We had an early flight from Chicago and arrived at our hotel around noon. We stayed at the Intercontinental which we booked through Priceline for $75.00 per night. We were completely satisfied with our room. The bed was sooo incredibly comfortable. We requested a higher room which was a good choice because there was some noise from the streetcar below.
1st stop - lunch at Central Grocer for a Muffallata. DH and I split one - it was fabulous - we were very hungry! We lucked out, there was no line when we arrived, but a fairly long one when we left. After that we walked for a while along the riverfront and proceeded to Lafitte Blacksmith for their famous hurricanes. We really enjoy making authentic drinks at home and these were as good as the ones we make. They were very strong though, and we couldn%26#39;t drink too many. We walked for a bit more, and had dinner at Acme. Again, we got lucky with no lines (maybe because it was Wednesday?) The grilled oysters were as good as everyone here said they would be. We also had their ettouffe and it was probably the best we have ever had anywhere, including my own. Wednesday night we went to Preservation Hall. There was a short line, and we were able to get a seat on the floor against a wall up front. We really enjoyed the performance. Afterward, we got a hurricane from Pat O%26#39;Brien%26#39;s and it was pretty disgusting. It was very red and syrupy. What a waste of money.
Thursday, we slept in rather late - but felt pretty good in the morning. We walked all the way from Intercontinental to Casamento%26#39;s! We mapquested the walk and it was over 3 miles! We ordered their Gumbo along with their Oyster loaf and Shrimp loaf. Wow - what fabulous food here. From the outside it didn%26#39;t even look like it was open, and we thought about maybe going somewhere else. We%26#39;re glad we trusted the advice here. We%26#39;d definately eat here again. We walked part of the way back, and took the bus the rest of the way. We walked around Bourbon street for a while and had a few beers. The last time we were in NO we stayed at Sonesta. We remembered how awesome their bread pudding was. We were in need of a little snack, so we stopped in for some. It was as good as we remembered. We had dinner at Deanies. We loved the potato%26#39;s so much we couldn%26#39;t finish our meals. It was very crowded by the time we left - you%26#39;d think there were no other places to eat in NO!
Off to Rock and Bowl for Zydeco Thursday. We tried to get a lane but there was a long wait. We found a table and were totally entertained not only by the music, but by the dancing. It was really fun to watch the locals dance the Zydeco, and when I got home, I found lessons on U Tube. We need to practice for next time.
Friday - what can we say about Friday? We started out by walking to Cafe Dumonde for Beignet%26#39;s. They were fabulous. We walked through the marketplace and down the riverfront again. We really did a lot of walking on our trip - being from Chicago we enjoyed the nice weather! We went to Coops for lunch and had the chicken and smoked duck quesidillas. Great place and awesome food. We then walked back to Lafittes for more hurricanes. Mistake......Somebody mentioned that it was my 50th birthday and some patrons bought tequilla shots for me and DH. They were not ordinary sized shots.....anyway we missed the parade because someone needed a nap. Woke up at midnight very hungry. Walked back to Coops and had their fettuccini with Tazzo and crawfish. Wonderful.
Saturday - took the street car up St. Charles for the Irish Channel parade. Went to Parasols before the parade started. We had their roast beef po-boys - they were so good. It rained all day Saturday - we bought a green umbrella. The rain did not stop the parade or the parade go-ers. That parade was the craziest thing we have ever seen! You had to pay attention, or risk getting hit in the head by all the stuff they throw. DH caught his first cabbage after it bounced off a girls head! What fun! Just as we got back to the hotel, the St. Joseph%26#39;s parade started. It was pretty tame compared to the Irish parade so we didn%26#39;t stay to watch it all. We walked down Decatur and ate at a Mexican restaurant that somebody recommended. Sorry, I don%26#39;t remember the name. It was pretty good, similar to the Chipotle chain that we have here in Chicago. By this time, we%26#39;re running out of money and looking for cheap! We stayed out pretty late listening to assorted bands on Bourbon Street.
Sunday, time to go home. We had a 5:00 pm flight. The only other choice was around 6:00 am. We walked down Decatur and the riverfront again stopping at Franks for a Muffallata. We didn%26#39;t like it as much as Central it was not warm enough, and they forgot the olive salad. We had a table right across from the counter as you enter the place. The guy making the sandwiches was continuously yelling at another worker that wasn%26#39;t doing anything. It was pretty funny and we were laughing the entire time as our waitress kept rolling her eyes at both of them.
We had such a great time we want to come back again maybe next year.
Trip Report March 11 - 15
Thanks for your trip report! Casamento%26#39;s is my favorite place to get oysters in the city, so glad you enjoyed! And VERY impressed that you made the walk all the way down there!
Trip Report March 11 - 15
LOL Worldtraveler,
More impressive than the walk to Cassamentos was the walk BACK to the Intercontinental from Lafittes on Friday. There was a lady there from a local news channel that had a trunk full of beads in her car. She gave us a HUGE bag of them. It probably weighed over 20 pounds. DH carried the beads in addition to my sorry, intoxicated butt all the way back.
That is SOOOO funny; what does one do with a cabbage thrown to them in NOLA?
IF you absolutely cannot take it home with you, I would suggest taking it back to the hotel and offering it to someone at the hotel who wasn%26#39;t lucky enough to go to the parade. LOL! I have done this. There is always someone who would love to have it..and..YOU have had the fun of catching the veggies for the Irish Stew. Did you also catch carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic, lemons, etc.? Welcome to New Orleans. It is like no other place on earth.
We did not catch any other vegetables : (
We did catch two cabbages which we gave to a lady who was standing near us that wanted them to cook the irish stew.
We did end up with a very nice souvenir. Inside Parasol%26#39;s before the parade, there were several men there that were marching in the parade. I asked one of them how they got the medalions that they were wearing around their necks. He said that you could only get them if you were marching. He had some replica%26#39;s though, and he gave us two of them. We never saw anyone throwing these at the parade, nor did we see anyone else with one. A local person noticed the one that DH was wearing around his neck and asked how WE got it. I ended up giving our second one to him - we really didn%26#39;t need two.......
Many of the men that were at Parasol%26#39;s before the parade, never did end up marching....LOL
Chicago: Sounds like you ran the gamut and had a real flaming time for the St. Pats day season here in the Crescent. Sorry about the bad Hurricane at Pats, but it has become a hit and miss thing there as they are living on the reputation of the past.
Regarding the Mufuletta%26#39;s, next time, send it back and ask them to please make it right. Remember, your money is exactly right, so the food should be also exactly right. We do not put up with that crap.
Glad your visit was a pleaser and the next is better.
Great report, thank you. I%26#39;m smiling from ear to ear, flying cabbage and such.
I%26#39;m going to NO in 17 sleeps (yeah!), so the moral of your trip is not to order tequilla shots at Lafittes??? :-)
Great TR, I smiled all the way thru reading it!
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