Hi there. I hope that you had a lovely Easter weekend. I certainly did, but I'm going to hold off writing about that until after I write about last months trip to New Orleans. So here goes.
I started my NOLA vacation on a rather bittersweet note. My Mom and I left on the same day that services were being held for my friend Jennifer and as a result I was unable to attend. The evening flight was out of Phoenix, which causes it's own special aggravation, but it was only about a third full and was probably the smoothest flight I have ever been on. The landing was so gentle I barely felt it. Because we arrived around midnight Mom had booked a night in a hotel fairly close to the airport.
On Sunday, we took a Lyft from that hotel to Harrah's New Orleans, left our bags at the bell desk and headed to Arnaud's for Jazz Sunday brunch. It was amazing. Because we didn't make reservations we waited in the bar and had a drink. Mom had a French 75 and I started with a bloody Mary. Both were lovely.
The brunch itself was definitely worth the wait. The dining room was beautiful with great light and a three piece band. We were seated in a back corner facing the windows, which made for excellent people watching. The band included a stand up bass, a banjo and a small saxophone and they circulated throughout the room taking requests. We must have heard a jazzy version of Happy Birthday four times.
Brunch was a four course meal. I started with the Creole Cream Cheese Evangeline. Mom had the Shrimp Arnaud, which I somehow neglected to photograph.
The salad had a lovely dressing.
For the main course I had the Eggs Adrienne, poached eggs, Louisiana sausage and Creole sauce. Mom had the Eggs Sardou, poached eggs over artichoke bottoms, with creamed baby spinach and Hollandaise sauce. Both were amazing.
Eggs Adrienne
Eggs Sardou
For dessert I opted for the Strawberries Arnaud, strawberries marinated in port wine served over French vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream. Mom had the Creme Brulee. Again, both were amazing.
Strawberries Arnaud
Creme Brulee
After brunch we headed over to the Roosevelt Hotel and had a drink in the Sazarac Bar. I tried the namesake Sazerac while Mom had a Sloe Gin Fizz. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed hers more than I did mine. Just too much liquor for my generally beer drinking self. Once she had finished hers I realized that there was no way I was going to finish mine in a timely fashion so I waited for the bartender to occupy himself on the other side of the room, dumped what was left of my drink into a plastic cup and took off with it.
Sloe Gin Fizz
Sazerac
We then took the streetcar back to the hotel to take our bags up to our room. If you are ever in New Orleans I can't say enough good things about the 3 day Jazzy Pass. For $9 each the pass lets you take unlimited trips on any RTA buses and streetcars and we used the heck out of ours.
For all of our planning our trip around specific places to eat we ended up eating dinner at the same place all three nights. Gordon Biersch was conveniently located between the hotel and the casino, they brew their own beer, and the food was pretty good. I, however, did not take any pictures of the meals we ate here. My favorite was the fish tacos and the beer was great.
On Monday our main meal goal was lunch at Commander's Palace. Mom and I had both eaten at their Las Vegas outpost many times before it closed down and we were excited to eat at the original. Again we had to wait for an hour because we did not have reservations, and again it was worth it. To kill time we went across the street and explored Lafayette Cemetery. I may have gone a little picture crazy at the cemetery. Here are some of my favorites
I love how plants manage to grow seemingly straight out of stone.
This tree is actually growing out of the top of the mausoleum.
A reminder that despite the obstacles life does find a way.
The cemetery is still in disrepair as a result of the flooding unleashed by Katrina.
The wording on this one.
A quiet and shady corner.
The book caught my eye, it was a copy of King Lear.
And because sometimes, at heart, I'm a 12 year old who snickers at funny names.
At the cemetery Mom reminded me to get an outfit picture for the blog.
Dress: Isaac Mizrahi for Target - Last seen
here (2nd outfit) Cardigan: Chicos - Retail 2014
The thing about lunch at Commanders Palace is that you can get 25 cent martinis. Mom and I began with the classic Commanders Martini.
I had 3 of the Commanders Martinis and Mom had one Commanders Martini and one Cosmopolitan.
We both started with Turtle Soup, which is finished at the table with a swirl of aged sherry.
It was as good as we remembered it being.
For the main course I had Corn Crusted Des Allemandes Catfish. Mom had a Fried Oyster Salad with anchovies. They were both superb.
Catfish Oyster salad
For dessert we opted to share the bread pudding. It was quite decadent.
After we got back to the hotel I strolled over to the Riverwalk shopping center and spent more money than I probably would have without the three martinis.
At the Ann Taylor Outlet I bought two skirts, two cardigans, three sweaters and a pair of sandals.
Both skirts are unworn and already packed away for winter.
Both of these cardigans have already been worn.
Both of these are also packed away, unworn.
This sweater is also packed away but I did get a chance to wear it.
These have already gotten a lot of use.
Tuesday was our last full day and the meal of the day was lunch at La Petite Grocery. We used our Jazzy passes and hopped on the St. Charles streetcar and then walked a few blocks down to Magazine St.
The flowers and the yards we passed on our way were beautiful
This was my favorite meal of the trip. (Moms was Commanders Palace).
We split an order of Blue Crab stuffed Beignets with garlic aioli to start and my mouth is watering just thinking about them .
We both had the Shrimp and Grits and it was divine.
For dessert we split an order of Butterscotch Pudding which came with delicious shortbread cookies.
I had a great local brown ale with this lunch.
After getting back to the hotel I went out to wander around the French Quarter and caught a great street musician performance outside of Jackson Square.
Statue of Major General Andrew Jackson
I didn't get a full outfit pic this day so here's a selfie.
I stopped into a bar, that I don't remember the name of, and had a cold beer before heading back to the hotel. I also did a little shopping and picked up a couple of bath bombs from Lush for Mom and I to use in the giant hotel bathtub.
The last time that I talked to Jennifer I was talking about the plans for this trip and she told me that I had to go to Bourbon street to get a Hurricane and walk around. So I followed instructions and headed out after dinner. Bourbon street was hopping and a bit claustrophobic. The Hurricane was not great and I ended up taking it back to the hotel to finish while soaking in the tub.
Wednesday was the last day of the trip and we flew out that evening. We took another streetcar down to the French Quarter so that I could experience Beignets and Cafe au Lait at Cafe du Monde. I thought that the Cafe au Lait was better than the beignets, too much powdered sugar, and Cafe du Monde was packed with people.
We wandered around Jackson square for a while before heading back to the hotel and then off to the airport.
Mardi Gras beads were everywhere, including the trees.
Dress: Ann Taylor Loft - Last seen
here (2nd outfit) Cardigan: Merona - Last seen
here (2nd outfit)
And that was my NOLA vacation.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon.
