See Nola

9/19/09 Burgundy St. 2:40pm

PRINCE OF WALES

81st ANNUAL SECOND LINE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2009 at 1 PM

Start: Rock Bottom Lounge, 3801 Tchoupitoulas. Back Peniston to Annunciation. Up Annunciation to General Taylor. Back General Taylor to Magazine. Right on Magazine.

Stop: Spruce, 3713 Magazine. Down Magazine to Louisiana. Left on Louisiana. Back Louisiana.

Stop: Sandpiper Lounge, 2119 Louisiana Ave. Back Louisiana to LaSalle. Right on LaSalle. Down LaSalle to Third Street. Right on Third. Out Third to corner of Dryades.

Stop: Charlie Wright's Watering Hole. Continue out Third to St. Charles. Right on St. Charles. Up St. Charles to Washington Ave. Out Washington.

Stop: Commander's Palace, 1403 Washington. Left on Washington. Out Washington to Livaudais. Right on Livaudais.

Stop: Valery's Palace, 2819 Livaudais. Up Livaudais to Sixth. Right on Sixth. Out Sixth to Annunciation. Up Annunciation to Louisiana Ave. Left on Louisiana. Out Louisiana to Tchoupitoulas. Up Tchoupitoulas.

Disband: Rock Bottom Lounge, 3801 Tchoupitoulas

2009 Queen: Tanesha Santemore

Parkway Bakery & Tavern

538 Hagan Ave. (Mid-City) 504-482-3047. Closed on Tuesday. Kitchen: 11am to 10pm. Bar: 11am to 10pm. In the early 1900s the Parkway Bakery & Tavern was just a bakery, offering daily deliveries of warm bread to the neighborhood. According to the owner, Jay Nix, Parkway also supplied french bread to legendary Italian-Creole restaurant Mandina's on Canal. In the 1920s they added poboy sandwiches, and became famous for their version of the roast beef poboy. In the 1970s there was a flood and when the cold water hit the hot iron and brick ovens they exploded, and the ovens never worked again. When we moved here in 1997 the building was essentially abandoned or abandoned-looking. That's when Nix stepped in (in the early 2000s), a contractor with no prior restaurant experience. In a restoration that can only be described as sort of mind blowing, he turned the two-level building into a museum-quality poboy destination, a bayou favorite of the Jazz Fest crowd. Bright colors, historic photographs, old neighborhood signs -- the place drowns in nostalgia, harkening back to an older, gentler and impossible New Orleans. The bricks from the old ovens are now embedded in the floors of the bar and the rather large outdoor patio. All this puts the Parkway on everyone's favorite and "best of" list. And the poboys are quality consistent, nothing to go crazy for, but good. Our favorite: the potato poboy (order it with gravy and cheese). We haven't, but look forward to trying, someday, their version of the surf and turf poboy: "roast beef topped with golden fried shrimp and roast beef gravy." Caprese poboy for the vegetarian. 

Just In

"The decidedly old-school neighborhood watering hole, mere blocks from the former C.J. Peete Housing Project in the middle of what has traditionally been one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Orleans Parish, seemed an ungainly fit for a band composed of four middle-aged white musicians."

    --New Orleans City Business

Mickey's Playhouse

1939 Lapeyrouse St. (7th Ward) 504-941-7207. Hours unclear. Cash. Thursday nights at Mickey's Playhouse. That's when they serve the free oysters: grilled and raw with Louis Armstrong blasting on the jukebox. After a couple bites we stared at the ceiling, exhaled. (Miller rings in at $2.50 a bottle.) Drago's invented the New Orleans charbroiled oyster, and we haven't found anything as good as that butter-walloped gem ... till now, at a small neighborhood bar, cooked on an outdoor grill. We dreamed of eating them all night, but settled for 12 because they were free and the bar was packed and they were free. Not exactly like Drago's -- Drago's has more butter and bigger oysters, but Mickey's smaller charred version bursts with backyard BBQ smoke. And like Drago's, the oyster is complimented not overwhelmed by the cheese, butter and garlic. The oysters were also expertly shucked. Owner Mickey circles the room, greeting regulars and strangers alike. A multi-colored disco light provides a little glamor while bentwood chairs and a tile floor speak to New Orleans tradition. Our only complaint: an internet jukebox. Older neighborhood folks who like their music loud. Set-ups. For oyster night get there a little before 7pm. Oysters are served till they run out.  

9/3/09 Decatur St. (and Canal) 7:04pm

9/3/09 St. Peter St.  8:08pm

Pizza Thursdays

Pete's Easy Pizza Speakeasy. 383-HEAT (Delivery to Bywater, Marigny, French Quarter, Mid-City). Cash only. On Thursdays after 5pm, Pete fires up a wood brick oven and delivers his secret pizza. $10.00 per pie. $1.00 per topping. $3.00 for bread. It's fun because it's a secret. 

The Perfect Fit

1355 Saint Bernard Ave. (7th Ward) 504.322.2608. Credit Cards. Thursday through Sunday: 5pm to 'till. Fridays bring an honest 2 for 1 happy hour special. From 5pm to 10pm their $5.00 mixed drinks double, and we're grateful. This bar and grill on the edge of the historic 7th Ward is run by the family that owns "The Wisdom" catering hall next door (check out the video on the Wisdom website). The Perfect Fit sports two bars, flat screens, clubby couches, natural wood, a large dance floor and bartenders in formal wear. It's a lush, premium atmosphere that captures -- without fake cast-iron and plastic oleanders -- the graceful and relaxed, yet serious and historic attitude toward drinking and socializing in New Orleans. There is a dress code (no tennis shoes, white shirts, shorts), but we've broken it a couple of times to no effect. Old school hits. Food. Professionals. No smoking. Video Poker.

Taco San Miguel

2120 N. Claiborne Ave. (Marigny) Spanish: 504.940.1883, English: 504.473.3529. UPDATE: CLOSED. Taco San Miguel started as a taco truck & is now a pleasant taco restaurant in the corner of a mini-mall about a ten minute walk from the edge of the French Quarter. The strengths of San Miguel are in the friendly service and cheap prices ($1.00 for corn, $2.00 for flour tacos). They also serve breakfast. Visitors from Houston won't be impressed, but for long-time residents of New Orleans any kind of taco that approaches authenticity is a victory. Yet this isn't a restaurant built for deprived locals. San Miguel's owners, Alex & Annet Cruz, arrived in New Orleans after the storm, looking for construction work & instead discovered an opportunity in the city's homogeneous restaurant scene, which had nothing in the way of cheap, authentic Mexican food. Thusly San Miguel & other taco shops like it opened, feeding the large community of foreign workers who now call New Orleans home.

8/11/09 S. Ramapart St. 8:09am.