Just got back from our NOLA trip, and it was a lot of fun, thanks to the great recommendations here. (Jazy, sorry we couldn't meet in MS--we were late getting into Vicksburg and had to leave early the next day for Louisiana.)
Our hotel was the Hampton Inn, just a couple blocks west of Canal on Carondolet, which we learned is the same street as Bourbon, just west of Canal (and a lot tamer). So we were pretty well situated to visit Bourbon Street, Royal Street, take the Canal streetcar down to the river or take the St. Charles streetcar west to the Garden District (and beyond). I guess it was because it was a holiday weekend, but it seemed crowded for Saturday/Sunday, but was much less so Monday. Mrs. BEvans and I invited my MIL, who lived in Louisiana with her Louisiana husband/my late FIL for many years. She's in her 80s but has great energy and was a great traveling companion, willing to go anywhere and do anything.
Friday:
We arrived Friday evening and walked over to Felix's on Iberville & Bourbon and got some charbroiled oysters and a sampler of jambalaya, red beans & rice and crawfish etoufee. We had to wait outside for a few minutes, but we were serenaded by this cool brass band (the
To Be Continued Brass Band, perhaps?) playing some rocking jazz while we waited. I ate some good meals on our trip, but this was probably the best. Highly recommend this old diner-style restaurant.
Saturday:
We rose early and walked down to Jackson Square, where we had the obligatory coffee & beignets at Cafe du Monde. Great atmosphere, great people watching, awesome food (a recurring comment!). Mrs. BEvans and I then took a walk along the riverfront down to the Aquarium and back, just enjoying the river view and breeze. We then walked down to French Market, visiting the shops and Farmer's Market. We walked around part of Jackson Square, visited St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo. What history! I love that they know where the city came from and work hard to keep that heritage.
On Jazy and Mick's recommendation we went to Royal House for a late lunch/early dinner. Unfortunately we couldn't get a balcony seating, but we did have the Bananas Foster cheesecake, and that's about the best dessert I've ever put in my mouth. Thanks guys for that one. Mrs. BEvans was ready to get her shopping on, so we visited the shops on Royal Street and caught some of the street acts, which were funny, talented, or both. We also got to see a couple of wedding parties parading down Royal Street accompanied by a band (second lines?)
We walked the MIL back to the hotel and then went down to Pat O'Brien's for the obligatory Hurricane and revelry with the piano bar. A good time was being had by all, and we did, too. We got in line for the show at Preservation Hall, but just missed the cut. Mrs. BEvans was pooped & didn't want to wait around for the next show, so that's one I'm sorry we missed. Definitely want to catch it next time. We walked back via Bourbon Street and it was an experience just to see all the revelry getting started. Completely different feel in the daytime vs. night.
Sunday:
I had tried to get reservations for Commander's Palace back in March, but unfortunately they were already booked, so on Darrell's recommendation we booked a reservation at Court of Two Sisters on Royal. That was definitely a highlight. The food was fantastic (had my first crawfish ever there--I'm now a fan!), but the courtyard setting with the intertwining vines providing an umbrella for the entire (large) courtyard and jazz ensemble playing: we couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere. Highly recommend.
After that we walked around the Historic New Orleans Museum next door: they had a Huey Long exhibit and my MIL wanted to see it because my late FIL's family had Long connections. It was really neat.
We then took the St. Charles streetcar and got off at the Washington Avenue stop and walked through the Garden District. We were following a self-guided tour plan Mrs. BEvans got out of a guide book she bought: we walked about a 12-block grid bounded by Washington Avenue on the west, First Street on the east, Prytania Street on the north and Camp Street on the south. We were all blown away by the beauty and history of the District and the homes (estates? palaces?) there. We started to look around Lafayette Cemetery but got there just a couple of minutes before it closed so we didn't see as much as we wanted. After spending the afternoon there, we rode back and had dinner at Acme Oyster House. Gumbo, more chargrilled oysters and adult beverages. Yum.
Monday:
Again we rose early and made our way down to Jackson Square for more Cafe du Monde and shopping at French Market. We tried to get into the 1850 House and were surprised to learn that Louisiana parks and museums are closed on federal holidays, so we missed that one. Also wanted to get into Central Grocery and have a muffuletta, but they're closed on Monday. We looked around Jackson Square some more and had a late lunch at a cafe close to French Market, where I did get a muffuletta, and loved the olive salad on it.
At this point the weather, which had been so great all weekend, turned bad--lots of storms that afternoon and evening. We had a dinner reservation at Emeril's but the consensus was we didn't want to brave the weather, so we went to Deanie's Seafood at the corner of Iberville and Dauphine. Really good fried seafood joint in a diner atmosphere. (Deanie's Tip: don't order the Giant Seafood Platter unless there's at least 4 of you who are eating on it. The 3 of us ate maybe half. We packed the rest for our trip home and ate 2 meals on the leftovers.)
So that's the trip report in a nutshell. Just a few of the things I wanted to do that we couldn't get to:
Preservation Hall
Music clubs on Frenchmen Street
WWII Museum
Audubon Park
1850 House
Cemetery Tour
The Presbytere
Harrah's Casino
Audubon Aquarium
Jax Brewery
Magazine Street
Commander's Palace
Drago's
Mother's
and so many others recommended by all of you.
I know I'm probably not saying anything those of you who have visited/lived there already know, but I was so impressed by the atmosphere and the people there. Everyone was unfailingly gracious and friendly, with just a couple of exceptions (notable only because of so many other people being so wonderful). Everyone, including the street people, called my MIL "Momma" in a friendly, respectful way and asked how she was, made sure she was making her way on and off the streetcars OK, etc. It was just a treat to be part of that, moreso than any big city I've visited.
We can't wait to go back. I'd love to see the SEC tournament return there, but apparently that isn't happening anytime soon. Oh, well--have to think about a trip back on our own.
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