We’re eating & drinking our way through New Orleans with the #NewinNOLA crew. Here’s where we spent the last week of September (time flies, right?!):
s’mores pie from the American Sector (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/NewinNOLA.com)
It’s easy to get a library card in New Orleans and you don’t have to have a New Orleans driver’s license (but you should get one). 
A NOLA library card gets you access to thousands of print books, e-books, audiobooks, DVDs and magazines.
How to get a New Orleans library card:
We had a tough time pronouncing New Orleans street names when we moved here. Tchoup – a – what? Thank goodness our friends walked us through it: Tchoupitoulas is “chop-uh-too-lus” or more frequently “Chop.”
Some names are French, some are Native American and some are plain ol’ New Orleanian. We enjoyed this column from New Orleans real estate agent Jean-Paul Villere about how to pronounce street names.
Jean-Paul Villere (image via UptownMessenger.com)
His column originally appeared on UptownMessenger.com, a hyperlocal news site for the Uptown neighborhood in New Orleans. The UptownMessenger.com folks were kind enough to let us repost the column.
And now for an excerpt from Villere’s column:
We’re eating & drinking our way through New Orleans with the #NewinNOLA crew. Venues from Aug. 19 – 26:
chicken tinga quesadilla from Felipe’s in the French Quarter (via @NewinNOLA on Instagram)
See the yummy food photos here.
Follow our food adventures throughout the week on Instagram (@NewinNOLA).
What to see other great New Orleans restaurants we’ve visited? Check them out here.
I’m a fan of the “It’s New Orleans” podcasts, which feature NOLA residents and gets them to talk about their lives, experiences and passions. It’s been a good way for me to find out more about New Orleans and what residents think and do.
New in NOLA was honored to be on the July 25 episode of Happy Hour. We laughed so hard, we cried. (via It’s New Orleans Facebook page)
“It’s New Orleans” has several podcasts, but my favorite is Happy Hour with Grant. Each week the free podcast has a different theme and live music. For example, the pizza-themed show had reps from Midway Pizza on Freret and Slice on Magazine. The reps talked about how they got started, what makes their restaurants stand out and what their favorite pizzas are.
The podcasts are full of good advice for newbies straight from local New Orleanians.
Summer storms are a way of life in New Orleans. It’s not uncommon for it to rain in the metro NOLA area every day. Expect 15 to 30 minute afternoon showers. Plan ahead and stick a mini umbrella in your car, purse or backpack.
And don’t let the weather ruin your plans. New Orleanians are used to the rain and many events go on, rain or shine. Buy a pair of rainboots (Fleurty Girl options) and hit the streets.
Also, don’t stress about the severe weather/flooding alerts on your phone. Sure, you need to pay attention and be weather-alert, but the alerts are common so there is no need to panic. UNLESS you see rising water or tornado like winds. Just be smart, people.
Maybe you can even learn to love the tumultuous weather. That’s what Lauren of NOLA New Girl did. Here’s an excerpt from her blog:
Russian cake is one of those #onlyinNOLA desserts. It is made with pieces of leftover cake that have been combined, reformed, mixed with raspberry jam and food dye and rebaked.
We saw our first Russian cake at Laurel Street Bakery this week:
You are supposed to change over your driver’s license to a Louisiana one within 10 days of moving. We haven’t seen that rule enforced, but it is on the books.
If you are swapping your license from another state, you can’t do that online. You have to go to a DMV office. Click here for a list of locations.
Our friends suggested going outside New Orleans for a new license. Good to know – you can get a new license or car tag anywhere in Louisiana. They aren’t specific to a particular parish.
Our friend recommended a quick drive to Westwego, a small town on the West Bank (419 Avenue A, Westwego). It took us less than 30 minutes to get there from Uptown and we were rewarded with no more than 30 minutes of waiting at the DMV. Nice change of pace from waiting four hours for our last driver’s license.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
We had our first experience at Bacchanal Wine last week through our latest #NewinNOLA meet-up. We had the perfect weather to sit outside under the trees, drink wine, eat cheese and meet new people.
photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA
Plus, we got to mark another restaurant off of Eater.com’s list of 38 Essential New Orleans restaurants that we’ve visited.
Hope you are able to join us for our next meet-up and eat-up. Our gatherings are geared toward new residents, but we welcome everyone. We’ll post details soon about our next gathering.
We had several people give us tips before we went to Bacchanal and we learned some more while we were there. If you have more advice, we’re all ears. Leave us a comment.
Tips for getting the most out of Bacchanal Wine:
Beware of stinging Buckmoth caterpillars in New Orleans. Friends and neighbors have warned us to look out for these caterpillars on sidewalks. They said the caterpillars fall from trees, especially oaks, and are easy to step on if you are barefoot.
The Buckmoth caterpillars sting people and animals.
buckmoth caterpillar via earthwatch2.org
If you get stung …
New in NOLA 