Page 16 - Experience Magazine Fall 2023

of the city’s most historic neighborhoods and is best discovered on foot.
Take in a jazz concert at the historic Preservation Hall, go barhopping
on Bourbon Street or explore the open-air French Market – five blocks
of local produce, specialty art, handmade crafts, retail shopping and
more. Be sure to stop and rest in Jackson Square (previous page, bottom
right), a National Historic Landmark – the perfect place to people-watch
and take in the tarot readers, street performers and artists, along with the
inevitable impromptu jazz band performance. Dominating the square at
one end is the impressive St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in
continuous use in the United States. There’s no shortage of dining options
in the French Quarter, of course. Be sure to treat yourself to a beignet and
café au lait at the famous Café du Monde, while for a more substantial
meal, consider the top-rated Restaurant R’evolution (upscale New
Orleans cuisine), the historic Arnaud’s Restaurant (classic Creole dishes)
and Brennan’s (birthplace of the renowned dessert bananas Foster).
Bordering the French Quarter are the Tremé and Marigny/Bywater
neighborhoods. Both are filled with colorful Creole cottages and shotgun
houses – a narrow, rectangular home design said to have originated
in New Orleans. Tremé, the first historically Black neighborhood in
the country, is home to restaurants that have fueled the Civil Rights

Movement and gone on to win James Beard Awards. It’s full of delicious New
Orleans cuisine (try Willie Mae’s Scotch House for what is said to be the
best fried chicken in America or the renowned Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
for outstanding gumbo and more), landmarks with fascinating pasts and
museums that help tell Tremé’s history, such as the Backstreet Cultural
Museum, which houses an amazing assortment of memorabilia indigenous
to Mardi Gras, jazz funerals and other traditions found only in New Orleans.

The Marigny and Bywater play host to a vibrant arts scene that includes local
artisans’ galleries, funky live music venues and art markets. Those in the know
say if you’re looking for authentic live jazz, reggae and blues music, Frenchmen
Street here is the place to go, with a cool vibe that harkens back to Bourbon
Street’s early days. Hungry? Try Adolfo’s (a lively spot that delivers Creole Italian
cuisine), the Mediterranean-inspired menu at The Elysian Bar (inside Hotel
Peter and Paul) or Alma on Bywater’s west side, featuring Honduran-style dishes
and known for its toast with Louisiana lump blue crab.

16 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE FALL 2023