HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF’S GUIDE TO DINING IN NEW ORLEANS

One of Alynda Segarra’s first New Orleans hangouts was Z’otz Cafe downtown, a now-closed location near the Royal Street laundromat. The cafe was open 24 hours — to Segarra, then a 17-year-old, freight-train-hitching, Bronx-born punk street musician, it was a refuge, a place where they met friends, washed dishes in exchange for free coffee, and napped until it was light enough to wander around Washington Square Park. “It was like a vortex you went in, another place where time didn’t exist,” Segarra, now the acclaimed singer-songwriter behind Hurray for the Riff Raff, says.

Segarra is time-traveling yet again with the release of their latest album, The Past Is Still Alive. Recorded in 2023, the album is absorbed in the present — in the emotional enormity of remaining human and tender and alive on the edge of apocalypse, or at least what feels like it — even as it looks backward, cross-examining the myths of Americana and offering a memoiristic account of Segarra’s past, the most they’ve ever shared with listeners across five albums. And yes, New Orleans appears in it, as do the characters Segarra met there, who welcomed them into a community of “pirates, basically,” they say, laughing. “People that were either from there or are like, ‘I don’t make sense anywhere else except for this beautiful, wild place.’”

In the nearly 20 years since their arrival in New Orleans, Segarra has established themselves as one of America’s best contemporary songwriters, adding their own folk-punk contribution to the city’s vibrant musical history. Along the way, they’ve learned a thing or two about how to navigate the Big Easy’s food scene. Here are Hurray for the Riff Raff’s favorite restaurants, bars, and other food finds around town.

Baby’s for fresh pasta

“In the day it’s a coffee shop, but at night they do this incredible, very short menu that changes all the time. It’s like handmade pasta, and really good natural wine. It’s such an incredible small staff, but there’s so much love and thought put into the food. I feel like it’s really overlooked — it might just look like a coffee shop, but I think it’s one of the best restaurants in town.”

Oyster Daddy for extra-briny oysters

“I’m an oyster addict. The ones in New Orleans can get very big — Gulf oysters are like a steak — but his are smaller. I stay on his Instagram and follow wherever he goes. I’ve even had a birthday party in a backyard where he came and had char-broiled ones and fresh ones. It was a dream come true. The big Gulf oysters taste really milky to me, which I like, but his are a little more salty.”

Small Mart for New York-style bagels, curry, and samosas

“When my band comes into town and we’re doing practices, I get in a routine where I’m like, ‘I’m doing this thing, I have to eat the same thing every time I do it.’ Every time we practice, I’m like, we need bagels from Small Mart to keep us going. Also, I just find it’s hard to eat vegetarian — there’s a lot of vegan stuff there that’s really special. Their curries are really good, and they’re affordable. Also the vegan mango lassi is so good.”

The Crescent City Farmers Market for fresh bread and tofu

“I’m a big farmers market nerd. During lockdown when everything was really scary, I started to dive into the farmers markets in New Orleans. There are so many amazing farmers in the city, from Louisiana and also from Mississippi. My favorite is the one by the bayou on Thursdays — Leo’s Bread is there, they make incredible bread; River Queen Greens is there and they have amazing greens and vegetables. There’s really good tofu there by Veggi Farmers Cooperative.”

Zasu for low-key special occasions

“[Zasu] feels perfect for a special occasion in that it’s not that big, and it never gets that loud. Sitting at a booth is really nice. Their fish is always really good, and their cocktails are amazing. It’s a really nice place for an intimate thing, or a date.”

N7 for big, festive celebrations

“For a bigger celebration, I always go to N7, which is like French food. The backyard of N7 is just a fairy tale. It’s so beautiful. I’ve taken my band out to celebrate there or gone for bigger birthday celebrations. You walk in there and you’re like, ‘I can’t believe this is real.’ It’s so romantic. I like to go early at sunset, before it’s really busy.”

Margot’s for “really special pizza”

“The menu is really small. I love a tiny menu — give me like, four things. It’s sourdough pizza, and I’m pretty sure it’s made in a really special oven or something. And the drinks are really nice — it’s a lot of natural wine and also Negronis and stuff like that. I love like a white Negroni, that’s my favorite. That or a dirty martini.”

The Franklin or Cafe Degas for a dirty martini

“I’m always on the hunt for the best dirty martini. And I know that there are traditional places that are really good that I haven’t ventured into. But I think that the best dirty martini is either at the Franklin or at a place called Cafe Degas. The Franklin is a great place for late-night. I love to sit at the bar there. It’s in the Marigny, so if you go to a show or you’re done with dinner, and you’re like, ‘I want one more drink,’ it’s a good place. I like an extra-dirty [martini] — I feel like it’s always the perfect amount of dirty.

At Cafe Degas, it’s this beautiful French restaurant in like the Bayou St. John area, really close to where Jazz Fest is. [The martini] is maybe not as dirty, but it just feels really fresh. They make it the perfect amount of cold. I’ve found that in a lot very hip places, or if I go to a cocktail place that’s known for its cocktails, I think they get too creative. I find that the olive juice is really buttery or something. It doesn’t have the bite. I’m like, I want to feel like an old man with my cigar.”

Cane & Table for rum cocktails

“I don’t drink a lot of rum, but when I go to Cane & Table I do, because they have very special rum. They have Haitian rum, and then they’ll have some that are special ages, so they’re kind of funky. But it’s one of the few places I’ve gone where I’m like, I trust whatever the bartender says. Like, give me what you think is good. They have a shrimp ceviche with fried saltines that is so good.”

Faubourg for natural wine

“I feel like New Orleans is really special in that we have a couple of places that have really great natural wine selections. It’s spoiled me in that I’ll go other places and I’m like, ‘I can get this bottle for like $18 where I’m from.’ Faubourg is a really great place to get a bottle or even get a glass — it’s a shop but they also have great cheese, you can go there and just hang out. I trust all the people who work there to tell me what kind of bottle to buy.”

The Tell Me Bar, also for natural wine

“The Tell Me Bar is so special. Uznea’s a genius. I used to get wine from her when she worked at another place, way back in the day. She was the person that I always trusted when I was like ‘What do I do, I don’t know what wine is?’ The Tell Me Bar is really hidden away, and you can get great stuff and it doesn’t feel pretentious.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

2024-04-15T18:38:47Z dg43tfdfdgfd