New Orleans Was A Blast!
Don D
9,834 Posts
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-27-03 AT 06:16AM (CST)[/font][p]I'll be honest. Five nights on Bourbon Street with company credit cards is tooo much for any one human being! The Amtrak ride was fabulous and the bloody mary's onboard were fair. The ambiance of the French Quarter never changes and remains as I recall it from two decades ago. Although there's much, much more to N.O. than The French Quarter and Bourbon Street, I was rather limited to that area. The place is a 25 year old's dream! Here's the food rundown: Gazebo Cafe on Decatur in French Market for platter of raw oysters with flounder and gumbo with a great black blues band who were sort of X-rated. The Red Fish Grill on Bourbon has the absolute best oyster combination called Three-Way which included Rockefeller, Oudouille (sp) and Bienville. Ordered a dozen Three-Way and was so impressed I had to order another half dozen of the Odouille with their famous glaze sauce. Marinated Cajun Shrimp and Frog leg appetizers. Had to go to Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse on Iberville Street the last night there. Just a few doors off Bourbon. Very expensive. Had the 24 oz. Porterhouse and I would rate this in the top two or three steaks of my lifetime. I asked about Eggs Hussard (Margaret) but was told it was the wrong time of day for that. Our group of 22 did group-night on Wednesday with corporate paying the tab at Pat O'Brien's. I passed on the sweet Hurricanes and opted for shots with lime and sweet tea with dinner. I had the fried Alligator appetizer, strips sorta like chicken but sweeter. The main meal at my end of the table was steak, redfish, oysters and a torched-etoufee thing I can't describe. I could not get enough oysters and seemed to eat them daily, somewhere. Margaritaville is a large ripoff. The novelty store with the same name is super pricey but nothing special. You could buy anything imaginable made in China with the name Margaritaville stamped on it ranging from dildos to leather jackets with fox collars. The restaurant by the same name had snob waiters and was a high-brow dump so I walked out after we sat there for 20 minutes. Yes, Miz Ingram, I did have Beignets at 4 p.m. on Tuesday Afternoon. Donuts go very well with beer I learned and the shrunken-head place is right next door. The Lucky Dog wagons were everywhere with those really great hot dogs. On my second night I realized the lady on the corner of St. Peter and Bourbon (who could not leave her post) would trade me a Lucky Dog for a one dollar cup of beer each night at 11:00. They didn't have to worry about her eating up the profit since I think she only had two teeth. The world's best hot dog, for sure! Lots of loud but good music, more than enough people of questionable sexual persuasion, hookers to please every palate (I reckon), some people whose sex you could not guess if your life depended on it. More Harleys than I've seen in a while parked 40 in a row block after block sometimes, beads being slung downward from every angle, Every kind of music you could hope for. Tons of 'artists' at their easels over in the French Market area, all claiming to do the 'Best Elvis on Velvet' and who were really good at charcoal renditions of whoever was sitting in the chair. The old Catholic Cathedral in the Market area was neat but was surprised to see a shop set up inside the church selling candles and such. Who was that 'guy' awhile back who ran the money changers out of the temple?? Each morning I went out on Bourbon at 7:00 just for the heck of it before 8:00 a.m. class. Not a soul hardly in sight except for the guys pressure hosing out the cafes and dives and the garbage trucks whizzing by and a few people walking to work. Excellent hotel. Training was by J.J.Keller and was excellent covering the totality of 1910 OSHA which is a required 30 hour class sit-through. Low-Carb starts tomorrow! Everyone's gift is in the mail! Trust me.
Comments
I've never been to New Orleans, but rumor has it our childcare association is planning our next conference there. If we do end up there, I'll have to refer back to your post and the others about food/entertainment in the area.
You were missed, as I'm sure you've already figured out if you've had the chance to catch up on your Forum reading. x:D
I'm sure you will change the names to protect the innocent!!!
I learned one more thing in New Orleans that applies to The Forum. There are these guys who occasionally walk the street with a shovel cleaning up behind the mules that pull all those carriages around. The mules do have dookie bags (not doggie bags) but sometimes the shovel comes in handy. Anyway, not to elaborate further; but, I would much rather have that job than the job of following Beagle and Ray around on the Forum the entire week I was gone, shoveling up after them. Compared to that task, the New Orleans guy has a dream job. The Kansas City Stockyard Fieldhand Handbook references BS less than those two.
Welcome back and glad you had fun! What hotel did you stay in? We have stayed at the Bourbon on Orleans and the Bourbon Ramada, both nice. Always looking for a new place. Also, do they have alot of street performers during October months. We always enjoyed them, I think they have to be approved to perform in the French Quarter, so they are usually pretty fun acts. Also glad you liked the dogs, I read a book about the vendors and they are an interesting lot.
Elizabeth