Along with everyone else who has ever lived and loved in New Orleans, I watched the Treme premiere on HBO last night with eagerness, as well as a critical eye.  New Orleans is a famously complicated city to decode, which is merely one factor to its appeal, and there are so many colloquialisms that it takes a stay far longer than my six years there to completely comprehend the canon.

Luckily, the series is not only the brainchild of David Simon, who created the nuanced masterpiece The Wire, it’s drawn upon top-notch local writing talent. Former Times-Picayune columnist Lolis Eric Elie is now a full-time writer for the show, and Tom Piazza – who wrote City of Refuge, an excellent book about New Orleans life post-Katrina that purports to be fiction but reads more like fact – is also on board.

In the hands of these writers, New Orleans purists need not feared; in fact, the dialogue and action is so steeped in local life that Times-Picayune TV critic Dave Walker is providing a weekly decoder to its New Orleans references (I’ve already bookmarked for future episode).

Casual tourists to the city would be hard pressed to find some of the venues and sights shown in the premiere (although I’m sure it won’t be long before Treme tours are available). Mardi Gras Indians only perform a few times a year, for example, and the second lines put on by the city’s social aid and pleasure clubs are a byproduct of neighborhood life, far away from the silliness of Bourbon Street.

But here are three places from the show last night that are accessible to someone coming in for a quick business trip or vacation:

1. Vaughn’s, 800 Lesseps Street, 504-947-5562 – Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, playing himself on Treme, hosts weekly Thursday night gigs at Vaughn’s, a bar in the Bywater that’s well-known among locals and music lovers, not so much to regular tourists. If you’re staying in the French Quarter or CBD, you’ll have to take a taxi or rent a car. But it’s worth it. Who knows, you might see Elvis Costello, or one of the many famous musicians and celebrities who stop through the city for a New Orleans music fix.

2. Angelo Brocato, 214 N. Carrollton, 504-486-1465 – John Goodman’s character Creighton Bernette tells chef Janette Desautel that he’s holding out for Lemon Ice from Angelo Brocato’s, an Italian ice cream and dessert emporium that has been around New Orleans since 1905. Its Mid-City location was closed for a year after the storm, due to more than 5 feet of floodwater, but it’s open now. You can get there by taking the Carrollton Spur off the Canal Street streetcar line. The ices are indeed great, and it’s also one of the city’s top spots for authentic cannolis.

3. Bayona, 430 Dauphine St., 504-525-4455 – Janette Desautel’s restaurant was actually shot at Patois, in New Orleans’  Uptown section, parts of which sustained minimal damage during Katrina. But the character is based on local celebrity chef Susan Spicer, whose French Quarter flagship restaurant Bayona has always topped foodie lists. The setting is romantic, the service is always great, and the garlic soup is to die for. Reservations required.

What’s your New Orleans fave? Tell us in the comments!

Earlier New Orleans posts:

5 Reasons to visit New Orleans right now

Superbowl Fan Frenzy in New Orleans

New Orleans, Carnival trip report

New Orleans, Four Years Post-Katrina