Feasts, fests, fun: New Orleans

American Visions, Feb-March, 1995 by Michael Pina

ENTERTAINMENT

While African-American historical sites are a major attraction in New Orleans, the city offers a variety of exciting entertainment options that appeal to travelers of all races. Located along the city's Riverwalk is America's newest aquarium, the Aquarium of the Americas, as well as a New Orleans institution--Mississippi riverboats. The Mississippi Queen and the Delta Queen leave from New Orleans for overnight cruises up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as far as Pittsburgh and along the Intracoastal Waterway to Galveston, Texas. The Cajun Queen, the Creole Queen, the Natchez and the John James Audubon take half-day cruises to Louisiana plantations and Chalmette Battlefield, the site of the Battle of New Orleans. The ships also offer nighttime dinner and jazz cruises.

Gambling is becoming one of New Orleans' more popular nighttime attractions, and the city will soon be home to the largest casino in the world, Harrah's New Orleans, which will open in 1996. But for now, the action is found on riverboat casinos, like the Flamingo Casino New Orleans, a 2,400-passenger, four-tiered gambling vessel with 1,300 slot, video poker and specialty games, 75 table games, plus two restaurants serving food 24 hours a day. New Orleans' other riverboat casino, Showboat Star Casino, is located on Lake Pontchartrain, about eight minutes from the French Quarter. Free shuttles run to the casino from downtown hotels.

For nighttime music entertainment, much of the action is still on Bourbon Street and other boulevards of the French Quarter, where music is literally in the air. Jazz flows from street-corner musicians, the balconies, and nightclubs with their doors open wide to the public. It comes teeming out of the doorways and alleys, mixing with R&B, rock and gospel sounds to create a whirlwind of musical excitement that never really stops. Meanwhile, the neon lights, hot-dog vendors and people strolling by in costumes help to create a carnival atmosphere that adds to the rhythm on the streets.

The newest and trendiest club in New Orleans is the House of Blues, which opened last year. Entering the club through an alley, you find yourself in one of the most unusual music venues in the city. In the dining area, TV monitors let you view the concert in the next room, while overhead, wooden rafters give way to the painted blue sky on the ceiling. In the club's concert hall, which requires a separate charge, the crowd dances to live blues and R&B music on a sunken dance floor surrounded by totem poles, crescent moons and Native American art.

Other likely stops include Snug Harbor, a cozy two-level club that is a popular spot with Ellis Marsalis and other local jazz veterans, and Tipitinas, where the music ranges from jazz to R&B and zydeco.

EATS

After visiting art galleries, parks and museums, it's time to take a load off by visiting Dunbar's Fine Food, which sits just a few blocks from the Amistad Research Center and is popular with area college students. This soul food eatery is famous for its 99-cent breakfasts and for its Southern fare, complete with spareribs, red beans, candied yams and corn bread. Dunbar's is one of a growing number of African-American restaurants in New Orleans, most of which are not located in the French Quarter.