Where to buy Souvenirs in New Orleans?

I used to collect shot glasses from every vacation destination I visited until I realized it gave me no joy and kind of made me look Like an alcoholic. I then went through a long period of not purchasing any souvenirs . Sure, I took lots of photos as we all do but not everyone is a good photographer and some shots were less than stellar. So, what is a person to do if they want to commemorate their time in New Orleans? Well, let us go shopping and see what we can find.

We will begin with the most easily attainable of all the souvenirs, Mardi Gras beads. You might think they are hard to come by outside of Carnival season or that you might have to flash a bit of anatomy to get some but you would be wrong. They are everywhere! You can find them in shops, in the gutters of streets, and in the hands of that one dude looking to trade them for cash. Hell, they are even dangling from trees and street signs should you feel adventurous enough for a climb. You need not go without. They mostly come in the colors of green,purple, and gold to symbolize faith, justice, and power.

New Orleanians love food. We are a premier food city. It is easy to gain ten pounds during your stay by sampling all the gustatory delights such as gumbo, jambalaya, crayfish etouffee, beignets, and po-boys to name a few. Why not take back a cookbook that represents our love of cooking and universal love of eating. You can ponder the holy trinity of onions, bell peppers, and celery over shrimp and grits that you mastered in the comfort of your own kitchen. Never go hungry again! There are great books to be had like She’d Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, the famed Dooky Chase Cookbook, and the old Picayune’s Creole Cookbook. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum is a delight and has many culinary books available.  Oh, and don’t forget the cocktail recipes.

New Orleans likes it hot, from our weather to our food. Hot sauce makes a great souvenir. Did you know that Tabasco was invented in Louisiana by Edmund McIIhenny? Tabasco peppers were cultivated on Avery Island in southern Louisiana approximately 150 years ago. They were then mixed with vinegar and salt. Today, Tabasco offers several varieties such as Original Red Sauce, Habanero, Chipotle, and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion has a Scoville heat index of 1.2 million and is great if you have someone in mind that you want to murder. The Pepper Palace on Decatur Street  has over 90 hot sauces to try plus the name is just fun to say. It has that alliterative allure. See what I did there?

What souvenir shopping Spree would be complete without Mardi Gras masks? In New Orleans, we love flamboyant things and will dress up for any occasion. People have entire closets dedicated to costumes and that includes an array of masks. Carnival masks most likely originated in Venice  where they had a strict hierarchical system centering around sumptuary laws. These laws restricted what the hoi polloi  could and could not eat, drink, wear, or purchase. These laws were designed to clearly demarcate between the haves and the have not. These laws were suspended during Carnival. The addition of masks allowed for anonymity and placed everyone on an equal, albeit temporary, footing. A good place to go mask shopping in New Orleans is Maskarade on Royal Street.

We have done quite a bit of shopping today and it is getting on towards cocktail hour (it is always cocktail hour in New Orleans) and I think we deserve a shot. You are welcome to take back a city themed glass as I did once when I visited in my 20s or you could move on, as I did to art. What better way to capture the essence of a place than through the eyes of the artists living there. New Orleans crackles with creativity. Music permeates the streets, everyone is a storyteller, and visual artists ply their wares in galleries, and along the fences of Jackson Square and Cathedral Garden. Take your time and look around. You might find something that perfectly transports you back to this magical city.