This city is home to some of the country’s best cocktail bars, most storied fine dining establishments, and inventive street food — sometimes all within the same block. The best way to experience New Orleans is to have a robust list of recommendations, and then to be ready to throw them out the window and let the energy of the Big Easy sweep you away.

The evening felt a bit like an after-hours social, blending the vibes of a speakeasy with the French-colonial aesthetic of the city, the flavors of a South American holiday meal, the classic winemaking traditions of Cognac, and the New World terroir of the Russian River Valley — the whole experience an exciting, indefinable blend of cultural celebration fitting for the ineffable, exuberant spirit of New Orleans itself.