[Dixielandjazz] Food (and some music) in N.O.

[Charles Suhor]

7-10-03

I earlier mentioned picking up the free GAMBIT weekly and the LAGNIAPPE
section of Friday's daily PICAYUNE for who's where among bands. I forgot to
name the excellent weekly OFFBEAT. You'll need to pore through listings of
not-OKOM to find some familiar names. Good luck.

Yes, the Jazz Museum at the old US Mint building is a must.

Re food, every week some new & excellent place seems to open but below are
two old faves that I recently wrote to a friend about. They are off the
beaten track but well worth the trip. I'm sure others have their favorite
places as well.

Charlie Suhor



Liuzza's,  3636 Bienville,  504-482-9129 (closed Sundays)  Great po'boys
(oyster, shirmp, or roast beef) here, and a unique & wonderful
"Frenchuletta"--Muffeletta makings on hot French bread. Beer or root beer
in huge frosted mugs. Bread pudding is 2nd best in town. A true down-home
neighborhood spot frequented by natives. Inexpensive. For lunch, beat the
crowd by arriving not later than 11:40, or go after 1:20. Dinner shouldn't
be a problem. Bienville runs parallel to Canal Street. Drive on Canal
street away from the river, then turn right on Jeff Davis, left pretty soon
at the light on Bienville. A couple or three blocks down, corner of
Telemachus, is Liuzza's.

Pascal's Manale Restaurant, 1838 Napoleon Avenue, 504-895-4877 (closed
Sundays? weekdays, 11:30-10pm; Saturdays dinner only)) They invented
barbecued shrimp, and no one does it better. Priced moderately high, but
worth it. The best bargain is at lunch (till 4 pm)--the barb. shr. po-boy.
No peeling, succulent grandeur. At lunch or dinner, the b.s. platter is
equally fine. Best bread pudding in town. Unexplainably, the coffee is
terrible. Drive quite a way from Canal St. on St. Charles, turning right on
Napoleon Ave. Pascal's Manale comes up soon on the left.

Both places have non-smoking but both can be noisy--especially the colorful
bar where you might have to wait at Manale's. Hey, it's a party town and
people talk loud. But at off-peak hours you'll be seated rapidly, and fewer
people means less noise. Neither place takes reservations. Both, by the
way, have Italian specialties in addition to the classics I've noted. No
guarantees, but the neighborhoods are relatively safe, though at night it's
better to use the parking lots or park on the wide streets (Bienville and
Napoleon).

Other quick recommendations--coffee and beignets, of course, in the Quarter
at Cafe DuMonde. Less known by tourists is the spectacular view from the
revolving bar at the Top of the Mart (aka Club 360, International Trade
Mart Building at the Canal St. and the river). To get a seat by the window,
go there around 2-3 pm and have a drink or one of their unexceptional
snacks. The circle takes about 45-60 minutes and it's a marvelous and
relaxing view of the river, Quater, downtown, etc.

If you don't get to these places, you'll surely have good eating--it's
hard, though not impossible to find a bad restaurant in N.O.