Dozens of bottled spirits line the backbar of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. But this legendary dive on the corner of Bourbon and St. Phillip is equally renowned for spirits of the spectral variety. Occupying one of the oldest buildings in the French Quarter and one of the oldest examples of briquette-entre-poteaux (brick between cypress posts) architecture, it is named after Jean and Pierre Lafitte, notorious smugglers and privateers of the early 19th century.
Kim Welsh
The Dynamic Duo of Effervescence
September 06, 2022
Since the opening of Effervescence in 2017, Executive Chefs Evan Ingram and Brenna Sanders have worked with great enthusiasm to bring their small plates menu from their travels to the charming sparkling wine lounge and restaurant in the French Quarter. A California native, Evan moved to New Orleans after culinary school in New York. He recently officiated his passion for wine with sommelier credentials. Brenna grew up in Alabama and began her professional cooking career after completing her education at Tulane University.
The Andrews Family - A New Orleans Legacy
June 07, 2022
New Orleans has many musically talented families. As Grammy Award-winning piano player Jonathan Batiste put it, “music spreads like a disease.” Musicians are our heroes and our traditions are fiercely protected, making the musical family a revered institution that dates back to the 19th century and the beginning of jazz itself. In many ways, the history of these families, with names such as Dejean, Neville, Brunious, Barbarin, Batiste, Lastie, Marsalis, Jordan and Andrews, is the history of New Orleans. The future of these families is the future of the city’s culture.
Celebrating Old Man River
June 07, 2022
On Saturday, July 23, the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s 10th Annual NOLA River Fest will celebrate the cultural, economic, environmental and inspirational contributions of the Mississippi River to the Crescent City. For centuries, Old Man River has been an important route for trade and travel, has sustained livelihoods, offers opportunities for recreation, and has a significant role in the culture, health and livelihoods of people along its long route.
Summertime Sip and Stroll
June 07, 2022
“Summertime, and the livin' is easy,” goes the first line of George Gershwin’s amazing 1934 aria “Summertime,” one of the most popular jazz standards of all time. Summer is a wonderful time for evening strolls to take in the sights and sounds of New Orleans, dipping in to cool your heels and treating yourself to a refreshing sip and live music now and then.
Oscar Dunn, America’s Forgotten First Black Lieutenant Governor
March 07, 2022
A significant political figure in Reconstructionist Louisiana, Oscar James Dunn, rose to prominence after the Civil War, becoming the first black lieutenant governor, serving Louisiana from 1868 to 1871. After his untimely death in 1871, Dunn faded into obscurity. Until recently, there were no monuments, statues, or streets named for him in New Orleans. In Jul.
Lift a Glass to Springtime in New Orleans
March 07, 2022
Springtime in New Orleans is one vibrant celebration after another, and we are all more than eager to get out and kick up our heels! Flowers are blooming, the days are longer, we feel the first teases of summer weather, and we have never been so ready! The French Quarter is a wonderful place to take a leisurely stroll to visit classic establishments, local favorites, and a few hidden gems!
Shaking Up the Classics
March 07, 2022
Anna Tusa, owner of Briquette, was brainstorming over cocktails, thinking of creative ways to engage her guests in a small-group setting in her restaurant. “Why not do craft cocktail classes over lunch or dinner? We have a ton of great food tours, cocktail tours, and ghost tours, so why not a craft cocktail class paired with a three-course lunch or brunch?” From those pandemic ponderings, Tusa begun the Shaken Up NOLA Craft Cocktail Classes in 2022. The class is the best of both worlds, a food tour and a cocktail tour meshed with live demonstration and education in a relaxed environment.
Preserving and Promoting New Orleans Art, Music, and Culture
March 07, 2022
Founded in 2014, Gallatin Street Records is a record label of the New Orleans Jazz Museum directed toward the continued preservation and promotion of New Orleans music, art, and culture.
Zydeco’s Royal Family
March 07, 2022
Everyone is out this spring at the many festivals offered and the choices for music and food are mind-boggling! While you are out and about, be sure to dip into an explosive set of zydeco music and you won’t be able to resist the urge to dance! Zydeco music is a bubbling, melodic gumbo concocted from Cajun and Acadian music stirred together with Afro-Caribbean rhythms and call-and-response songcraft. “The only way you could be more funky is if you’d been born a skunk,” claims local music icon Cyril Neville of The Neville Brothers.
Connecting Cultures through Music
December 07, 2021
The French Academy in Rome was founded in 1666 by Louis XIV and served from the 17th to 19th centuries as the pinnacle of study for select French artists who, having won the prestigious Prix de Rome (Rome Prize), were honored with a scholarship in the Eternal City for the purpose of the study of art and architecture. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte moved it to the Villa Medici with the intention of providing young French artists the opportunity to see and copy the masterpieces of the Antiquity and the Renaissance and send back to Paris the results of the inspiration they had gained in Rome.
