Graves and green tea
New Orleans may no longer have a streetcar named Desire (the inspiration for Tennessee Williams’ iconic play), but since the reopening of the Canal Street line, in 2004, the city does have a streetcar named Cemeteries. The “Cemeteries” streetcar leaves from the foot of Canal Street downtown and runs to City Park Avenue, where there are more than a half dozen cemeteries within walking distance. If the roughly 20-minute ride past residential and commercial areas gets your taste buds or thirst going, hop off at Sacred Grinds, an unusual coffee shop located at the end of the route.
Nestled between St. Patrick Cemetery No. 2 and Odd Fellows Rest, and housed inside the Herb Import Company, the tiny cafe with the motto “Coffee to Wake the Dead” provides a nice respite before or after your cemetery visits. It’s a tight squeeze for humans (and their four-legged friends, as Sacred Grinds is dog friendly) with eight small tables in the back, facing St. Patrick No. 2, and eight tables facing Canal Street and the Katrina Memorial. With tombs as your backdrop no matter where you sit, it’s the perfect place to enjoy the beverage of your choice and an artichoke brioche while pondering your mortality (but not the wonders of air-conditioning, as all seating is outside). Their specialty drink is the Dirty Zombie–a frozen chocolate malt with espresso–and their pastries arrive daily from local bakeries around the city.
Info
Address 5055 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, +1 504.488.4889, www.sacredgrinds.com | Hours Mon–Sat 7am–7pm, Sun 7am–6pm| Tip Directly across the street is the Katrina Memorial, in Charity Hospital Cemetery (5056 Canal St). Dedicated in 2008, it is the final resting place for 85 hurricane victims who were never identified. A monument symbolizing the eye of the storm is the centerpiece, with curving walkways around it to signify the high-velocity winds.
If you’re hoping to extend your mortality, the Herb Import Company offers organic teas, essential oils, herbal vaporizers, aromatherapy, detox powders, Day of the Dead paraphilia, and even Voodoo flags to chase evil spirits away. There is also a nice selection of alternative magazines and books that you can read to pass the time while nearby, people get on and off the streetcar at the spot where, for the living (as for the dead), “Cemeteries” is the last stop.
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