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My time in New Orleans was a bit limited as I was on business across the border in Mississippi and staying in Slidell, LA, which only gave me three nights and one afternoon in the Big Easy. New Orleans has character, particular its French Quarter on a sultry August night, with its narrow alleys and myriad old building sporting multiple wrought iron-railed balconies, the sounds of jazz, blues and zydeco music drifting out from the open doors of smoke-filled clubs, the foot traffic comprised of strolling patrons with plastic beer cups on Bourbon Street, the street performers plying their trade and the beckoning calls of the strip joints harkers; but the city also has a bit of a mean streak, which will readily reveal itself if you stray off the beaten path.
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Of course, The French Quarter is a must, if only to say that you been there, done that, and have the T-shirt. Just on the fringes of the French Quarter is the River Walk, which is what you get when you cross the Mississippi River with promenade and a narrow shopping mall (similar to Baltimore’s Harbor Place), which was quiet on the night I was there, but would afford a nice view of the river in the daytime. Being a coffee person, I felt it my duty to visit Café Du Monde on Decatur Street for a cup of French roast chicoried coffee with condensed milk (though I can easily buy Café Du Monde at any Asian market here) and my share of hot French doughnuts buried beneath an avalanche of powdered sugar; the alley I took to get there seemed to be a virtual Psychics-R-Us, with Tarot card and palm readers, crystal ball gazers and the like.
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The food and the atmosphere are the things that make New Orleans worth the trip.
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I stayed in Slidell (40 minutes East of the city on Route 10), so I can't comment on the hotels of New Orleans.
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Mulatae's near the River Walk is a good place for Cajun food with a live zydeco band playing Cajun music. Frankie and Johnnies' is a great place for New Orleans cuisine near the West end of St. Charles Street; try their alligator soup and fried crawdad tails (I hear they have a killer mufaletta sandwich too.)
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Published on Wednesday July 3th, 2002 by el2995
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12 votes
