New Orleans – America’s Most Interesting City

BEFORE IT PICKED UP THE NICKNAME “BIG EASY,”
New Orleans’ tourism slogan was the arguably superior “America’s Most Interesting City.” The sweaty, sultry Southern town nestled in the Mississippi River’s crescent has gone through plenty of change since then — particularly in recent years — but the city has undoubtedly lived up to the old tagline. It’s the cradle of American music, whether you’re into jazz, rock, or sludge metal. It’s both America’s most European city and its most Caribbean city, imbued with French, Spanish, Haitian, and Cuban influence. It proudly holds to tradition, seen in its grand Creole cuisine served in century-old dining palaces and in its wild, joyous, traffic-stopping second line parades where marchers scale rooftops to dance. New Orleans has endured more tragedy than any American city post-9/11, yet it still celebrates with unparalleled verve and flair. Most interesting city? Yeah, exactly.

THE MOST INTERESTING CITY IS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST VACATION CITIES
Travel to New Orleans is an adventure. However, it should come with a warning label. Fun is it’s middle name. The nightlife, the restaurants, the sightseeing, the shopping, it never ends. Not necessarily known as a family destination, it has been known as one of the best coming of age destinations.

NEW ORLEANS HAS BEEN A LEGENDARY DESTINATION FOR SOPHISTICATED DINING AND DRINKING FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS NOW,
yet even the past decade has seen a welcome boom in the number of bars, restaurants, craft breweries, and other expert purveyors of things you put in your mouth. Naturally, it’s only responsible for visitors and residents to oblige.

WHILE VISINT NEW ORLEANS YOU WILL WANT TO SAMPLE THE ESSENTIAL FLAVORS.
Start with the whiskey-anise bite of a Sazerac. Seek out the delightful marriage of crunchy, batter-fried seafood or drippy roast beef debris with mayo, lettuce, pickles, and hot sauce on Leidenheimer or Dong Phuong po-boy bread. Fall for the pillowy-soft icy slush of a sno-ball. Stalk the local version of the Bloody Mary — piled with spicy beans, pickled okra, celery, olives, tomatoes, and even bacon, poached shrimp, and crab claws — at joints like Elizabeth’s, La Petite Grocery , or Atchafalaya. And don’t leave town without tackling a muffuletta, that symphony in meats, cheese, and vinegar on a roll the size of your head.

Remember to eat responsibly; in New Orleans, your stomach cannot keep pace with your eyes. We’re here to help you pick wisely.

SOURCE: (Thrill List Travel)