Visiting New Orleans Jazz Fest Don't Miss These
Local Places Within Walking Distance for Pre and Post-Fest Fun
Apr 10, 2009
Luckily for many Jazz Fest Goers, the Jazz Fest Shuttle Buses drive up and down Esplanade Avenue and drop and pick passengers back up at the corners of Esplanade Avenue and Ponce de Leon Street. There are good local establishments that are available between the shuttles and the Fairgrounds.
Coffee Drinks or Gumbo to Start the Festival Day
Fairgrinds Coffee House, 3133 Ponce de Leon Street, opens at 6:30 a.m., every day. Wonderful, rich, fair trade coffee is their hallmark. Proprietors Robert and Elizabeth Thompson have a commitment to providing healthy, organic products and supporting small cooperative farming. The boon to consumers is the cornucopia of coffees, teas and tasty edibles their concern provides. Fairgrinds serves local items whenever possible. Recycling and “green products” are watchwords, too. Since the Festival gates don’t open until about 11:00 a.m. each day there is ample time to visit Fairgrinds to relax, have a hot or cold beverage, view the local art on the walls and soak up the ambiance of the Esplanade Ridge/Bayou St. John neighborhood.
Liuzza’s By the Track is east out the door of Fairgrinds. At the intersection of Ponce de Leon and North Lopez Street is this neighborhood institution. A small bar and grill , it has the distinction of serving, among many other delights, amazing gumbo and a barbeque shrimp po’ boy that is known throughout the entire city of New Orleans as one of the best. During the week of the Festival the owners empty the tables and chairs out of the restaurant and run only the bar inside. Outside, the gumbo is available from a serving window. Before and during the early hours of the Fest, NOLA.COM is up in front of restaurant and distributes free Jazz Fest maps, daily schedules and other souvenirs. Stop by early to pick up the freebies before they’re gone.
Continue one-block walk east on Ponce de Leon to Sauvage Street. Turn left and the Sauvage Street entrance into the Festival itself is just two blocks down.
Coffee, Drinks or Gumbo to Wind Down and Party On After the Fest
At the end of the festival day, leave by the Sauvage Street gate and head back to Ponce de Leon Street. A giant block party assembles around Liuzza’s By The Track. Local musicians and bands play. Local artists and crafts people set up tables to sell their wares. Impromptu gab sessions reviewing the day at the Fest spring up. The dancing and drinks go on into the wee hours.
If a quieter after Festival wind down is more appealing, continue up Ponce de Leon Street back to Fairgrinds. It’s open until at least 10:00 p.m., with its array coffees, teas and non-alcoholic beverages. As the evening comes to a close, accomplished local acoustic musicians and singers often decide to perform from the benches out front.
Other Nearby Local Businesses Supply Groceries and Wines
In a related article, three other locally-owned stores will enter the Jazz Fest neighborhood spotlight. Swirl, Canseco’s Market, and Terranova Brothers’ Superette can all supply a festival-goer with groceries, sundries, alcohol, and meals-to-go.
