Ask the New Orleans Answer Man (Episode I)

If you watch YouTube videos, I encourage you to subscribe to the New Orleans State of Mind Channel.  I started this channel a few months ago but didn’t really have anything I wanted to do with it until last week.  As a New Orleans goodwill ambassador, I am busier than I seem to be.  I am forever out on patrol, gathering intelligence and building bridges between communities.  I just got a new, and long overdue assistant to help me with my weekly duties, Ms. Richardson.  She is helping me film some educational videos to help people better understand what is happening in this wonderful city we call home.  Ask the New Orleans Answer Man.

I am the New Orleans Answer Man.

Ms. Richardson and I don’t discuss the subjects of these videos.  She sets up the camera, hits ‘record,’ and she asks me a question.  I respond to the best of my ability.  What do you want to know about New Orleans?  We’ll probably cover it, eventually.

We don’t discuss her questions beforehand.  Why bother?  She asks and I respond.  I’m going to share the first installment of our video series here.  There will be more to follow.  We’ve already made five more episodes.  Click the tag ‘Answer Man’ at the end of any post to see them all.   This is Episode One.

I talk off the cuff, off the top of my head.  There are actually 17 wards in New Orleans, not 16 as I say in the following interview.  The smallest ward, which is in the Lower Garden District, is the 1st Ward, not the 8th.  Everything else is accurate.  I have an omnivorous mind.  People who have lived in New Orleans all their lives are surprised I know as much as I do.  I am not a native New Orleanian.

I am interested without end in New Orleans.  As an armchair historian, I am fascinated by every aspect of New Orleans history and culture.  People call me a New Orleansmetrician.  I study and measure everything about my adopted city.  Just ask Frau Schmitt, who is the better half of this operation.  Frau Schmitt knows everything about New Orleans’ restaurant scene.  Older, more obscure aspects of New Orleans—that’s my bailiwick.

Here is Episode I of Ask the New Orleans Answer Man:

Subscribe to your YouTube channel if you are so inclined.  To learn more about the New Orleans State of Mind, we regularly write a blog about that that is well worth visiting.  Check it out.

If you want to experience New Orleans like you live here, not just like a tourist when you visit this wonderful city we call home, you are on the right website.  La Belle Esplanade has been ranked the #1 place to stay in New Orleans by TripAdvisor for over five years.  La Belle has also been ranked the #2 small hotel in the United States and the #16 place to stay in the whole wide world.  Poke around our website.  Our website is as interesting as our New Orleans neighborhood.  When you’re ready, here’s a link to our calendar to make a reservation.  We only have five suites and we tend to sell out early during busy months.  Plan ahead and make your New Orleans headquarters at La Belle Esplanade.  You belong here.

Thursday, July 25, 2019.

You have two friends on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans.  We look forward to sharing our part of New Orleans with you.  Welcome to the New Orleans State of Mind.

-La Belle Esplanade