We were rarin’ to go on our second full day In New Orleans! I neglected to tell you that our days would be starting out a bit differently than most tourists in this food city. We started each day at….tah dah!!! Wendy’s! Yes, my friends, you read that correctly. Mr. Jones needs to have plenty of fiber each day or his blood pressure goes wackadoo. We were lucky enough to have a Wendy’s just a few blocks down from our room that was kind enough to prepare a salad for him before lunch hours. We stopped each morning before we indulged in all the decadence.
Chicken Avocado Salad = no visit to the emergency room.
We passed by some museums and such that we probably should have visited, but we had a mission to fulfill.
We probably should have made time for this,
No business here.
Hey, it’s our old friend, the Natchez!
We arrived at our destination!
The world famous Café Du Monde!
…aaand here’s the line.
The line really did move along quickly. We got seated in about 15 minutes, but then waited quite a long time. We saw all kinds of cute girls in their paper hats happily serving other excited guests…
Hey, girl! We’re over here!
Meanwhile we waited and waited before our server finally arrived. You guys, he was Lurch.
Actual picture or our waiter.
He silently cleared the previous mess, then grunted and pointed to the very brief menu. Then we waited again for what seemed a dog’s age. After we finally got to order, he languidly brought our goods. I almost instantly forgot his creepiness though when our heavenly puffs of sugary goodness arrived!
Three beignets with 1/2 lb powdered sugar!
Simply gorgeous!
We finished up every bit of our fried dough awesomeness and took an iced Latte for our walk about. Jackson Square was right across the street.
St Louis Cathedral
This was our first clue as to how our day would go. Helloooo!!!
Mr. Jackson, where is everybody?
Some local art. Cute.
Very Pollokesque.
We set about finding some authentic Jazz music. We found some street musicians right around the corner.
Pretty dang good!
We listened for a bit until the clarinetist had some technical difficulties with her reed. We moved on.
Gorgeous balcony plants.
Suddenly, we stumbled upon a New Orleans landmark!
Pat O’Brien’s
I guess I always assumed this place would be tacky, selling yard long, fruity rum drinks (those places are around) but this establishment was lovely! It had a tranquil courtyard and a leathery, dark, stately bar inside.
Outdoor option.
We ducked into the bar to catch a little air conditioning. The pics were way too dark, sorry. We were told we had to have the “World Famous Hurricane”, so we did. I won’t keep you in suspense, it was horrid.
Like Kool Aid mixed with Zarex for good measure.
I’ll admit I’m not one for sweet drinks at all, but even so, I previously enjoyed a rum punch on the Riverboat. It was delightful! This was just treacle without a hint of booze. We took a few sips and left them. Before we moved on we ducked into the dining room to give the pianist a listen.
She was lonesome.
So, you may recall that we skipped Bourbon Street the previous night (Saturday) to avoid the craziness of drunken crowds. This may have turned out to be a miscalculation. There was just nobody around on Sunday afternoon. I thought for sure music would be flowing from every corner, every day, but apparently some people need to sleep off their hangovers. No worries though. We strolled around, enjoying the quiet and the quaint architecture.
Some dude was in the road taking his girl’s picture in front of this cute house. I thought she was ahem, waiting for business at first glance. Sorry, lady.
Oh the colors!
A hedgerow for privacy. Probably doesn’t do much during Mardi Gras.
Next we happened upon a landmark on my list of to-dos, the Lafitte Blacksmith House. This structure was most likely built as a house in the 1770s during the Spanish colonial period. It is one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans.
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop.
Oh look! A potential customer!
Not really, it’s a bar now. Thank goodness! This building has a storied past including the claim that it is currently haunted. It’s hard to find the real story, but as the website says: “Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is a gumbo of truth and French, Spanish, African, Cajun and American embellishments.”.
They play up the history here. Looks like a cottage in the Magic Kingdom.
The interior had its charms…except for the banquet chairs. Not very period.
We got this beer. It was terrible. We’re two for two on the drinks. Left these too.
At this point, the weather started to get ugly. I finally got to break out our umbrellas that I’d been lugging around (Note to self: find lighter umbrellas). We heard some live music emanating out of this club.
Fat Catz. Scoobie-do wah wah wah.
I was really on the hunt for Jazz music, however, this band was amazing!!! The turned out some great tunes from Lionel Ritchie, Etta James and I can’t remember what else, but it was killer.
They grooved hard.
This is where we scored on the beer. It was happy hour; they’re allowed to have those here (take note Massachusetts). Not only were they tasty and cheap, they were a gazillion ounces. We stayed for a couple rounds riding out the rain and thoroughly enjoying the music.
The titular cat was pretty slim.
Things were brightening up so we took a stroll that lead us to a rather cool place. Music Legends Park.
This looks interesting.
The official Plaque
This area seemed pretty new, around the mid 2000’s is what I could gather from my casual glance over a wiki page. There was a Café where you could get a snack and a drink and settle in for some live jazz. Bronze statues dotted the courtyard.
Fats Domino, Al Hirt and Pete Fountain
Louis Prima
I found it interesting that all the gentlemen portrayed in these statues had their pants on. This lady, however….
Chris Owens
….nearly naked. Never heard of this chick. Turns out she’s a local legend of a club owner/performer who, at this point, is nearly 90 and still sings and performs at her establishment. She’s still got the gams to do it!
More ambiance.
Jeff made a friend.
The band is waaaay back in the corner but it was just the kind of music we’ve been looking for.
The ladies room was upstairs where some bonus tables were perched with fabulous views of the courtyard.
More food options. We had other plans.
We continued on our journey after the band went on a break. The street remained all but empty. We strolled and admired more of the architecture.
This iron was wrought.
Anyone have a cannon to shoot?
Balcony winner!
We were making our way back to Frenchman Street for dinner, but we had a bit of time to kill before queuing up. We ended up back at the bar where I hung out in the little nook people watching.
Hey there!
The place was pretty empty but for a few Saints fans watching the game and eating potluck.
Oh look, a beer! This was a good one! Notice the lettering style on the can.
It replicates the street name tiles found in the French Quarter
Born…Toulouse.
It was time to cross the street and stake out our space at this super tiny, unassuming restaurant.
That’s all the sign you get.
This place is cash only, takes no reservations and is nearly impossible to get into unless you are there at least thirty minutes before opening.
I’m keeping my eye on her in case she tries to cut.
The time arrived and we early birds were ushered upstairs.
This is it, kids. Like eating up in the attic. Plastic picnic table cloths adorned the space. That window on the left is the teensy lil’ kitchen.
Local art flanked the walls.
We got a pretty sweet window table.
We were handed our menus and told of the specials. then ordered a couple martinis. She returned with our no nonsense drinks.
Who needs garnish or appropriate glassware?
This was garlic bread. Bread with a schmear of garlic.
We wanted to order an appetizer and sit with that for a bit before we decided on entrées. That was not to be here at Adolpho’s. You order everything at once, you eat, and you get the H-E- double hockey sticks out! I don’t think I mentioned that this is Italian-Creole fusion. Sounds weird, but oh my goodness gracious was it incredible!!!
All our dishes were specials so I don’t have proper menu descriptions. This first one was the best bite we had on the whole trip, or that we can really recall having in a very long time.
Canneloni with Crawfish Sauce
The creole spices in that cream sauce paired with the tender homemade pasta was a flavor profile I’ve never experienced. Just amazing! Next was Escargot. The thing about Creole food is that it’s influenced by so many cultures, just like the city itself. This was decidedly French.
The most tender, garlicky escargot floating in pure clarified butter. More bread please!!
We split the entrée as per usual. This pasta dish was delicate perfection. Truly stunning.
Spaghetti with Crawfish, Crab and Gulf Shrimp.
Who ordered the Tiramisu?
What a meal! We’re still talking about it. If we ever get back to New Orleans, you better believe we’ll be stopping in for a plate at Adolpho’s! Now to walk it off.
Evening fell.
We walked a mile back to Decatur Street to the House of Blues. A musician friend of ours gave us a heads up that a buddy of his would be playing at HOB that night. We were in! We grabbed a couple beers at the bar and settled in. We really enjoyed listening to this guy. He had an easy going southern style. He and Jeff talked shop while I people watched.
*Side note: The sign behind Jason has Bible verses at each corner, but one is covered over. What could it have been?
Jason Bishop, plays every Sunday at House of Blues if you’re in the area.
We took the long walk back to Saint Charles. We stopped for one more beer at the Blind Pelican, but I was too tired/tipsy to document that stop. It was a good day.
Up Next: Missed Connections