A Local's Guide to New Orleans

Meet Lyle Kane

Lyle Kane is the proprietor of Obeah Guesthouse, a bed and breakfast in New Orleans, and he's spent the last six years doing one thing: helping visitors experience the city the way locals do — through its music, its food and its culture.

We sat down with Lyle to get his local guide to New Orleans, from the best beignets on Frenchmen Street to day trips beyond the big city. The result is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood, meal-by-meal, show-by-show roadmap to the real New Orleans.

Plan Your Trip

Watch the video above, and use the list below to plan your trip.

Lyle Kane has spent six years as proprietor of Obeah Guesthouse planning visitors' perfect New Orleans holidays around music and food. Here's where he sends people.

Breakfast

Bearcat Cafe — Lyle's top pick; known for a crawfish-forward breakfast that's "really delicious and special."

Lunch / Quick Bites

Coop's Place (French Quarter) — Dive bar with great local food; one of the few French Quarter spots Lyle recommends
Frady's (Bywater) — One of his favorite po'boys
Turkey and the Wolf — Well-known sandwich spot on the Uptown side

Dinner

Jacques-Imo's (Uptown, Oak Street) — Lyle's top dinner pick; "food made with love, not toned down for tourists"
Porgy’s Seafood Market and Restaurant — Casual Gulf seafood spot; fish collars, crawfish, "really delicious"
Palm & Pine — Modern New Orleans cuisine with Caribbean, Mexican and Central American influences near the French Quarter; "food made with love"

Sweets & Snacks

Loretta's Authentic Pralines (Frenchmen Street) — Praline beignets are the "best beignets in the city"

Live Music

Frenchmen Street — "The heartbeat of New Orleans;" walk up and down and make sure to dip into the clubs
DBA — Top-tier musicians; Monday nights feature Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet
Snug Harbor — Musicians paid well, so the best come to play
The Spotted Cat — Chris Christie (not the governor) plays guitar 2pm–6pm; great early music
Blue Nile — Some special nights mid-week
Tipitina's — "An institution"
Maple Leaf Bar (Uptown, Oak Street) — Great shows; right next door to Jacques-Imo's
Bacchanal Wine (Bywater) — Wine bar with live music in the courtyard; great on a nice Saturday morning
Vaughan's Lounge (Bywater) — Very local vibe; Tuesday nights feature Trumpet Mafia residency

Bands to Catch Live

Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet — Monday nights at DBA
The Rumble — "Culture bearers of the city;" two Grammy-nominated albums
Trumpet Mafia — Led by Ashlin Parker, trumpet professor at Tulane; best young musicians in the city
Glen David Andrews — Saturday nights; rotating venues

History & Culture

Whitney Plantation (outside the city) — Tells the story of slavery from the enslaved perspective; Lyle calls it "the most respectful preservation of New Orleans history"
Backstreet Cultural Museum — Essential for understanding Mardi Gras Indian culture, which is "wrapped into the history of this city"

Day Trips & Activities

Cajun Encounters Swamp Tour — Lyle's preferred company; slow-cruise style featuring gators and wild boars, and a relaxed Bayou afternoon

Neighborhoods Worth Exploring

Frenchmen Street — Walk it day and night
The French Quarter — Walk it, but skip most of the restaurants; go for the atmosphere
The Bywater — Local neighborhood; home to Bacchanal Wine, Vaughan's Lounge, Frady’s
Uptown / Oak Street — Jacques-Imo's, Maple Leaf Bar, Turkey and the Wolf