[Jared]: Before my family arrives today, I thought we should try to finish up our exciting tale of a weekend in New Orleans. I promise this post won't be entirely about food. But that's where we'll begin...
After Friday night's dinner at Restaurant August, you wouldn't think we'd have needed to eat the rest of the weekend. But what fun would that be? Saturday afternoon we had some solid sandwiches at a place recommended by some locals. It was good. I especially enjoyed their surprisingly tasty cucumber gazpacho.
After lunch we headed to the park to play (or in my case, watch) some Frisbee with the bridal party. By the way, has it been mentioned how absurdly humid it gets in New Orleans? I mean, I lived in the Midwest for a long time, but this was pretty suffocating. I suppose living in San Diego has made me soft. Seriously though, the heat index over the weekend ranged from 105 to 115. And on afternoons such as these we did what most people would prefer to do - but which only New Orlean-ites are able to do: we went to a drive through daiquiri place. They had nothing but daiquiris. A dozen or so different flavors. Not a bad business model.
Saturday night was the rehearsal dinner to which we were kindly invited. This dinner provided yet another new experience: a craw-fish boil. It was something else :-)
Sunday after church we headed to Dante's Kitchen. This was another recommendation by a local. It was right up Beth's and my alley too as they focus pretty heavily on local, seasonal cooking. Beth and I split a BLT&E and the just-as-awesome-as-it-sounds: Alligator Sausage Sliders with Habañero Jelly! Oh man. So so so good. The jelly was good and spicy, but still sweet enough to make it delicious. And the alligator sausage was quite good too!
Our last meal in town was at the wedding reception that night and it too kept the spicy coming. I particularly enjoyed the jambalaya and corn bread. Oh, and the green beans almondine! They were great.... and spicy! I'm sensing that Cajun food is predisposed to being spicy...hmm.
Ok. Enough on food (for now). Let's rewind and cover another important aspect of the trip: the music. Obviously when one heads to New Orleans, one naturally expects to encounter a variety of good old dixieland jazz. I'm glad to report that we had ample opportunity to enjoy the fine musical tradition of New Orleans. It started with a few tunes over lunch at the street cafe on Friday. And yes, they did play "When the Saints Go Marching In". We heard that one a half dozen or so times during the weekend. Unfortunately not long after we sat down to eat, the band took a break. Ah well. The real deal came on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night after the boil, we headed down to the Quarter with Beth's parents, her brother, and his wife. First stop, more beignets. Second stop, Preservation Hall.
Preservation Hall is a super cool old building where the band plays traditional New Orleans jazz. The inside is hard to describe. It's run down, to be sure. But it also feels authentic. Seating is very limited. And the place is hot as Hades. I love being able to put a musical style in its proper context. And the lyrics and rhythms of the music (especially the down tempo tunes) made more sense than ever in a setting such as this.
After catching the last set of the night, the elders retired for the evening and Beth and I headed to Rue Bourbon. This was my first stroll along the famed street and it was...well... what you'd expect it to be. Crowded. Loud. Gritty. Sweaty. Smelly. Dirty. And let's be honest, fun. We walked a little ways and then decided to whet our whistles at another jazz hall. We grabbed a table up front and enjoyed some more classic jazz. I should add that at one point, a police-person on horseback directed about half of the enormous horse into the bar. Finally I can say that I've been to Bourbon Street and listened to New Orleans jazz music with a horse!
At the end of the set, we decided to take a final evening constitutional along Bourbon Street to soak up the atmosphere. We passed the night clubs, the bars, the daiquiri joints, and the strip clubs. I don't think I can (or want to) imagine the craziness of Mardi Gras. Honestly the whole scene made me slightly uncomfortable. I'm all for having a good time, but Bourbon Street is pure excess. And ultimately it is not fulfilling. It was actually sad to see so many people living so carelessly (not that I'm trying to judge anyone).
In conclusion, we had an outstanding trip. It was a wonderful time with family and friends accompanied by equally exquisite food and music, set amidst beautiful architecture. By the way, the architecture was truly breath-taking. I think we all would have been perfectly content to just spend the weekend driving around (or better yet, riding on the trolley with a cooler of beer) gawking at the old houses. That said, it was incredible to see just how much devastation remains from Katrina. The signs were everywhere. Empty lots, houses being rebuilt, water damage. It was heartbreaking, even five years after the storm. New Orleans is at once both Paris and East Saint Louis. But after spending a weekend there and meeting some of the people, I can tell it won't be long before it more closely resembles the former.
