Chickie Wah Wah – a great non-smoking bar, great food, great shows, clean, atmospheric and fun.
2828 Canal Street • New Orleans, LA • 504.304.4714
Just toward the lake from Broad at Canal, this little bar has been quietly playing host to some of New Orleans’ most active songwriters. I’m talking about Paul Sanchez, Alex McMurray, John Cleary to name a few.
Alex McMurray and Bill Malchow at Chickie Wah Wah
Paul Sanchez has recently adopted the work of Dan Baum’s book Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans into a musical. Paul has a fantastic blog here which details the process, thoughts, feelings, efforts and involvement of himself and the host of musicians who appear on the album. That blog is really worth a read. And, after reading it you’ll be amazed you can then go see Paul play a set with Alex McMurray and sit two feet away from them at Chickie Wah Wah for the better part of two hours, with maybe 30 people in the audience, for the $8 cover charge.
I’ve got a blog post here with info on another opportunity to catch Alex on a weekly basis (also has link to his web page etc).
| If you are interested in the Nine Lives Adaptation, I recommend the CD over the MP3 download – the liner notes are imporant to filling out / adding meaning to the songs. | |
| Dan Baum’s book: |
What else about Chickie Wah Wah? It’s on the Canal Street Car line – so if you’re staying in the CBD or French Quarter, it is easy to get to. Also would be about a $7 cab ride from those areas. There is plenty of street parking. It is the cleanest bar you will ever spend time in while in New Orleans – though not a super bright antiseptic clean. It’s a wonderfully decorated (eclectic) bar, with a nice selection of wine and beer (both bottled and draft). An important rarity for the slightly older crowd in New Orleans – the shows start on time. No waiting around until midnight for the first note to be struck. Also totally awesome – no smoking inside.
Also nice – Taceaux Loceaux has started operating out of Chickie Wah Wah’s kitchen. The link up there is to a Gambit Magazine review on them, and this is a link to their twitter page. They make excellent tacos – I’ve had both the pork and beef tacos and man are they good! They also operate a couple food trucks – the twitter page will let you know where you can find them.
Chickie Wah Wah – Definately worth checking out. Like many places in New Orleans – don’t let the humble outside fool you.
