Favorite haunts
Uptown
Coffee
Cherry Coffee
Everything about Lauren’s coffee, food and vibe is great here.
Food
Patois Restaurant
Aaron, Jonathan and Lisa make Patois my favorite neighborhood restaurant in the city. Quaint. Welcoming. Lovely staff. In a homey uptown neighborhood. Everything is right about it. Tasty food.
Clancy's
Uptown, near Audubon Park. It specializes in Louisiana Creole cuisine. Signature dishes include lemon ice box pie, fried oysters with brie and soft-shell crab. I saw some people fight over Oysters Rockefeller and Oysters Bedouin but they made up over Crabmeat St. Francis. This place is a New Orleans classic and about as Uptown New Orleans as you can get even when you’re in Uptown New Orleans.
Surrey's
Go for breakfast. Great funky spot. Oh, and Greg - the owner - somehow has two BANKSY’s stenciled on his buildings.
Drinks
Columns Hotel Bar
Made famous by Brooks Shields in the 1978 cult-classic film "Pretty Baby”. Well, nothing is different and everything is better.
Chloe Hotel
Handsome bar beautifully designed by Sara Ruf-fin Costello and Robert LeBlanc. Great spot for drinks.
Shop
Others
Audubon Park
John Audubon designed beautiful parks and sketched beautiful birds. Sunset walks or a jog set to Tulane and Loyola University campuses right across the street is one of my favorite things to do.