Jan 24 - 25 New Orleans

Glenn and I decided to head out on a one-night only trip to New Orleans last weekend. The only research I did was to make reservations at Commander's Palace, Emeril's, and August. 

We took the first flight out and landed in New Orleans at 8:40 am. We grabbed a cab ($33 for two from the airport) and headed to the Intercontinental. We noticed bleachers set up outside the hotel and realized that my failure to do more advanced research meant I neglected to note that it was marathon weekend. Yep, the marathon ran right in front of our hotel. More on that later. 

We were lucky that our room was available and we checked in. Then we hopped on the street car and headed to the Garden District. We had about an hour before our Commander's Palace reservation so we wandered around the cemetery and found a self-guided tour online to learn more about some of the houses near the restaurants. 

 

Then it was brunch time. Commander's Palace has a jazz brunch where a trio of jazz musicians walk around the restaurant planning classic songs and taking requests. Our meal was very good. Glenn had a pecan scone appetizer, goat tamales,  and the strawberry shortcake.   I had a tasso ham and shrimp appetizer, the fish,  and the bread pudding souffle. The souffle was so light and fluffy. 

Pecan Scone

Shrimp Appetizer 

Bread Pudding Souffle 

After brunch, we headed toward the French Quarter. We had solicited suggestions on Facebook for places to try so we tackled the list. We visited New Orleans classics, a bar that turns, heard French Quarter musicians, discovered Frenchman's street, and found an awesome cocktail bar. 

Pat O'Brien's

Sazarac at Carousel Bar at Hotel Montelene 

Bar Tonique 

Then we headed toward Emeril's for our 6 pm reservation at the Food Bar. The Food Bar is a counter overlooking the kitchen. It was so much fun to watch the chefs prepare the meal right in front of us. 

The highlights of the meal were the fish taco appetizer, the beef wellington, and the smoky kale salad. 

Sunday we woke up to the sounds of the marathon. So we got an early start and headed toward Cafe du Monde. 

We walked around the French Quarter a little more. I tried (and loved) PJ's King Cake blend coffee. Then we headed toward August - a John Besh restaurant. We got there a little early so passed some time on the slots at Harrah's. 

We tried and really enjoyed all the classic dishes: Truffle gnocchi, Trout, Shrimp Etouffle, and deconstructed banana pudding. 

After brunch, we boarded the Hop On/ Hop Off bus. I love these buses. I think you get a good overview of the city. It was a beautiful sunny day. We were really interested in the Magazine Street area near the Garden district and definitely want to explore there more on a future visit. 

We decided to hop off at Mardi Gras World. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was so interesting. It's a working warehouse that prepares floats for 22 out of 50 of the Mardi Gras parades. 

We really enjoyed learning more about Mardi Gras and the float preparation. 

We took the bus back towards our hotel, had a great oyster Po'Boy at the Acme Oyster Company,  and had one last fancy cocktail at loa before heading to the airport. 

Overall a great weekend!