Buffa's 

Buffa's Bar & Restaurant has been on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Burgundy Street since 1939, making it one of the oldest continuously operating bars in New Orleans. It sits on the boundary between the French Quarter and the Tremé — between the tourist city and the neighborhood city — and draws from both worlds without belonging entirely to either.

The bar underwent a revival in the 2000s and 2010s as its late-night live music programming became a word-of-mouth institution. Shows often begin at midnight or later, catering to the city's musicians and service industry workers who are only getting started when most venues are closing down. Buffa's late-night culture is authentic New Orleans hospitality at its most specific.

The music at Buffa's tends toward jazz, singer-songwriter, and acoustic formats that suit the intimate late-night listening environment. The room is warm and welcoming, with good food available late (the kitchen stays open) and a staff that understands what late-night hospitality means in this city.

Buffa's represents something essential about New Orleans culture: the understanding that the night doesn't have to end, that there will always be another place to go and another song to hear. It is one of the great after-midnight institutions in a city that has more of them than anywhere else in America.