Even for a city like New Orleans, which has been bouncing back from calamities viral, meteorological and otherwise for three centuries, the last couple of years have been rough. But today, the most freewheeling city in the nation is strutting forward with a sense of relief and renewed confidence, seducing visitors with time-tested charms and a few bright new baubles.
Notably, a spirit of studied elegance and experimentation has made a mark on the hospitality scene, with bespoke boutique hotels popping up in neighborhoods beyond the French Quarter, and major international players, including Virgin Hotels and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, opening outposts near the heart of the old city.
A place that runs on tourism dollars and conviviality was bound to suffer some notable losses in the pandemic, particularly in the dining world. Among them were K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, the French Quarter fixture that closed in 2020 after decades of spreading the gospel of Creole and Cajun cooking. More dialed-in gourmands are mourning the loss of Upperline, JoAnn Clevenger’s casually elegant Uptown dining room, which fit the neighborhood like the best kind of rumpled button-down shirt.
But fear not: Nobody’s going home hungry. New restaurants and old are thrumming again as tourists flock back to town and locals get back to their love affair with their city.
On the cultural front, returning visitors will be impressed by a new museum dedicated to Southern Jewish history, while a couple of art and technology-driven attractions offer immersive and virtual takes on what it means to be in New Orleans.
Eat and sleep
Though the French tend to get top billing, the Spanish-speaking world has also had an outsize impact on New Orleans culture, from the Spanish colonial era to the crucial months after Katrina, when Mexican and Central American workers helped power the rebuilding effort. One of the most buzzed-about new restaurants in town, Lengua Madre, pays homage to the chef Ana Castro’s family roots in Mexico City. Her sophisticated five-course tasting menu ($70) promises to tease out the culinary and cultural connections to the two cities: One of her mottos is “New Orleans is home, Mexico is life.” The menu is constantly changing, but it’s the kind of place where you are likely to find mustard greens on your tlacoyo.
Pandemic precautions, including mask wearing and proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test, have been lifted for restaurants and bars. The…
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