Contemporary Art Center New Orleans (CACNO)

This attraction was worth a visit because the museum got a grant and admission was free. If I had paid for admission, I would have been disappointed. Not that there’s anything wrong with the exhibits, there just aren't many of them. There are two floors to visit. The bottom floor had an exhibit of dresser drawers found around New Orleans after Katrina. Plus, there was a little room painted in remembrance of Katrina. I can’t really describe it well, but that was my favorite exhibit. The second floor had a room of photographs. There’s also a small room with children’s art and a few other exhibits.

I don’t know how to say it nicely, so I won’t. This restaurant was awful. Dinner began with a free appetizer of one cucumber slice with raw salmon on top…random. Then, the waitress overstepped her boundary when she told me what fork to eat with. Apparently the world will come to an end if you use the salad fork instead of the appetizer fork. As another free appetizer, we received a couple biscuits with butter that somehow tasted like nothing. Poor service ensued throughout the night when I could hardly get a drink refill or anything else for that matter.

I order the Pan-Roasted Scallop Salad with local lettuce and grapefruit vinaigrette. My meal turned out to essentially be a side salad for $19. The scallops were gritty to the point I couldn’t eat them. I should have stopped there, but no. For dessert, I order the Caramel Poached Apples with warm brioche beignets and spiced ice cream. I paid $9 for five slices of apples with about a tablespoon of ice cream. When it was presented to me, I actually laughed.

Overall, this was the most disappointing place I visited in New Orleans. The ambiance is attractive, but you can get a better meal at the food court.

Magazine Metals has some really cool jewelry made of recycled materials, although some pieces are made with new resources. If you’re looking for something a little different that you can’t find in mass production, this a great place to look. The prices are a little high so you may only leave with a piece or two when you really wanted to buy more. For example, I saw several necklaces that cost around $45 dollars which could have easily cost half that. Still, it’s worth a visit.

If you need some funky lights made from recycled materials, Winky’s is the place to go. It’s the lighting equivalent of Spencer’s. To be honest, the items weren’t my style, but I can see someone a little younger really enjoying this place. If a traveler in your party is in high school or just beginning college and has a wild side, this is a good place to find some statement pieces for their room.