Drink Dat New Orleans by Elizabeth Pearce

Author:Elizabeth Pearce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Countryman Press
Published: 2017-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

Big in Japan at Yuki

CHAPTER 3

Tremé

Tremé (pronounced TRUH-MAY) is the oldest black neighborhood in America, and many argue it is the birthplace of jazz. Often still referred to by its French name, Faubourg Tremé, it was named for Claude Tremé, a real estate developer who settled in New Orleans in 1783 and owned a small part of the neighborhood. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both free persons of color as well as African slaves who had obtained their freedom owned property in this neighborhood. This remarkable achievement, when the country was so immersed in slavery, was facilitated by flexible French and Spanish laws concerning property ownership, as well as the presence of a large population of free people of color as compared to other large southern cities. The heart of Tremé was Congo Square, a gathering place for both slaves and free people of color in that time. It now lies inside Armstrong Park, named for New Orleans’s native son Louis Armstrong. St. Augustine Church, the oldest African-American Catholic Church in the country, is located here, as is St. Louis Cemetery #1, the final resting place of civil rights activist Homer Plessy and New Orleans’s most famous Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.

BULLET’S SPORTS BAR

2441 A P Tureaud Ave. • (504) 669-4464

No website

HOURS 8 a.m.–midnight (or later if a band is playing) 7 days a week

The crowd at Bullet’s all know each other, and if you stick around long enough, by the end of the night they will know you, too. Bullet’s neighborhood vibe is best experienced on Sunday nights, when a rotating selection of musicians serenade the crowd. Come a little early, between five and six in the evening, and you will find rows of tables lined up, each marked with a sign reading “Reserved.” One table is for “Flint,” another is for “Ms Pat.” Slowly but surely, the regulars arrive at their tables, which are already prepared with their “set-ups” (a bucket of ice and glasses). Each table then sends an emissary to the bar to buy a half-pint (or more) of their favorite spirit. Soon the room fills, as do the tables, and it’s apparent that this arrangement allows one to host friends to drinks but it also keeps the bar from getting too crowded with folks waiting to order one drink at a time. The good news is that it’s free to reserve a table; you only need to call ahead and then make sure to arrive before the music starts (otherwise they give away your spot).

Other nights, the tables are moved away to make room for dancing, whether to R&B or zydeco on the jukebox, or to the raucous beat of the Pinettes, an all-female brass band. Bullet’s is not handy for most tourists, but if you want a taste of a truly local night out in New Orleans, get yourself there.

KERMIT’S TREMÉ MOTHER-IN-LAW LOUNGE

1500 N. Claiborne Ave. • (504) 975-3955

www.facebook.com/Kermits-Treme-Motherinlaw-Lounge

HOURS 5 p.m.–midnight (or later) 7 days a week

NO HAPPY HOUR

When you first arrive at the Mother-in-Law, you’ll notice some rather remarkable murals covering the building.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.