New Orleans for Street Performing & Local Fun

I am from New Orleans and try to take my kids there as often as possible. I used to own a restaurant called A Taste of New Orleans in Fairhope, AL where I served local New Orleans fare. It was through that experience that I realized there are lots of things about New Orleans that most tourist miss - namely Roast Beef Po-boys and Sno-balls.

On this adventure to the Big Easy, I took my son, Dawson, to the French Quarter so he could be a street performer for the day. He is a hip hop dancer and LOVES to perform. I purchased a Sonic Suitcase from Dr Music to use in my basketball practices during drills and Dawson's dream to go dance in the French Quarter began - it was the first thing he asked when he saw the Sonic Suitcase.

So here is a video of clips from Dawson's performance. There is no music due to copyright rules on YouTube but it's clear he is having a blast and the kid's got moves!


After all that dancing and watching him dance in the August heat - it was sno-ball time! There are sno-ball stands in every neighborhood throughout New Orleans - it never occurred to me that wasn't the case across the country. Every summer growing up in New Orleans we knew when sno-ball season started for our local neighborhood stand.

Two of the more famous places are Hansen's Sno-balls, Mr Hansen invented the sno-ball machine. And Plum Street Sno-balls where you can get your treat inside a Chinese takeout container instead of a cup. That is where the picture below was taken. My usual order is chocolate with condensed milk, which is what my daughter Briana bought. However, when I'm super hot and thirsty, my go to is a large spearmint sno-ball. They are SOOOO delicious! You have to try one when you're in NOLA.

We ended our adventures for the day with an impromptu trip to the Lakefront. The kids asked a million times where we were going, I just kept telling them it was a surprise. I have told me kids stories of how we used to go out to the Lakefront when I was a kid with cardboard boxes and used them as sleds to slide down the levee. This was the day they were going to experience it. A quick stop at Lakeview Groceries on Harrison Avenue for boxes and we headed to the levees. As soon as the levees came into view my kids knew what was going on. I wish I had video going to capture their reaction - it was priceless.

Of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without some beignets and Cafe au Lait from Cafe Du Monde. So enjoy this short video of these adventures and I'll be sure to post more soon.