French Quarter History

Light My Fire: The Spectacle and Tradition of Café Brûlot

Photo courtesy of Antoine's Restaurant on FacebookA lot of towns have dinner theater, but in New Orleans dinner is theater. This is especially true in the old-line Creole restaurants where locals and visitors partake in dining experiences as cultural and theatrical as they are culinary. In these...

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Proof is in the Bread Pudding—Chefs Add Variety to New Orleans’ Classic Dessert

When most bread goes stale it gets tossed in the trash or fed to the birds. But for some lucky loaves, going stale is just the beginning of a transformation into bread pudding — the ambrosial dessert that is a mainstay finale at many restaurants across New Orleans. A Quick History of Bread...

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Bananas Foster in the French Quarter

Bananas Foster, a type of dessert made with bananas and vanilla ice cream, was made famous by way of New Orleans. Today, this decadent dessert remains a staple, impressively served flambéed tableside as it was intended, or in many delicious variations (as a pie, ice cream, or French toast) in...

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New Orleans Pralines, Sweet Southern Confections

By: Ian McNultyNew Orleans Pralines, photo courtesy of Southern Candymakers on FacebookWhen the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar comes to its rattling, end-of-the-line halt at the edge of the French Quarter, visitors step out of one city icon and immediately encounter another — New...

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Exploring the French Quarter with Kids

Photo courtesy of French QuarTour Kids on FacebookWhile "child-friendly" or "family-friendly" may not automatically come to mind when, say, Bourbon Street is mentioned, New Orleans is packed with things you can do as a family, for kids of all ages. Here are our favorite family-friendly...

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Micaela Almonester Pontalba: The Baroness of Extremes

By: Sally ReevesBaroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba. Photo courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum.Micaela Almonester Pontalba was the wealthiest woman in New Orleans, but her biographer called her a frump for her lamentable everyday wardrobe. Like most Creoles, she married a cousin, but her...

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Must-See Mardi Gras Museums

Photo courtesy of Mardi Gras World on FacebookThe magic of the Carnival is perpetually captured by these museums listed below, even outside of the season, which falls between January 6 (Twelfth Night, or Epiphany) and ends on Fat Tuesday, followed by the Lenten season starting on Ash Wednesday....

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Must-See French Quarter Museums

Photo courtesy of New Orleans Pharmacy Museum on FacebookNew Orleans tends to be known more for its food, music and nightlife than its museums, but this city actually excels at visitor-friendly educational institutions. Our museums tend to focus on local knowledge subjects that exist close to...

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Oldest Building Features of the French Quarter

By: Sally Reeves Secluded in the muddle of the French Quarter's raucous street life linger elements that still impart a kind of stately antiquity. They are Spanish and French-era pieces. Some are rightly celebrated for their survival of the epochs; others, dressed in garish costumes at the shop...

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Madame Pontalba’s Buildings

Image courtesy of Onasill - Bill BadzoBy: Sally Reeves Jackson Square, and the land around it, was always for the use of the public, or so it seemed. There was the church (St. Louis Cathedral), the priests' house (The Presbytere), and the town hall with the prison (The Cabildo). There was...

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