New Orleans, November 10-14, 2010

Posted: March 29th, 2011 | Filed under: Out Of Town

Tagging along with Jen on another work-related trip . . .

November 10, 2010: Overeating New Orleans

Flew into MSY, otherwise known as Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, took the Pontchartrain Expressway (which takes you right by the Louisiana Superdome), checked into the hotel and went immediately to lunch at Butcher, Donald Link’s sandwich shop around the corner from his Cochon restaurant. Butcher is really really good.

Tried to work off some of the muffaletta by walking around the French Quarter.

It was my first time in New Orleans, so Jen took me down Bourbon Street, which is rather tame during the day:

Bourbon Street Between Toulouse Street and St. Peter Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

I was excited to see the Mississippi River, so we walked along the waterfront:

Mississippi River Waterfront Near Governor Nicholls Street Wharf, New Orleans, Louisiana

This was our day of sightseeing, so Jen took me to Cafe du Monde where of course I had to try a beignet even though I wasn’t all that hungry. From there we crossed the street through Jackson Square where there’s a statue of Andrew Jackson and visited St. Louis Cathedral:

Saint Louis Cathedral and Andrew Jackson Statue, Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

Jen then shopped.

After Butcher and Cafe du Monde, I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I wasn’t all that hungry when we went to dinner, but dinner was good, too. A post-dinner drink but we weren’t out late enough for the music to start, because people in New Orleans stay out really late. We took one of those super cool streetcars back downtown.

November 11, 2010: Overeating and Overdrinking New Orleans

Breakfast at the venerable Mother’s Restaurant, then tagging along with Jen on her work stuff.

Back to eating . . . Felix’s for oysters, where they shuck them right in front of you. They have no use for dishes:

Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar, 739 Iberville Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

On to Napoleon House for drinks, then plastic cups back on Bourbon Street, which is less tame at night:

Bourbon Street Between Toulouse Street and St. Peter Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

Then Sazeracs at The Roosevelt:

Sazerac, The Sazerac Bar, The Roosevelt New Orleans, 123 Baronne Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Then on to dinner at Cochon. Butcher is really really good but Cochon is really really really good. This, if memory serves, is Deep Fried Head Cheese:

Deep Fat Fried Hog Head Cheese With Field Beans and Ravigote, Cochon, 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

November 12, 2010: More Overeating In New Orleans

Tagging along with Jen, then lunch, then a walk over to St. Louis Cemetery #1, which has the shortest opening hours of any cemetery I’ve ever visited:

Saint Louis Cemetery #1, Basin Street Between Conti Street and St. Louis Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Sazeracs at the Rib Room:

Sazeracs, Rib Room, 621 Saint Louis Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

Then gawking at the World Trade Center (of New Orleans), then dinner.

November 13, 2010: Mississippi Gulf Coast

Picked up a rental car and drove out to the Mississippi Gulf Coast by way of Interstate 10 and the Peanut Stand across from the Mississippi Welcome Center just past the state line. I said before when we traveled around South Carolina that I didn’t understand why boiled peanuts haven’t yet caught on in other places, but it’s worth repeating: Why no boiled peanut joints up here? It’d be a hit!

Peanut Stand Across From Hancock County Welcome Center, I-10 and Highway 607, Pearlington, Mississippi

The coast is healing, and we saw it as we strolled along the beach in Pass Christian. I don’t know that I really knew how badly that part of the coast was hit during Katrina — there is basically nothing left along the road to Biloxi except for stuff that has been rebuilt. It’s really striking — just mile after mile of empty parcels:

Highway 90/Beach Boulevard, Pass Christian, Mississippi

Highway 90/Beach Boulevard at Market Street, Pass Christian, Mississippi

Highway 90/Beach Boulevard Near Arkansas Avenue, Gulfport, Mississippi

And as of November at least, there were still cleaning crews along the beaches:

Gulf Coast Beach From Highway 90/Beach Boulevard Between Pass Christian and Gulfport, Mississippi

Tough couple of years for that part of the country — very sad.

Neil had some sort of Neil Simon image of Biloxi in his head — he wanted to see big 1950s Thunderbirds rolling down Main Street. Or something. There isn’t much of that on Main Street in Biloxi:

Main Street Between Howard Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Biloxi, Mississippi

We ate a snack in D’Iberville then made our way back toward Pass Christian via Gulfport.

The first annual Pass Christian Oyster Festival was happening, so we checked out that and got some oysters at Shaggy’s at the harbor there. The oysters at Shaggy’s were coming from Texas, so that was disappointing, but some places were starting to serve local oysters again.

On the way back, a rest stop without boiled peanuts and back in New Orleans, walked down Canal Street before the night’s activities.

November 14, 2010: New Orleans Has Scoreboard

Around 5:30 a.m. I learned definitively that New York has absolutely nothing on New Orleans. Think you’re out late because the bar you were at closed at four? Try stretching that out until 5:30 or later. The time on the metadata here says 5:57 a.m. (actually 6:57 a.m., but I have it set to Eastern time). I’m actually hoping that I forgot to turn the time back at the beginning of November, but I fear that I didn’t . . .

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar, 941 Bourbon Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana