I had no expectations of New Orleans but I figured there was a 50/50 chance I'd love it or hate it.
Our Itinerary (January 19-21, 2013)
Saturday, January 19
We arrived at our B&B, Terrell House, around noon. We didn't have long to get acquainted because we had a "date" at 1:00pm. Before I get into that, I want to say that Terrell House is the best B&B we've stayed at in the U.S. The breakfasts were INCREDIBLE, the hospitality was wonderful, the house was gorgeous - like something out of a magazine (ha! That's kind of a pun because it's located on Magazine Street...), our room was cozy, clean, private, and quiet, and, our favorite feature without a doubt was the resident cat, Jubilee. The location was also an asset as it was within walking distance to the French Quarter and Uptown but far enough away that our nights were tranquil. It was 10+ blocks to the French Quarter and 15+ blocks to Uptown. We did both walks during the day but chose to take cabs at night.
Announcing our arrival:
Our feline friend, Jubilee:
Our only planned/pre-booked activity during our trip was a Tastebud Food Tour. Mike Serio's Po-Boys & Deli was where we first met our guide, Richard, and learned about the Muffaletta. To those of us who don't know about New Orleans cuisine, it looks/sounds like an Italian hoagie or sub. It was brought over by Sicilian immigrants who made a new/revolutionary condiment that wouldn't go bad in the heat - crushed olives.
Needless to say, it was delicious and despite this being a "sample" it was quite filling. Quick anecdote - apparently, Bobby Flay lost a culinary smackdown with Mike Serio seven years ago. He dared to say that he made a better muffaletta but not according to the natives! Also, fun history fact - Lee Harvey Oswald used to frequent Mike Serio's. Creepy!
Our next stop was Cafe Beignet on famous Bourbon Street. Beignets are awesome! I kind of thought I wouldn't want to eat anything else the entire trip. It's a deliciously simple pastry with a somewhat gooey center and powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Our beignets were accompanied by local coffee flavored with chicory, which is supposed to give your coffee an extra kick.
Our third and most important tasting was at The Old Coffeepot Restaurant. I consider it the most important because it made us want to come back! No other stop on the tour made as deep of an impression as this place. Here, we got to try some traditional gumbo and jambalaya, which is an improvement of its inspiration, paella. I was surprised to discover that I DO, in fact, like Cajun and Creole food. I just don't think I'd ever had the real thing before so I mistakenly thought I didn't like it.
Our tour kind of peaked at the Old Coffeepot. The last two stops weren't as impressive/exciting as the rest. Johnny's Po-Boys was packed so they couldn't even find room to seat us. This definitely bodes well for their business but as a result, we had to "picnic" in Jackson Square and by the time we got there (a few blocks walk) our roast beef po-boys were dripping from the dressings and falling apart. Despite tasting great, they were messy and hard to enjoy. The upside? We got an impromptu history lesson of Jackson Square. We also learned about the po-boy loaf, which is 39 inches long. Bread is a huge part of the local cuisine. There's always a surplus and so it's made into "lost bread", which is what the rest of us call French toast. And what's left after that is made into bread pudding.
Last and least, we swung by Laura's Candies. I'm not much of a candy person so I wasn't that interested but I guess pralines are a big thing in New Orleans. We a took a couple to-go and shared one on the way out. WAY too sweet for me but I could see how they'd be addictive.
All in all, it was a great food tour. Richard was a wonderful (and local) guide. He told us that every place he took us to are the same places he takes his family and friends when they visit. He used to be a teacher and later principal, which informed his presentation style in a good way. I really enjoyed the history and the anecdotes that went along with the food. For instance, I learned that Cajuns came to New Orleans to avoid persecution and start anew. Creoles, on the other hand, were the offspring of Europeans who were expected to make their riches and then return to their homeland. My only "complaint" is that there were times Richard's voice was drowned out by street/background noise. I thought he could have tried a little harder to project. I also found the group (18 people) to be a little on the large side.
Our food tour ran about four hours so by the time we were done we were ready to head "home" for the day. We were sufficiently stuffed and it wasn't quite dark so we decided to walk off the calories. We ended up skipping dinner and having an early night. When you don't have cable at home it can be a nice treat to curl up in a big bed and watch trash. Ah. Vacation.
Sunday, January 20
This morning we had an incredible breakfast of grillades, baked grits (I don't even like grits but I LOVED baked grits), apple blintz with mascarpone cheese (think cheesecake with a hint of apple), and fresh fruit. Looking back, I wish I had licked my plate. It was that good.
Afterward, we set off for the French Quarter where we planned to spend our day. We took a leisurely stroll there and began perusing. We had no plans. Our only goals were to get to know the French Quarter a little better, do a little shopping, and eat some good food!
We walked to the edge of the Quarter to the Riverwalk so we could say we saw the Mississippi. And after we did we strolled through the French Market, which reminded me a lot of the Charleston City Market. Then we made our way back to Jackson Square for some pictures. There was a stage and other such things set up presumably, for the following day's MLK Jr. parade. Even with the unfortunate presence of equipment we were still able to get some nice shots and what a beautiful day it was!
Before I forget, since I mentioned the beautiful weather, this was probably our first and only precipitation-free vacation ever. At least, it's the only one I can think of in recent history. The weather couldn't have been better. It was sunny and mid-60s everyday and cool in the 50s during the mornings and evenings. Perfect.
Next we took a stroll down Esplanade Avenue where we saw some lovely homes and a guy barfing on the street after a few too many the night before, I'm sure. We also saw a lot of Mardi Gras decorations. I always thought of Mardi Gras as a singular event but apparently, the people of New Orleans start celebrating after the Day of Epiphany. Lucky for us!
And then we made our way to Bourbon Street, which was somewhat chaotic even before noon. People were already drinking and walking around with "go" cups. You can drink anything on the streets as long as it's not in glass.
We didn't linger on Bourbon because it wasn't really our scene. We did, however, return to Royal Street because I remembered seeing a lot of cute art shops the previous day.
Before we took the time to go shopping we decided to return to the Old Coffeepot for lunch. There was a little bit of a wait this time - about 20 minutes. But it was well worth it!
We started off with a cup of delicious chicken gumbo each:
Evan got the jambalaya as his main meal and I ordered the crab cakes over "andouille sausage sweet potato stack":
Believe me, it was even better than it looked. Those crab cakes were so good, in fact, that when our server came to collect our plates and saw I had a small piece left she said she'd give us more time. In other words, she wasn't picking up my plate until it was clean! We were pretty full but managed to finish it between the two of us.
And really, did you think we would leave without dessert? So, of course, we ordered their bread pudding and it was out of this world!
After lunch we walked up and down Royal, going in and out of shops. There's so much cool art. I found a beautiful wood carving of a voodoo bride and groom but it was too expensive. I kept my eyes peeled for something else.
Along the way we saw some festive decorations and elegant balconies.
Music is everywhere in New Orleans. You don't have to go to a club, all you have to do is walk outside. There's spontaneous dancing in the streets, too.
Eventually, we found an art gallery on Chartres Street where we were able to find reasonably priced local art. I'm really looking forward to having it framed and putting it on the wall.
Final product:
Some more ornate architecture and Mardi Gras decorations on our way out of the French Quarter:
We struggled with finding a place to eat for dinner and finally stumbled upon a cute and quaint sandwich shop called Antoine's Annex. It wasn't anything special but we were looking for something light after a very large lunch so it hit the spot. Then we cabbed back "home" for the night. Jubilee came to hang out with us and sat on Evan's lap for an hour.
Monday, January 21
This morning we had another extraordinary breakfast and fortunately, I had the camera nearby:
What's on my plate? Creole eggs on an English muffin, baked grits, a baked apple crisp, ham biscuit, and KING CAKE with raspberry filling. Here it is in its entirety:
And some of my favorite interior decorative displays:
After breakfast we headed up Magazine Street toward the Upper Garden District and Uptown. We passed more beautiful homes and decorations and also antique shops, art galleries, and cutesy restaurants.
I really liked the saying on this bench. Evan says it's from a rap song...? It sums up the New Orleans experience quite nicely:
After walking for what seemed like a really long time we stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall kind of place for lunch called Tee Eva's. We were the only customers in a very cozy, tight spot. The service couldn't have been better. It was like eating in a friend or family member's kitchen. We even parted with hugs. Evan had gumbo and I had red rice and beans. Tasty! We finished our meal with mini-pies. I got sweet potato and Evan got cream cheese and pecan.
Afterward we strolled through a lovely neighborhood on our way to meet up with the St. Charles Streetcar.
We hopped on the Streetcar to get a better look at Uptown while taking a break. We had also walked so far in the opposite direction of our part of town - the Lower Garden District - that we weren't looking forward to trekking all the way back.
We got off near Washington Avenue and paid a short visit to Lafayette Cemetery. I thought it was going to be a lot more impressive based on Frommer's recommendation. It was actually quite small.
We made our way back leisurely from Washington Ave, which was maybe eight or more blocks from the B&B. A lot of the shops that were closed earlier in the day were now open so we perused.
Even though I was still partially stuffed from lunch Evan and I decided to have a second late lunch or a really early dinner at Diva Dawg. Just a few short blocks from our B&B, it was really convenient and frankly (ha!), I was intrigued by the idea of gourmet hot dogs.
Evan and I both got the signature diva dawg. I got mine (above) with andouille ketchup, creole mustard, and relish. It was really awesome, if a bit hot! It definitely had a kick. We also got corn pups, which I didn't realize translated to small versions of corn dogs. I was thinking they were hush puppies or something. Oops! Also good. Several hours later we went back and sampled their bread pudding, which was also enjoyable.
After a brief respite at the B&B we re-traced our steps and strolled down Coliseum Street, which has a lot of grandiose mansions. John Goodman, for example, lives on this street and I can confirm that his house is one of the nicest on the block. Evan even got to pet his dog, Daisy, because she was lurking in the yard and being the friendly golden retriever she is, she stuck her juicy nose through the fence for some petting.
We wiled away the rest of the evening with Jubilee in our room. That's right, in our ROOM. She followed us in and spent over two hours on my lap. We would've let her stay longer but, well, with no litter box and all we had to show her out at some point.
Look at that face:
It was hard to say goodbye.
...
Nobody's more surprised than me to discover I LOVE New Orleans! It's like no other city and yet, like Evan said, it's such a mixture of cultures that you sometimes think you're somewhere other than the U.S. You don't have to be a booze-hound to enjoy what New Orleans has to offer. There's so much more to the city, the people, the culture than partying. There's music, there's art, there's hospitality, there's the MOST AMAZING food on the planet. And it's not called the Big Easy for nothing. It's a way of life, it's a way of thinking, it's a way for us Northerners to decompress and get a glimpse of how good life is when we slow down and let our petty troubles roll off our backs. I loved how I felt in New Orleans. The slowness is so pervasive that I was forced to dial down my neuroses and just go with the flow. I needed that. I crave that. I will be back. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. And I have to see Jubilee again, of course!
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