New Orleans Tips from Convention Committee Chairman Chris Hymel
There is no place on earth like the Crescent City and we look forward to offering our fellow Elks experiences that are uniquely New Orleans. As you prepare for your visit, here are a few things you should know:
When you visit, never say New-Or-leeens it is New-Or-luns. We tend to string the words together and also drop a few letters.
The “median” area of our divided streets is called “The Neutral Ground” and during Mardi Gras natives will tell their friends to look for them on the sidewalk side or neutral ground side of the parade.
When giving directions, natives rarely use the cardinal directions - North, South, East, and West. They will tell you to travel toward the river or toward the lake, of course that can also be confusing because the river makes two big bends as it passes the city and it depends on where you are standing at the moment . Generally the lake dominates the landscape north of the city, and the river separates the east from the west bank of the city. Okay, so Canal Street is the dividing line between streets that include North or South in their name – North and South Rampart is a good example. The French Quarter is on the Lake (relatively North) side of Canal Street – its boundaries are North Rampart, Canal Street, the Mississippi River, and Esplanade Avenue. The majority of the streets in the business district change names at Canal Street, so it is easy to get lost. So remember if you cross the neutral ground on Canal Street at Bourbon the street name is Carondelet Street on the “river side” of Canal. If you walk to the lake end of Bourbon you will leave the Quarter when you cross Esplanade Avenue - soon Bourbon becomes Pauger Street.
So here is your test. If you were standing at Jackson Square and looking across the river in a relative southeast direction what are you looking at? Answer: the “Westbank.” If at that same spot you observe river traffic going left (North), they are actually heading downriver to the Gulf of Mexico – remember those two big loops in the river.
Fried dough covered with powdered sugar is called a beignet (ben-yay). Goes great with cafe ole’ – ½ cup of chicory coffee with ½ cup of milk.
If you get “lagniappe” during your visit, there’s no need to call the doctor. Lagniappe is “a little something extra” that may be thrown in unexpectedly as you shop, while you enjoy our world famous cuisine, or even when getting directions from a perfect stranger. Don’t worry – it’s a good thing.
And, finally, during your visit to New Orleans, we hope you’ll join in and “Laissez les bon temps rouler!,” or “Let the good times roll!”