Influx of tourists and locals flowing down the narrow streets surrounded by historic buildings, live music coming out of bars, soul food, and then hangover food: the nightlife scene in New Orleans brought back the wild memories of my youth spent around Beyoglu neighbourhood in Istanbul. This time around, with a more mature attitude I strolled down the lively streets of New Orleans at night, stopping at preplanned bars. Welcome to adulthood.
We started the evening around 5pm by a glass of Malbec at Copper House Vine with some appetizers. The outdoor seating area at Copper House Vine is very calming with all sorts of plants hanging from the top. We chatted with our server, who gave us tips about how locals do a night-out in New Orleans. We were told to stay away from Bourbon Street, because that is apparently touristy, and these days touristy is bad. Instead, he told us to spend time in French Quarter, which I think we did to some degree--after some drinks, you just follow the music in the streets.
We popped into Carousel Bar, which indeed gets its name from its carousel bar at the center. Then we moved to French 75 Bar--my favorite, because you end up friends with people sharing your table. As soon as we entered the bar, someone told us to order signature drink--French 75. One should always take the word of a local when travelling.
At this time, we were hungry again, and headed to the infamous Acme Oyster House. I am a fan of oysters, so this was an inevitable stop for me. I had been told by my different friends that the wait time is really long--around 2 hrs, but it is so worth it. A miracle happened that night in New Orleans , and the magic words were ‘party of two’. A server just walked down the line and told us to follow her We were in the Acme within 5 minutes of our arrival--magic! This lifted our spirits. I ordered a dozen of raw oysters while Metin ordered a mixture of oyster and shrimp poboy with two hurricanes. Metin's choice was right on the spot, and I couldn’t resist ordering poboy for myself. Oysters were okay, not the best though. But disappointments fade away fast when in New Orleans.
After we were fed with delicious seafood, we dived into the bar--21st Amendment, right across from Acme Oyster House. We listened to the live music while drinking hurricanes--a local drink. My brain at this time told me stop drinking more-- a internal message I always overlooked at younger ages. The rest is still a bit fuzzy, but we managed to get to our hotel room safe. We were staying at Hyatt House, and the manager upgraded our room. New Orleans: a place of good luck for us.
Finally, don't leave New Orleans without tasting beignets---fried dough with powder sugar!
You have been really good to us, New Orleans! Hope to see you soon.
Cheers!
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