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My camera is broken.  Go figure.  I knew it was going to happen.  I encountered a piece of voodoo cutlery on the sidewalk yesterday.  As soon as I saw it I knew I was jinxed in New Orleans again.  If you don’t know what voodoo cutlery is, you need to visit The New Orleans Odditarium.  The […]

La Belle Esplanade is in Downtown New Orleans.  When we say ‘downtown,” we mean downriver of Canal Street.  All directions are different here.  We don’t think in terms of North, South, East or West in New Orleans.  We say, Lakeside, Riverside, Downtown, Uptown.  We know what we mean.  A funny thing happened in New Orleans

New Orleans doesn’t look like anything you are used to.  It is an old city.  The city of New Orleans is over 300 years old.  There is a long history of picturesque decay.  New Orleans is safe, though.  No matter what your Uber driver tells you, you can walk just about anywhere in most parts

Ask any woman in New Orleans why men wear hats in New Orleans and they will tell you God’s honest truth.  It is all about style.  Style isn’t everything in New Orleans.  Honesty counts for more, but style is something.  Style counts in New Orleans.  I know.  I am both honest and I always wear

There are plenty of love triangles in New Orleans, too many to list here.  Geographically speaking, there are plenty of New Orleans triangles worth mentioning but we’re only going to talk about one of them today.  It is one of New Orleans’ hottest neighborhoods.  It is the Fairgrounds Triangle.  Ask any realtor. Of all the many New

The best parade is the one you’re at.  You can’t be everywhere in New Orleans at once.  All of Mardi Gras is a parade.  The best Mardi Gras parades are free.  Mardi Gras is the biggest and bestest free show on earth.  The whole city celebrates it, every man, woman, and child. You may wonder

Culturally speaking, New Orleans is a powerhouse.  Losing power in New Orleans is a way life.  It comes and it goes.  New Orleans is electric.  New Orleans is neon.  New Orleans is air-conditioned.  New Orleans without electricity is still a city alive.  In fact, when the power goes out and it doesn’t bother you, that’s

Guess what today is.  Briana, don’t believe everything you read.  It’s Hallowe’en in New Orleans.  Then, it will be All Saints’ Day.  Then, it will be All Souls’ Day.  Then, it will be the rest of us’s days.  Every day is Hallowe’en in New Orelans.  Not every day is Mardi Gras Day. When you live

It is no surprise that “The Best Written Blog in New Orleans” has it’s fair share of longstanding fans who have been with us from the beginning.  La Belle Esplanade’s blog has been going strong since before we opened seven years ago.  We have sometimes hit slumps.  We have occasionally published guest submissions from elementary

Apropos of Halloween, I’d like to share a condensed article from our sister blog about New Orleans Witch Houses. It would be rash to say that there are a lot of witch houses in New Orleans.  Despite the neighborhoods’ reputations, there are far fewer witch houses in Tremé or the 7th Ward than anyone thinks are there.  Everyone