New Orleans/Bywater

From World travel guide

Bywater is the portion of New Orleans furthest down the Mississippi River, on the other side of Faubourg Marigny from the French Quarter. The area from below the Industrial Canal down to the St. Bernard Parish line (the downriver limit of the city of New Orleans) is sometimes called the Lower 9th Ward.

1 Understand
2 To do and see
3 Eat
4 Drink
5 Live Music
6 Sleep
7 External links

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Understand

Quotes from a terrific article from the Houston Chronicle: Harmony in the Bywater:

"There are plenty of bars, restaurants and a few galleries. But for now there are no T-shirt emporiums clamoring for the tourist dollar and no typical attractions. Instead, something intangible, like a cosmic frequency heard only by a lucky few, is drawing like-minded souls to this bohemian little enclave." . . . "Bywater, New Orleans third-oldest neighborhood, dates to the early 1800s, and stands just down river from the first- and second-oldest districts, the French Quarter and the Faubourg Marigny. Many of Bywater's artists and musicians moved there from the Marigny, driven out when tourists, clubs and restaurants began pouring in and real estate prices soared."

. . . ". . . B.J.'s, one of three neighborhood bars comprising what locals have dubbed "the Bar-muda Triangle." The other two are Vaughan's and Sugar Park Tavern, all close enough to eliminate the need to drink and drive (though some patrons do pedal over on bikes)." . . . "Vaughan's may be the best-known of Bywater's many bars, thanks to the long-standing Thursday night gig by righteous trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his Barbecue Swingers. A native son, Ruffins has recorded numerous albums (including the just-released Putamayo Presents: Kermit Ruffins) and toured the world. But he always comes home, and he always draws a crowd of fans, music students and occasional famous guests. A few, like jazz musician and composer Wynton Marsalis, come to sit in with the band; others, like actor Jude Law, recently in town to shoot a film, come to listen and soak in the sublimely ramshackle surroundings. . . . "The latest newcomers have brought change. There is Bacchanal, an instantly popular wine shop with hundreds of labels, terrines and gourmet cheeses. Several good restaurants, such as Elizabeth's and Bywater Barbecue, have joined old standards Restaurant Mandich and Jack Dempsey's. There are galleries, yoga studios and shopping ops for beautiful cast-glass at Studio Inferno and vintage everything at the eclectic Bargain Center." . . . "Many are out-of-towners who stumbled on the neighborhood on visits to New Orleans and fell in love with the magic of the place -- and real estate prices half of what they'd expect back home." . . . "Lisa Rahon and John Delamater, whose brand-new but already popular Lookout Inn is only a couple of blocks from the river, believe they're at the right place at the right time. So does Carina Gale, who manages another inn -- the Mazant Guest House -- a welcoming 1870s home popular with Europeans and other value-minded visitors. Gale has overseen recent refreshing of the Mazant's 11 guest rooms and she, too, sees Bywater becoming a destination for travelers looking for something different in New Orleans."*

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To do and see

Steamboat houses on Egania Street at the Mississippi River. Over-the-top ornate Victorian wooden houses in steamboat-baroque style. Take a look, and then walk up to the top of the levee for a striking view of central New Orleans around a bend of the Mississippi.
Island of Salvation Botanica - 835 Piety Street. This is a real voodoo supply store, not a tourist trap like those in the French Quarter. http://www.feyvodou.com/index1.htm
L'Art Noir New Orleans Underground art gallery specializing in lowbrau art. http://www.lartnoirneworleans.com/
Jackson Barracks 6400 St. Claude Avenue has been a military base since the 1830s and has a military museum, free weekdays 8am - 4pm.

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Eat

Jack Dempsey's 738 Poland Avenue: seafood
Elizabeth's 601 Gallier Street: Creole, Southern, and po-boys. Neighborhood favorite for breakfast and lunch. Tuesday-Saturday 7:30am- 2:30pm
The Joint 801 Poland Avenue. Barbecue. Lunch and dinner Thurday-Monday. 949-3232
Mandich Restaurant 3200 Saint Claude Avenue: Louisiana cooking & seafood.

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Drink

The Spellcaster Lodge. 3052 St. Claude Avenue. Home of the Amazing Mr. Quintron, and the Drum Buddy workshops. Stop in if you get a chance.
Saturn Bar nearby at 3067 St. Claude, this is a strange old bohemian dive with some of the city's funkiest and most bizarre decor. Drink cheap beer, whiskey, or Southern Comfort. Don't expect them to know how to make fancy-pants mixed drinks.

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