COCKTAILS
"I used to take the streetcar to school every day. If you get on at, say, the corner of St. Charles and Canal Street, and just ride it all the way down St. Charles, you could get off at The Columns hotel and go in and have a drink. Or you could have a Pimm's Cup at the Napoleon House. Now that's old school. That really feels like New Orleans. You almost feel like you have to be wearing some white saddle
oxfords and a seersucker suit and a linen shirt. It's one of the oldest bars in New Orleans. It's falling down. There's also a really old bar called Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. Talk about falling down. Every time I pass it, I can't believe it's still standing. I don't drink, but Hurricanes are extremely popular. Most people don't even remem-ber their trip to New Orleans because of Hurricanes."

DINNER
"Commander's Palace is pretty great. It's owned by the Brennan family and is in another big uptown house. But I might go to Irene's. Not a lot of people know about Irene's, which is an Italian restaurant in the French Quarter. It's really romantic. They have amazing food. I think it's Southern Italian food, but it's really delicious. It's very casual, real laid-back, candlelit, and there are tons of pictures on the walls. It's not a typical New Orleans kind of place."     

NIGHTLIFE
"Preservation Hall is a must-see. It's one room on St. Peter Street, and it's traditional jazz as hard-core as it gets. I was 5 years old when I started playing there. I remember playing with all the greats, you know, like Sweet Emma Barrett. She had a stroke and her left arm wasn't operative. So, her right hand would play the piano, and I would go sit up there with her, and she would only give me about eight or ten keys to play at the very top. Right down the street is Maison Bourbon, another real traditional club. That's where I spent most of my time. That place - that sign out front, those doors, the slate floors, the pictures of the musicians above the bandstand - is my home in my heart."