The Short List.

New Orleans is a foodie paradise.  Oh, yes.  There are so many restaurants to choose from... we could dine out - once a week - for ten years - and never go to the same eatery twice.  So the husby and I threw together an impromptu "we-must-eat-there" list.  Some of the places on this list are instantly recognizable (not just because they are famous, but because the chef is well-known) and some others are relatively obscure.  No matter where we go, I'll be sure to write up a review (similar to my most recent post about Antoine's) and let you know all the dirty details.  :0))

So, here are some of the places we're eager to eat at (in no particular order):

^^  Galatoire's

(Photo courtesy of the Galatoire's website)

Galatoire's Restaurant

209 Bourbon Street

New Orleans  70130

(504) 525-2021
Located in the French Quarter

Yet another "Grand Dame" still in business here in NOLA.  The restaurant was first established right at the turn of the century - the nineteenth century, that is (1905).  Galatoire's is mentioned in the 1952 film of adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire".  Apparently, Williams was quite a regular there, hence why he wrote about it.  During lunch, the restaurant is pretty relaxed about attire (no shorts, tee-shirts, or flip-flops) but during the evening, it's more formal.  Coat and tie are required for men, fussy dressy outfits for the women (which is why I want to come here for lunch - it's getting too hot to be trussed-up).  

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^^  The Bier Garden at SoBou

(Photo courtesy of the SoBou website)

^^  The Apothecary at SoBou

(Photo courtesy of the SoBou website)

SoBou

310 Rue Chartres

New Orleans  70130

(504) 522-4095
Located in the French Quarter

SoBou is a newcomer to the French Quarter.  The restaurant is owned by the Brennan family who are, essentially, restaurant Gods here in New Orleans.  One of their most famous restaurants, Commander's Palace, attracts foodies and celebrities alike.  The Brennans place a large emphesis on quality food, excellent service, atmosphere, and they are known for recruiting such famous chefs as Emeril Lagasse, Jamie Shannon (who is now deceased), and Paul Prudhomme.  The name of the restaurant is quite simple... it stands for South of Bourbon.  I cannot wait to try this one out.  

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^^  Piles of fresh seafood at John Besh's Luke

(Photo courtesy of the Luke website)

^^  Pate of Louisiana rabbit
(Photo courtesy of the Luke website)

Luke
333 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans  70130
(504) 378-2840
Located in the Garden District

John Besh is known locally for his many restaurants.  He even has a steak house in the Harrah's Casino on Canal Street (the menu there also looks mouth-watering).  The food at Luke looks deliciously French and I must admit, it would be VERY hard for me to pick just ONE appetizer, ONE entree, and ONE dessert.  I'll have to really molest the menu before I even get ready to eat there.  That way, I can make up my mind beforehand and not frustrate the waiter.  :0))

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Royal House

441 Royal Street

New Orleans  70130

(504) 528-2601

Located in the French Quarter

Apologies for not having any pictures to post (they didn't have much on their website) - but this restaurant is really near the top of my list.  Every year, at French Quarter Fest, they char grill oysters in their shells.  Oh.  My.  Gawds.  So fucking good!!  They throw in some butter, black pepper, and parmesan cheese and then grill them in their own shells.  Royal House also gives a 10% discount to all locals AND will usually have coupons for a free appetizer (with the purchase of an entree).  I'm really looking forward to trying the actual brick-and-mortar restaurant instead of eating off of a food truck!!  

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^^  Arnaud's 

(Photo courtesy of Arnaud's website)

Arnaud's Restaurant

813 Rue Bienville

New Orleans  70112

(504) 524-5433

Located in the French Quarter

Arnaud's is also a French Quarter institution.  Founded in 1918, the restaurant has a reputation of being haunted by a man in a turn-of-the-century tuxedo.  The building has been around since the 1700's, and it was an opium den before it became an eatery.  There are a variety of menus - from an a la carte to a prix fixe menu with three courses for $40.oo per person (not including libations, of course!!).  They also offer a Sunday Jazz Brunch.  Personally, I'd probably never make it to the Jazz Brunch... only because I'm really not an early riser (although I'm trying to change that).  I'd love to come and eat here on Halloween or All Saints Day.  I imagine it would be a very interesting dinner!!

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With the exception of the Royal House, the rest of these restaurants are not exactly child-friendly.  For instance, John Besh offers a mixed seafood platter (lobster, mussels, shrimp) that will set you back $125.oo.  As with many fine-dining restaurants here in New Orleans, there are NO children's menus, high chairs, or booster seats.  Dinner (depending on the courses) can take upwards of 2.5 hours - so plan accordingly.  

I cannot wait to try all these restaurants!!  Stay tuned, because I will be writing about them all.  :0))  

Happy Eating!!!

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A Post Of Its Own: Antoine's.

An adventurous Saturday, indeed!!

We moseyed into the French Quarter today to take advantage of the three-course prix fixe menu offered for lunch at Antoine's.  The price for all three courses is $20.13 per person.  Also being offered was the .25-cent drink of the day... which just happened to be lemon-drop martinis (one of my personal favorites - mouth puckering sour lemonade and a lot of vodka).  Fuck the wine, we martini-ed it up!!  At the beginning of the meal, the waiter brought out two fresh (as in just-out-of-the-oven) mini-baguettes and freshly churned butter.  ::swoon::  It was so delicious.  I had to stop eating it so that I could save some room for the three plates to come!! 

For my first course, I had the Hot Shrimp Ravigote Au Gratin and the husby had the Ponchatoula Salad.  For my entree, I had the Ginger Currant Pork, which had a current-cranberry sauce with sweet and herby rice.  B. tried the Basil-Crusted Drum (a light flaky local fish) on a bed of corn, artichokes and tomatoes - both of our meals were perfectly prepared and delicious.  For dessert, I had the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (which had a sweet rum glaze) and ordered a cafe au lait.  The cake itself was dense and moist and had freshly whipped cream on top.  Husby had the candied Peach Melba with home-made vanilla ice cream.  He skipped the coffee and decided to have another martini.  Fabulous New Orleans lunch!!

Antoine's happens to be one of the oldest restaurants in the Quarter.  It was originally opened by a Frenchman back in 1840 and is still owned and operated by the founding family heirs.  As a matter-of-fact, our waiter was proud to point out that he was the third generation in his family to work at the restaurant (he started when he was 15 and told us that this year he celebrated his 20-year anniversary working at Antoine's)... he even gave us a business card with his name on it so that we could request him again.  The restaurant itself has 16 different dining rooms and can hold a capacity of 1400 people at one time.  Some of the dining rooms are small and private, but there are also larger, banquet-style rooms available.  The decor is truly old New Orleans and the food is distinctly French (there are some Creole-style offerings on the menu, but for the most part it is classic French cuisine).

The service was impeccable - white linen - and the wait staff wear tuxedo-style "uniforms" (for lack of a better word) and patrons are expected to be a bit more formally dressed (no flip-flops or shorts or wife-beaters).  For evening dining, patrons are expected to wear a coat and tie and ladies to be dressed appropriately.  There are NO children's menus, nor are there high chairs OR booster seats offered.  I was pleased to see that there were NO children at all, everyone there appeared to be older than the age of 25.  Personally, I think it's worth every penny to dine at this type of restaurant.

 ^^  Antoine's is very distinctive - you can see the sign from a mile away...

 ^^  The main entrance...

 ^^  One of the large dining rooms.  The staff encourages patrons to look all around the restaurant... they also provide souvenir menus on request.

 ^^  The Wine Cellar.  Antoine's has one of the largest wine selections in the entire city.  Well over $2,000,000.oo of wine on hand...  this would be one of the premier restaurants to visit for wine aficionados.  

 ^^  Every fine liquor you can imagine is available in the bar.  

 ^^  Pre-mixed Sazerac!!!

 ^^  One of the private dining rooms.  It had a snail theme of sorts going on...  perhaps a referral to the Escargot that can be found on the menu???

 ^^  Back hallway leading to the various private dining areas...

 ^^  I loved this dining room...  the colors were fabulous and I'd love to have dinner with a group of friends in this lovely room...

 ^^  Courtyard walkway.  The glass cases on the right-hand wall contain a huge collection of ashtrays from all over the world.  I was wondering if people donated them...

 ^^  I just loved the name of this dining area...  

^^  The inside of the mysterious "Mystery Room"...  ;0))

Once again, my apologies for letting so much time lapse between posts.  Since I've been behaving myself, I haven't been out and about as much as usual.  This will definitely be changing over the next couple of weeks... hell, I *still* haven't posted anything about the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas!!  Stay tuned...

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French Quarter Fest - Day Four: Rained Out.

As much as I wanted to finish the fourth day of the festival, it was piss-pouring rain when I woke up at 9:30 AM.  So, being a typical lazy bitch, I flipped over and went back to sleep.  The bedroom was dark, thunder was booming, and the occasional flash of lightening was visible, and a little too close for comfort.  So, I missed out on my bread pudding drizzled with white chocolate and bananas.  Which is really, really, really okay.  I didn't need the extra-evil calories.

I did discover a new restaurant, one that we are keen to try sometime soon (and they also give an additional 10% discount to locals)...  that would be the Royal House Restaurant.  May I suggest their char-grilled oysters???  Oh.  My.  Gawd.  It was a total taste orgasm.  No lie.  The menu is short and sweet... but there's enough of a variation to appeal to almost anyone - oyster lovers or not.

In all honesty, they may be able to give Acme Oyster House a run for their money. Good google-y moo!!  (In all honesty, I attempted to add a link, but nothing seems to be working this evening)...   So, you may want to run a search engine and see the menu.  :0))

When we lived in Europe, I was able to create the char-broiled oysters quite easily...  if you really want my copycat recipe, comment on it with your email info and I will be more than happy to pass it on.  :0))

In other news, Choggie has been fighting diarrhea...  and she is now barricaded in the kitchen.  I feel like an awful doggie-mommy.

Such is the story of my life.

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French Quarter Fest - Days Two and Three: Burn Me Up, Scotty!!

The weather is beautiful.  Mid-70's today with a nice breeze off of the Mississippi, not too hot or humid...  a perfect day, really.  That being said, I managed to get myself nice and crispy over the last two days.  My fish-belly-winter-white skin has been exposed to the sun.  For two days in a row!!

Just for the record, I can't use sunblock on my face - it will give me hives.  And then I'll look even worse.  So, I'll have to wait for my skin to just tan up (that's what always happens... I get crispy and then the burn will "fade" into a tan).  But for now??  I'll have to deal with that tight, nasty, fire-ant sensation.  Le sigh.  But all is not lost - 

Here are some highlights from our day:

 ^^  View of a barge on the Mississippi...

 ^^  Walking along the levee in Woldenburg Park (going towards Jackson Square and the US Mint)...

 ^^  Overflowing with people (and booze), Jackson Square was a MADHOUSE.  

^^  Looking past the Square towards the US Mint and Frenchman's Street...

 ^^  Good local shopping, good eats, fresh vegetables, local meats, and specialty items.  

 ^^  Rouse's Market has an annual crawfish eating contest.  The winner for the past three years has been "The Black Widow".  Yes, indeed - our native New Orleans champion who has out-eaten EVERYONE is a woman.  :0))

 ^^  So you can't bother the contestants...  hehehe!!

 ^^  One of our local Mardi Gras indians.  They hand-sew these beautiful costumes and make a new ensemble every year.  He was posing with everyone (FTR - the chick in the pic is not me).

 ^^  Some colorful (but fugly) art.  Looks like someone's 7-year old painted it...

 ^^  Flying pigs!!

 ^^  Even better...  puffer fish!!  Want-want-want-want...

 ^^  Why, oh WHY would someone want to deface property with the graffiti "cat piss"??  Really??  Are you threatening that your cat will come and piss??  Maybe the property smells that way??  Mysteries are afoot in the French Quarter...

^^  This is what I like to see...  and what I moved to New Orleans for.  90% of the bars in this city do not allow minors or parents with children under the age of 21.  No exceptions.  <3  <3  <3

^^  This gem was parked behind the vendors at the French Market.  Looks like a very reputable and reliable company, no??

I'll be heading back over to the Quarter tomorrow afternoon - most of the crazy ought to be gone - and I still have a couple of food booths I want to hit.  Tonight, I'm heading over to visit L. (my neighbor).  Cocktails, a good friend, and great conversation...  it's a fabulous way to end the day (and I'm currently a poet - and I *know* it!!)...  

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French Quarter Fest - Day One: The Trashed Umbrella

So...

1.  I forgot my iPhone at home.  Yes, really.  Realized this little factoid when I was on the ferry.
2.  I missed some awesome pictures depicting some of our local flavor.
**Think of a very big-boobed granny dancing along with no bra on and shaking her money-maker.  Oh, yeah!!  Zexy!!**
3.  The weather went to shit.  My umbrella??  Will never be the same again.
4.  Scored a funky Crescent City manhole cover mouse pad.
**For the record, I've been looking for one of these for AGES.**

And...

Here's how the early part of today went down:

First off, the bastards at Yahoo Weather (or whatever the app is called) were actually fucking correct with all their storm predictions.  For the most part, I'll give them about a 50% accuracy rating...  but (unfortunately) they were spot-on today.

^^  100% chance of rain??  Usually, this forecast is not correct.

Of course, because it was the first day of French Quarter Fest, it accurate.  :0((

Unfortunately, one of the things Yahoo Weather *didn't* mention...  the wind gusts coming off the Mississippi River (40 - 55 MPH).  My poor umbrella didn't stand a cold chance in hell:

^^  Never to be restored to its former glory.  RIP, umbrella.

**Very happy that I didn't take my French Esponge Bob SquarePants.  Would've been a travesty!!**

However, during our stroll down Royal Street, I popped into a funky-looking gift shop (they had some really cool artwork that was decently priced) and found one of the must-have treasures that is currently gracing my list...  a Crescent City manhole cover mouse pad!!!  Score!!  I also want to pick up a round rug the size of the actual manhole cover...  I think I'll put it in my guest bathroom.  My happy item:

^^  I'm still using my Barbapapa mouse pad from France.  

This is right next to it.  I keep admiring it.  Yessssss. 

And, I took a picture of our bridge scanning over the Mississippi River - I took this the other night when I was driving home from visiting a friend in Gretna (so I'm on the Westbank - looking at the bridge that will take you to the Superdome, Central Business District, Metairie, Kenner, and the Louis Armstrong International Airport).  It just looked so cool - so I snapped a quick picture.  <3  <3  <3 

^^  View from the Bestbank...  looking towards greater New Orleans.

Anyhow, my apologies for forgetting my camera - I would've loved to have posted pictures of the concert we went to this morning (Blues Masters featuring "Big Al" Carson) and some of the tasting plates I sampled.  Tomorrow is another day and I promise my next post will be chock-full of Big Easy goodness.  We're planning on going to the Quarter for the next three days.  Whoo-hoo!!

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Idears.

So.

My husband has been encouraging me to start my own online business.  Really.  I have some pretty good ideas and funky tee shirt designs drawn already.  For the type of product I'd like to sell, New Orleans would be the ultimate place to start up a business.  I'm already familiar with some boutiques which only feature items made by local artists - so I know that there is a niche market here.

Luckily, we have some artsy friends here (some of which are associated with Gallery Rinard - we have a huge Matt collection), so I should be able to make some contacts with screen printing companies, design help, and other small business services.

Everybody has to start somewhere, right???

Boutiques + Comics = Happiness.

The husband introduced me this weekend to "Fleurty Girl" stores here in New Orleans.

**SWOON**

In serious love.  Really.  Funky, original clothing, jewelry, home accessories, and other oddities which caught my eye.  Most (if not all) of the items are made here by local artists.  Original designs, neighborhood tees, handmade soap, candles, and other items (there's a NOLA Water/Sewer manhole cover rug that I'm going to be scoring soon!!)...  Walked out of the store with this gem:

^^ Your eyes do NOT deceive you!!  It is the GO-CUP hanging in front of the Superdome and CBD!!

This tee shirt is what I want to buy next (and trust me, I already have started my Wish List):

^^  This would be one of the best roller derby tee shirts.  Ever.

You can order from their online catalogue and support local business here in New Orleans.  If you get a chance to come to our fair city, there are a couple of different locations.  

French Quarter Fleurty Girl

632 St. Peter Street

NOLA  70116

Magazine Street Fleurty Girl

3117 Magazine Street

NOLA  70115

Metairie Fleurty Girl

3313 Severn @ 17th Street Avenue

Metarie  70002

Mandeville Fleurty Girl

2885 Hwy 190 

Suite C

Mandeville  70471

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Before we visited Fleurty Girl, we went to a hole-in-the-wall comic book store that husby found.  Ever since we've unearthed his childhood comic collection (all six huge long boxes worth), he's been going through and trying to fill up any *holes* AND the husby has started buying again!!  :0))  Plus, we're both huge fans of Kevin Smith and his show on AMC - "Comic Book Men" (which is utterly hilarious - for the Geeks, at least).  Anyhow, we spent a good amount of time browsing over at "BSI Comics" (their motto is:  "We've Got ISSUES!!" which is very catchy IMO) and I fell in love with Popeye the Sailor Man (again - his cartoon was one of my favorites) and husby scored with a Fantastic 4 (volume something-or-other).  

I've already started collecting Stephen King's Dark Tower series graphic novels - but I got schooled when I found out that they've also released a series based on "The Stand".  They MUST join the collection.  Oh, my precioussssssssssssssssss...  (yet another Geek referral).  

^^  My selection.

^^  Part of my book collection.  The entire wall is filled - and I got rid of EIGHT cases before we moved here (please disregard the sloppiness - but I have a *system* or sorts in place).

French Quarter Festival is coming up!!  April 11th through the 14th - it's the biggest FREE music festival in the South.  If you're a music lover, you might want to try and visit during this time next year. Between the music, the food, and the people - this is my little slice of heaven.

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French Pop.

Music!!

I don't know why, but I love listening to funky songs in different languages.  The video is really cute, too.  Enjoy!!

Anniversary Adventures.

The Husby and I got hitched 11 years ago on April Fool's Day.  We eloped - and the only people who knew what we were going to do (because we invited them to come along) were our best childhood friends and their spouses.  It was an evening wedding (here in New Orleans) at a lovely antebellum mansion (it used to be a house of ill-repute - they even had RED gaslights) in the Garden District.

So, yes.  I did get married on April Fool's Day in a whorehouse.  We had a Justice of the Peace come and perform our ceremony (we were his 10,000th wedding) and afterwards, we went out for a beautiful dinner at Commander's Palace.  To this day, I do not regret eloping, nor do I regret my wedding (no "Bridezilla" bullshit for me!)... so it seems odd when people ask me if I'd do it the same way again (if I had a do-over).  Go figure.

Since this is the first time in 11 years that we have actually been in New Orleans ON our actual anniversary (we'd tend to come AFTER because French Quarter Festival starts roughly 10 days after our special date), we pretty much celebrated for this entire weekend.  We went to the Audubon Insectarium in the morning, had an al fresco lunch in the courtyard of the Napoleon House (get the cheese board if you ever get a chance to go there - also, they make the best twisted Pimm's Cup - the Pimm's Cup Ginger Mint Julip - my new favorite boozy drink), and then headed over to Harrah's Casino for some rounds of blackjack.  Took a break and headed back to the Point to hang out and relax before dinner.  We had dinner reservations at the second-oldest restaurant in the French Quarter, Tujague's.  They feature a 5-course fixed price menu and it was absolutely delicious!!  It's probably going to take place in our restaurant rotation (especially if we have company come in to visit)...

Here are some of the highlights of our day:

^^ Two ways to cross the Mississippi River.  Our view of the bridge from the ferry.

 ^^  American cockroach exhibit.  They were in a dollhouse type setting.  

^^  They seriously skeeve me out!!  ::shudder::

^^  Cute little tortoise who hangs out in the Butterfly Garden...

^^  Koi Pond in the Insectarium...

 ^^  Our table was hidden behind this palm and a column in the courtyard at Napoleon House

 ^^  Delivery!!  I *heart* Abita!!

^^  I really like this picture, because it shows the old buildings in the French Quarter with the Central Business District (CBD) modern skyscrapers.

 ^^  Holy Casino, Batman!!  This place went on FOREVER.  It is *huge*.

 ^^  This is the cleanest, shiniest, sparkly Lucky Dog stand in this ENTIRE CITY.

 ^^  One of the bars at Harrah's...  the lights continuously change color.

^^  Very cool fake night sky in Harrah's bar.  You can even see the stars.  :0))

 ^^  Had to stop at K-Paul's and pick up my favorite seasoning...  

^^  Some of my spoils!!  I *love* cheezy tee shirts.  

And according to my pedometer, we walked about 7.2 miles today.  My legs are aching and I need to try and get some sleepy time.  

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