726 St. Peters St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
29.95829,-90.065392
New Orleans is, without a doubt,
known for being the birthplace of jazz, which is one of my personal favorite
genres. Local legends such as Fats Domino, Dr. John and Louis Armstrong has
ensured that this unique style of music will live on forever. New Orleans is
filled with small jazz lounges where locals and tourists alike can enjoy some great
local music. The most famous of these venues is none other than the historic
Preservation Hall. For years, famed jazz musicians from all over the world
consider it a true honor to perform here. Looking at the interior and exterior
of this time-weathered building is like looking at an old photograph of days
gone by. Every piece of furniture in this establishment, along with the photos
on the walls, look like they have been there from the day the building was
constructed. There is no stage, no high-tech lighting, and the audience members
sit on folding chairs. As one can see, it’s not the amenities that keep
Preservation Hall packed every night of the week; it’s the magic made inside
the doors by its performers.
The land that the hall sits on was
cleared sometime in the mid to late 1700’s. Records indicate that Antoine
Faisendieu bought this plot of land from Guillermo Gros in 1803 and built a
tavern, selling it in 1809 to Pierre and Barthelemy Jourdain. I have been
unable to confirm it, but I wonder if this is the same Pierre Jourdain who
later killed himself after losing his home in a card game? In case you don’t
remember, this home later became Muriel’s Restaurant. The dates match up
perfectly so it could very well have been him. It’s quite amazing how the more
I write about New Orleans history, the more I begin to see how the same elite
names continue to pop up.
718 St. Peter St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
29.958114,-90.065397
Make no bones about it, New Orleans
is in no short supply of bars; ranging from the most ragged watering holes
around to the most exquisite martini lounges. I’ve often wondered how much
alcohol is actually consumed on an average Saturday night in New Orleans. I’m
sure the dollar amount and the sheer volume would be staggering. Even more
interesting, would be to find out how much of that alcohol is actually kept
down and figure up a percentage of ultimately digested booze. I’ve woke up many
a Sunday mornings in New Orleans, giving myself the same speech of, “If I just
survive today, I promise I will never drink again!” As with many of us, that
solemn vow normally last a whole day or so, quickly searching for the hair of
the dog that bit me! I’ve always loved that old saying. In a completely
unrelated piece of useless information, I once read that the famous saying came
from centuries ago, when individuals were bitten by a rabid dog. At the time,
they believed the cure was to take a pinch of the rabid dog’s fur and actually
rub or stuff it into the wound. Sounds very sterile!
714 St. Peter St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
29.958171,-90.065086
After a long night of partying it up
hard on Bourbon Street, there is nothing better than eating a good hardy
breakfast to soak up all that alcohol. Whether it's some good steak and eggs
from the Clover Grill, those famous mini Krystal burgers, or a serving of
beignets; all can alleviate the pain. One traditional breakfast food that has
more history than all of those foods put together are calas. If you like
beignets, then you would love calas, as they are basically beignets on steroids!
Calas are made of leftover rice mixed into a sugary egg batter, then deep fried
and served dusted with confectioner's sugar. People wonder why we southerners
have such good physiques; look at all of the starches and carbs that we
consume. I mean come on, every meal we eat usually consists of rice, potatoes
and/or bread. Hell, most of the time, it’s all three at once!
The story behind these little
bundles of diabetes dates back to the beginning of New Orleans in the 1700's.
As we have mentioned, slaves were normally given Sundays off as their day to
rest and worship. What they did with that one day was up to them, as some sang
and danced while others found ways to make a little extra money on the side.
When the Spanish took control of Louisiana in the 1760's, they brought with
them a powerful legal instrument, coartacion, which gave slaves the
right to buy their freedom. Over time, under this rule, over fourteen hundred
slaves would ultimately buy their freedom. This gave many the incentive and the
drive to work extra hard, offering various side services and selling numerous
types of items, often food. It was not an uncommon site on a Sunday morning
during this time to see a slave walking the French Quarter, selling dozens of
calas.
616 St Peter St.
New Orleans, LA 70116
29.95739,-90.063949
Centralized in the French Quarter is
one of the most popular and successful little theatres in the country. For
nearly a hundred years, this little theatre, or petit theatre, has presented plays, recitals and other great shows on
a regular basis. The theatre troop was originally organized in 1916 by the New
Orleans Chapter of the Drama League of America. Just starting out, this small
group began by conducting performances in the drawing room of one of its
members, hence later changing their name to the Drawing Room Players. The group
and their shows became more and more popular in the area so they needed to
expand to a larger studio. Sometime around 1920, the group began renting a
portion of the Lower Pontalba Building adjacent to Jackson Square. If the name
Pontalba rings a bell, remember the building was constructed by Baroness Pontalba from an earlier location we mentioned. See what happens when you have
so much action in such a small grid of a neighborhood? History overlaps itself
and locations begin to tie in with one another. Similar to the “six degrees of
separation” only with New Orleans, you never get past the third degree before
everything intertwines with each other.
630 Saint Peter St.
New Orleans LA, 70116
29.957351,-90.063965
When people, especially those from
out of state, think of Louisiana cuisine, all that is mentioned is gumbo, gumbo
and more gumbo! I cannot tell you how many times I have spoken with people from
other states and they truly think that the only staple we have to live off of
is gumbo. Although the concept doesn't sound so bad, we do have a much more
in-depth menu to choose from. However, compared to many of the dishes I have
been raised on, gumbo is quite tame. Growing up, I loved a good plate of greards
(cow intestines), gog (stuffed pig's stomach) and boudin (stuffed
pig intestines). Hey now, don't knock it until you try it!
To give you a crash course on gumbo,
as if your life wasn't complete already, we must go back to the 1700's when New
Orleans and the rest of the south was beginning to form. Let's face it, for the
majority, if you were from the south during this time, as well as for many
years to follow, you weren't quite the wealthiest people around. You had to
find a way to survive no matter what shortcuts you had to take. With large
households and no money, you had to find ways to stretch your food to assure it
lasted. Ground chicory root was added to coffee and file', or ground sassafras,
was added to stews, all in an attempt to feed more with less. Ever heard of the
famous New Orleans' Po'Boys, or Poor Boys?
