A few days in New Orleans
Mar 17, 2018, 3:24 pm
#31
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Mar 17, 2018, 4:02 pm
#32
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edit it to add: wholeheartedly agree with Blumie’s suggestion of St. James Cheese. ^
https://www.nola.gov/nola/media/HDLC.../Warehouse.pdf
Last edited by FLYMSY; Mar 17, 2018 at 4:27 pm
Mar 17, 2018, 5:22 pm
#33
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Mar 18, 2018, 7:56 pm
#34
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As promised, here's my first follow-up. I changed my reservation from an 11:42pm arrival to the 1:12 arrival from Houston. My friends had a 1:45 reservation at Shaya and my Uber rolled up to the restaurant at 1:45 on the dot. The restaurant was very good. Their pita is perfect.
Acme tomorrow night. And maybe Pêche for lunch.
Acme tomorrow night. And maybe Pêche for lunch.
Mar 19, 2018, 3:09 am
#35
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[Edited to add: Out of curiosity, I've done some further research. According to the Tulane School of Architecture, the Warehouse District was established in 1978 -- making it 40 years old -- and its boundaries increased in 1985 and 2007. According to the CBD wiki page, the CBD's boundaries, "as defined by the City Planning Commission, are Iberville, Decatur and Canal Streets to the north; the Mississippi River to the east; the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, Julia and Magazine Streets, and the Pontchartrain Expressway to the south; and South Claiborne Avenue, Cleveland Street, and South and North Derbigny Streets to the west. It is the equivalent of what many cities call their downtown, although in New Orleans "downtown" or "down town" was historically used to mean all portions of the city downriver from Canal Street (in the direction of flow of the Mississippi River). In recent decades, however, use of the catch-all "downtown" adjective to describe neighborhoods downriver from Canal Street has largely ceased, having been replaced in usage by individual neighborhood names (such as Bywater)." (As an aside, I'll note that this description of the CBD's boundaries is a great example of why cardinal directions are rarely used in New Orleans!)
Of course, by this definition of CBD, the Warehouse District is a subset of the CBD, a view that is confirmed by [url=http://media.nola.com/neighborhoods/photo/2015/04/13/new-orleans-73-official-neighborhoods-map-7c4a5006cc02882b.jpg]this map of the City's neighborhoods. To the extent there is a "right" answer to this question, perhaps it's that the entire area between Canal and the Pontchartrain Expressway is the neighborhood called the Central Business District, whereas the Warehouse District is an historic district (as opposed to a neighborhood) within the CBD neighborhood.
Putting aside with my pedantic obsession with this topic, certainly the area downriver from Poydras is considered by locals as the CBD, and the area between Poydras and the Expressway, closer to the river, is, as observed by FLYMSY, considered by locals as the Warehouse District, but at least to me Poydras St. itself is the CBD.]
As promised, here's my first follow-up. I changed my reservation from an 11:42pm arrival to the 1:12 arrival from Houston. My friends had a 1:45 reservation at Shaya and my Uber rolled up to the restaurant at 1:45 on the dot. The restaurant was very good. Their pita is perfect.
Acme tomorrow night. And maybe Pêche for lunch.
Acme tomorrow night. And maybe Pêche for lunch.
Last edited by Blumie; Mar 19, 2018 at 3:48 am
Mar 19, 2018, 1:25 pm
#36
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,925
If we really want to be pedantic, then we should be talking about Faubourgs and not neighborhoods.
I found the comment about “Downtown”, meaning the area downriver from Canal St, to be interesting. So much so, that I talked with some of my contemporaries, all of us who are native New Orleanians and have lived here all of our lives. (Using the term “native” to denote those who were born and raised in NOLA. There are some people who were not born and raised here, but have lived here for a few years, but consider themselves “locals”.)
For all of us, hearing the term “Downtown” used to describe the area downriver from Canal St. was foreign. None of us had ever heard of that before. I did a tiny bit of “research” and saw that this had its origins in the 19th Century. Now, I don’t know if this is factual, I wasn’t alive then, but I can assure you that from the 20th Century to today, that is not the case. When our grandparents and parents said, “Let’s go downtown”, that meant what is now called the Warehouse District and CBD. Back then those terms weren’t used. In fact, even today, I frequently say “Downtown”, especially if I’m speaking to natives, to describe the WD and CBD. I can remember from the time I was 8 years old being able to take the St. Charles Ave streetcar, by myself, to go downtown to meet my Dad at his office for lunch. Ahh, those were glorious days when a kid could stand next to the streetcar conductor, pull the window down and feel the wind rushing past your head as the streetcar, bell clanging, sped along the tracks. I can still remember those sights, sounds and smells from those rides. Unfortunately, kids aren’t allowed to do that now.
I grew up in Uptown in an area that was originally known (19th Cent.) as the Faubourg Bouligny, which was divided into East & West Bouligny. However, we never used the name Bouligny, we lived in Uptown. Period. Times change.
BTW, I really find it to be getting ridiculous now that people are trying to get a portion of downtown designated as “SOMA”! Sheesh!! Please save us from all of the big real estate developers and their marketing people!!!
I appreciate your love of New Orleans and the time you invested in your research, however, I’m a New Orleans boy thru and thru. I’ll stick with what my grandmas and parents taught me. 8)
I’ll forgive your pedantry if you’ll for give my New Orleans nativism. LOL!
Edit: I agree with Blumie about Acme, the food really isn’t that good. Enjoy the oysters, though.
I found the comment about “Downtown”, meaning the area downriver from Canal St, to be interesting. So much so, that I talked with some of my contemporaries, all of us who are native New Orleanians and have lived here all of our lives. (Using the term “native” to denote those who were born and raised in NOLA. There are some people who were not born and raised here, but have lived here for a few years, but consider themselves “locals”.)
For all of us, hearing the term “Downtown” used to describe the area downriver from Canal St. was foreign. None of us had ever heard of that before. I did a tiny bit of “research” and saw that this had its origins in the 19th Century. Now, I don’t know if this is factual, I wasn’t alive then, but I can assure you that from the 20th Century to today, that is not the case. When our grandparents and parents said, “Let’s go downtown”, that meant what is now called the Warehouse District and CBD. Back then those terms weren’t used. In fact, even today, I frequently say “Downtown”, especially if I’m speaking to natives, to describe the WD and CBD. I can remember from the time I was 8 years old being able to take the St. Charles Ave streetcar, by myself, to go downtown to meet my Dad at his office for lunch. Ahh, those were glorious days when a kid could stand next to the streetcar conductor, pull the window down and feel the wind rushing past your head as the streetcar, bell clanging, sped along the tracks. I can still remember those sights, sounds and smells from those rides. Unfortunately, kids aren’t allowed to do that now.
I grew up in Uptown in an area that was originally known (19th Cent.) as the Faubourg Bouligny, which was divided into East & West Bouligny. However, we never used the name Bouligny, we lived in Uptown. Period. Times change.
BTW, I really find it to be getting ridiculous now that people are trying to get a portion of downtown designated as “SOMA”! Sheesh!! Please save us from all of the big real estate developers and their marketing people!!!
I appreciate your love of New Orleans and the time you invested in your research, however, I’m a New Orleans boy thru and thru. I’ll stick with what my grandmas and parents taught me. 8)
I’ll forgive your pedantry if you’ll for give my New Orleans nativism. LOL!
Edit: I agree with Blumie about Acme, the food really isn’t that good. Enjoy the oysters, though.
Last edited by FLYMSY; Mar 19, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Mar 19, 2018, 5:05 pm
#38
Join Date: Dec 2004
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The neighborhood has surely changed from when I worked at the Navy Yard across the street 25 years ago. Except for Jack Dempsey's. That place hasn't changed at all.
ETA: local, but not native. I find the biggest distinction is not whether you were born in New Orleans (Baptist or Montelepre count, not sure about WJ or EJ), but whether you went to (grade) school here. In my experience, if you were born elsewhere but went to Jesuit, you can be a "native." If you were born here but then went to Spring Hill, nope.
Last edited by jg70124; Mar 19, 2018 at 5:13 pm
Mar 19, 2018, 5:21 pm
#39
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As I opined upthead, your friend generally has steered you well, although I don't love the suggestions for tomorrow. Acme is good for oysters at the bar, but I would not waste a meal there. Peche is decent -- you can have a very good meal there -- but also recommend eating at the bar rather than at the tables.
He got us po boys from Magazine for lunch. Mine was shaping up to be tasty but it exceeded my tolerance for messy eating before I could eat enough to be sure.
Mar 19, 2018, 6:43 pm
#41
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Mar 19, 2018, 10:03 pm
#43
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But there are gigs every night. Give me a date and your tastes and I can make some suggestions.
On the theater front, there's a local production of Streetcar Named Desire that's getting rave reviews. (I'm going this weekend).
Review: Don't miss this 'Streetcar,' a mesmerizing ride at Le Petit' | Arts | theadvocate.com
A Streetcar Named Desire | Le Petit Theatre
Mar 19, 2018, 11:13 pm
#45
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I’m neither a native nor a local — as much time as I spend in Nola, I know not to consider myself a local until I take the leap that swag took and actually relocate there; and my new position in Abu Dhabi, and my daughter’s likely decision to go to school in California rather than at Tulane, may have pushed that back by a couple of years — but I’m loving this conversation, too.
What I found of particular interest in the research I cited wasn’t just their definition of “downtown” as being down river from Canal St — which I also never had heard before — but also that the term “downtown” is used less frequently, as people now tend to refer to specific neighborhoods. This is exactly what I was thinking when I responded to the OP indicating that his hotel was not “downtown.” Although I hear the term “downtown” used, I recognize it as being too vague to identify exactly where the hotel is (although to a native, such as FLYMSY, it sounds like the description is perfectly precise).
By the way, FLYMSY, I love the image of you as a kid on the streetcar as it “sped along the tracks.” I’ve ridden the streetcars many, many times as an adult and “sped” is not the first word that comes to mind!!
Let me ask this question of the natives and locals: what does one mean by “uptown”? Where does it begin? Does it include or exclude other specifically identifiable neighborhoods (Riverbend, for example)? Does it extend all the way to Jefferson Parish?
What I found of particular interest in the research I cited wasn’t just their definition of “downtown” as being down river from Canal St — which I also never had heard before — but also that the term “downtown” is used less frequently, as people now tend to refer to specific neighborhoods. This is exactly what I was thinking when I responded to the OP indicating that his hotel was not “downtown.” Although I hear the term “downtown” used, I recognize it as being too vague to identify exactly where the hotel is (although to a native, such as FLYMSY, it sounds like the description is perfectly precise).
By the way, FLYMSY, I love the image of you as a kid on the streetcar as it “sped along the tracks.” I’ve ridden the streetcars many, many times as an adult and “sped” is not the first word that comes to mind!!
Let me ask this question of the natives and locals: what does one mean by “uptown”? Where does it begin? Does it include or exclude other specifically identifiable neighborhoods (Riverbend, for example)? Does it extend all the way to Jefferson Parish?
Last edited by Blumie; Mar 19, 2018 at 11:20 pm