We're still picking our jaws up off the floor at the latest University of New Orleans poll that shows more than half of respondents think the city is one of the nation's most dangerous. The same survey says a third of people think the French Quarter was one of the hardest hit areas during Katrina, and about one in four people think parts of the city are still underwater.
Wrong, wrong and wrong. The Quarter was largely spared major damage and flood waters are long gone. While New Orleans does have some crime, you probably won't get caught in it unless you go looking for trouble. (We suggest you don't.) But USA Today, which ran the AP story about the poll early this morning, isn't helping correct misconceptions with the headline "New Orleans crime may be keeping visitors away."
We beg to differ: 3.8 million folks stopped by in 2006, and New Orleans will host 6 million by the end of 2007. That's not bad, given the fact that airlines slashed service to Louis Armstrong International after the storm and entire tracts of the city remained evacuated for months.
We hate to sound boostery, but the last thing New Orleans needs after so much progress is more "scary" headlines.
Coming soon to a New Orleans near you: the Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship Game. These two huge college football games hit the city just a week apart, on January 1 (Sugar Bowl) and January 7. If you don't have your plane tickets yet, we'd suggest you buy them on that as soon as you finish reading this post. (Buckeyes fans: Might we suggest Skybus?)
Both games happen at the Superdome, which we shouldn't have to tell you is back in tip-top shape after the storm. It's also conveniently located in the heart of town, which means you can combine your rabid sports enthusiasm with other New Orleans staples like eating, boozing and staying up late at jazz clubs. Also, average high temperature in New Orleans in early January? 62 degrees.
Even though New Orleans won't play host to a Republican presidential debate, the city does have a host of huge events on tap this winter, from the Sugar Bowl to the BCS National Championship Game to the NBA All-Star Game. (Not to mention Mardi Gras in February.) And when you head to the Crescent City, there'll be some new spots to check out, as the New York Times reports today.
528 Music Club in Harrah's New Orleans Casino & Hotel hosts Louisiana jazz singers and cajun bands, with no cover charge. You'll also be right next door to Todd English's restaurant, which provides snacks to go with the frosty martini you'll no doubt be sipping on.
Sucré on Magazine Street in Uptown has more sweets than you can eat in a sitting--so take some extras to go. Look for miniature pastries, chocolates and macaroons, and remember: This is New Orleans so you can't go wrong with anything featuring pecans.
Ray's Boom Boom Room is another newly opened jazz hall just east of the Quarter. As if the music weren't enough to draw you, Ray's gives away oysters during Friday happy hours.
Zagat is also getting ready to release a new survey of the city in January 2008, so if you like your restaurant, nightlife and hotel picks riddled with quotation marks, stay tuned for that. It'll be Tim and Nina's second survey of New Orleans since the storm, though, as always, they have updated reviews on their website.
We're in disbelief that it's already time to plan for Mardi Gras, but Easter--and thus Fat Tuesday--comes early next year. And instead of simply guzzling hand grenades on Bourbon Street, maybe you could lift a finger or two to help rebuild New Orleans?
Hands Up Holidays makes it easy with a nine-day trip from January 28 to February 6 that includes an invite to the black tie ball at Mardi Gras. You'll earn it by working at Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village, a development in the Upper 9th Ward designed to lure artists back to the city. Even President Bush has chipped in on the project, so you should be able to hack it.
You'll also have time for fun on the trip, with plantation and swamp tours and a flight-seeing excursion. Accommodations are at the Hotel Monteleone, which is a great place right in the French Quarter. While the price tag for the trip seems steep at $2,500, booking a hotel for nine nights on the run-up to Mardi Gras will cost you close to that. Might as well have some fun and do some good while you're at it.
It's been two years to the day since Hurricane Katrina blew through the Big Easy and left only destruction in its path. But if anyone in this country knows how pick up the pieces (and throw a party), it's the residents of New Orleans.
Sure they'll be the standard moment of silence to remember those who died. But New Orleans has always been a place to celebrate the living, which may be why there's more to the anniversary than an overflow of tears. Jed Horne, a former reporter for The Times-Picayune and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will join others in Jackson Square for a talk about the city's effort to maintain its character post-Katrina. And last night, at the stroke of midnight, musicians, artists, filmmakers and actors gathered for a night of expression at the Landmark Canal Place Cinema Theater.
But no New Orleans memorial-turned-celebration is ever complete without a serious focus on the food. That's why Chef Scott Boswell--of Stella and Stanley restaurants--will offer $5 charcoal-grilled cheeseburgers--just as he did days after Hurricane Katrina hit. We would have expected crawfish or gumbo. But for the second anniversary, his burgers just feel right.
The biggest event in the world of classy drinking is about to drop in on New Orleans: Tales of the Cocktail starts July 18. Not that the Crescent City needs an excuse to party: it's the home of the Hurricane, the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin Fizz and probably a bunch of other drinks. (Not to mention brunch, which goes with cocktails like peanut butter loves jelly.)
Spread over what's sure to be a very long five days, TotC will invade some of the city's most notable restaurants and gin joints, places like The Library Lounge (at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans), Arnaud's and The Swizzle Stick Bar (inside the Loews New Orleans Hotel). In addition to all the mixing, shaking and stirring, bartenders, writers and industry insiders will host panel discussions and seminars on the always popular topic of boozing. Tickets are necessary for most events, so we'd recommend buying them ahead of time if you really want to see Sasha Petraske discuss ice.
Hotel Monteleone is ground zero for the festival, so even if you're not formally attending, stopping in at the bar will sure to put in you in touch with some serious bartenders and barflies. (We'll see you there.)
0 Comments - Add Yours
by pbb
