Our Featured City: New Orleans!

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 Food trucks have become part of the culinary establishment in New Orleans, as in so many other cities. Here the fun part remains chasing them around, an activity that can introduce you to unfamiliar neighborhoods and bars. Among the more reliable and delicious mobile vendors for cheap eats is Taceaux Loceaux (pronounced in local fashion as “Taco Loco”). Its tacos feature innovative and tasty fillings, like a flavorful Texas brisket, or a “Seoul chicken” with kimchi. Most nights the truck is parked outside uptown-area spots, including Kingpin and Dos Jefes. The owners work social media like pros, tweeting (@tlnola) their location every time they start serving, followed some hours later by an online last call. 

 Chef Tory McPhail was recently named James Beard's Best Chef South and his forward-looking take on Creole classics keeps this New Orleans institution, which has launched the careers of the likes of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, current. Still, you can't go wrong with classics like the turtle soup, gumbo, and bread pudding souffle. On Saturday and Sundays, there's more pomp than usual, including a jazz trio that makes its way from table to table, but weekday lunches are nearly as iconic and, thanks to 25-cent martinis, a good reason to have a midday cocktail. 

 Revel is easy to overlook—it’s on a busy stretch of Carrolton Avenue (just off the Canal Streetcar Line) amid a slew of other neighborhood restaurants. But it's the only one here helmed by Chris McMillian, among the nation’s most prominent bartender-historians. He knows the history and lore of New Orleans drinks better than anyone, and is pretty conversant with cocktails from, well, just about anywhere. The drinks list here is solid, but ask McMillian what he’s been enjoying whipping up lately, and order one of those. And come hungry—the kitchen, manned by his son-in-law, serves up great bistro fare. 

 Charlie’s is old-school New Orleans writ large. It’s one of a handful of surviving notable neighborhood steak houses (it’s not far from where the original Ruth’s Chris was also once a neighborhood spot), a no-frills joint with faux-wood paneling on the walls and no menus to hand out. The waiters ask you what size you want, and also if you'd like to start with an order of fried onions. (The correct answer is yes.) Pro tip: Kick off your evening an hour earlier and a couple blocks away at Pascal’s Manale with a dozen or two bivalves at the marble oyster bar of a revered Italian-Creole “red gravy” spot. 

 Owen Brennan founded a fine-dining restaurant empire in 1946, when the proprietor of Arnaud’s taunted him by saying that no Irishman could succeed with anything other than a hamburger joint. Brennan got his revenge at this French-and-Creole restaurant located in a sprawling pink 1795 Spanish-era structure that’s become iconic. After some slouching in recent years, Brennan’s is back on culinary maps following a change in ownership (from one branch of Brennan descendants to another). Pro tip: It’s more famous for breakfast than dinner. Among the more noted dishes is eggs Hussarde, involving poached eggs and Canadian bacon served with both Marchand de Vin and hollandaise sauces. 

 Every streetcar ride should take you to a neighborhood beer joint. So this makes an excellent spot to hop off the St. Charles Streetcar. Owner Polly Watts has carved out a name for this place with her terrific selection of craft beers, many of them extremely limited releases. As a bonus, there’s an equally impressive whiskey-by-the-glass collection. The downstairs, where locals hang and shoot pool, offers an ideal environment for starting a conversation. (Sample question: “Hey, you know of any good bars for music tonight?”) If you’d like somewhere quieter to chat while marveling over an obscure kolsch, clomp up the narrow wooden stairs to the second floor, and see if you can wangle a seat on the balcony. 

 Hansen’s was started in 1939 by Ernest Hansen, who engineered a loud, homemade machine that shaves the ice to a fineness that many argue is unmatched across the city. (Oh, and they will argue.) The shop is still run with considerable care and attention by Ernest's granddaughter, Ashley. Snowballs—cups of thinly shaved ice topped with brightly colored sweet flavorings—are a minor obsession in New Orleans. While widely available, snowballs, as well as the culture that surrounds them, seem more advanced at Hansen’s. The selection of flavors is vast, and true connoisseurs mix and match flavors, adding two or three to an order to get just the right balance. (Almond-lime? Orange-coconut?) 

 Verti Marte is at heart a cramped, bare-bones deli. But any effort the owners have failed to expend on stocking the shelves or sprucing up the decor they’ve put into making excellent food. Head to the small counter in the back and make your request; while your sandwich is being assembled, forage for chips or soda. Verti Marte is known for its oversize po’boy sandwiches (shrimp, dressed, is among the more popular), along with muffulettas and tasty side dishes, like smothered cabbage and Brussels-sprout salad. Still hungry? Nobody has gone wrong by ordering the bread pudding and pecan pie. 

 Nina Compton, a native of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, came to New Orleans a few years ago to compete in the Top Chef television series. She didn’t win the culinary slugfest, but New Orleans came out ahead—a short time later she returned to set down roots by opening Compère Lapin, a charming, brick-accented restaurant in a hotel that's a reasonable stroll from the French Quarter. It’s good to get there early to grab a drink at the bar, which treats its libations with the same seriousness as the kitchen does its food. (A frozen drink… with chartreuse.) The dishes are alive with creative Caribbean flavors—among the more memorable plates are the seafood pepper pot, black drum, and curried goat. 

 This late-19th-century city-owned seafood market, which was by and large abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, was reborn as an upscale food hall several years ago. The dilapidated structure was spruced up and the navelike interior painted an austere, modern white. Then a dozen or so food vendors moved in, serving as a sort of incubator for those with an idea but no desire to go the food-truck route. It’s a great place to swing by for lunch or a casual dinner—you can get craft cocktails and spend some time at the oyster bar, then browse the other offerings, which include crab mac and cheese at Fritai and alligator-sausage hash at Elysian Seafood. 

 Sucré opened a couple of years after Katrina swept through a bustling stretch of Magazine Street not far from the Garden District. It quickly established itself as the city’s premier destination for chocolates, macarons, gelato, and, well… basically anything with sugar. The original shop is bright and modern rather than cluttered and fussy, and the intricately decorated confections are neatly housed in chilled cases, like jewels in a vitrine. But there’s nothing precious about the tastes here—it’s all big, bold flavors. If you're here around Mardi Gras season, ask about the seasonal king cake, all lustrous and gilded. Sucré also recently opened a French Quarter outpost with an upstairs tearoom. 

 The fragrant, pleasingly cluttered Central Grocery is a holdover from an era when Italian-run groceries occupied storefronts throughout the city. This timeworn shop across from the French Market still boasts an old-world charm, filled with tall shelves crowded with imported goods and various whatnots, mostly Italian. But that’s not why you’ll see lines out the doors. The crowds are clamoring for muffulettas, classic New Orleans sandwiches that originated here about a century ago. (Slogan: “Imitated by many, but never duplicated.”) A muffuletta comes on a type of round, flattish loaf (not unlike a focaccia) that originated in Sicily. The details may vary, but it typically includes cured meats (capicola, salami) and cheese (provolone). What distinguishes it from a hubcap-shaped hoagie is the topping—a tangy marinated-olive salad. Know this: You don’t need to order a whole one; a quarter-sandwich is still plenty filling for one person. 

 As the elevator doors open onto the rooftop of the recently-refurbished Pontchartrain Hotel, two things hit you almost immediately: the buzz of conversation and the eclectic décor, with weird and wonderful artefacts and posters lining the way to the bar. The main room itself feels like a cool, post-war loft, festooned with sepia photographs, vintage typewriters, and even old letters and postcards. The cocktail menu deviates from the classics (though you can order those, too) but not in too pretentious a way. Rums and gins blend with recognizable ingredients and are accessibly renamed: The Skyliner, The Seersucker. 

 The local Lower Garden District doyens have taken to this whiskey bar in droves. There aren’t many dedicated whiskey bars in New Orleans, so if you’re into brown liquor, this low-ceilinged, windowless room—with more than 300 whiskies, bourbons, ryes, and scotches—is the place to be. You could keep coming for a whole year and never get bored: Selections range from the usual barroom suspects to rare Japanese imports. And if you’re not sure where you stand on whiskey, there are affordable flights to guide your palate. 

The swank bar at The Little Nell’s flagship restaurant also draws from a 20,000-bottle wine cellar and is ground zero for New Year’s Eve partying. 675 E. Durant Ave., thelittlenell.com
Try: Xavier’s White Cosmo

• Woody Creek vodka
• St-Germain elderflower liqueur
• White cranberry juice
• Lime juice
• The final touch: edible flower petals frozen in a sphere of ice

 Bar Marilou, tucked secretively along the side of the new Maison de la Luz hotel, is the most striking library you’ve ever seen, with scarlet bookshelves, orange ceilings, and tiger-striped carpets. It’s currently the only bar in the United States designed by the acclaimed Paris-based dreamweavers Quixotic Projects. If you’re lucky enough to be a hotel guest, you can push through one of the bookcases into a smaller, but equally plush, private parlor. It’s as decadent a bar as you’ll find in New Orleans, which is saying something. 

 Set amid a row of dive bars on a vaguely insalubrious block of Lower Decatur is the anonymous bar and restaurant that started the city’s mini-Tiki trend. There’s a sense of Old Havana as you enter, though you have to imagine the cigar smoke. Up front is a colonial-looking bar with high ceilings and chandeliers, then out back there’s the kind of tropical courtyard that NOLA does best, all leafy greenery and convivial seclusion. The Tiki-skewed drink menu ranges from familiar Piña Coladas to less-known creations such as Bombos and Bellowstops. 

 Housed in a building that dates back to the early 19th century, the dimly lit Black Penny has an old-fashioned spit-and-sawdust feel—in the best kind of way. The layout is simple: a lounge with cream booths, and a small barroom that displays the Penny’s crown jewels: around 100 regional, national, and imported craft beers. Fortunately, the bar staff treats everyone like a local and will patiently mentor you as you take on the extensive drinks menu. They know their beer, and that enthusiasm is infectious. 

The thoughtfully curated beer selection at this locals’ favorite includes drafts from 12 taps. 319 E. Hopkins Ave., meatcheese.avalancheaspen.com
Try: Split a 750-milliliter bottle of barrel-aged beer from Glenwood Springs’s exquisite Casey Brewing and Blending (made almost entirely from local ingredients, including Western Slope fruit), or try a nano-batched hoppy ale from Carbondale’s Idylwilde Brewing. 

 The tastefully colorful Creole cottage in a relatively quiet corner of the French Quarter is a suitably historic home for Jewel of the South, a new venture from two of the city’s most renowned bartenders. Named for a 19th-century local bar that was among the first in the city to serve cocktails, Nick Detrich and Chris Hannah have opened up this small, perfectly formed rustic tavern—think bare brickwork and dark woods—in miniature, which pays homage to those early days with an interesting and esoteric list of sours, cobblers and more. 

 Wine is the main focus at Saint-Germain, and it’s a robust but not overly extended list that concentrates mainly on European labels. The sparkling selection is all French and German, with Spanish and Italian (and even Lebanese) nosing into the whites, reds, and roses. There are at least a dozen wines by the glass, some as cheap as $6 a pour. This spot is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon with a group of friends, hanging out in the courtyard dipping into bottles of wine and bar snacks.  

 In 2016, Ace added another link to its chain of ultracool hotels when it opened an outpost in a renovated 1928 building in the Central Business District of New Orleans. While the Ace employees here are just as edgy as their counterparts elsewhere, they temper that cool with the warm ease of New Orleans’s locals. Guests enter the hotel through a lobby of mismatched low-slung sofas and vintage coffee tables set in conversation-friendly groupings beside a lovely and ornate wooden bar. Most of the furnishings and artwork complement the hotel’s dominant forest green hue, which itself seems to have been inspired by the color of the streetcars that trundle past on Carondelet Street. Afternoon and evening and late at night, the lobby bar is kept busy by hotel guests as well as a stream of others drawn here by the stylish vibe. Some, of course, come for Ace’s dining options: Josephine Estelle is a well-regarded Italian restaurant (in a town full of stellar dining); Seaworthy offers cocktails and a wide array of oysters in a narrow tiled bar; a branch of Portland’s Stumptown Coffee serves the morning people strong coffee and pastries; and Alto, a covered bar beside the small rooftop pool, has a selection of snacks to offset a sizable menu of cocktails. Back on the ground floor, another attraction, Three Keys, is a small music venue that programs a busy schedule of live performances and deejays. Upstairs, past the old-school photo booth in the elevator bank, you’ll find eight floors of guest rooms in several configurations, all with black-out curtains and cork floors, amenities which nicely muffle any noise from the lobby and rooftop party scenes. All rooms come with a curated tray of local snacks (and some condoms), and a full-size refrigerator supplied with beer, wine, soda, and water, as well as a freestanding and dangerously well-stocked bar. Toiletries in the black-tiled bathrooms are from Rudy’s Barbershop. The guest rooms, painted in the same dark tones as the lobby, can feel a bit dimly lit, but are kept airy by the large windows and high ceilings. Your fellow hotel guests will certainly include bachelor/bachelorette parties, couples, people traveling with dogs, and some business people, but few families with children. Finding distractions in New Orleans is never a problem: The Ace's CBD neighborhood has some notable restaurants (Willa Jean, especially, for great breakfasts) and is walking distance to the French Quarter and the National World War II Museum, among other attractions. 

 This family-run hotel, originally opened in 1886, is steeped in history from its classic furnishings to its esteemed guests. Literary legends William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway have stayed here; Tennessee Williams wrote about the hotel in his play The Rose Tattoo, and Truman Capote was known to prop up the Carousel Bar & Lounge on many a night. The merry-go-round–like bar (which makes a complete revolution every 15 minutes) is probably the hotel’s most famous feature, and a Vieux Carre cocktail there is de rigueur. Guests will also want to visit on-site restaurant Criollo, which offers an updated take on traditional N’awlins fare. 

 The Highlights:
- High design mixed with historic details
- A restaurant from a James Beard–nominated team
- Character-filled common spaces like the parlors and sun room

The Review:
Located in New Orleans’s culturally rich Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, the 71-room Hotel Peter and Paul comprises a historic church, rectory, schoolhouse, and convent, all built in the 19th century. When converting the site, local resident Nathalie Jordi and New York–based interior design firm ASH NYC took pains to preserve original features like cypress wood moldings, stained glass windows, and marble fireplaces, while adding signature details like antique chandeliers and custom rugs handmade in India. As a result, each guestroom has a personality all its own, evident in touches like canopy beds, Italian linens, and trays of locally sourced snacks.

That love for local eats extends to The Elysian Bar, where the team behind James Beard–nominated wine bar Bacchanal serves regionally focused fare like roasted Gulf shrimp and braised beef short ribs, and Sundae Best, which offers small-batch ice cream made with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Also on site is a cheery cafe for coffee and pastries; two grand parlors for reading the paper in a vintage rattan chair; a sun room modeled after Claude Monet’s Giverny home; an amber-hued bar serving low-proof spritzes for aperitivo hour; and a tranquil brick courtyard lined with palms, ferns, and vines. More impressive still is the decommissioned Catholic church, designed by famous New Orleans architect Henry Howard. Here, the hotel hosts a mix of private and public events, from weekly concerts to yoga and floral design classes. 

 First opened in 2004 in a former office building in the Central Business District, the Loews New Orleans Hotel completed a $4 million renovation in November 2014. The new look is modern, but with a nod to the Big Easy: rooms and suites (which, by the way, are among the most spacious in town) are done up in soothing blues and grays, and feature local photography on the walls, and the carpets have a wrought-iron fence motif. Large picture windows afford vistas of the city or the Mississippi River.

Run by the legendary Brennan family and named after the vivacious Adelaide Brennan, the hotel restaurant also got a makeover—think canary-yellow seats, teal tufted banquettes, and Andy Warhol–esque pop art of its namesake. 

 Opened in April 2001, this Central Business District property, a converted dry-goods warehouse, is a departure from the typical New Orleans hotel. Instead of fleur-de-lis wallpaper and Louis XIV chairs, you’ll find Fortuny lamps, Herman Miller desk chairs, and Agape “Spoon” tubs in the palatial bathrooms. The 18 lofts (two are penthouses), with their white walls, concrete floors, and modern furnishings, feel straight out of the pages of Dwell.

The hotel doesn’t have the amenities of a larger hotel; the lobby is meant for checking in, not hanging out, and there’s no restaurant or bar to prop up, but guests have privileges at the sister hotel, International House. And, most significantly, the fact that there are just 18 rooms means that from the minute you check in, the front desk team knows you. 

 Why we love it: Atelier Ace's first luxury property in New Orleans, with antiques and other unique design details to lust after

The Highlights: 
- The guests-only library bar, hidden behind a bookcase at Bar Marilou 
- Colorful marble floors in the bathrooms 
- High-end service, but plenty of privacy when you want it 

The Review: 
Atelier Ace partnered with Pamela Shamshiri of L.A.-based Studio Shamshiri to design this 67-room property, which opened in April 2019 in an old City Hall annex in the Central Business District. Shamshiri decorated the distinctive guest house with a mix of antiques she collected from around the world, plus custom art and design elements like colorful marble floors, French wallpaper, and vintage-inspired glass light fixtures. Keep an eye out for a reoccurring snake motif throughout the hotel, from sculptural snake shower-door handles in the bathrooms to cobra lamps in the hallways and slithering ceramic elements in the fireplace of the lobby lounge. It’s a little bit Garden of Eden with a hint of the occult, making you feel as if you've checked into the private home of an elderly socialite—maybe Iris Apfel—that’s filled to the brim with fabulous souvenirs from her worldly travels over the years.  

Maison de Luz is located just across the street from the Ace Hotel New Orleans and guests are encouraged to pop over to the sister property to enjoy the rooftop pool or grab a crawfish roll at Seaworthy. Back at Maison, however, the common areas—including a hidden library bar—are just for overnight guests, creating the feeling of a calm refuge within the city. 

 Occupying what were the Maison Blanche department store and the S.H. Kress & Co. five-and-dime, this stately hotel first opened its doors in 2000 after a $250 million overhaul of the then-shuttered Beaux-Arts buildings. After Katrina, the property underwent a second renovation, which included the expansion of its spa (now a sprawling 25,000 square feet) and the addition of a private entrance for Club level guests.

This is a Ritz-Carlton, so you can expect the same (high) level of service and luxury—think ornate furnishings, sumptuous linens, and a $3.5 million art collection—as at other properties within the brand. But the property isn’t just another Ritz. Bellmen wear seersucker, the bistro serves po’ boys, and there’s live jazz in the lounge (which also serves a mean Vesper). 

 A trio of 1830s townhouses, Soniat House exudes an Old World elegance, from its wrought iron balconies to its white-jacketed porters. Rooms and suites have just the right amount of character so that they feel of an era without being precious or overly frilly. The hotel renovated all of its bathrooms and some guest rooms, and there are flat-screen televisions, Wi-Fi, and other modern conveniences—but the point here is really to take a step back, put your gadgets away, and enjoy the leafy courtyard. It’s the kind of place where you feel you ought to be wearing a frock and a fascinator (for ladies) or seersucker (for the gents), where time slows and an afternoon cocktail feels very appropriate. Luckily, there’s an honor bar on the first floor next to reception. Pour yourself a stiff drink and take it up to the veranda, where you might catch a ghost tour in progress or just take in the street scene. 

 Opened in April 2015, this is one of the newest additions to New Orleans’ hotel scene. It’s also one of the most unique. Set in an 1854 warehouse near the Port of New Orleans, the property pays homage to its past as well as to its Arts District location. The look is contemporary industrial, with plenty of original architectural details (hardwood floors, exposed piping and brick, wall-to-wall windows) paired with Tivoli radios, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and other modern conveniences. The hotel lobby is part art gallery, with a rotating collection curated by the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts, part commissary, with locally crafted products displayed in chandlery cases, and part coffee shop, with pastries from the neighboring restaurant—which is one of the hottest openings this year.

Compere Lapin (French for “brother rabbit” and also a fictional character in Caribbean and Creole folk tales) serves food that draws on chef Nina Compton’s island roots, classic French training, and traditional Creole fare. The result is wonderfully colorful dishes like conch croquettes with pickled pineapple tartare sauce, roasted jerk corn with aioli and lime, and curried goat with plantain gnocchi and cashews.