New Orleans still is in crisis more than a decade after Hurricane Katrina

On April 7, a high-stepping grand marshal leading the New Wave Brass Band helped kick off the French Quarter Festival, an annual four-day showcase for the city's unique music and food.

New Orleans brass bands are the product of social clubs that arranged burials for members. A band plays dirges on the way to the cemetery, but on the way home, the lively music celebrates the life of the recently departed, trailed by mourners and others who are referred to as the Second Line, below.

Editor's note: This is the last of four posts based on a six-day visit to New Orleans this month.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

NEW ORLEANS -- "I hate to see that evenin' sun go down."

This famous blues song is always on the mind of New Orleanians, who say crime has made staying out after dark a risky proposition.

The Big Easy has become the Big Uneasy.

Signs of renewal outside the French Quarter more than a decade after Hurricane Katrina are everywhere, but residents don't feel police can protect them.

The quarter was largely untouched by Katrina, residents say, because it is the highest point in a city sandwiched between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

Ex-mayor in prison

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who was elected in 2010, isn't regarded as much of an improvement over former Mayor Ray Nagin, who was sent to federal prison for his part in a $500,000 bribery and conspiracy scheme.

Nagin, like then-President George W. Bush, failed the largely minority city during and after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.

Meanwhile, the Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper, The Times-Picayune, not only abandoned the city by moving its headquarters out of town, but in the fall of 2012, cut back its print edition to only three days a week.

Still, the city's indomitable spirit was evident during a six-day visit this month.

A 150-foot mural of a clarinet on the Holiday Inn in downtown New Orleans is a tribute to a neighborhood that played a key role in the development of jazz.

One of the city's palm trees seen against the vacant World Trade Center.

The Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law Lounge in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans is now owned by Kermit Ruffins, a trumpeter and chef who cooks on the days he performs there and serves the food free to patrons.

The colorful exterior of what is now called Kermit's Treme Mother-In-Law Lounge includes a portrait of Ruffins, below.

Kermit's Treme Mother-In-Law Lounge is at 1500 N. Claiborne Ave. in New Orleans (504-975-3955).

A quiet pedestrian space in the French Quarter.

French Quarter architecture provides shady sidewalks and balconies for people watching.

St. Louis Cathedral, which overlooks Jackson Square, is said to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

Although the cathedral was named after a French king, the scallop shell over the pulpit often symbolizes St. James, the patron saint of Spain. 

A plaque in the French Quarter notes New Orleans was the capital of the Spanish Province of Luisiana from 1762 to 1803. Today, the food shows Spanish, French and Acadian influences. Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians, who were expelled from Canada and settled in Louisiana from 1765 to 1785.

This St. Charles Avenue streetcar is one of the originals, and doesn't have air conditioning, but is a cheap way to see New Orleans' Garden District, where homes date to before the Civil War.

The streetcar passes an historical plaque noting that a factory at 1755 St. Charles Ave. produced more than 20,000 shallow-draft landing craft for allied forces during World War II.

Homes in the Garden District, above and below.

Other streetcars, including those that operate on Canal Street, are new and fully air conditioned, above and below. The fare is $1.25 or $3 for a 24-hour pass. Seniors pay only 40 cents. 

Streetcars run about every 20 minutes, but that is flexible, so don't take one, if you are in a rush to get anywhere. Canal Street cars are subject to frequent delays as they skirt the French Quarter, stopping for accidents that close the street or when cars make U-turns over the tracks.

Taxis in New Orleans are more expensive than those in Manhattan. In addition to an initial $3.50 charge, you'll be hit with an extra $1 for a second passenger. Here, we were stuck in rush-hour traffic on Canal Street, where tourists slow their cars and pickups to gawk and sightsee. A 2.5-mile taxicab ride cost us $15, including the tip.

Crawfish Cakes at Mandina's, an Italian-American restaurant in New Orleans. See: Good food is everywhere in Crescent City

A small Muffaletta Sandwich -- olive salad with Italian cold cuts and cheese -- was $10 at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, La.

The Hyatt House on Poydras Street in downtown New Orleans "upgraded" us to a suite on the unlucky 13th floor. Sure enough, the room was cursed with a broken toilet, a shower that flooded the bathroom and other problems. We enjoyed the free breakfast with made-to-order omelets, but not the many dirty utensils, plates and bowls we saw during our entire stay, despite repeated complaints to the staff.

At the airport, you'll thank your lucky stars when you get a boarding pass marked "TSA Pre" with a check mark next to it, as I did in both Newark and New Orleans. That means you'll be shown to a special security line, where you won't have to take off your shoes or remove your computer from its bag, and your body won't be groped or scanned. You'll be on your way in a matter of minutes.

Next: In North Jersey, 

you have to read the labels,

 even with seafood.

Celebrating a movable feast of New Orlean's unique music and food

OH, THE HUMANITY! Thousands of revelers are on the move at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans --an annual, four-day celebration of the city's distinctive music and food. Bands played on as many as 23 stages, and the city's top restaurants and bars sold food, beer and cocktails from more than 100 stands.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

NEW ORLEANS -- In a park next to the wide, muddy Mississippi River, we set up our folding chairs under a flowering tree, giving us shade and a three-quarter view of one of the main stages.

The city's annual French Quarter Festival is billed as the largest, free music festival in the South -- a showcase for local musicians playing every genre from traditional jazz to rhythm and blues, New Orleans funk, Zydeco, brass bands and so much more.

And the crowd must be the best fed with more than a 100 stands offering signature dishes and cocktails from the city's top restaurants and bars.

I concentrated on dishes made with crab, oysters, shrimp and fish, and found a few real winners.

Among the bands we enjoyed were Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers; Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans; and Walter "Wolfman" Washington and the Roadmasters.

The highly anticipated Buckwheat Zydeco encountered technical problems, but when they were resolved, the group bombed, and we left during the first song.

A refreshing Crab & Artichoke Citrus Salad ($8) from Jacques-Imo Cafe was the first specialty we tried on Thursday in Jackson Square, and it was one of my favorites.

In Riverfront Park, House of Blues' delicious Voodoo Shrimp ($8) was served over corn bread, above and below, for a deeply satisfying snack.

New Orleans offers seafood lovers an incredible variety of wild-caught oysters, fish and shrimp from the nearby Gulf of Mexico.

The sight of a po-boy sandwich makes my knees weak, and this Oyster Rockefeller Po-Boy from Desire Oyster Bar ($10) was no exception. I asked the server to hold the creamed spinach dressing and drenched the fried oysters with hot sauce.

Praline Connection offered some of the biggest servings, including Fried Jumbo Chicken Wings with Mustard Greens ($9), above, and a Vegetarian Plate of Mustard Greens, Crowder Peas & Okra ($8), below.

A spicy Fish & Chips from GW Fins was a big hit.

Mona's Cafe offered Greek and Middle Eastern food, including this lamb Gyro with Hummus, Greek Salad and Pita ($10). But there was no explanation for the mediocre pocket bread, which felt like cardboard.

This tomato-based Red Fish Bisque ($8) from Red Fish Grill is one of the best soups I have ever had.

Also in Riverfront Park, Pat O'Brien's Bar was pouring a Hurricane ($9) -- 4 ounces of Hurricane Rum mixed with 4 ounces of Hurricane Mix in a 26-ounce cup -- that made your head spin.

Lakeview Harbor Burger Restaurant served these wonderful Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes over Mixed Greens with Remoulade Sauce ($8), another one of my favorites. I enjoyed this treat on Sunday, the last day of the music-and-food festival.

Two of the food stands in Riverfront Park, above and below.

The line for the Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes and other dishes from Lakeview Harbor.

Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles were among the many bands that played on the Abita Beer Stage in Riverfront Park. New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians are a "phenomenon [that] is part music, part heritage, part ancestry, part revelry, part fashion and often misunderstood," according to the festival Web site.

Sweet Crude is a band that embraces the region's French-speaking tradition.

American blues guitarist John Mooney, left, and his band, Bluesiana.

Tank and The Bangas was another young band with incredible energy. They performed on a stage at the Old U.S. Mint. 

Details

Planning for next year's free festival is underway. The dates are April 6-9 with more than 400 musical performances over four days.

Web site: French Quarter Festivals Inc.

Friday night in New Orleans: Eating crawfish, sipping beer, telling lies

New Orleans residents lining up on Friday night to buy crawfish from a spicy boil at Rouses Supermarket on North Carrollton Avenue. Earlier, a friend bought more than 10 pounds to feed three for a reduced price of $2.29 a pound.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

NEW ORLEANS -- We're here for a four-day music festival, but can't ignore the incredible food in what is certainly the most distinctive city in the United States.

On Friday evening, while we were at the French Quarter Festival listening to Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, a friend rushed over to Rouses Supermarket before the boiled crawfish ran out.

An hour or so later we took the streetcar and met him there to pick up fixins -- a store-made Seafood Gumbo, potato salad with eggs and a six-pack of Abita Amber Beer.

Back in our hotel room, our friend dumped the crawfish into a tray in the center of a kitchenette table, and I divided the soup among three bowls and opened bottles of beer.

Then, in an eating ritual repeated hundreds, if not thousands, of times in New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana, we peeled crawfish tails, ate them, sucked the juice out of the bodies and sipped beer.

Crawfish look exactly like miniature lobsters, as if they crawled out of the mud in prehistoric times.

As we ate and drank, we caught up with our friend, a musician whom we haven't seen since 2009.

Or, as he put it, "Eating crawfish, sipping beer and telling lies."

'We're too small, so please throw us back'

Image via Wikipedia

As I was plowing my way through 25 or 30 crayfish Friday night at Ikea in Parmaus, I was struck by how, at three to four inches long, they looked just like miniature lobsters. Maybe they refused to grow up, thinking they would be hard to catch or get thrown back. No such luck.

The crayfish party is an end-of-summer ritual in Sweden, where they are washed down with plenty of beer. In the Paramus home-furnishing store, a pamphlet on the dining tables had beer-drinking songs, but the $9.99 all-you-can-eat admission ticket included soft drinks, not beer; Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes, cheese and crackers, and desserts ($2.49 for kids).

Crayfish, also called crawfish, are served hot in New Orleans after cooking and turning red in a spicy, lip-smacking boil. The Swedes boil them and serve them cold -- on ice. Pretty much the only part you eat is the tail, and sucking on the cold bodies returns little flavor. This may explain why there were empty tables.

After two plates of crayfish, I joined the cafeteria line for the free meatballs and mashed potatoes (hold the cream sauce), but I didn't like the texture of the meatballs and started wondering where the meat came from. So I finished my meal with those delicious crayfish tails.

Where every meal is a great meal

On our road trip, we drove for 12 hours to reach New Orleans and the first room our historic B&B showed us was a dump, but we were restored by our meals. Despite the destruction still evident nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, the restaurant scene inside and outside of the French Quarter is vibrant.

We pigged out for lunch at Cochon, a Cajun restaurant that buys whole hogs and butchers them in-house (our waiter said all the food is raised naturally within 90 miles). Our feast included a platter of cold cuts, pulled pork topped with cracklings, ribs, and a beautifully seasoned redfish fillet with crispy skin (but the scales were left on, ruining the skin). I always stop at the Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter for a dozen of Louisiana's extraordinary oysters on the half shell, and they didn't disappoint. My wife and son shared two pounds of crawfish boiled in a spicy broth (they are about three inches long and you'd swear they were miniature lobsters).

We're crazy about po' boy sandwiches and headed over to fill up at the lively Parkway Bakery & Tavern, which overlooks a bayou. My French bread was overstuffed with fried catfish and fried oysters, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, hold the mayo, and I had sweet potato fries on the side. Cooks were doing Cuban sandwiches pressed under foiled-wrapped bricks on a sidewalk grill. Other highlights were the fresh spinach salad with moist chicken breast, pizza, and spaghetti and meatballs at Mona Lisa Restaurant and curry goat and braised oxtails at Boswell Jamaican Grill.

Our breakfasts included a huge portion of nut-and-banana pancakes at Betsy's Pancake House and shrimp with grits at Lil Dizzy's Cafe. The gravy, fresh tomato and crunchy wild shrimp elevate the bland hominy into a tasty, rib-sticking breakfast (a daily, off-menu special). Don't forget to order a homemade biscuit to sop up the gravy. Both these breakfast places are filled with locals.

15 days and 3,750 miles but no fast food

Finding good food on our driving vacation down the East Coast, over to Louisiana, and back wasn't easy but we did it -- with the exception of one really awful meal. We had some terrific meals in unlikely places and ate like royalty in New Orleans.

Local restaurants usually don't advertise on the interstate. And venturing a few miles off the highway in search of food isn't always rewarded. We never took the easy way out by stopping at one of the hundreds of McDonald's, Burger Kings or Wendy's. The one time we had lunch at a Denny's was a disaster.

Despite all the fast food, there are lots of people knocking themselves out every day to prepare slow food and we were delighted when we found one of them. One is a Jersey girl who is now a caterer and runs a lunchroom in a small town in Georgia and the other is "a country cook" who took over half of the convenience store at a truck stop in Alabama.

I'll tell you more about them and what we ate in the next several days. Today, I went to Costco in Hackensack to stock up on fresh produce, organic salad greens and fresh wild salmon.