Caught the New Orleans edition of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations tonite and it reminded me of a December 2006 trip to this hauntingly destroyed - yet, defiantly resolute - community.
I was down there on the company dime for a junket -- but had a chance to explore the city a little further with a friend after corporate time was over. The Katrina destruction was everywhere (especially outside the tourist areas) -- still, the city has become a fast favorite of mine.
The food, the music, the attitude.
Had a top travel experience in NOLA that sums up that sentiment.
It started one night with a great meal. I can't exactly remember which meal but that's beside the point. I don't know if it's possible to have a bad meal in
It could have been po'boys, or an italian steakhouse, or a real high-end foodie joint (we had sweatbreads somewhere -- do you know what the hell sweatbreads are?) . Can't remember... every single meal we had there was great.
Anyhow... we ventured towards Tulane to a great bar (the Maple Leaf Bar) with, unfortunately, below average jazz that night. So we took a flyer searching for a local legend on the other side of downtown.
As our cab swayed through the endless backstreets something wasn't right. All the streetlights were out which caused some concern-- mainly because we didn't know where the @#$@ we were going.
We get to our destination, near the 9th Ward... and it was pitch black. Bit the bullet, paid the cabby, and walked into a friendly (although we weren't sure for the first 90 seconds), candle-lit, and PACKED jazz dive called Vaughn's.
Kermit Ruffins and his band are playing in near darkness. His bass player was pulling power for his amp from a broken down station wagon on the street! Amazing experience. When the power came back on about 45 minutes later the crowd groaned in disapproval.
Enjoy this youtube clip of Kermit at a fully lit Vaughn's... and book a ticket to throw some tourist coin at this town. They need it...
2 comments:
I watched Bourdain's trip to NOLA and it immediately made me want to go back. And I'd be happy to turn it into a Habitat for Humanity trip, as well as personal time, music, food & drinks
I'm disappointed I wasn't allowed down early to work with the rest of my co-workers in the lower 9th ward.
Our company had about 500 people work over a neighborhood picking up trash, weedwacking, etc.
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