See Nola

Butcher

930 Tchoupitoulas St. (Warehouse) 504.588.pork. Monday through Saturday: 11am to 10pm. Closed Sunday. Credit Cards. This effort by the fine dining people who run Herbsaint and Couchon seeks to restore the idea of neighborhood butchery (at least in the form a restaurant theme). The interior mixes nostalgia (white-tiled walls) with contemporary (Dwell-inspired bar stools). At night, they bring out the votive candles, which makes this place sorta date friendly.  Along one wall, cases display an assortment of expensive meat products. The back wall features a "swine bar" that sells made-to-order dishes and booze. No waiters, counter service only. Our pork belly sandwich was tasty but a little weird. Was that mint they put in there? It was small for $10.00. The gin and soda (we didn't specify but they gave us Bombay) was well-poured, and moderately priced for a place like this ($6.50). Seven potato chips accompanied the sandwich along with a single pickled jalapeno. Staff was friendly, and the place small and intimate. Hip patrons were well-dressed in a sort of "this economy does not bother me" kind of way. Some of the patrons even walked out the door with cuts of meat wrapped in paper -- just like the olden days. 

Nola Grocery

351 Andrew Higgins Dr. (Warehouse District) 504.302.9928. Cash Only. 7 Days: 7am to 10pm, lunch and dinner. Right around the corner from the ironically decorated Cochon (that's Formica, not real wood) is the hole-in-the-wall Nola Grocery -- a grocery and deli that serves construction workers and office jockeys from the surrounding warehouse district. Meat from cajun country is the star here, our favorite being the Cajun Turkey sandwich: spicy, rich with just a touch of smoke. It's one of those sandwiches that kind of lingers with you the rest of the afternoon. The boudin sausage is good too. A picnic table set up in an open garage serves as the only seating. ATM. Bread, milk, Hubig's Pies, toiletries.

Crescent City Farmers Market

700 Magazine St. (Warehouse District) Saturdays: 8am to Noon. Farmers accept credit cards through a token system. In a parking lot nestled between old warehouses (converted to condos) and more old warehouses (converted to art galleries and hotels) is the Crescent City Farmers Market. Compared to markets in other cities it's very small (if the "lettuce guy" doesn't show up, there might not be any lettuce). But it's charming, well organized -- a great way to spend a hungover morning sipping organic coffee, watching cooking demonstrations, sampling creamy chocolate milk. Early risers (pre-9am) are rewarded with a large selection of produce and the absence of cheesy live music (the acoustic guitars fire up around 9:30am).

-There is a CC-sponsored market also on Tuesdays (200 Broadway St.) 9am to 1pm.
-The rather large Vietnamese community in New Orleans has a market (with live chickens) in New Orleans East (14401 Alcee Fortier Blvd.) 5am to 9am on Saturdays.

Contemporary Arts Center

900 Camp St. (Warehouse District) 504.528.3800. Gallery hours: Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm. Hours change in the summer -- call ahead. If you like viewing objects out of context in great big buildings built by corporations, you may like going to museums. We don't. But the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) ain't so bad. After the storm the CAC hired veteran visual arts director Dan Cameron, formerly the senior curator of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. He is busy bringing a fresh spark to their warehouse gallery space. In October 2008, Cameron plans to launch a citywide, three-month international art exhibition called Prospect 1, which promises to have every corner of the city bursting with installations, canvasses & high concepts.

The Ugly Dog Saloon & BBQ

401 Andrew Higgins Dr. (Warehouse District) Kitchen open 11am to 8pm. Bar open 11am to 'till. 504.569.8459. Many TVs and plenty of tables puts this at the top of the pack when searching for a bar to watch a sporting event. Like any sports bar, the clientele is dominated by 30 year-old office jockeys. But the service is excellent. The BBQ is okay (stay away from the burgers, though). Meals are ordered from the bar, which gives you the pleasant option of camping out at your table. The sides (chili beans, potato salad, baked potato, coleslaw) are always good.