Cafes, Speak-Easies, History and Gator Meat — New Orleans
The History
The history of New Orleans dates back to the 1699 expedition by French explorer and naval captain — Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. Pierre was given the task of finding the mouth of the Mississippi river. Iberville claimed the region of present-day Louisiana for France, and named it after his king — Louis the Fifteenth. A few years later, his younger brother — Jean Baptise Le Moyne de Bienville — discovered a crescent in the Mississippi river what later become New Orleans.
The name New Orleans was to honor Prince Phillip, the Duke of Orleans. Phillip was the French reagent at that time, since the king, Louis XV (his nephew) was just eight. Jean Baptise de Bienville selected this bend of the Mississippi, since he thought it would be safe from hurricanes. Thus started the French settlement in New Orleans. The French started producing lumber, indigo and tobacco, and later even sugar, and rice. As with all colonies in America and the Caribbean at that time, these plantations were primarily run with African slave labor.
With French colonists settling down along the Mississippi valley, as well as in Canada, it was not long before the British imperialist feathers were ruffled. What followed was the “Seven Years War”, also called the “French-Indian War” (France and India were allied in this war against the British. In Indian history, it is well known that the British won that fateful victory in the Battle of Plassey against Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah. But what is not well-known is that the Nawab and French forces were aligned). As the British started gaining the upper hand against the French, in 1762, Louis the fifteenth handed over Louisiana to the Spanish. The new Spanish masters of New Orleans renamed the central square to “Place d’Armes”, but the French culture continued.
In 1803, Spain returned Louisiana to France under Napoleon, who then decided to sell it to the United States. The US at that time, was an upcoming naval power, and Napoleon saw this as a good hedge against the growing influence of the British navy. So New Orleans went from Native American, to French, to Spanish, and finally to the United States. It may read like a chequered history, but this is what gives New Orleans it’s unique culture. This culture also has a local name — NOLA — short for New Orleans Louisiana.
Exploring the French Quarter
New Orleans does not feel like your typical American city. The taxi ride from the airport to the central business district was surprisingly affordable at around $36. Once in the CBD, almost everything is a short walk away. No need for a rental car. The French Quarter — the area that Jean Baptise Bienville first settled — is best explored walking, and is just a 5 minute stroll from the central Canal Street.
The heart of the French Quarter is Jackson Square — the same place which the Spanish called “Place d’Armes”, and the same place where the United States and France signed the Louisiana purchase deal. The square is now named after Andrew Jackson, who led the American forces against the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Jackson won a resounding victory, and sent the British soldiers scampering back to Old Blighty.
Once you cross Jackson Square, the shores of the Mississippi are just across the street. At the riverfront, there is the option of riding a Mississippi steamboat. The Steamboat Natchez offers Jazz and dinner cruises along the Mississippi.
Nightlife
At night, the French Quarter, especially Bourbon Street, comes alive with late night revelers. Drinking alcohol on the street is legal here, as long as it is not in a glass container.
At St. Peter’s Street in the French Quarter, lies an old prohibition-era speak-easy, which is now called Pat O’ Brian’s bar. This bar is worth a visit, due to multiple reasons — first, the building itself dates back to 1791, and was a Spanish theatre. Secondly, Pat O’ Brian’s is the home of the famous “Hurricane” drink (a sugary cocktail of rum and fruit juices). Thirdly, it’s a piano bar, with two dueling pianos setup in the piano bar room. We were lucky enough to manage to get a table here.
Food
A travel blog on New Orleans has to mention the local food, and there are just too many “must try” dishes for the tourist. As was it’s history, so is the cuisine here a mix of French, Caribbean, African & American influences. The fact that the French influence was pre-dominant had a role to play in the local cuisine. The French, of course, are renowned for their food, and the cuisine of New Orleans builds upon this. Creole & Cajun cuisines are literally a melting pot of French, Caribbean and African influences. The Louisiana colonists obviously had no reservations on experimenting with local native staples. Thus, alligator meat is a common dish in Louisiana — and you can savor some in the French quarter.
Other staples of Creole/Cajun cuisine like jambalaya, gumbo, boudin sausage are found in almost every restaurant and cafe. Each of these dishes involve rice, which is surprising for American cuisine. The rice obviously comes form the African influence, and was readily adopted here because wheat would be hard to grow in the swampy Mississippi delta.
Near the pier, on Decatur Street, is one of New Orleans oldest coffee shop — Cafe Du Monde. The name is simply French for “Cafe of the World”. On a typical weekend day, it does look like the whole world is lining up to enter this cafe. If you are lucky, you will get a table eventually, and experience the cafe au’ lait with beignets, which is a sugary French doughnut.
An aside on the coffee here — the cafe au’ lait here comes with chicory-infused coffee. This is similar to South Indian “filter coffee” which also has chicory. In our previous home in Bangalore, I used to get buy coffee beans freshly-ground at the neighborhood store, and the staff there would be astonished when I told them not to mix chicory. Here, thousands of miles from South India, we get coffee with chicory!
Further down Decatur Street, a short walk from Cafe Du Mode, we found a restaurant serving alligator meat. The meat is surprisingly white, soft, and similar in texture to scallops.
While we managed to sample most of the “must have” dishes here, one thing that we conspicuously missed was the “Po’ Boy” sandwich. The “Po’ Boy” is quintessentially NOLA, and unfortunately, there were not enough meals in our weekend trip to pack this delicacy in. A re-visit is necessary to try everything that NOLA cuisine has to odder!
