A Weekend In New Orleans - Day 2

On Day 2 we started out early with breakfast in The Sazerac Restaurant at our hotel, The Roosevelt. We had drinks in the Sazerac Bar on our last visit to New Orleans, and decided we had to stay in this historic hotel which first opened in 1893. The lobby of the hotel is impressive. Our room was small but well-appointed. We didn't love the location - a little too far up Canal Street for our preference. We probably won't be staying here next time. It was expensive and definitely a splurge for us.

Baronne Street Entrance

Beautiful Lobby

University Place Entrance

Antique Letterbox

We did some window shopping on Royal Street and stopped to watch many of the street performers that New Orleans is famous for. We saw a jazz band playing from the heart and soul and a quartet singing The Temptations.

We strolled past the huge line for muffulettas at Central Grocery, hit up Greg's Antiques on Decatur Street, then decided we would have lunch at Bayona. On our way to Bayona, we laughed and gawked at the decorated porches, all celebrating Mardi Gras and the Saints. ANNOUNCING: HELL FROZEN OVER + PIGS FLYING... I love it!!!



Saturday lunch at Bayona was a fantastic choice -- one we will be making again. The food was exciting and the meal itself was leisurely-paced. Perfect for a sunny Saturday. We were seated in the courtyard, and (surprise, surprise!) I had a sparkling rose. The Saturday lunch menu features three courses for $25. I started with a simple bibb lettuce salad with a delicious, mustardy balsamic dressing and fine Parmesan cheese. My second course was Indian-spiced fish and chips with lentils and yogurt sauce. I was so happy that I ordered this. The portions were just right. The fish came out hot and was such a great compliment to the cool yogurt sauce and lentils. For dessert, I tried the smoked duck and cashew butter in puff pastry drizzled with pepper jelly. I loved the dish - not too sweet, but just sweet enough to finish a lovely meal.

After a little shopping in the afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to rest. I took my book (but, unfortunately, not my camera) to the cute roof top pool and patio at our hotel. Had it been warmer, it would have been packed, I'm sure.

Dinner Saturday night was at Restaurant August. I've been writing a lot about John Besh on my blog lately. We truly love his restaurants, and our meals at August are always wonderful, but the highlight of Saturday night's meal was the half bottle of Billecart-Salmon Rose. Yes, more sparkling rose. We are obviously addicted! And I really wish I could afford to be addicted to champagne! Just read this description from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The NV Brut Rose is beautifully balanced in its layers of perfumed red fruit, berries and flowers. Clean mineral notes frame a silky, sensual finish. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is one of the most consistently delicious roses readers are likely to find."

As with every trip to New Orleans, I came home from this trip loving life. People there know how to live! Heh - or maybe it is all the lively places that people have to get buzzed... I don't know. But I do know that I am happy to live so close, and I can't wait to get back to try a few new places. Katie recommended Coop's Place and Pravda, and Ginger is trying Green Goddess (it looks delicious).

We don't have any trips planned for the near future. Memorial Day weekend we are visiting with Casey and Leah at Casey and Michael's home in Savannah. Then, in June we are headed back to the Smokies for kayaking classes at the NOC and some backcountry hiking on Gregory Bald. Something tells me that our Big Easy trip will tie me over.

A Weekend In New Orleans - Day 1

I took some much needed time off this past weekend. On Friday, we headed to New Orleans and ate ourselves silly! We headed back on Sunday, then on Monday I did some spring cleaning that I've been putting off.


Friday's drive to New Orleans was great! I finished reading The Quiet Game by Greg Iles, and Chip listened to music and drove. We left around 11:30 am and pulled into the Crescent City three short hours later.


I read about folks doing a French Quarter "oyster crawl" on the New Orleans Chowhound boards, and I decided we had to try it out. Our list of restaurants to try was ambitious... our plan was to stop in at each spot, have a drink, and try their signature oyster dish.


Luke: raw P&J Oysters
Antoine's: Oysters Rockefeller (the original)
Red Fish Grill: BBQ (basically an oyster fried Buffalo-style... with Crytal hot sauce and blue cheese dipping sauce)
Desire (in the Royal Sonesta): charbroiled


We walked into Luke right at three o'clock and got some great news from our server: from 3pm to 6pm oysters are 25 cents each and drinks are half-off! I immediately ordered a champagne cocktail and a dozen P&Js. We were both starving from having no lunch, so we decided to try a cup of their seafood gumbo, too. I love Luke, and I always recommend it to folks visiting New Orleans.
The restaurant is pretty, with a classic French bistro vibe (although it is much bigger than most bistros in Paris). We've only been for breakfast/brunch/lunch because there are so many other great dinner choices in the area. We have probably eaten there six or more times over the past few years, and the food has always been great. The service... well that is another story. Often slow, sometimes painfully slow. But this time it was perfect! Our server was attentive and friendly, and the timing of the meal was excellent.

Another round of drinks later, and we were ready for the next adventure: Antoine's.

We stopped by the hotel to change into nicer duds (Antoine's is a fancy place after all), and footed it over Canal Street, down Bourbon, to St. Louis Street. We entered the main dining room at around five o'clock, and it simply sparkled! From the brass chandeliers on the ceiling to the mirrors on the walls, down to the pearl-white floors. So pretty! We told the maitre d' we were looking for the Hermes Bar, and we were led to a beautiful bar across a small hallway from the main dining room. Our waiter was fantastic. He was quick and seemed happy to be serving us on a beautiful Friday evening. I had another champagne cocktail - a French '75 - and ordered the Oysters Rockefeller. The food came, we had more drinks, and we watched guests arrive for a wedding rehearsal dinner taking place in one of the fifteen dining rooms at Antoine's. Given that neither of us really liked the oysters, we somehow spent two hours in the bar. As night fell, we observed the ebb and flow of the bar's regulars on a gorgeous Friday night.

At this point, things get a little fuzzy :)

We decided we were done with eating for a while, and we wanted to listen to some music. We headed across the Quarter to d.b.a. where a band was just starting up. Yes, we headed there. And yes, we made it there. But no, we did not make it in any reasonable amount of time.

After four champagne cocktails in four hours, what can I say? I did NOT make an efficient navigator. Somehow we made it down Royal Street, across Esplanade Avenue, and right across Frenchman Street within 30 yards of the bar, and then kept going... We ended up on Elysian Fields a little drunk, laughing our butts off because somehow we ended up in the middle of a movie set. With period costumes. And mules and donkeys pulling old-timey Mardi Gras floats. Hilarious at the time! We walked right through the set while the director was on a ladder with a megaphone. I wish I'd have gotten a photo of that!

We had a round and enjoyed the band, then at nine we were starving again. I was craving the BBQ shrimp that I'd heard about from Mr. B's Bistro. Chip was up for anything, so we headed fifteen blocks or so back up Royal Street for dinner.

The atmosphere in Mr. B's was bright and exciting. New Orleans BBQ shrimp are served shell-on, swimming in the butter-laced BBQ sauce. When my BBQ shrimp arrived, they came with a bowl for the shells, a warm, damp towel so I could wash my hands after peeling them, and a paper bib. My waiter wasted no time tying that bib on me! When I picked up my fork and knife to cut the heads off, he looked at me really suspiciously and asked, "Do you know how to peel shrimp?" Apparently he thought I was going to try to peel all of them with my fork and knife. Once I explained that I was just taking the heads off with the knife, but I fully intended to peel them with my hands, he left me to it. And wow - those were the best shrimp I've ever had! Perfectly tender and the BBQ sauce is to die for. I sopped up every bit of sauce with the delicious french bread, then ended the meal with their bread pudding.

We didn't make it to all or most of our spots on the crawl, but we did have three excellent experiences on Friday. The oysters at Luke were fresh and juicy. At Antoine's, I didn't like the licorice flavor of the Oysters Rockefeller, but I loved the atmosphere. I know now that they add a little herbsaint (licorice/anise-flavored liquor) to the rockefeller topping, and I'm not a fan of that flavoring. Mr. B's BBQ shrimp lived up to the hype, and you can make them at home! The recipe is on their website.

Recipes from My New Orleans by John Besh

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law gave Chip and me John Besh's My New Orleans for Christmas. John Besh has many restaurants in the New Orleans area. We've been to Restaurant August two or three times, and we never miss brunch at Luke on our weekend visits to New Orleans.

Chip read My New Orleans cover to cover first, and I almost stole it away from him before he finished. As Chip was reading the cookbook, he read many of the stories and recipes from the cookbook aloud to me and would have my mouth watering every night right before bed. I probably dreamed of creole cooking for a week straight! I knew that this was going to be a cookbook I actually cooked from... unlike The French Laundry cookbook that I've ogled but have yet to try a darn recipe.

I made Besh's the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo for the NFC Championship, and it was mighty good! I left out the okra, though, because I just don’t love okra. For Chip's birthday back in October, I made Emeril's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, and it was neat to compare the two batches. I cheated on the Besh batch because I pulled the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. For the Emeril batch, I used only thigh meat. The thigh meat was better, I think, but the recipes were really similar.

For the Super Bowl, I decided to make the Shrimp, Chicken, and Andouille Jambalaya and the Mardi Gras King Cake recipes from My New Orleans. The jambalaya was really good. It was a celebration of pork: bacon, andouille, ground pork sausage, and sliced smoked sausage. We don't eat much pork in our house, so it was definitely a treat. I used crawfish tails instead of shrimp, and that added a yummy twist.

Stirring up all that porky flavor!

I have some reservations on the King Cake recipe. The recipe said the baking temperature and time should be 375F for 30 minutes. I thought the temp was a little too high, and sure enough it turned out dry and a little too brown. I should have pulled it out of the oven earlier or baked it at 350F. Also, Besh's recipe had me sift the cinnamon and nutmeg into the flour. Next time I might try to roll out the dough, shake on some cinnamon sugar, and roll it up jellyroll-style so that there are swirls of cinnamon throughout the braids. But seriously, I can't complain too much, because with a few tweaks, it will be a showstopper. Just look at this cake!

I forgot to take photos until I had already mixed the dough, kneaded for 15 minutes (!), and let it take its first rise. And from there...

Rolling out the dough for the braid.

The recipe said equal lenghts. These looked equal enough for me!

Getting ready to braid.

The braiding begins. It was so FUN!

Braided and ready for its second rise.

Second rise done. Now it is ready for the oven!

Cooling before the icing goes on.

What do you think? Happy Mardi Gras!

Back to New Orleans

New Orleans is a wonderful city. Chip drove us south down I-55 last weekend to spend a little time in the French Quarter and the Garden District. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have. But isn't that always the case when you are having a good time?

Friday, September 25th was our fifth wedding anniversary. We had dinner reservations Friday evening at Lilette, a beautiful neighborhood restaurant in the Garden District. We strolled by this gem on our last trip to New Orleans, peeked into the dining room, and decided that Lilette was next on our NOLA restaurant list. Then, in early 2009, John Harris, chef-owner of Lilette, was nominated for the Best Chef: South James Beard award (eventually losing to John Currence of Oxford's City Grocery fame). We arrived early for our reservation and enjoyed champagne and a toast to our marriage. The dining room at Lilette is defninitely sexy and romantic. It just sparkles in contrast to the deep-burgundy walls. Our appetizers were fantastic. I devoured the light and fluffy gnocchi in a sage and brown butter cream sauce. Melt-in-my-mouth little pillows of heaven! Seriously! And I couldn't help but have a few nibbles of Chip's delicious grilled beets with walnuts and goat cheese. (I'm definitely recreating that one at home this fall). The entrees were so-so. Chip ordered the Kobe strip steak, and it just wasn't all that. The meat was chewy and unflavorful. Salty even. But dessert saved the meal! I ordered the sticky toffee pudding with caramel ice cream. Chip ordered the bread pudding with Earl Grey ice cream. Mine was fabulous. I didn't share. Chip didn't either.

After dinner we crossed town to Frenchman Street in Marigny to Snug Harbor Jazz Club. We had tickets to the 10 PM Ellis Marsalis Quartet performance, and I was so happy that we arranged this. Ellis Marsalis is the father of the famous jazz musicians Branford and Wynton, but all of his sons play jazz. Ellis Marsalis played piano and his son Jason accompanied him on drums. The bassist and saxiphonist were also fantastic, but the highlight of the evening for me was vocalist Johnaye Kendrick. She joined the quartet for the second half of the show, and her voice was just gorgeous. She sang soulfully and purposefully without oversinging anything. She has a way with her voice that just leaves you wanting to hear more.

Saturday we had a healthy breakfast at Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar, visited Shadyside Pottery on Magazine, and ducked in and out of the French Quarter bars as we avoided rain showers and watched SEC football. We had fresh raw oysters and shrimp cocktail in the afternoon, and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at John Besh's (2006 Best Chef: South winner) newest restaurant - Domenica - in the Roosevelt Hotel. The menu is really different, and we liked it. They serve an array of soups, salads, and a charcuterie plate. Their appetizers, pasta bowls, and entrees are served in small or large portions so you can order a small portion of many different things if you want to go that route. And we did. We got a charcuterie plate that came with amazing fig preserves and some weird savory beignets. The meats and cheeses were yummy, the fried bread - not so much. Later, we split three of the small pasta plates: cavatelli with fennel sausage, spinach gnocchi (I was craving more after Lilette), and tagliatelle with rabbit ragu. My favorite was the rabbit ragu. Chip wanted to lick the bowl of the fennel sausage pasta. The gnocchi were just okay - way more dense and chewy than Lilette's. All in all - the meal at Domenica was probably more consistantly good than Lilette, but I prefered the atmosphere and the service at Lilette. Our server at Lilette was just wonderful.

The highlight of Saturday evening was having drinks at the Sazerac Bar also in the Roosevelt Hotel. I can't believe I did not take any photos! The bar is an Art Deco masterpiece, complete with murals of life in New Orleans painted by artist Paul Ninas in the 1930s. I overheard one bar patron say that the murals have likenesses of all of New Orleans' social elite from the 1930s era. On the right night, you may catch someone at the bar who knows the history behind each one.

I had a Ramos Gin Fizz which basically goes down like a milkshake and tastes like one, too, just not quite as heavy or sweet. The menu said that the Ramos Gin Fizz was invented in New Orleans and made famous by the Sazerac Bar because it was Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long's favorite drink in the hotel's heyday. Gov. Long definitely knew how to pick a drink. It was delicious.

Sunday morning we packed up, headed to Besh's Luke Restaurant for breakfast, then made the 3 hour drive back home. I love New Orleans. There is just something about that place that makes people feel free. Like they've been given a permission slip to be themselves, not so stuffy and caught up in the rat race. I know I feel like that when I'm there, and it is a wonderful place to be.

New Orleans

My husband and I took off for New Orleans on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day to take a drive. The sky was spotted with clouds, not too hot and not too humid. We checked-in to our hotel (the W on Poydras) at around 2:15 PM. We hit the French Quarter immediately. I planned to take photos of the Quarter on Saturday, but I left my camera in the glove box of the car. Yuck!

We had a quick bite to eat at the Hard Rock, then made our way around the Quarter. We tried a couple Ragin' Bull Red Bull daquiris at the Fat Tuesday on Bourbon. They were pretty terrible. Then we listened to a band at the Gazebo Bar & Grill in the French Market. While walking around Jackson Square, we ran into a friend of Chip's, and we all chatted for a bit.

Saturday night we walked around looking for a jazz bar that I'd been to before and LOVED. I couldn't remember the name or exactly where it was. We never found it!! Now that I have access to Google, I know the place is called The Spotted Cat, and it is on Frenchman Street. Next time we go to New Orleans we're going to have to make it to that place. They have a house band that plays my favorite type of jazz.

On Sunday, we had a DELICIOUS breakfast at Croissant D'or on the Quarter. We took a little walk, and I took some photos. Next we made it over to the Garden District. Where I took loads of photos of some magnificent houses and gardens. Have a look at my New Orleans album at Picasa.

There were tons of plants that I know, but also some unknowns. Take a look and let me know if you can name some of these plants!

This vine is very pretty, but what is it?


And what's this one?


I've seen these everywhere, but I can't remember the name of this plant.


Is this a tree or a shrub? It has flowering spires like sage or a butterfly bush.


My husband really like this tropical-looking plant. What is it? It was about 8 to 10 feet tall.


Sunday night we had reservations at Emeril's New Orleans. OMG, it was so good! The best part was a Caprese salad layered with basil, buffalo mozzarella, skinless cherry tomatoes, arugula, prosciutto, and watermelon with a balsamic dressing. So good! For dessert we had a Grand Marnier chocolate souffle that was totally delicious.

We plan to go back soon to hit some of the restaurants we missed out on this time. High on our list are Bayona and Herbsaint.