era white boho new orleans soul

2. bud rips is like fancy now i heard? in my day it was the last explicitly racist bar in the neighborhood. beautiful tin ceiling tho.

3. markeys is my old home base but the owner goes on these periodic no-new-friends type rampages and deliberately makes it an unpleasant place to be. idk where it's at right now.

4. my buddy has a couple places in the french quarter if you want fancy pants cocktails. manolito and "jewel of the south"

5. when i lived on chartres and franklin, i think you were there last time we hung out, i liked all the gay bars in that area. big daddy's and friendly bar in particular.

I wandered into Bud Rips last year and had a good experience, then I googled it yesterday and the first auto-complete was "bud rips racist". Oh no! Then I found an article from 2017 saying it was now under new non-racist management, whew! Thanks.

The Mother-in-Law Lounge was originally opened in 1994 by Ernie K-Doe, the rhythm and blues singer, and was named for a song he recorded that topped the charts in 1961.

Mr. Ruffins didn’t anticipate the ownership transformation on St. Bernard Avenue. “We wish that black owners were still there,” he said. But he added, “There’s no time to be negative about it, just because we didn’t do what we were supposed to do to keep it alive.”

Just off St. Bernard Avenue, a number of black-owned places, like Bullet’s Sports Bar and Bertha’s Place Bar and Restaurant, continue to thrive. Elsewhere across the city, there are other strongholds.

From a N.Y. Times article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/us/new-orleans-black-bars-second-lines.html?referringSource=articleShare

Victor Dawkins’s routine has varied little in 40-plus years of owning The Other Place, a brick two-story that is one of the last black-owned bars on St. Bernard Avenue.

But outside, much has changed. Four of the six nearby bars — all of which were once owned and operated by black people and served black customers — now have white owners and cater to a primarily white crowd.

Article mentions other places including Sportsman’s Corner

that bums me out, st bernard between rampart and claiborne on a weekend night was an amazing vibe

Yeah, good piece though. I'll be at most of these since they're stops during the second line this Sunday. :)

Going to be in New Orleans in early November, what should I do? Any ILXors about?

Randomly decided to spend a few days there with the family on Christmas break. Now I sort of don’t know why or what to do there, so help me come up with ideas I guess?

I enjoyed the art museum, the Avenue Pub, and walking through Mid City.

Was just there last month for my second visit of the year. A few favorites: Lengua Madre, fantastic Mexican restaurant in the LGD (definitely need to reserve a few weeks in advance); Bacchanal in the Bywater, I've been there so many times, really my favorite wine bar anywhere (it's best when you can sit outside, so weather could be a factor); Cane & Table and Jewel of the South in the French Quarter, great cocktail menus; N7, a good nouveau French place with another great courtyard area; Turkey and the Wolf, delicious sandwiches; Susan Spicer's Bayona restaurant; Parkway Bakery for po' boys; Liuzza's for BBQ shrimp; Domino Sound for vinyl.

Also we spent a lot of time riding around the city on rental e-bikes, the flatness makes it a very bikeable city (lots of bike lanes, although not many protected ones — also really have to watch for potholes). Riding through City Park is really nice if the weather's OK. Also, if you feel like a 15-20 minute drive, Dong Phuong Bakery in a kind of godforsaken stretch of New Orleans East makes some of the best banh mi I've ever had along with delicious Vietnamese baked goods. Get there in the morning when they open and everything's fresh.

Enjoy! I love that city.

As a bonus if you go to Dong Phuong, you can see the ghostly remains of the Six Flags park that got shut down after Katrina, off the side of the 510 connector.

when my wife finished grad school i got 80 dong phuong banh mi and 100 pieces of mchardy's chicken for the graduation party.

I made my friend stop by Dong Phuong on our way out of the city and he was slightly grumbly about it, like "Why are we way the hell out here." Then we got our stuff and we're back in the car heading out and he started to eat his banh mi and was like, "This is amazing."

https://www.nola.com/news/pableaux-johnson-dies/article_8dcbe608-dc49-11ef-93af-ebc56bc9752d.html

Oh no, photographer Pableaux Johnson known for his second line photos and his red beans and rice dinners for guests at his home died after collapsing at a second line while taking photos. My wife and I met him once years ago in New Orleans and he was such a nice and interesting person. He was just 59