NEWORLEANS
ISNOLATHENEW
WILLIAMSBURG?YOU
MIGHT BESURPRISED
TOFINDTHELOUISIANA
HOTSPOTISASARTY
ASIT ISPARTYIt’s 10pm in New Orleans and the city is
putting on its stilettos and eyeliner and
gearingupforthenightahead.Tipsytourists,
plasticcupsofHandGrenades(acocktail
that’sahazmatshadeofneon)inhand,spill
onto Bourbon Street, tarot readers man
their posts in JacksonSquare, acrossfrom
thecommandingStLouisCathedral,andthe
lineup forbeignets at Café Du Monde is
halfwaydowntheblock.
Thisis NOLA,hometoMardiGras(which
doesn’tsharetheLGBTQI+historythatours
does), ground zero for debaucherous
bachelorandbacheloretteparties,a citythat
doesn’t slow down, let alone sleep. But
there’smoretoNOLAthanthebacchanal.
NewOrleansisa bitofanexhibitionist,sure,
butit’salsoromanticandcourtlyand unlike
any other city in the United States.>goodsfromindependentcreatorsthatarefar
fromnaff.DownnearthebuzzyValenciaSt
stripintheMissionDistrict,Stuff(stuffsf.com)is
a vintageparadise– don’tbesurprisedif you
find yourself frantically googling “shipping
containerSanFrantoAustralia”–andDog
Eared Books (dogearedbooks.com) has
a mixofthebestnewandsecond-handtitles.
Backat the hotel, design darlingKelly
Wearstlerhasleftnothingunconsidered;the
furnishings—fromtheentryallthewayupto
the rooftop bar — are a carefullycurated
clash of texture and pattern. The art-filled
lobbytrulyisafeastfortheeyes.Hereyou
canperchonacoral-huedvelvetcouchand
hangwithabookortakeacall(ifyourwork
ethichasbeenstirredbythecity’shustle).
IntheeraofAirbnb,oneofthebiggest
joysofahotelstayistheperks,andatthe
Properthatincludesbeingwhisked,without
delay,uptotherooftop bar,Charmaine’s,
whichgarners aqueue aroundthecorner
mostweekends(lastyear,it wasinthetop 10
barsinthecityforUberdrop-offs).Thenext
morning,lobbybarVillon’stakeonavotoast
(whichcomestoppedwithchilli,apoached
egg and rosemary butter) will nip any
potential hangover in the bud.
THEGO-TOs
EAT
DowninSoMa(asin,south
ofMarketStreet),Bellota
(bellotasf.com)servesSpanish
foodina hugewarehouse
space,whileoverinthe
MissionDistrict,Taqueria
(taqueriasanfrancisco.com)
isa stand-outina seaof
Mexicaneateries.Hole-in-
the-wallMissionCheese
(missioncheese.net)dishesup
myriadsnackablevariations
onthefavourite– ourpickis
themacandcheesetopped
withbreadcrumbs,paired
witha glass of local wine.SIP
VerjusFrenchCuisine&
WineBar(verjuscave.com)
servesupanarrayofminimal-
interventionorganicwines,
witha focusonlocalproducers.
It alsohasa storebuiltinsoyou
cantakehomeanything
youlove.If youfancy
somethingsparkly,TheRiddler
(theriddlersf.com)pairs
bubbleswithtatertotwaffles.
It’salsobackedandrunby
afemale-led team. Win-win.DROPBY
Thankstoa recent
renovation,theseven-floor
SanFranciscoMuseumOf
ModernArt(sfmoma.org)is
nowoneoftheUS’largest
contemporaryartmuseums,
andworthyofseveralhoursof
yourtime.Buttherealmagicin
SanFranhappensoutdoors
(surprisingfora placewith
higherwindspeedsthanWindy
CityChicago);namelyinits
parks.BeelineforAlamoSquare
forviews,BuenaVistafor
a quickhikeorMissionDolores
if you want to feel like a local.177
The lobby at ProperTheloungeatMaisonDe
La Luz, New OrleansSanFranciscoMuseumVillon at Proper Of Modern Art