As neurosurgeons, many of our mornings are spent in the operating room doing the work we love, or researching advances in brain and spinal care, always devoted to improving the lives of our patients. And there is no better place to do this than in New Orleans, a city rich with history accented by the culture from all over the world. Hi, I'm Frank Calicchia. Welcome to New Orleans, and it all starts here on the Mississippi River. New Orleans was founded as a colonial trade outpost by the French monarchy in 1718. This year celebrates our tricentennial anniversary, where there'll be celebrations throughout the city. The AANS is a meeting just steps away from the Mississippi River, where you can walk to the meeting, very short, short distance, and take in the sights and sounds of the Mississippi River, made famous by the legendary Mark Twain. Welcome, John. Hi, I'm John Stacker. The AANS meeting is in New Orleans. It's in the spring, and it's time for Jazz Fest. This is not your typical jazz festival. Jazz Fest presents the biggest names in music across virtually all genres, including rock, pop, R&B, gospel, and zydeco, plus traditional and contemporary jazz. The festival draws almost 500,000 each year to the 10-day event held at New Orleans Fairgrounds Racecourse. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. Brass band and musician is always within earshot in the French Quarter. Preservation Hall on St. Peter's Street is a great place to take in traditional jazz. If you're looking for something a bit more funky, try Frenchman's Tea, or head uptown to Tipitina's. You will want to eat first, so where to begin when talking about New Orleans food? I'm about 30 minutes outside of downtown New Orleans in Lafitte, Louisiana, named after the French pirate Jean Lafitte. Lafitte helped Andrew Jackson defeat the British during the Battle of New Orleans and returned for pardons for some of his privateers. Lafitte is very close to the Gulf of Mexico, which provides us with some of the freshest, most delicious seafood on earth, supplied every day to the restaurants here in New Orleans. I'm here with Captain Tofio Bourgeois in Lafitte, Louisiana, who runs a fishing charter down here, one of the best in the South. Hey, Captain, how you doing today? All right, Big Frank, man. So we're talking a little about what we're doing down here in the bayou. What kind of fish you catching these days? Man, catching redfish, speckled trout, flounder, a little bit of everything. So fishing's been great. I mean, South Lake, Louisiana has been the best it's been ever, right now. Do you get many people coming down from New Orleans? Oh, man, tons of people from New Orleans. So we got local people as much as people from all over the, say, all over North America and out of country. So there's really some neat things that go on. We have a little program called Catch and Cook, so you can come down in the bayou, catch some redfish and speckled trout, bring them back to the city, and get them cooked up. So, man, it's a really neat, really fun experience for everyone. That sounds great, Tofio. Oh, yeah. Char-grilled oysters at Drago's in the Hilton Hotel is very close to the AANS meeting. In the French Quarter, we've got every meal covered. Check out breakfast at Brennan's, eggs Benedict and eggs Sardou. For lunch, try the soft-shell crab at Galatoire's. For dinner, Antoine's is a classic. Order the Pompano Punch-a-train. And don't forget Commander's Palace. It's a staple of the New Orleans restaurant community. Hi, friends. How are you? Welcome to Commander's Palace. Hello. How are you? Fantastic. Very nice. What have you prepared for us? These are four of my favorite dishes on the menu. We'll start here. It's a Louisiana wild white shrimp. We call that dish the shrimp and tasso, one of our famous dishes. Black and redfish croquettes with a nice pickled pepper salad across the top, some fresh soft-shell crabs right out of the bayou, and also some late-harvest Creole tomatoes from the farm on the North Shore. Fantastic. Great, great food, friends. I hope you enjoy it. Make sure you save room for beignets at Café Du Monde across from Jackson Square. Let's take a walking tour through the Garden District. No trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to the Garden District. I'm Rand Voorhees. Welcome to my home. The Garden District's 19th-century mansions and private homes reflect the architecture that New Orleans is famous for. I highly recommend a tour of the Opera Guild Home, built in 1859. Culture as well as commerce has always been at the center of New Orleans life. The current, very active Opera Association this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee. After you tour the Garden District, hop on the streetcar, which will take you to Loyola and Tulane Universities and Audubon Park, where you can relax under a moss-filled oak tree. The Audubon Zoo is a real treat as well. Hey, I'm Dr. Najib Thomas, and let's talk about Mardi Gras. And no person better to talk to than Mr. Blaine Kern himself, Mr. Mardi Gras. Well, thank you, Dr. Thomas. Rex is Latin for king. Of all the crews, proclaimed me Mr. Mardi Gras on my 37th parade. And I said, my God, well, I'm not stupid. I copyrighted it. Well, I want you to know Mardi Gras surpasses $1 billion in industry in New Orleans every year for the last 10 or 15 years. And I feel, in a little way, I've been responsible for that. And the biggest joy I've had is riding down the streets in the convertible in front of the parades and people yelling, hey, Blaine, we love you, Blaine, hugging me, kissing me, taking my pictures, autographs. We would like to ask Dr. Frank Colicchio, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, to propose a toast. Thank you, Randall. Welcome to the city of New Orleans and to all of my colleagues. Please enjoy your stay.

New Orleans

AANS meeting

history and culture

jazz music

delicious food