Beyond Bourbon Street : Along Its Revitalized Riverfront, a “New” New Orleans Gives the French Quarter a Run for Its Money

The Big Muddy is finally a star attraction in the Big Easy.

By 8 p.m. on a recent pre-holiday evening, hundreds of people carrying daquiris or beer in plastic cups (open containers are not only allowed here, they are practically de rigueur ) were milling about in Spanish Plaza, a stylish open space next to Riverwalk Festival Marketplace. A barge all gussied up like a Mardi Gras float but bearing a garish Christmas tree, sailed up the Mississippi to the ferry dock. Cafe du Monde, the city’s famous coffee-and-beignets peddler, was on hand to dispense portable mugs of its chicory-laced brew to non-tipplers.

It was a great excuse for a party, although New Orleans never did need much of one. The difference was that until a couple of years ago, few would have thought to stage one down by the docks.

When I first visited the Crescent City a decade ago, the only time I saw the river was when I boarded the Riverboat President for a concert-cruise or crossed a bridge to get to a famous restaurant such as Mosca’s or Le Ruth’s on the West Bank.

The President, alas, has been sold up the river to reincarnate as a floating casino boat outside Dubuque, Iowa. But this year, visitors to Mardi Gras (Feb. 12) and New Orleans’ world-famous Jazz & Heritage Festival (April 26 to May 7) can explore the area near where the President once floated: It has been rebuilt into a sleek, modern and clean collection of upscale shopping and entertainment centers, more than a few eateries and a terrific aquarium--all connected by broad walkways planted with high-tech metal sculptures. Broad plazas landscaped with azalias, a massive, circular fountain, and food and flower stalls add to an area that’s not Bourbon Street traditional.

From the Convention Center on the south to the French Market on the north, the repolished area adjacent to or, at least, near the Mississippi, takes in Riverwalk, the Warehouse District, Jackson Brewery, the Aquarium of the Americas and a variety of hotels, restaurants and shops. And set to open this spring is a Convention Center expansion that will double its size. It’s a new New Orleans built to enhance, but not replace, the old.

The development of the area’s centerpiece, the Riverwalk shopping and dining arcade, is a product of the Rouse Corp., the same company that revamped other historic downtown areas, producing Faneuil Hall in Boston, Bayside Marketplace in Miami, South Street Seaport in New York and Harborplace in Baltimore. There’s also a gleaming new Aquarium crammed with tourists and their tots, a renovated brewery refashioned a la Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco and a streetcar line to tote tourists along the riverfront, from the multilevel Riverwalk complex to the renovated French Market.

All this in a city that already gives us the tarnished but beguiling French Quarter, great jazz and zydeco, the southern Mansion-graced Garden District and some of the best bread pudding on the face of the earth.

Ironically, Riverwalk and environs were born of the financial failure of the 1984 World’s Fair, which was staged on grounds near rundown warehouses along the Mississippi. Attendance may not have been what organizers had hoped, but the event opened the eyes of commercial real estate developers to the potential of that neglected area. So in a push to find revenues to augment income from its ailing oil industry, the city known for its mix of Southern charm and international savoir-faire decided to aggressively court a tourist population reared in shopping malls and, increasingly, traveling with children.

Just months after the Fair closed, the Rouse Corp. began to build Riverwalk on the site of the international pavilions.

In contrast to the World’s Fair, Riverwalk, since opening in 1986, has been a largely unqualified success--especially among locals. One reason is that it is an invitingly handsome space, with plenty of glass and glitter. Another is that its three levels look directly onto the river--a bustling waterway of tugs, barges and sightseeing boats. Shoppers can step outside onto the riverfront promenade for a snack at outside tables, or simply rediscover the Mississippi all over again. Moreover, Riverwalk is a hit with tourists. Strategically located between the Convention Center and the 1,600-room Hilton Hotel, it also dishes up such amusements as daily marching jazz bands, and shops and food stalls that are distinctive and, well, classy.

Sure the Gap and Limited are here. But so is a shop called Masks and Make Believe (buy your Mardi Gras mask and costume here) and a kiosk called Cajun Polo, whose shirts have crawfish logos. Best of all, the food stalls tempt you with oyster po’ boys, New Orleans’ famous thick hero sandwiches, or full-course Creole meals.

Riverwalk brought back the five-hour fete known as Lundi Gras, a tradition that had not been celebrated in New Orleans for 70 years. To those who don’t speak French, it means fat Monday . It takes place the day before Mardi Gras. And it heralds the riverboat arrival of Rex, King of Mardi Gras, with a parade and celebration.

A short stroll from Riverwalk is New Orleans’ latest smashing success: the Aquarium of the Americas, which opened in September. (Daytime lines are so long that visitors would perhaps be better off visiting in late afternoon or early evening.)

The keepers of New Orleans’ famous Audubon Zoo came up with the series of masterstrokes that set the aquarium apart from watery marvels elsewhere.

First and second are the location and the architecture: This immense glass cone-and-caboose structure glows like a Brobdingnagian fish bowl right on the waterfront. Third is the theme, which is North and South American aquatic life housed in four environments: a Caribbean reef, an Amazon rainforest, the Gulf of Mexico and, of course, the Mississippi. Fourth is the music: The aquarium commissioned a symphonic suite from New Orleans composer Stephen Dankner, divided into sections that capture the flavor of each area.

When I visited the aquarium, a knowledgeable Louisianan guided me past the crowded Caribbean and Amazon tanks, iguanas and all, near the entrance. Instead we headed for the Mississippi River habitat, where the music evoked ragtime days aboard a steamer, alligators slithered at our feet and pelicans flapped around a Cajun fishing shack. Then we took the stairs to the mammoth Gulf exhibit, where we stared at truly menacing sharks and barracuda dancing to Dankner’s brooding tunes. Finally, we visited a microlab where kids (and their parents) can reach out and touch some of the pettable creatures.

The same Audubon minds are responsible for Woldenberg Park adjacent to the aquarium. It’s a lovely use of greenery with a walking path that has already been discovered by joggers. Right behind it is one of several stops on the new streetcar line, its cars dubbed the “Ladies in Red.” After a few hours of shopping and fish viewing, this is the perfect place to hop aboard for a trip to the Jackson Brewery, an old building made new again on the river.

Built in 1891, this turreted hops-and-barley palace operated well into the 1970s. Then it closed, only to be reborn a few years ago as a collection of boutiques and food markets. It’s a great place to pick up mementos. The General Store, for instance, features cookbooks, pralines and boxes of jambalaya mix at prices lower than the airport but higher than a supermarket.

My favorite spot at Jax, the local nickname for the Brewery, is the food court on the third floor. Among the fast-food outlets there are branches of two of Louisiana’s best-known eateries: Buster Holmes and Patout’s. Red beans and rice are to Buster Holmes what hot dogs are to Nathan’s.

Originally from New Iberia in the heart of Cajun country, Patout’s offers fiery versions of such famous foods as jambalaya, maque-choux corn and barbequed shrimp at minuscule prices. You can get a platter of three selections for $5.95. It is one of the best eating bargains in the city.

By the time you get to Jax you are on the edge of the Vieux Carre, as the French Quarter is called by residents. It presents a striking contrast to the revitalized waterfront.

While the French Quarter has numerous restaurants, galleries and night spots, the trendy crowd these days often crosses back over Canal Street to the chic, rejuvenated Warehouse District, adjacent to the riverfront. The Warehouse District is a mini-Soho for seekers of art, disco and nouvelle cuisine. In it, old buildings have been gutted and converted into apartments and condos, nightclubs, shops and restaurants.

Thankfully, the hordes of drunken conventioneers who make Bourbon Street an uncomfortable scene don’t seem to have yet migrated in this direction.

Club of the moment is City Lights, at 310 Howard Ave. in the Warehouse District. It’s a big dance-oriented room with both live and canned music, plus a giant video screen and light show. Don’t show up until at least 9 p.m. and don’t wear jeans.

Likewise, the hot food emporium is Emeril’s, at 800 Tchoupitoulas St., named after its chef who once worked miracles at Commander’s Palace. For $45, including wine, I had a meal that would have cost twice as much in Los Angeles and included a gumbo that made my socks roll up. Esquire recently voted Emeril’s the best new restaurant in the United States. Make reservations at least a week in advance by calling (504) 528-9393.

Finally, a word about the scads of big, expensive high-rise hotels in the downtown area. Not only are they convenient, they house some interesting restaurants and music clubs as well.

At the Hilton, for example, you can hear Pete Fountain in his very own club within the hotel. The great clarinetist puts on a polished show Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. At the Meridien, The Louis Armstrong Foundation Jazz Club is a comfortable lobby bar setting for absolutely authentic traditional jazz. At the Sheraton, big breakfast eaters devour the monster daily buffet.

Remember, after a night of eating, drinking and revelry, that charmingly spruced-up riverfront is still there in the morning for a nice long jog . . . and a beignet.