NEW ORLEANS SHOPPING

ANTIQUES

Lucullus - 610 Chartres Street, 504-528-9620; 3932 Magazine Street, 504-894-0500
Only in New Orleans will you find an antique gallery dedicated to eating. Named for the Roman general who loved to throw great feasts, Lucullus is dedicated to culinary treasures from simple service pieces, including all sorts of dishes, bowls to silverware, china and crystal, bar and wine service pieces. There are also heavy kitchen pieces, old coffee grinders, earthenware ceramics from Provence and much more. For a touch of old and new, Lucullus has Absinthe spoons. The Gothic-looking, flat, perforated spoons were used to dilute the absinthe with sugar and water. The spoons are new but a fun reminder of the French Quarter's once favored drink.

Harris Antiques - 236 Royal Street, 504-524-0282
If shopping makes you lose track of time, check out Harris Antiques gallery of grandfather clocks, the largest collection in the South. Tall-shouldered British and Dutch clocks offer a variety of woods, ornate clock faces and ornamentation. Harris Antiques became one of the French Quarter's largest antiques dealers fairly recently. Over three floors, they have excellent selections of European furniture and oil paintings plus a large selection of estate jewelry.

M.S. Rau - 630 Royal Street, 504-523-5660
The storefront window of M.S. Rau is relatively crowded and small but beyond lies one of the French Quarter's largest antique emporiums. Gallery rooms stretch back and even below other buildings, offering an amazingly deep and diverse set of holdings. The oddities are some of the most fun treasures to unearth. One landmark holding is the bedroom set of the last king of Egypt, King Farouk. The set includes the bed, dressers, tables and other pieces all in beautiful hardwood with ornate metal work. Rau also has rarities like seawater corroded coin clusters from sunken Spanish ships, an early surgeon's suitcase of implements, an extensive selection of walking canes, some with weapons and others with compartments for hiding liquor.

CLOTHING

Red Lantern - 1133 Decatur Street, 504-561-1017
Behind the modest and funky boutique Red Lantern is the clothing label Island Pride. The label founders live in New Orleans, run the shop and design shoes and clothes that are distributed via a showroom in Los Angeles and have been featured in the shopping magazine Lucky. Red Lantern features funky and colorful clothes that would work in tropical environments and could also be turned into stylish evening looks. They carry Ben Sherman, Soul Rebel, Penguin and Five Crown for men. Some of the women's lines include Free People, C. Ronson, Plenty, Megami Bogie and Gentle Form.

Kabuki - 1036 Royal Street, 504-523-8004
Hat maker Tracy Thomson found inspiration in a strange place recently. Staring at the ground she noticed the covers of the city's water meters. Now they're appearing on a range of items from beret tops (favored by some local chefs) to pot holders to aprons. She also keeps a wide variety of hat designs, mostly for women but some for men, made in everything from animal prints, to fleece, tweeds, scrunchable, packable straw and pressed velvet. Bright colors and fun designs pervade her store/studio space. For the Mardi Gras minded, she also had tutus, leggings, ribbon wigs, scarves and boas.

Dress To Kill - 207, 215 & 223 Dauphine Street, 504-558-9111, 504-523-7778, & 504-299-3947
With three stores, roughly side-by-side, Dress to Kill has sexy clothes for juniors and slightly more conservative name labels in their collections store. The juniors side has clothes by Playboy from tank tops to flip flops. Some of the lacier and more diaphanous styles include tops by Nelli and stretch-pants by Virgin Only. The Collections side has fashions by top designers, including BCBG, Donna Karen, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior and many more. The newest edition focuses on lingerie.

Wehmeier's Belt Shop - 719 Toulouse Street, 504-525-2758
Wehmeier's Belt Shop features the finest leathers and exotic leathers, like python, alligator and ostrich, but the store is not the fashion boutique brands like Lucchese and Nacona may imply. It may seem old-fashioned, but Al Wehmeier himself crafts and refurbishes pieces in his workshop behind the store. After more than 50 years in the business, Wehmeier deals only in the highest quality boots and shoes for men and women, as well as belts, briefcases, hand bags, wallets and other accessories.

MUSIC

Louisiana Music Factory - 210 Decatur Street, 504-586-1094
It's not easy to keep up with all the music coming out of New Orleans, but the Louisiana Music Factory is a good place to try. The Factory has tremendously deep offerings in everything from jazz, brass bands, blues, gospel and rock, to Cajun and zydeco by local musicians on both large and small independent record labels. They have classic recordings by local legends and even some vinyl. The Factory is also a good place to keep up with the local music scene and not a bad place to run into local musicians.

Jim Russell Records - 1837 Magazine Street, 504-522-2602
Vinyl may be inching its way toward extinction, but Jim Russell's is sort of a sanctuary in the meantime. Russell is a collector's collector. Besides masses of LPs, he has old 45s and even 78s. The range includes new, used and rare recordings from throughout the last century. Treasured but not as old are thousands of 8-track tapes. Russell also carries needles and turntable equipment. New music and video games area available in a variety of formats.

Musica Latina Discoteca - 4714 Magazine Street, 504-895-4227
Considered the northern most city in the Caribbean, New Orleans is historically a gateway to South and Latin America. Latin musicians are among the unsung contributors to the creation of jazz in New Orleans. So a record store focusing on Latin music fits into the mix very well. Musica Latina covers many genres, artists and cultures from Latin and South America and the Caribbean back through the 1920s. It's the largest selection of Latin music in the city and they will ship anywhere in the world.

CD Warehouse - 3029 Magazine Street, 504-899-9962
Along a quiet Uptown stretch of Magazine Street sits CD Warehouse with a large collection of used CDs, some of the newest issues and all the charm of a local record store. The selections include everything from classic and alternative rock to metal to blues, jazz, country and local artists in all genres. The Warehouse also has used DVDs.

UNIQUELY NEW ORLEANS

Chi-wa-wa Ga-ga - 37 French Market Place, 504-581-GAGA
What little dogs lack in size they often make up for in personality. That seems to drive the line of clothing and accessories at New Orleans' boutique for little dogs, Chi-wa-wa Ga-ga. Located facing the French Market, Chi-wa-wa Ga-ga has coats, hats, costumes, carrying bags and accessories for all sorts of tiny dogs as well as some pet gear for larger dogs. They even have biker gear, bandanas and doggles for easy riding small dogs.

Three Dog Bakery - 837 Royal Street, 504-525-BAKE
Three Dog Bakery offers all the baked treats a dog could want, including cat shaped cookies. The bakery is on site and they produce everything from baked bite-sized "Bits" and larger "Bones" with herbs and cheese to "beagle bagels." They even do cakes for dogs and variety pack samplers. All items are baked for dogs' dietary needs and include no sugar, salt or animal fats. The store also features ceramics for pets, toys, T-shirts for dog lovers and many more cute gifts.

Uptown Angler - 601 Julia Street, 504-529-3597
The top sports in Louisiana are freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing. They alternate for the top spot in the polls. Whichever waters one chooses, fly fishing is a popular option. Uptown Angler is the area's exclusive Orvis dealer and has a full line of gear for all waters, local and elsewhere. While fly fishing is excellent for the marshes and bayous of coastal Louisiana, fly fishermen have been going after ever bigger fish in deeper waters, including tarpon in the Gulf. The staff has ample experience and can also help locate fishing guides and charters. The store also carries clothes, luggage and accessories.

Bear Necessities - 517 St. Louis Street, 504-598-2134
At some point, going from collecting to opening a store for collectors is an easy transition. Bear Necessities founders were collectors before they opened their showcase of collectible Boyd's and Bearington Bears. The store has a forest full of new and collectible bears, including some of the highly prized Bailey bears, all in different outfits. A new line of NASCAR Bears is featured as well, with bears named after all the top drivers. Some other collectible sports items, like signed baseballs, round out the store's unique items.

Funrock'n - 1128 Decatur Street, 504-524-1122
While you might not think Elvis, Rosie the Riveter, Buckwheat, Bettys Boop and Page, Freud and Cheech and Chong have much in common, they can be found in the guise of action figures, bobble heads, lunch boxes, magnets and all sorts of kitsch and bric-a-brac at Funrock'n. The pop cultural sensory overload includes the Simpsons, Kiss action figures, the Three Stooges, a talking Mr. T in Your Pocket, Pez dispensers, Goth dolls and more. And in a more one-dimensional world, they have t-shirts to boot.

Erzulie's Authentic Voodoo - 510 Dumaine Street, 504-525-2055
While voodoo is scandalized on film, it's a vital religion still practiced in New Orleans, which counts the voodoo queen Marie Laveau among its most famous and powerful citizens. Erzulie's is a voodoo emporium with ritual materials, candles, oils, handmade spirit dolls as well as literature on the history and practice of voodoo in New Orleans and throughout the Caribbean, South America and Africa. Erzulie's offers psychic readings, as well, in a private parlor fashioned out of the balcony in the shop

FINE CRAFTS

New Orleans Glassworks and Printmaking Studio - 727 Magazine Street, 504-529-7279
New Orleans has a prolific community of glass artists, with several glass blowing studios around town. One of the most convenient studios to visit is at New Orleans Glassworks in the Warehouse District. A large shop features top local and imported work in everything from functional pieces to abstract sculpture. Demonstrations occur frequently in the adjoining studio spaces.

Royal Cameo Glass - 322 Royal Street, 504-522-7840
Glass blowing is a very well established fine craft in New Orleans, but Royal Cameo specializes in glasswork of a different sort. Cameo glass is an ancient form of glass art involving the fusing together different layers of colored glass before carving the finished product to get the visual effects of the layers. Royal Cameo has many pieces by some of today's foremost cameo glass artists, including West Virginia artist Kelsey Murphy, who found ways to go well beyond the accepted limits of 5-6 layers. Royal Cameo also has other types of glass art, including the work of Ulla Darni, who mixes paint with ground glass to fuse layers of color onto glass lamps and chandeliers and other pieces.

Sterling Silvia - 41 French Market Place, 504-299-9225
The silver lining on the French Market actually sits across the street at Sterling Silvia. The shop features sterling silver in wide variety of designs, with and without precious stones. There are more contemporary looks as well as some perfect for New Orleans rings and pendants featuring a fleur de lys. Besides jewelry, Sterling Silvia has some fun jewelry boxes.

FOOD & SPIRITS

Creole Delicacies - Riverwalk Marketplace, 504-523-6425; 533 St. Ann Street, 504-525-9508
Creole Delicacies' emporium has one of the widest selections of hot sauces, rice and bean mixes for local dishes, herb and spice mixes and kitchen accouterments with a local flair, like in the shape of red chile peppers. Under their own brand, Delicacies also bottles local favorites like hot pepper jelly. At its Riverwalk location, Creole Delicacies partners with the Cookin' Cajun Cooking School which teaches the basics of South Louisiana cuisine. The Jackson Square store has a large selection of whimsically designed teapots, cups and ceramics.

New Orleans School of Cooking - 524 St. Louis Street, 504-525-2665
The New Orleans School of Cooking offers classes and a shop of the necessary local ingredients. They offer spice mixes by local chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse as well as their own Chef Kevin Belton. Besides the dry mixes they offer seasoning blends enhanced with more green herbs, since there is much more to seasoning than just peppery heat. A selection of cookbooks includes traditional Creole cookbooks, Creole soul food cookbooks, as well as major local restaurant's recipe collections.

Aunt Sally's - 810 Decatur Street, 800-642-7257
New Orleans' signature candy is the praline, which looks like a cookie and is made from sugar and usually pecans. Over the years more variations have popped up, but all within the rich, supersweet vein of the originals. Aunt Sally's makes the traditional version and a chocolate praline. They also have plenty of other types of candies as well as other local spice mixes, seasonings and cookbooks.

Sidney's Wine Cellar - 917 Decatur Street, 504-524-6872
There are many local spirits that you may not be able to find back home. Sidney's carries several award-winning wines from the Pontchartrain Vineyards, a winery across the lake, and many popular Abita beers, also brewed across the lake. One of the more lively local brews is Dixie's Blackened Voodoo Lager, which had the distinction of once being banned in Texas. Still banned in the United States is absinthe, which was once very popular in New Orleans. Sidney's carries a similar liquor called Absente, which isn't made with wormwood, an herb that was thought to cause hallucinations and be addictive. Actually, wormwood is not that toxic, but the prohibition remains.