Heaven is spelled N.O.L.A. Part... Something

As we left the gates of Jazz Fest and observed the throngs of pedestrians fighting for a cab/bus/shuttle we decided to just hoof it down the Esplanade until we could flag down transportation. Some of the neighborhoods we strolled through were a little shady, but we never really felt in danger since there were a few other groups of people walking nearby.

Welp, next thing we knew we’d walked all the way to the FQ. I didn’t feel like dealing with the Bourbon Street crowd so we hung a right on Dauphine Street which proved to be a much more relaxing atmosphere. It was no coincidence that it happened to lead straight to our next destination: Bar UnCommon located inside the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel.

I’d read from numerous sources online that the chief mixologist Chris McMillian was not only the best cocktail man in the city, he was one of the best in the country. Oh, did I mention he’s also the founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail? Yeah, that too.

Read more »

Heaven is spelled N.O.L.A. Part 4

Saturday morning we were feeling lazy, so instead of looking up the various methods of public transportation to Jazz Fest we simply phoned the front desk for a cab. 10 minutes later we were on the road. One great bonus that came with being lazy is we drove right past the Superdome which has to be one of the most impressive man-made structures I’ve ever seen. It looked like a steampunk airship battle arena. I loved how it wasn’t plastered with advertising like so many other stadiums are these days. A very impressive sight indeed.

The cabbie dropped us off at about 10:40 so instead of waiting around for 20 minutes for the gates to open I decided to go check out Parkway Bakery now instead of waiting until after the festival. A short walk had us in front of the doors and what I thought as the first people in line.


Little did I know there was a back entrance, luckily there were still only a handful of people waiting.

Read more »