Trip Report: 10 days in NOLA

Hi, All,

Just back from 10 days in NOLA, and had a blast! Right off the plane, quick checked in to the Dauphine Orleans, which was very nice, the staff was amazing, and the beds are unbelievably comfortable! But, I didn%26#39;t have time to lie down, quick cab ride to Bayou House Cafe for an awesome crawfish boil. This was the wedding rehearsal dinner, and was really, really good! I highly recommend it, even the locals commented on how good everything was!

Saturday: The wedding wasn%26#39;t until evening, so went to Mr. B%26#39;s and had fried oysters and gumbo YaYa, which was delicious. The wedding was on the Park Terrace in City Park, possibly the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen, and the food was all seafood canapes, so I had crab, clams, crawfish, tuna, salmon, and some stuff I wasn%26#39;t sure of, but all was very tasty, sorry I don%26#39;t know who catered!

Sunday was, of course, Beignets at Cafe DuMonde, I think I went at least 5 times in the 10 days I was there! Yum! And, always a band playing, so that was a nice bonus! Shopping in the French Market was very cool, got lots of ';stuff.'; Went to Frank%26#39;s for Muffaletta, as Central Grocery is closed on Sunday! Frank%26#39;s was very good though, as I had a Central Grocery one a few days later, and they were very close in taste. LOVED the Olive Salad at Central Grocery, tho! Anyway, met a couple at the wedding and they joined me at the Old Absynthe House, we shared a bottle of wine, and appetizers (which were just okay) but had fun watching the partiers down below, girls flashing for beads, very funny! The staff at the Absynthe House was so cool, they weren%26#39;t busy, so they showed us around, the mural of the Battle of New Orleans is beautiful, and the battle was planned right in that room! Also had an absynthe, which was very cool, just because of how they serve it! And, the old fountains are great.

Wandered in to a ';sports'; bar to watch a basketball game, and realized it was a gay bar! (On the same block as the Dauphine) The patrons ';rescued'; me from a drunk, and I made 3 new friends that night, but that is another story! Monday, wandered and shopped, took the street car to the Garden District, got off when there was a breakdown (there was also a delay when some idiot had parked right on the tracks!) and explored the side streets, picking out mansions we loved. Ate at Deja Vu, which is a 24 hour restaurant on the corner of Conti and Dauphine. The food is good IF you DON%26#39;T order seafood! Red beans and rice, jumbalya, and gumbo, not good, but great burgers, and ';pub'; food. And, they deliver, too! Saw Charmaine Neville at Snug Harbor, she was AMAZING!! There was a Canadian Church group there, working their 2nd year in a row in the 9th Ward, and she dedicated her new song ';Bush-a-man'; to them, which was her personal review of her Katrina experience, and her disgust at President Bush%26#39;s response, very moving. Wed was grilled shrimp and crabcakes at Oceana Grill, which was truly luscious! And, the restaurants.com coupon was nice! Swam in the hotel pool, salt water pool, and very refreshing, and found that May Baily%26#39;s, the hotel bar (formerly a brothel) makes the best hurricanes I had the entire trip! And, poolside yet! Weather was hot and sunny, perfect! Thursday, breakfast at Petunia%26#39;s (another coupon, and cost was only $1.39 for two!) the Pain Perdu was yummy, rivals the beignet, for sure! Long lines at Petunia%26#39;s early in the day, but they serve breakfast %26#39;till 3pm! No lines later in morning.

Thursday, my friend left, so I was solo for the next few days, more pool time, and since the lines were ALWAYS long for Acme, found an AMAZING German restaurant on Conti, Jager Haus. OMG, it was SOOO Good! I told the waitress that the Bavarian Pork Chop was ';lick the frying pan good'; but she wouldn%26#39;t give me one frying pan to go. The Spatzle was great, and the beer and wine menu terrific. But, they are known for their coffee! Regulars kept coming in for coffee to go, and I learned that they import their coffees and have a very expensive espresso machine! Truly great! I ate there 3 times, it was sooo good! A true find, and I recommended it to several people I met that week!

Friday was opening day at JazzFest, and I had a blast, ate drank, and danced like a wanton woman! HOT, HOT, HOT, though, and exhausting when you%26#39;re dancing like a wanton woman! Loved Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys, and Terrence Simion and the Zydeco Experience, and Chris Smither was too funny, and very good local ';boy!'; Saw too many bands to mention, all terrific. Saturday, wandered the riverfront, ate at Drago%26#39;s, the most awesome charbroiled oysters in parmesan cheese and butter, WOW, delicious! Highly recommend Drago%26#39;s! (A tip from one of my new gay friends!) Ate at Pat O%26#39;s and had a sazerac there, too, very good. Heard some good bands down on Decatur that night, great crowds. Sunday, ate at Maspero%26#39;s, pretty good po-boy, but not great, good place to watch another basketball game, tho! Then the gays kept me up late, buying me drinks and insisting that I sing every song on the jukebox with them, and I was hung over for my morning flight back! WHEW, tons of fun, great people, great food, terrific music, and now I am in alcohol withdrawal, I think. LOVE NEW ORLEANS, and definitely miss it already, I will return! thanks everyone for the great advice on this forum, even the locals were impressed with how much I knew about the restaurants, and other stuff. And a HUGE thumbs up for the Dauphine Orleans!

Mimi

Trip Report: 10 days in NOLA

Thanks for your trip report! Sounds like you had a great time, and you heard two of my favorite local performers - Charmaine Neville and Amanda Shaw!

And you hit a lot of great food places too. Next time try the po-boys at Johnny%26#39;s! Best in the Quarter!

Trip Report: 10 days in NOLA

Wow I%26#39;m exhauseted reading that in a good way.Hope we can be as exhausted as you in July.Fab report thank you.

Great trip report. I would be in heaven if i got 10 days there. Care to share the rescue story?????????

Great report, thank you!! I got back from my 1st trip a couple of weeks ago, and I%26#39;m going through NO withdrawals. :)

Thanks for the information on the Jaeger Haus-I haven%26#39;t eaten there yet...always would go to the Deutcheshaus on Galvez.

10 days! Wow, that had to be fun. Can you tell me more about how the hotel was? I%26#39;m staying there for the 1st time in July and am curoius. Thanks.

Oh, and I forgot about Preservation Hall, and The Museum of Art! I was going to try a Johnny%26#39;s Po-Boy, but they closed kinda early, so I had to pass it up!

About the Dauphine, the breakfast is pretty good, but there is no room service or restaurant. Didn%26#39;t really need it, though, as it is so close to everything. I had a small ice chest in my room, so I kept water, juice and such cold that way, worked great! There are little stores to purchase drinks or munchies very close by.

The rooms are what you would expect from an older hotel, but very comfortable. The bathroom was all marble tile. The toilet itself was old, but worked fine, as did everything else. Large flat screen TV wall mounted, very nice. I stayed on the 4th floor, it was very quiet. Pool area was nice, even with people smoking there, it wasn%26#39;t a problem.

It was very easy to catch a cab, or just walk a few blocks to Canal and get the streetcar. They also have parking (expensive, I hear) and a valet is always there if you need help. All the staff was great, I really enjoyed the stay!

Mimi