The Northshore: Sights of Slidell

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The Old Towne Slidell Antique Fair is held every third weekend in April and the last weekend in October. For 2010, the Fair will be held October 23rd and 24th. You can find unique treasures here, and browse in and out of the multi-colored boutiques in the district. Since this is a popular show, if you arrive early enough, you can get a great parking spot near the Post Office so you don't have to carry all your purchases too far to the car. Parking is scarce once the Show has started.

Some items you can find are girls' hair ribbons, bags with your initials monogrammed on them, jewelry, furniture, plates from Gone With the Wind, pillows, drink coasters, plants like ferns and roses, mouth-watering and delicious satsumas, and so much more. My favorite booth here is the Enchanted Aromas, a candle booth that has different and unique scents. I don't know
how they do it, but their candles are scented like birthday cakes, Chanel perfumes, sugar cookies, Halloween candy corn, and Christmas trees. Besides looking for crafts and antiques, you can also take the time to go look inside the Slidell Jail Museum and see its history. It's a great place for history-lovers because it accurately reflects on its history in detail, and even talks about the Salmen and Fritchie families. An adjacent room is where the cramped jail cells are, and one is open so you can close the door and pretend like you're locked up. Plus, there's another room near the jail cells showing the carnival history of the town with lavish costumes and other paraphenalia.

There's also a few food vendors along the fair grounds, and there's also convenient restaurants nearby. The Times-Grill (on Front Street - across the street from the craft show) has an American menu such as steaks, hamburgers, and salads at a moderate price. What makes this restaurant unique is it is situated on a railroad track, and you can see the trains (like Amtrak) coming and going. If you want something more closer, there's a Greek cuisine restaurant in the Antique District.

Bayou Country is one of my favorite Louisiana specialty stores here in Slidell. It is easily seen from the I-10, especially when it has a classic car day on Saturdays where there's many classic cars lined outside. You can get to this store from two ways: take the Spanish Trail Exit from I-10, take a right at the fork in the road, turn by the Wendy's and follow the service road (with all the car dealerships), or you can take the Oak Harbor Exit (near the Oak Harbor Center - where most craft shows and special events are held) and follow up the other side of the service road.

The store is a must-see gem because beside being a travel center and gift shop, there's also a praline center where you can buy fresh pralines daily, and an on-site restaurant that has everything from sandwiches, pastas, wraps, and salads. In this giftshop, you can find Louisiana t-shirts, bumper stickers, crawfish- and alligator-shaped soaps, body lotions, windchimes, wall decor, books, posters, home decor, and so much more. They also have fleur-de-lis and "Louisiana Girl" decals that have a pink Louisiana shape, with the words in a curly writing. There's also matching t-shirts in the store for those who want to match their car! In addition, you can also find t-shirts for children as well, and even pirate themed treasures and stuffed animals. My most favorite souvenir from here was this New Orleans water globe with Andrew Jackson on his horse (as seen in Jackson Square), and had the Pontabla Buildings, a steamboat on the River, the Cabildo, and St. Louis Cathedral on the base.

If you love art and have nothing to do, then this is the right place for you! This is for the people who love to paint (even if they cannot draw stick people). The Painting With A Twist Studio is an art gallery where those who love to paint gather to make their own masterpiece. Most of the guests gather to paint, drink a few glasses of wine, and release their creative muse. Other individuals who have never drawn a stick person on a good day, try their best and actually get a masterpiece of their own. The staff is very helpful. The studio is suited for those fifteen or sixteen and up, but they do have Family Days once every month that is encouraged for the younger children to attend.

Each class has a picture that they will teach for that day, and the calendar is changed montly. The classes are usually held on Thursday through Sundays, and on Tuesdays nights. They are about two or three hours, and can cost about $35.00 or $45.00 for a session. Private parties can be scheduled. They request that all reservations be made with a credit card, and that cancellations are made twenty-four hours in advance or they will charge your card for that session.

The favorite meeting place of the locals is the Northshore Mall, where there are many shops and surrounding restaurants. Located on Northshore Blvd, the mall has many new and interesting stores that appeal to all ages. It also has received a makeover, and now has several stone fountains inside, a few more palm trees to decorate the exterior, and a colorful mural by local artist, Adam Sambola, who is famous for painting RedBean the Crawfish.

The shops in the Mall includes some of the major department stores like Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, JC Penney, and Dillard's (Men's and Women's). There are many jewelry stores, a game arcade for the kids, and a Ms. Fields cookie counter where you can get fresh cookies, cookie cakes for special occassions, and make a cookie shaped like a tie for Father's Day (that you can design for your dad, grandfather, etc.). Claire's Boutique, the Icing, and Justice (formerly Limited Too) are great stores for preteens and girls to shop for earrings, clothes, necklaces, headbands, sunglasses, and other fun accessories. For teens and young adults, there is Aeropostale, Forever 21, and Rue 21 stores. For young women and women, there's also a Lane Bryant, Victoria's Secret, and the Limited.

Kirklands Home and the Hallmark Store are my favorite stores for buying presents, especially during the holidays. Kirklands has many Christmas-themed items, and they also have a sweepstakes going on every Christmas for a $2,500 shopping spree to their store. Every time you go into Kirklands, you can register in their drawing, and hopefully at the beginning of next year, you'll be their nationwide winner, and have a house full of new furniture and home decor. Meanwhile at Hallmark, right across the alley from Kirklands has some Christmas-themed items, especially the popular books where you can record your voice and read stories to your children, grandchildren, etc. Plus, they have decorative plaques of New Orleans scenes like the Jackson Square, popular colleges, the Lucky Dog hotdog stand, and much more. My most favorite thing to do here -- and no, it's not to play the cards that sing songs and annoy the sales associates (however it is tempting) -- is get a musical jewelry box. There's one box with three golden fleur de lis on the front, and it plays Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". It makes a great gift for any New Orleans lover in the family.

There is also a GNC place to get vitamins. In addition there is also Books-A-Million, a national chain bookstore, that has a variety of books, games, and magazines. Across from Books-A-Million, Toys-R-Us opened up a new toy store this holiday season that is full of toys, puzzles, games, and anything a kid could ever want. Further down the alley is FYE (For Your Entertainment) that has many video, games, dvds, but my favorite aspect of the store is the "Leg Lamp" from Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story that they put in the window.

The Food Court is full of many sights and smells from Chick-Fil-A to Asian cuisine. There is also Mexican food, Arby's, an ice cream and smoothie shop, Subway where you can eat fresh and make friends with Jared, and sample the great pizza near Subway. The best eating experience I had recently was at Chick-Fil-A when I was the hundreth customer, so the girl who took my order rung a cow bell and told me my meal was free (after I ordered - I could have added a shake to my order!). Finally, near Books-A-Million is the mall's best kept secret: the pretzel shop. This a pretzel shop has the best mouth-watering pretzels (and cheese dip) in Slidell.

During the holiday season, the mall is transformed into a Christmas wonderland with decorations, a place to take your picture with Santa, and the Mall invites some of the local school choirs and bands to perform. There's also more little shops where you can get special ornaments, calenders, toys, and much more in the alleys. Plus, the hours are extended for the Black Friday and Christmas sales.

Being so close to New Orleans, Slidell was caught by the Mardi Gras fever. Slidell, surprisingly, has five of its own unique krewes: Perseus, Mona Lisa and Moon Pie, Titans, Dionysus, and Selene. Besides these major parades, there was the Krewe of Claude and the Krewe of Paws. The Krewe of Paws was Slidell's first dog parade.

The Mona Lisa and Moon Pie is one of the local favorite parades. You won't find the big floats like in the other parades. This walking krewe takes place in Old Town Slidell has their own costumes, four brass bands, and its pushcart floats. Their signature throw is the Moonpie.

The Krewe of Titans is new to Slidell for 2011. Businessmen of Slidell wanted to have their own night parade, and thus the Titans were born. These ten floats had the WWE Wrestling Superstars as their grand marshals, and had the New Orleanian meterologist, Carl Arredondo, as their celebrity for the parade.

Dionysus was started in 1985 by businessmen who wanted to bring a male parade to the Northshore, and have been riding for 26 years in 2011.

The most famous parade in Slidell is Selene, the all-women night krewe that will have you leaving with at least four more bags than you started with. They have over 500 members. Their signature throw is the lighted medallions and wands, fleur de lis beads, and plush animals. New for this year will be the two dune buggy groups. Selene will be rolling Friday March 4, 2011, at 6:30pm.

For this little Catholic church on bustling Robert Blvd. (right next to Ryan's), October is always an exciting time to be here. The school, which is kidnergarten through 8th grade, puts on their annual food and fun festival. This event is free to enter and park at. However, parking can become difficult after a few hours into the festival. I think the school behind this school, Bonnet Ecole, has their parking lot open for additional free parking. There is always great food, live entertainment, and great rides for the kids. Slidell doesn't have a town festival with rides and entertainment, so this is a real treat. Slidell is much well-known for its street fairs that are centered in Old Town (off of Fremaux Avenue).

Fox's Pizza Den is tucked away on Ponchatrain Drive near the Winn Dixie. It's gourmet pizzas are the best, and come in different sizes. You can get honey wheat for crusts too. The smallest size is a six inch called Bambino that's $3.99. The nine and twelve inch pizzas are $7.99, and $13.99. Large and extra large pizzas are $16.99 and $19.99. The most famous pizza of the Fox's Den is "The Big Daddy", a twenty four by twelve inch pizza that costs $23.99. The types of pizzas are Hawaiian, meaty, veggie, chicken grilled alfredo, BBQ beef and bacon, bacon double cheeseburger, taco, BBQ chicken, and pepperoni plus.

Although the pizza is the best, Fox's serves other items like salads, soups, breadsticks, buffalo chicken wings, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken alfredo, po-boys (shrimp, oyster, roast beef, and French fry with gravy), hoagies, and wedgies. This wedgie was created by Fox's; it's a sandwich served on pizza crust instead of a bun. There's also a kids menu for the kiddies.

In addition to a restaurant, it's also half sports bar with large screen tv's all around. Jerseys and sports posters hang around as decoration. There's a bar on the other side of the order desk.

Speckled T's, which I later found out means was "speckled trout", is the newest seafood restaurant in Slidell. Located at the end of East Gause Blvd. and to the right of the Cross Gates Fitness Center, this restaurant is decorated in a Louisiana bayou theme inside and out. Metallic fish greet you on the front lawn, and even inside the restaurant. A great abundance of detail was taken with this restaurant to make sure it kept with the fishy-Louisiana bayou theme. There's a mural of a swamp scene on the interior walls of the restaurant, more artwork decorates the dining tables with sea creatures, and the ceiling fans have small projectors that have pictures of fishes on the ceiling, and outer walls. I think this really adds to the fishy ambiance (in a good way).

It's open from Monday through Thursday from 11am to 9pm, open thirty minutes extra on Friday and Saturday nights, and on Sunday opens at 11am and closes at 10pm. If you come at night, they have local and famous bands that perform on the weekends. While Speckled T's focuses on seafood, it has other items on the menu to choose from. You can find salads, pastas, burgers, meatball muffalattas, and homemade soups. Homemade soups are shrimp, corn, and crab bisque, and seafood gumbo. It's a decently-priced restaurant where you'll spend about $15-20 per person.

Along the busy Highway 190, there are small restaurants and supermarkets that accent Slidell's rural small town charm. South Seas is hidden on the right side of the highway, but if you find yourself near Northshore Mall, then you passed it up. It's now a large white building (across from Honaker Cemetery) that has statues, bamboo, and plenty of windows. Although it probably doesn't have the best view, it has great Chinese cuisine. They have soups (Won-ton, Egg Drop, Chicken Noodle, or Rice) and salads. The restaurant also offers Chop Suey or Chow Mein, egg foo young, sweet and sour chicken or pork, fried rice, poultry, beef, pork, seafood, crawfish, and even food for those on a diet. The dessert is a usual fortune cookie (and ice-cream) that usually gives an accurate reading of your personality. My last one said 'You are a lover of fine arts and music' and I was like wow, a fortune cookie that was actually right. Now all I need is a fortune cookie that says, "You'll win the Lottery". Another admirable thing I found about the restaurant is that the locals come in to have to go orders; it's a lot of food for their prices. The number is (985) 646-1205.

Seasons Restaurant is a lavender building that has stone steps and leads into a hallway that you pass up another set of stairs and enter this spacious top floor of the Old Ice House. I suggest going to the restaurant during the week for lunch when the prices are cheaper. The atmosphere is very cozy on the top floor with a picture from the World Fair in '84 and a lamppost from the bottom level with dragons and a huge wingspan on it.
The food is mainly seafood with salads, pastas, steaks, and spirits. One woman at a table next to us ordered vodka, and it wasn't five o'clock yet. During twelve on the weekdays, the restaurant is very slow. But, as soon as it's one o'clock, the crowds tend to pour in. In adition, this is a major night scene restaurant for romantic evenings and listening to the jazzy vocals of TiJonne Reyes. A friend told me she likes to be wined and dined and a classy restaurant would be Seasons, which she was right. Hey, I'd go for the shrimp over linguine in Alfredo sauce anytime.