Nola for Christmas- 2002

Our second winter holiday in New Orleans provided some additional highlights; a Reveillon Christmas night dinner at Windsor Court Hotel, dinners at Jacques-Imo's, the tours of Laura, Oak Alley, and San Francisco Plantations, and breakfast at Southern Comfort B and B. We also enjoyed Lafayette Cemetery Tour with guide "Mr. Sublet", a Garden District Walking Tour finished with a stop in The Rink Book Store, lunch at Liuzza's by the Racetrack, Old Coffee Pot Restaurant for hurricanes,gumbo and fried oysters. The list could go on and on. Be sure to see my journal from 2001 for other possibilities. We still haven't seen everything New Orleans has to offer and are planning a trip back soon!

Quick Tips:

To get the most of your trip to NOLA,venture out of the French Quarter as much as possible -- there is so much more to see than just the "tourist trappings" of the Vieaux Carre. While it's fun (especially at night), there's lots of other intersting,colorful and truly New Orleans experiences anywhere you go around town.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking and the St. Charles street car are the best ways to get to Garden District and French Quarter. But to expand your horizons you really need a car. We did and had a much broader experience!

The ultimate Christmas Night dining experience! The image of this fabulously decorated hotel with its gigantic tree and antique toy train set will last longer in my mind than any gifts we could have shopped for, wrapped, and opened with half-hearted enthusiasm. Dinner started with an "amusee bouchee" - a delicate cream soup served in demitasse-like cups-with no handles.

First course for me was foie gras and smoked duck slices, while hubby went with a salmon tartare/smoked salmon combination. Our second courses consisted of white bean-roasted garlic pureed soup served with teeny-tiny frog legs that were perfect little morsels of tender flavor. Glenn stuck with a mesclun-style salad with an unusual but delicious viniagrette. For main course I went with a grouper (New Orleans is famous for grouper) served in a tortellini and topped with remoulade sauce, while my partner selected quail served with fig pudding and sweet potato souffle. For dessert we couldn't resist the Lemon Tart accompanied with a mini-serving of peppercorn ice cream (a wonderful combination) and the Chocolate Bombe served with a matching mini-scoop of molasses/mocha.

Dinner service was attentive, elegant, charming, and yet not the least bit condescending (my pet peeve). I can't wait to return here and stay a few days in one of their elegant suites (when I win the lottery!).

From doorman and bartender to busboy and cocktail waitress, I found all to be friendly, cordial, and not the least bit snobby! If you want a treat for a real special occasion, this is a once in a lifetime extravagance!

We had heard great things about the Palace Cafe and tried it with friends. The guidebook info had informed me that the place was owned/run by members of the illustrious Brennan family who are also responsible for the fantastic "Commander's Palace" in the Garden District.

The excellent food and incredible service soon led me to see what was, indeed, obvious. This truly was, as locals referred to it, "Commander's Palace Lite". Since we had eaten a HUGE lunch, the four of us opted for a selection of appetizers, soups and salads for our meal, foregoing a regular entree. This required some maneuvering by the serving staff, who are trained to serve each course at exactly the same time to all members of a party.(How they accomplish this is nothing short of amazing.) We didn't have a traditional order of courses but they handled our whimsy good-naturedly and with a bit of humor.

The food was reminiscent of the wonderful meal we had at Commander's last year; the shrimp remoulade, turtle soup, oyster pan roast, Bleu cheese salad, crabmeat cheesecake (a signature dish), spinach salad, eggplant fingers with marinara sauce, and the finale -- a decadent white chocolate bread pudding.

We shared a bottle of sparkling wine (I didnt note the exact vintage, but a great selection by Dr.Fitzgerald) before heading out (on foot) to the French Quarter for a night of fun!

Run...do not walk...to Jacques-Imo's. We didn't discover it until the next to the last night of our visit and went back 2 nites in a row! (Unheard of for us!). Not only did we have two of the best meals consumed in the Big Easy...the place is a hoot! All thanks to "Jack" who is the owner, chef and "team leader"of this well-known local attaction! We were lucky enough to witness his one of his daily pep talks, delivered to the kitchen and serving staff in a style that can only be described as part-coach, part-preacher, all chef!!!

He truly cares about his customers and what they think and is famous for his generous "langniappe" (or Cajun for "a little something extra"). But be prepared to wait...even locals are known to wait an hour to 2 hours for a table here. The food is well worth it. Fish and Cajun dishes are the specialties here so be adventurous. Entertain yourself at the bar with a Hurricane or Cosmopolitan. Start off with a Alligator-Shrimp Cheesecake appetizer. Seafood is their specialty but I found out later that the chef here is world famous for his fried chicken! We'll save that for next trip. The side dishes (corn mache choux, smothered greens, delectable cornbread) rival the main courses. If you have the room-try a coffee bean creme brulee dessert.You'll be glad you came!!

Joey K's is a great little local stop you can't miss on the corner of Magazine St. and Washington Ave.(Down the street from Lafayette Cemetary). It's a much less expensive bet for lunch in the Garden District than Commander's Palace. Don't be put off by the smoking section in the front of the cafe. Go through the kitchen (this seems to be a New Orleans ritual) to a smokefree dining room in rear. The food is great -- try the "all-you-can-eat catfish" or catfish po' boy. I recommend the fried oysters and they serve a pretty decent gumbo. Don't miss the 16oz. Margarita's and Abita Beer both served in a huge frosted glass.

Our little waitress looked, acted and even sounded just like Sissy Spaceck and was as down-home charming as the place itself. The restaurant came highly recommended (by locals) for a casual dining spot, and it gets kudos from me as well!

This is a truly authentic Cajun spot recommended by a longtime fan. But we loved the real taste of New Orleans that it offers . . . not only in food but also in local color.

We started our lunch with the house-recommended "Killer Bloody Mary"--and "killer" they were. I could only manage one . . . but it was lethal. Gumbo, reputed to be the best in town, was my starter, while hubby went with oyster/artichoke soup. We split a blue-cheese house salad, which was enough for a meal. As if that wasn't enough, we each had a po' boy--his a catfish and mine the famous barbecued shrimp. Hard to describe, but it earned every bit of its reputation.

I could not move, literally, after this meal and had to head for home and a small siesta. I did not eat for the rest of the day. I went out that night, but didn't eat a thing! The total bill for all this decadence? Less than $40, including tip. A bargain in the Big Easy, where alcohol can easily eat up a huge portion of your bill. Teetotalers can eat on the cheap in this town!

The Maple Leaf Bar is very, very local and somewhat "down-scale" to say the least. No food, no glasses, no wine. Only plastic cups, dance floor, with nothing to munch on- but the music was great -- Kermit Ruffins is a popular trumpet player... some say the next Louis Armstrong. Local fans claim he's blessed with those "puffy cheeks". The rest of the band wasn't bad either, and they played a lot of traditional jazz numbers with their own inimitable style. It was very worthwhile for those inclined to find music off the beaten path. We got there early (daylight) to get a heads up on the crowd. But I don't recommend this technique. This is a spot you only want to hit when it's very dark and very crowded.

The real highlight of Magazine Street is the window-shopping. The shops are mainly old shotgun and other Victorian-style homes that have been reconstructed and fancied up in bright attractive colors to catch the eye of passing shoppers. Large shop windows entice passersby with goods in creative and unusual displays. There are some real decent restaurants open for lunch that are worth checking out. Some are open for lunch only, so it's best to check ahead.

The only disappointment was that as lively as this street is during the day, it's really dead at night! Only one or two places are open and the street is very dark. Still, it's worth spending a morning or afternoon just browsing along its' interesting six miles.