12/28/11

New Option Plays for Downtown's Football Fest

You might still be making plans for New Year’s Eve at this point, but prudent partiers should have more dates on their radar screens for the first few days of 2012. That’s because New Orleans, always football-friendly, is about to turn into a football festival.

The last regular season Saints game will be a home nooner on Jan. 1, just as Michigan and Virginia Tech fans begin pouring into town as their teams compete in the AllState Sugar Bowl on the night of Jan. 3. Less than a week later, downtown streets will be filled with dueling legions adorned in LSU purple and gold or Alabama crimson as these two teams face off in the AllState BCS National Championship game on the night of Jan. 9.

Tickets for these games will be hard to come by, especially...

Posted at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

12/14/11

Turning Afternoon into After Hours in the Quarter

When is it officially after hours? In December, in New Orleans, it can come much earlier than normal.

That explains the long-running local ritual of the Friday holiday lunch. This is traditionally a gathering of friends and colleagues, of course, a little time out from the routine to celebrate the holiday season. But with a little advance planning and the collusion of flexible work schedules, it also can lead seamlessly into happy hour and maybe even tumble directly into dinner.

In other words, the New Orleans holiday lunch is an opportunity to turn the afternoon into after hours.

Granted, this is an indulgence, and it’s simply not feasible for people who need to be at their jobs at specific hours. But just because something is impractical...

Posted at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0