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Musica Latina Discoteca
With a growing Spanish-speaking population and well established cultural ties to the Caribbean, it makes sense that New Orleanians would have an appreciation for the exciting music of Latin America. That's all this jam-packed, one-room shop sells. It has everything covered, from the musical traditions of Cuba to Argentina. The mambo greats are thoroughly stocked and there's a smattering of mariachi and salsa artists from the ages.
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New Orleans Art Supply
If you're one who likes to sketch while traveling, as a growing number of people do, here's a good place to go for a fresh supply of pencils and pads. Surprisingly, it's the most central art store in New Orleans, and it's not a bad one. The selection isn't huge, but it's of high quality. The shop is an annex of the New Orleans Conservation Guild.
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New Orleans Fashion Collaborative
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many local and independent clothing designers banded together and formed this collective and began staging a weekly fashion bazaar at the Maple Leaf Bar in the Riverbend. Many of the vendors here sell their goods in shops around town, particularly on Magazine St, but this big stylish event brings it all together, with a wide selection of women's and men's apparel.
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New Orleans Music Exchange
It's high time you learned how to play trumpet. This large shop, specializing mostly in second hand instruments, is the place to go for a nice used horn. There's an entire room of brass and woodwinds, all priced fairly. But to find it, you must weave through a maze of guitar and bass amps. They also sell guitars, guitar strings and all that other stuff. But you really ought to go for the trumpet.
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Photo Works
A polished showroom for the accomplished photographer Louis Sahuc (pronounced SIGH-ook), who has been shooting New Orleans for years and years. Sahuc's beautiful prints capture timeless images of the city. They are vantages of the city upon which even Hurricane Katrina failed to impose change.
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Quarter Past Time
This quiet little shop carries a selection of beautiful timekeepers. We didn't see any grandfather clocks, but they seemed to have everything else covered - wristwatches, pocket watches, wall-mounted clocks. Also, some nifty old radios of Jack Benny and the Brooklyn Dodgers vintage. You can buy, sell or trade, and if your watch ain't winding properly they'll fix it for you.
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Retroactive
This little glad-rag grotto is spilling over with eye-catching treasures. Once you've ducked in through the vintage handbags and crazy hats that literally hang from the ceiling, slow down a bit to inspect the jaw-dropping selection of costume jewelry. Beautiful glass and Bake-lite pieces plucked from the middle of the 20th century cost anywhere from around US$20 to around US$500 . You're sure to find a snazzy little something to pin to your sweater.
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Rink
In the heart of the Garden District, it houses a small group of upscale shops, including a bookstore and coffee shop.
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Riverside Market Shopping Center
A modern surprise that primarily serves the locals' grocery, video rental, liquor and drugstore needs. The No 10 Tchoupitoulas bus goes there from downtown.
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Rock & Roll Collectibles
In this cluttered and very exciting shop you'll find the French Quarter's largest selection of vinyl (that's old-timey 33 rpm long playing records, pal). Come to think of it, this is the only shop selling records in the Quarter anymore. After two-plus decades of CDs and the emergence of eBay as the primary marketplace for used LPs, this place keeps things humming. (Though the store does have a presence on eBay.)
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Sip
Sip was scheduled to open in September 2005, but Hurricane Katrina appeared to have derailed that plan. The owners went ahead and opened shop as soon as possible anyways, an act of faith that locals were quick to praise. The place hopped from the git-go, and hasn't stopped since. The wine selection includes many fine and economical choices, and you can just stop in for a glass.
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Southern Candy Makers
Sweet smelling confections with a Southern accent are created in this neat little shop. A visit is guaranteed to put a big ol' Dolly Parton smile on your face. The toffee is divine and the pralines are to die for. The shop does special candies for every holiday and you can have something sent off to loved ones around the country. Also at 1010 Decatur St.
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Southern Fossil & Mineral Exchange
The SFME is a store that can induce nightmares of the bone-rattling variety. It's a curiosity museum where most everything's got a price tag on it. So if you're impressed by the selection of skulls from all creatures great and small displayed here, you can take some home with you. Something to raise the eyebrows of the guards at the airport when your luggage goes through the X-ray machine.
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St Roch Seafood Market
If the St Roch Seafood Market ever recovers from damage wrought by Hurrican Katrina you'll be able to buy crawfish there too. It's one of New Orleans' classic markets, a real treasure.
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Starling Books & Crafts
This place is about the serious side of the occult, lest we've gotten the idea the whole thing's been cooked up for our own amusement. This scholarly shop sells books concerning voodoo and the occult, and also has a few shelves of potions and voodoo dolls. The staff are knowledgeable, so fire away with questions if you're genuinely interested. Otherwise, walk on by.
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Stone And Press
Here's a cool shop for enthusiasts of fine-art mezzotints, lithographs, wood engravings and etchings by modern American artists. Mezzotints are clearly the emphasis here, and flipping through the huge collection (filed away in bins like records in a record store) is a good way to gain appreciation for a largely under-appreciated art form.
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The Centuries
OK, it's a little on the stodgy side, with its selection of 19th century lithographs and old maps. But wait. Flip through the inventory (all of it well organized by theme, date or locale) and you just might find yourself slowing down to look things over. It's like perusing a historical coffee table book, with no cheesy reproductions. Particularly interesting are the 'Civil War' and 'Black History' sections.
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The Collection
The little gift shop at the Historic New Orleans Collection has a quality selection of new and used books on the region's history, politics, art and architecture. There's also a small selection of art reproductions from the Historic Collection's impressive archive. This is also a good spot to pick up some classy postcards.
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Tower Records
The huge international music chain has an immense store near Jackson Square. Commendably, Tower reopened its doors soon after Hurricane Katrina, thus showing more moxie than the innumerable chains that shied away for months afterwards. Here you'll find the usual complement of CDs in most every genre (with a special room dedicated to regional artists), along with underground comics, magazines and obscure publications.
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Trashy Diva
Not really as scandalous as the name suggests, except maybe by Victorian standards. The specialty at this place is sassy Belle Epoque undergarments - lots of corsets and lacy, frilly stuff for ladies and gentlemen who enjoy those drawn-out undressing rituals. The shop also features Kabuki-inspired dresses with embroidered dragons and racks of retro tops, skirts and shawls reflecting styles plucked from just about every era.
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Uptown Costume & Dancewear
A one-stop emergency room for anyone caught completely unprepared for Mardi Gras, Halloween or any other occasion that calls for a completely frivolous disguise. It's an emporium of goofy get-ups, packed to the rafters with Boas, tiaras, masks, Elvis capes, ballerina tutus and a truly astounding selection of el-cheapo wigs. Guaranteed to keep you from blending into the woodwork. Fun stuff for the entire family.
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Vieux Carre Wine & Spirits
A densely stocked shop run by two Italian-born brothers who can often be found socializing at a table near the front door. It has an impressive selection of wines from California, Australia, France and Italy, and a commendable choice of international beers. If you're really serious about wine, and willing to pay good money for it, ask to see the back room, where the rare vintages are kept.
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Whole Foods Market
A popular source for a picnic lunch, this market has an excellent deli as well as a healthy selection of fresh fruits and dry bins filled with nuts and healthy snacks. Hefty sandwiches are made to order, with fresh breads stuffed with quality meats and a full range of condiments. You can also get small salads and beverages. It's just a few blocks from here to City Park or the Fair Grounds.
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Zombie's House of Voodoo
Just around the corner from Bourbon St (and with another outlet, actually on Bourbon), this voodoo shop gamely makes its pitch amid the drunken hordes. You might see it as a mission in the devil's hand basket, but step inside and it's plain to see this is one religion that's not bent on snuffing out the party. Then there is the truly splendiferous display of plaster of Paris statuettes imported from the Santeria realms of Brazil.
