By Julia Reed | Dec 08/Jan 09 | City Portrait

The Soul of New Orleans

The city has been through hell, but somehow the heart of this town is still beating

The Hot Spots

Relax, You’re in NOLA
Where to eat, drink, sleep, and shop in the South’s most eccentric city

Word of advice if you’re planning a trip to New Orleans: Extend it. This is not a town where you want to rush from place to place. The way to enjoy New Orleans is to take it easy, adjust to the pace, and stretch out the days (and the meals) as long as possible. As with a Sazerac, you’re supposed to drink it in—slowly.

Eat

Café du Monde
There is a reason the reopening of this place after Katrina merited a slot on CNN’s American Morning. The powdered-sugar-dusted beignets, hot from the fryer, with chicory coffee and OJ, are by far the best breakfast in the city—anytime. 1039 Decatur St.; www.cafedumonde.com

Casamento’s
An old-fashioned tiled oyster bar closed all summer but worth the wait for the coldest, sweetest Gulf oysters in town. It also has the best oyster “loaf,” which is served on thick slices of white bread rather than the usual French. 4330 Magazine St.; www.casamentosrestaurant.com

Cochon
Donald Link’s and Stephen Stryjewski’s sophisticated take on Cajun cuisine and all things pig (don’t miss the onion-braised pork cheeks with grits and horseradish herb vinaigrette). The same building houses Butcher, featuring a real-live butcher shop, house-cured meats, sausages, and sandwiches, including the muffuletta Link spent years perfecting. At night, Butcher turns into, what else, “the Swine Bar.” 930 Tchoupitoulas St.; www.cochonrestaurant.com

Gautreau’s
Rising star Sue Zemanick is the latest chef at this longtime Uptown establishment to get rave national reviews. A jewel of a room in what was a cozy neighborhood pharmacy, it is rightly beloved by locals. 1728 Soniat St.; www.gautreausrestaurant.com

Herbsaint
The flagship of Donald Link’s growing empire and the first “white tablecloth” restaurant to reopen after Katrina. No matter who I bring with me, they all—rapturously—pronounce whatever they eat (duck leg confit with dirty rice and citrus gastrique, say, or the fried frog legs in a chili-infused herb butter) the best thing they ever put in their mouths. 701 St. Charles Ave.; www.herbsaint.com

Lilette
A sunny bistro in the heart of Magazine Street’s shopping district, with terrific wines by the glass, boudin noir, sizzling shrimp, and the best hanger steak in town (made even better by the duck-fat-roasted potatoes). Save room for the astonishingly good desserts by Beth Biundo. 3637 Magazine St.; www.liletterestaurant.com

Parasol’s
This excellent Irish Channel bar, the anchor of the annual St. Patrick’s Day block party and parade, is also justifiably famous for its roast beef po’boy, slathered in brown gravy and “dressed” (which in New Orleans–speak always means mayo, lettuce, and tomato). 2533 Constance St.; www.parasols.com

Stein’s Market and Deli
You have to love a place whose motto is “Looking for a po’boy…go somewhere else.” Matzo ball soup and a terrific Reuben share center stage with daily specials like slow-cooked pork topped with rapini on homemade ciabatta and an addictive BLT. A great beer selection, a stellar staff, and free Wi-Fi make it an ideal place to hang. 2207 Magazine St.; www.steinsdeli.net

Upperline
Even if this weren’t one of the few great restaurants open on Sunday nights, I would still be a regular for the duck étouffée on corn cakes with pepper jelly or the drum meunière on a bed of cornbread and greens. The latter, washed down with a Lucien Crochet Sancerre, is a perfect Sunday supper. And the art collection amassed by proprietor JoAnn Clevenger is another reason to make the trip. 1413 Upperline Street; www.upperline.com

Drink

Bar Tonique
So named because co-owner Ed Diaz rightly found all commercial tonic waters too sweet and decided to make his own. The result, especially when mixed with Plymouth gin, is a revelation. So is the excellent champagne cocktail (made with grapefruit bitters over the classic sugar cube) and the gin gimlet (enlivened by a dash of elderflower liqueur). White leather banquettes, Ultrasuede bar stools, and giant palms make this something of an oasis on an otherwise rough-and-tumble block of Rampart. 820 N. Rampart St.; www.bartonique.com

Bridge Lounge
A sleek (but not too) redo of a former hole-in-the-wall. Black-and-white photos of dogs adorn the walls, while the real things are welcome—and add considerably to the atmosphere. The creative cocktail list includes the best mojitos in town, made with local rum. 1201 Magazine St.; www.bridgeloungeneworleans.com

French 75 Bar
Tucked into Arnaud’s restaurant, this is a seriously beautiful bar with serious cocktails, including its namesake. Order it with a dozen raw oysters and a plate of the restaurant’s soufflé potatoes for a perfect lunch. 813 Rue Bienville St.; www.arnauds.com

Napoleon House
Once a house offered to Napoleon as safe haven, this bar is known for its operatic sound tracks, the aged patina of its walls, and the popularization of the Pimm’s Cup in New Orleans. On Friday and Saturday nights, there is nowhere darker or cooler in the city. 500 Chartres St.; www.napoleonhouse.com

The R Bar
On Monday nights, you can get a shot and a haircut (a barber’s chair is conveniently on-site) for just ten bucks in this Marigny corner bar. An extensive beer list and Guinness on tap. 1431 Royal St.; www.royalstreetinn.com

Sleep

International House
The city’s first hip boutique hotel, it is now a firmly entrenched favorite of locals for the many parties in the loa bar and observance of such only–in–New Orleans rituals as St. John’s Eve, a voodoo-inspired celebration of the Patron of Midsummer Night. Visitors love the chic rooms in the main property and the more private ones around the corner in Loft 523. 221 Camp St.; www.ihhotel.com

Soniat House
This romantic hotel deep in the quiet part of the French Quarter is composed of two buildings across the street from each other, and it’s hard to decide which has the most seductive courtyard or the loveliest places to lay your head. The same fine French and Italian antiques that adorn the rooms are on offer in one of the prettiest shops in the country (Soniat House Antiques), right next door. 1133 Chartres St.; www.soniathouse.com

The Windsor Court
A perennial favorite for its great service, spacious rooms (each is a suite), fourth-floor pool, and sprawling views of the Mississippi. Locals love it too, for the sumptuous Polo Lounge, where Roger Blais, the consummately discreet bartender, holds down the fort, and Michael Pellera, a recording artist and a teacher at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, plays a mean jazz piano. 300 Gravier St.; www.windsorcourthotel.com
 
Shop

Aidan Gill
The place to go for an old-fashioned hot-towel shave and haircut; to shop for faux ivory badger brushes, razors, and great soaps; and to check out a perfectly curated tie collection. When Aidan is on the premises, you will not leave without enjoying a shot of his beloved Red Breast Irish whiskey. 2026 Magazine St.; www.aidangillformen.com

Ann Koerner Antiques
The contents of most New Orleans antiques stores—and houses—are, lately, almost entirely French, which belies the city’s rich and decidedly mixed heritage. Not so at Ann Koerner, whose deep inventory includes Swedish, Italian, and English regency—and pretty much anything else with guts, glamour, and just a bit of quirkiness. 4021 Magazine St.; www.annkoerner.com

The Arthur Roger Gallery
Recent shows have included those by such national names as Dale Chihuly, John Alexander, and Robert Polidori, but the locals are equally powerful. Witness Simon Gunning’s industrial landscapes and David Halliday’s stunning color photographs. 432 Julia Street; www.arthurrogergallery.com

Faulkner House Books and Garden District Book Shop
Both bookstores specialize in local authors and rare books and boast extremely knowledgeable staffs. Garden District’s owner also publishes beautiful slipcased, signed-and-numbered limited editions of such luminaries as James Lee Burke and Richard Ford, while Faulkner House puts on an annual literary festival called Words & Music. 624 Pirate’s Alley; faulknerhousebooks.net. 2727 Prytania St.; www.gardendistrictbookshop.com

Lucullus
A thoroughly seductive space containing all things antique and culinary, from walnut dining room tables that seat twenty-four to Parisian bistro chairs and carved coconut drinking cups. The equally seductive proprietor, Patrick Dunne, knows the history of everything in this fabulous shop. 610 Chartres St.; www.lucullusantiques.com

Ogden Museum Store
Only five years old, the museum has already—deservedly—made a national name for itself (do not miss the Sally Mann show closing on January 4), and the shop is one of the finest museum stores in the country. There are one-of-a-kind pieces by Southern glassblowers, wood-carvers, potters, and jewelers along with CDs (many by the musicians who play every Thursday during Ogden After Hours), books about the region, and prints and photos by artists in the collection. 925 Camp St.; www.ogdenmuseum.org

Sucre
The pralines that were once my stock out-of-towner Christmas present have been replaced by the chocolates from Sucre’s gorgeously packaged New Orleans collection (the Avery features a caramel ganache filling and a sprinkle of salt from the Avery Island salt mines). While you’re shopping, treat yourself to a scoop of Chicory Coffee gelato and a handful of macaroons. 3025 Magazine St.; www.shopsucre.com
 
See

The Civil War Museum
Opened in 1891, it has been little changed since then, which makes it something of a museum of a museum. The collection includes amputation kits, the crown of thorns sent to Jefferson Davis by Pope Pius IX (who knew?), and more than 125 original battle flags. 929 Camp St.; www.confederatemuseum.com

Gallery for Fine Photography
While every piece is for sale, including Marion Post Wolcott’s “Negro Using Outside Stairway for ‘Colored’ to Enter Movie Theatre, Belzoni, MS, 1939,” which I’ve coveted for years, the quality, breadth, and depth of the work also make it a “museum” of uncommon distinction. Crammed into two floors are works by Edward S. Curtis, Edward Steichen, Elliott Erwitt, Peter Beard, and Helmut Newton, to name just a few. 241 Chartres St.; www.agallery.com

New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden
The enormous live oaks at City Park are always worth the trip, but especially now that they have been joined by the likes of Henry Moore’s Reclining Mother and Child and Robert Graham’s Source Figure. 1 Collins Diboll Cir., City Park; www.noma.org

St. Charles Avenue by Streetcar
Hop the streetcar on Canal Street at St. Charles, and take it all the way uptown for a sampling of some of the city’s finest architecture, from elegant Greek Revival mansions to elaborate Victorian piles. Get off where it finally turns at Carrollton for a burger and a chocolate freeze at the twenty-four-hour Camellia Grill, one of the city’s most beloved institutions, and on the way back stop at the Columns Hotel for a cocktail on the deep front porch.