Who let the donkeys out???

Girls birthday weekend/French Quarter Fest 2011

A beautiful April weekend in New Orleans with friends, one would expect to pass a good time and enjoy the free local music.  And we did.  The sights we saw.  (Yes, that is a miniature donkey with painted hooves.) 

Our weekend started out with a late night arrival and an early start the next day.  We took an invigorating walk on the levee and through the quarter.  You always meet the most interesting characters early in the a.m.   Either they are just getting in from going out, still out, or waking up early for some cafe au lait and beignets.  Also the smells are pungent from the previous night's revelry.  The trash trucks cannot get there early enough.  

Mr. B’s Bistro never disappoints --- crawfish ravioli, BBQ shrimp, gumbo, and bread pudding -- yummy!

After lunch we continued to walk but not for exercise.  We had to contribute to the local economy and found a great new art gallery -- artist - Peter O’Neill - loved it.  Also there were a few shops that needed to lighten our wallets.  We spent our siesta in the French Market Cafe outdoor area listening to Jazz and doing some major people watching.  A street person painted entirely in silver wanted to make sure he got in our pictures.  

Then for Bourbon Street Crawl --- You must always start with a good meal -- Antoine’s could have done the trick with us but it left lots to be desired this time.  I have been there several times before and the service and food were great.  This time, not so much -- the service was so so (busboy was great and the waiter was invisible) and the food was not good.  I think this will be my last time to frequent this historic establishment.  If you go, enjoy the atmosphere, but beware of the food.  And always get the tour -- it is a very historic establishment.

We hit Bourbon Street but were not sufficiently shod, or were we?  I guess it depends on what  your purpose on Bourbon Street is.  (Ended up in cheap flipflops from a junk store before the night was out.)

We started in a “new” dance bar and saw a great band with the female lead singer decked out in silver rhinestones.  They always have a high turnover of “new” clubs.  Saw the renovated Tropical Isle -- was not overly impressed because the atmosphere of the old one was forever gone.  Danced our way down to the quintessential tourist karaoke hangout called Cat’s Meow.  Yes, you can sometimes catch a good singer - we saw a girl kill with a Snoop Dogg song.  Fritzel’s was packed and had a great little jazz combo. The Blacksmith Shop’s crowd was light but as always the walk there - entertaining.  Only meet one drag queen who was selling drinks from his/her little minibar.  We called it a night and were in the room asleep by 2?? Getting old sucks. 

Our Magazine Street/Spa day was wonderful.  I highly recommend grabbing a slice of pizza at the appropriately named Slice Restaurant on Magazine Street - the pizza with tomato sauce was the best of the two options.  At Earthsavers, we enjoyed the ultimate in luxury and the staff were great.  When we left, we were very relaxed.  This is a great place to visit if you want to be pampered.  Or just to unwind after a long day of doing the quarter.    

However, we were so relaxed, we barely made our hard to get dinner reservations at Emeril’s Delmonico.  OMG what a blessing to make up for the mediocre dinner the night before.  We all loved it.  The piano playing was amazing and the food outstanding! Crab cakes, lobster and corn beignets, BBQ shrimp, filet, and dirty rice, what more could one ask for.  

People from the South enjoy good food (and we have the best food in the world in the South and the US).  When a Southerner goes somewhere (anywhere in the world), they normally remember a place by it's food -- Austin for the South Congress area, New York for Little Italy, and Chicago for it's pizza and popcorn.   It’s very reassuring to be in a city where "makin' groceries" is a common occurrence and as soon as you eat one meal, your first question is -- Where will we eat tonight/tomorrow? -- and you know there is a 98% chance you will get a good meal.  We did eat our way around Nola and finished the weekend off with Sunday morning beignets from Cafe du Monde (in Metairie on Veterans -- and we had to get some Gambino's to take home, of course). 

Our hotel was ok except for the ants upon checkout.  We had the BEST valet, Kendrick --- did we always have our running clothes on and look slouchy? No matter, when he asked if we were aerobic instructors, we were EXTREMELY pleased :)

Great Company, Excellent Food, Interesting Sites, and Beautiful Music --- So long for now fair city, we will return soon......   Now about those donkeys, I wonder how long the line is at the Orleans Parish permit office to get that parade permit?