New Orleans East

Understand

Before World War II, what became Eastern New Orleans consisted mostly of a few small scattered communities in a large expanse of undeveloped land. The area grew in population with major suburban style development from the 1960s to 1990s. In 2005, the area experienced devastating flooding in the levee failure disaster during Hurricane Katrina. Recovery has been slow, and 6 years later the population is still just a fraction of what it was before Katrina. Little Vietnam is a Vietnamese neighborhood in Eastern Orleans Parish; take Chef Menteur Highway (US-90) past the urban area to the area from Michoud Boulevard to Alcee Fortier Boulevard. There is an exotic collection of Vietnamese shops, groceries, bakeries, and restaurants. New Orleans boasts some of the best Vietnamese food in North America, and the restaurants here are generally very reasonably priced.

Getting there

It is pointless to try to get around this area without a car. The principal highway is of course I-10, which most travelers use to rocket through the area without visiting, but US-90 (Chef Menteur Hwy) cuts through or just south of the populated areas, and is the route to take to Little Vietnam or eventually all the way to Fort Pike. Bear in mind that this area is huge—about the size of the entire rest of the city. Plan to be driving for quite a while if going to Fort Pike, closer to the Mississippi State border than it is to the French Quarter. East of Little Vietnam, the district is nearly empty, so don't go out on US-90 with an empty tank.

See

1 Fort Pike State Historic Site, 27100 Chef Menteur Hwy (US-90), ☏ +1 504 255-9171. While it lies within the city limits, the fort is some 20 miles away from the urban area, on Highway 90 towards Slidell, at "the Rigolets", a water pass into Lake Pontchartrain. Interesting, well-preserved old fort built in the 1820s, saw some minor action during the American Civil War. Visitable by appointment only, to be scheduled (at least two weeks in advance) between the hours of 9AM-5PM. Free. (updated May 2017) Lakefront Airport, 6001 Stars and Stripes Blvd (on the lake shore just east of the Industrial Canal). This was the city's airport back before the arrival of the big jets and the new New Orleans International airport was built out in Kenner. Lakefront Airport still keeps busy with private and company planes. The 1930s vintage main terminal building and the nearby sculpture fountain by Enrique Alfarez are treats for lovers of Art Deco. The terminal's main facade was freshly restored in 2010; restoration work on the interior is ongoing. NASA Michoud, 13800 Old Gentilly Road. This was the site of the village of Michoud before it was absorbed into New Orleans, then a World War II Defense plant that made landing craft and aircraft, and since 1961 a NASA facility. Apollo Moon Rocket boosters were built here, and in recent decades, the fuel tanks for the Space Shuttle. With the end of the Shuttle program, the future for NASA Michoud is uncertain. Meanwhile, visitors can park briefly in the little visitor lot on Old Gentilly Road, to look or take a snapshot of an Apollo Saturn V booster on display out front, a pair of smokestacks from the antebellum Michoud Plantation preserved in front of the main building, and what you can see of the outside of the Assembly Building from this spot. (Visitors are not allowed inside without advance arrangement and a sponsor, although on rare occasions limited numbers of the public are allowed in to part of the facility for special events.)

Buy

Viet My Supermarket, 4656 Alcee Fortier Blvd, ☏ +1 504 254-0682. This is one of several Vietnamese shopping markets in the area, fun to browse for exotic ingredients, salted jellyfish, etc., or just to buy some weird drinks for the road. As a big plus, they sell fresh banh mi (sandwiches). For more tastiness, look outside the store for the Mexican taco truck that is usually parked there, representing the area's new Chicano community, which moved in after Katrina to help with the rebuilding.

Eat

While there are quite a few tasty off-the-beaten-path eateries in Eastern New Orleans, the main attraction is the restaurants of Little Vietnam. Authenticity reigns over a cuisine that perhaps has a natural home in a city where French finesse similarly was applied to unfamiliar local ingredients against the backdrop of an existing exotic culinary tradition. The menus in the Vietnamese places are usually bilingual in Vietnamese and English. Eastern New Orleans also has a smattering of seafood, po-boy, and similar restaurants, like most other sections of the city.

Ba Mien Restaurant, 13235 Chef Menteur, ☏ +1 504 255-0500. Tu-Su 8AM-7PM. Vietnamese. While often overshadowed by the ravings inspired by Dong Phuong, this is still a great option, with a nicer atmosphere inside—brighter, more spacious, etc. The minty house specials are in particular worth seeking out. $8-33. Castnet Seafood, 10826 Haynes Blvd, ☏ +1 504 244-8446. Tu-Sa 10AM-6PM. When you go to New Orleans, and you find a shack that says "seafood" on the side, and it has enough people packed into and snaking out the front door to alarm a fire marshall, you better come to the party hungry. The crawfish, shrimp, and crab boils are excellent, as are the profoundly over-stuffed po' boys (if it's in season, they do a soft shell crab po' boy). Bottom line is that if you like seafood fresh, fried, or boiled, you should go way out of your way to find this place—if you are claustrophobic, bring someone else with you to go inside and order. Picnic tables out back. Deanie's, 7350 Hayne Blvd. (a short drive east of Lakefront Airport), ☏ +1 504 248-6700. Another great bet out east for local seafood, fried or fresh, along with some other New Orleans standards. Deanie's on Hayne is not to be confused with the Deanie's in the French Quarter. Unsurprisingly, those bacon-wrapped shrimp taste really good.

Dong Phuong Restaurant, 14207 Chef Menteur, ☏ +1 504 254-0296. W-M 9AM-4PM. Perhaps Little Vietnam's most esteemed

Drink & nightlife

Outside the restaurants (and Dish on Hayne has quite the great "restaurant bar"), the only drinks you will find are at the occasional seedy looking strip club. That's it for bars in these parts.

Nha Trang, 4661 Alcee Fortier Blvd, ☏ +1 504-662-0014. Karaoke bar and restaurant.

Sleep

Riverboat Travel Park, 6232 Chef Menteur Hwy, ☏ +1 504 246-2628. An RV park that is reasonably close to the French Quarter without, ahem, being right next to the Iberville Housing Projects. Super 8, 6322 Chef Menteur Hwy, ☏ +1 504 241-5650. This is by far the best consumer-rated property in Eastern New Orleans, with an attentive staff. The building is even a little stylish, with a balcony-laden old New Orleans style to it, plus courtyard pool. You are in the middle of nowhere, of course, but the hotel does offer rare free parking, and is a dependable budget chain option. $50-75. 1 Holiday Inn Express New Orleans East, 7049 Bullard Ave, ☏ +1 504 324-4800. They have an outdoor pool and those little ch