13Jun08 Eating our way through New Orleans
New Orleans – the major port of Louisiana – spanned the mouth of Mississippi, the longest river in the world. This city is one of the oldest in the US. It’s multicultural and multilingual heritage came from having been controlled by the French and the Spanish, before becoming part of the US. The architecture, cuisine and music all reflect this city’s colorful past.
Our day started off with a pilgrimage to Johnny’s Po’Boy. This family owned cafe is famous for its signature sandwich. A loaf of crusty French bread, hollowed out, was stuffed with a prodigious amount of filling. This could be anything from fried seafood ( oysters, calamari, and shrimps) to sliced cold meats and cheeses. They were so huge that most patrons leave with doggie bags.
Instead of doing all the historical buildings around town, we ended up wandering into the markets. There was also a ‘tomato festival’ going on in The French Market.
We dined at Nola – the least pretentious of the three restaurants that chef Emeril Lagasse owned in New Orleans. It was a nice change of pace after the quick lunch.
Distance traveled 0 miles
The tourist center in New Orleans is the French Quarter (Vieux Carre). This area has been designated a National History Landmark where old buildings were kept in immaculate condition - imparting the flavor of bygone times. A verandah was called a balcony if there was no visible support underneath, but was termed a gallery if there were reinforcing poles or pillars below. Most galleries were festooned with hanging plants, ferns in particular, which gave the area a big splash of color. The one seen here, above a bar, even had a smart mannequin to liven things up - sitting outside watching passerbys below was a favorite pass time when buildings were not airconditioned.
We stayed at The Prince Conti Hotel; cars were parked in a small courtyard accessed through the narrow driveway. The 'Old European' ambiance was what made the hotels in this area different from those in other American cities.
One of the wild bars in and around Bourbon St! But the evening hasn't begun
It was an ongoing battle to keep the area looking good - see the exterior before the tarting up was completed
Don't worry, this building too will look like a million dollars when they finish with it
Johnny's Po-Boy Restaurant was established in 1950, not bad for a sandwich place. Very popular with locals and tourists alike, this place, where a 'poor boy' can get a quick meal, is always full.
There's always a line
Apparently customers included city bigwigs and celebrities
Dressed seafood mullaletta Po-Boy (dressed = with lettuce and mayo; seafood muffaletta = assorted seafood like deepfried calamary, oysters and shrimp;)
Seafood gumbo with crawfish and shrimp - (sigh), when we do get to have this again?
There were so many souvenir shops; some people may find the messages on the tee shirts offensive, others must love'em! (for more details, full screen purleese!)
Evidently the city authorities thought the tourists liked them! (remember full screen!)
All the paraphenalia for Mardi Gras or simply partying, but if you wanted some Coffee with Chicory or even some Beignet Mix, hey, no problem
Oh, some of the lines were a gas, can't help showing it
Were they referring to people like me?!
Yet another souvenir shop with lots of funny messages on tee shirts, at the back
Beautiful building near the French Market with intricate iron work
A closer look of the iron work
Live music was everywhere - this duo was just outside the Cafe Du Monde
The Coffee of the World, at last! But we didn't going in as we were still trying to walk off the 'Po-Boy'. No one leaves New Orleans without a coffee here, so maybe tomorrow
You don't have to be a coffee lover to be here, there's always the famous beignets
Last minute poncho purchase proved useful with the sudden showers typical of the area
The area around the French Market was a really colorful place - here a painting and a sculpture worked together perfectly
A newspaper transformed into a canvas with Louis Armstrong - New Orleans' famous son - and his favorite instrument
Commemorating his victory over Hillary...will he make it in November? The world waits anxiously
The streets were quite narrow, not like present day American cities
A souvenir shop with a difference - the musicians - were they real? Full screen please to see them
Put this on full screen to see all the tomato dishes on offer at the Tomato Festival
'Tomatos' taking a well deserved rest at the Tomato Festival
One of the many stalls at the Tomato Festival. The others had called it a day because of the intermittent showers
A gilded statue of Joan of Arc - Maid of Orleans - greeted us near the entrance to the French Market. This was a gift from the people of France several decades ago when President Charles de Gaulle came to visit.
A soldier mermaid?! The souvenir shops had everything
A cowboy mermaid?! There were many other different ones
Openned for business in 1791, The French Market is the oldest city market in America
Bags for sale in the French Market, but hammocks?
Oh, the baubles
What a selection of masks!
Boa for those who want to party - you can't say they don't have your color
There was such a lot of art, Africa had heavily influenced the work shown here
There was always something going on - musically speaking, the crowd took full advantage of it
One didn't have to be young and skinny to play in a band; these guys made beautiful music
He was dancing alone and enjoying it
Families that could afford it often had live bands at funerals of their loved ones
Bars with death and the macabre as themes were popular too
Ha ha, how did they come up of a line like this
Would anybody sober buy this? Mind you, there were lots of bars close by
A full grown critter was recruited to help with sales
if you don't like big ones, there were also small ones
How about some Jambalaya mix, if you don't like alligators?
A shop that sold picquant sauces - go full screen for details
Don't say you have not been forewarned about the potency of these sauces
I didn't ask to try this
Filet Mignon with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Worcestershire Sauce and Walnut-Blue Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom at Emeril Lagasse's Nola. It was a good meal
Night photography has never been my forte! Hope you can tell this was a street scene at night
The streets were still full of revelers in wee hours of the morning
Our day started off with a pilgrimage to Johnny’s Po’Boy. This family owned cafe is famous for its signature sandwich. A loaf of crusty French bread, hollowed out, was stuffed with a prodigious amount of filling. This could be anything from fried seafood ( oysters, calamari, and shrimps) to sliced cold meats and cheeses. They were so huge that most patrons leave with doggie bags.
Instead of doing all the historical buildings around town, we ended up wandering into the markets. There was also a ‘tomato festival’ going on in The French Market.
We dined at Nola – the least pretentious of the three restaurants that chef Emeril Lagasse owned in New Orleans. It was a nice change of pace after the quick lunch.
Distance traveled 0 miles
The tourist center in New Orleans is the French Quarter (Vieux Carre). This area has been designated a National History Landmark where old buildings were kept in immaculate condition - imparting the flavor of bygone times. A verandah was called a balcony if there was no visible support underneath, but was termed a gallery if there were reinforcing poles or pillars below. Most galleries were festooned with hanging plants, ferns in particular, which gave the area a big splash of color. The one seen here, above a bar, even had a smart mannequin to liven things up - sitting outside watching passerbys below was a favorite pass time when buildings were not airconditioned.
We stayed at The Prince Conti Hotel; cars were parked in a small courtyard accessed through the narrow driveway. The 'Old European' ambiance was what made the hotels in this area different from those in other American cities.
One of the wild bars in and around Bourbon St! But the evening hasn't begun
It was an ongoing battle to keep the area looking good - see the exterior before the tarting up was completed
Don't worry, this building too will look like a million dollars when they finish with it
Johnny's Po-Boy Restaurant was established in 1950, not bad for a sandwich place. Very popular with locals and tourists alike, this place, where a 'poor boy' can get a quick meal, is always full.
There's always a line
Apparently customers included city bigwigs and celebrities
Dressed seafood mullaletta Po-Boy (dressed = with lettuce and mayo; seafood muffaletta = assorted seafood like deepfried calamary, oysters and shrimp;)
Seafood gumbo with crawfish and shrimp - (sigh), when we do get to have this again?
There were so many souvenir shops; some people may find the messages on the tee shirts offensive, others must love'em! (for more details, full screen purleese!)
Evidently the city authorities thought the tourists liked them! (remember full screen!)
All the paraphenalia for Mardi Gras or simply partying, but if you wanted some Coffee with Chicory or even some Beignet Mix, hey, no problem
Oh, some of the lines were a gas, can't help showing it
Were they referring to people like me?!
Yet another souvenir shop with lots of funny messages on tee shirts, at the back
Beautiful building near the French Market with intricate iron work
A closer look of the iron work
Live music was everywhere - this duo was just outside the Cafe Du Monde
The Coffee of the World, at last! But we didn't going in as we were still trying to walk off the 'Po-Boy'. No one leaves New Orleans without a coffee here, so maybe tomorrow
You don't have to be a coffee lover to be here, there's always the famous beignets
Last minute poncho purchase proved useful with the sudden showers typical of the area
The area around the French Market was a really colorful place - here a painting and a sculpture worked together perfectly
A newspaper transformed into a canvas with Louis Armstrong - New Orleans' famous son - and his favorite instrument
Commemorating his victory over Hillary...will he make it in November? The world waits anxiously
The streets were quite narrow, not like present day American cities
A souvenir shop with a difference - the musicians - were they real? Full screen please to see them
Put this on full screen to see all the tomato dishes on offer at the Tomato Festival
'Tomatos' taking a well deserved rest at the Tomato Festival
One of the many stalls at the Tomato Festival. The others had called it a day because of the intermittent showers
A gilded statue of Joan of Arc - Maid of Orleans - greeted us near the entrance to the French Market. This was a gift from the people of France several decades ago when President Charles de Gaulle came to visit.
A soldier mermaid?! The souvenir shops had everything
A cowboy mermaid?! There were many other different ones
Openned for business in 1791, The French Market is the oldest city market in America
Bags for sale in the French Market, but hammocks?
Oh, the baubles
What a selection of masks!
Boa for those who want to party - you can't say they don't have your color
There was such a lot of art, Africa had heavily influenced the work shown here
There was always something going on - musically speaking, the crowd took full advantage of it
One didn't have to be young and skinny to play in a band; these guys made beautiful music
He was dancing alone and enjoying it
Families that could afford it often had live bands at funerals of their loved ones
Bars with death and the macabre as themes were popular too
Ha ha, how did they come up of a line like this
Would anybody sober buy this? Mind you, there were lots of bars close by
A full grown critter was recruited to help with sales
if you don't like big ones, there were also small ones
How about some Jambalaya mix, if you don't like alligators?
A shop that sold picquant sauces - go full screen for details
Don't say you have not been forewarned about the potency of these sauces
I didn't ask to try this
Filet Mignon with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Worcestershire Sauce and Walnut-Blue Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom at Emeril Lagasse's Nola. It was a good meal
Night photography has never been my forte! Hope you can tell this was a street scene at night
The streets were still full of revelers in wee hours of the morning
posted by Regamy at
11:49 PM
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