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After Hours
My favorite city block in New Orleans is in Faubourg Marigny, a pocket of trapezoidal streets, Creole cottages, and the best 50 feet of jazz in the world. The 600s on Frenchmen Street house three stellar clubs—d.b.a., The Spotted Cat, and Snug Harbor—where five to seven groups, traditional brass to gypsy string jazz, make the streetfolk skip, whistle, and hum nightly.

Last fall, I spoke to an aging Terrebonne Parish shrimper, Mr. Julius, a lifelong citizen of Louisiana, and I asked him why he loved his life. It was sunny on the edge of Bayou Petit Caillou, the shrimper’s backyard, and he quickly spun stories of Sunday jambalaya, the boats, and his late wife. “When you start drinking that salt water, that’s it,” Mr. Julius said. “You can’t get no better.”

Louisianians share their distinct, beloved spirits in our 2007 Southern Living Readers’ Choice Awards. Drink up.

Country Inn
While the hanging gray moss and peaceful, Gothic gardens make The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville a favored Louisiana locale, it’s the ghostly house really causing the stir. “Even if you don’t like those spooky stories, this place is just lovely,” says Denise Barteet of Shreveport. St. Bernard Parish teacher Rosalyn Smith sells her kids on the place: “Be prepared to step into the past.”

Seafood Restaurant
Time stands still at the original Baton Rouge location of Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar. Full of the former linebacker’s LSU mementos, the place is a den for Tigers fans. “When the doors open up, the parking lots fill up,” says JoAnn Doolos of Baton Rouge. Debbie Johnson from nearby Walker stresses the importance of Mike’s Cajun spicing. “Here in Louisiana, we love our seasonings,” she says.

Resort Hotel
In the Crescent City, Hotel Monteleone off Royal Street continues to greet guests with a priceless timepiece – their giant granddaddy of a grandfather clock circa 1909. “There seems to be a lingering history and romance about this place,” says Amanda Power from Rayville. “You can smell it; your fingers can feel it.”

Barbecue
You don’t have to be fancy to be loved in Louisiana. At three locations (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and St. Rose), VooDoo BBQ & Grill is barbecue Bayou-style and a favorite for Rick Carter. He visits the “funky, bright Mardi Gras feel” for laid-back lunches.

Splurge
An international dining landmark for more than 150 years, Commander’s Palace needs no trumpet’s call. Of course, that never stops its guests. “Aah, in a word,” says Covington’s Judy Jennings, “wonderful.” And in dreamlike description, Avery MacLean in Madisonville, who dines in Commander’s upper glassed-in Garden Room, tells, “It’s like eating in the middle of an oak tree.” This year’s Southern Living Readers’ Choice Awards bring out the rare and communal fondness running through the Pelican State. From the backwaters to the French Quarter and into the northcountry, on cable cars, in jazz rooms, on shrimp boats, and all across Louisiana, something special is in the water. For the South’s full results, visit southernliving.com/readerschoice. And thanks again for voting and for your love of all things Louisiana. Until next year’s contest, c’est bon comme la vie!