This year for Christmas I decided to take advantage of the four-day holiday weekend and book a last-minute trip to New Orleans. My boyfriend and I took off from Philadelphia in the afternoon on Christmas Day. This was my first experience spending part of Dec. 25 at an airport, and it was more pleasant than I anticipated. Everyone was very friendly, from the gate agents and flight attendants to our fellow travelers. We arrived at our hotel near the French Quarter around 7 p.m., ready to hit the town. We hoped to stop by famous jazz spot Preservation Hall, but the line was around the block. Instead, we went to the nearby Pat O’Brien’s for one of their famous Hurricanes. In the French Quarter you are allowed to drink in public so long as you don’t have an open can or glass container. With our Hurricanes in hand, we made our way to Frenchman Street in search of jazz and food. The sounds of live music filled the streets, and we eventually decided on Bamboula’s, partly because of the welcoming atmosphere. The venue, an old printing shop, featured a live band and a few open tables. Food is available to order at the kitchen’s window near the back. We split fried green tomatoes with sautéed shrimp and green onion remoulade and a catfish po’boy. Both were flavorful and perfectly executed. Antsy to see more of the city, we stayed for a few songs after finishing our meal then made our way to our next stop. A few blocks from Bamboula’s is the Balcony Music Club. The dimly-lit space feels more like someone’s house than a bar. Nightly live performances include brass bands, rock and jazz. Wanting to fit in as much as possible on our first night, we moved on to 13. Here we sampled the local brew, Abita. Still feeling a little hungry from our long travel day, we decided to make one final food stop before calling it a night. Our guidebook cited Yo Mama’s Bar and Grill as having great late-night burgers, so we wanted to test this claim. We split the peanut butter and bacon burger. I was skeptical of this flavor combination and was blown away by the taste. The peanut butter and bacon enhanced the flavor of the burger for a rich bite. It was one of my favorite meals during our entire trip. My Christmas in New Orleans is one I won’t soon forget. — Katie Skrzek, digital director