Return to NOLA

We always hit the French Market on a Saturday when communal merketing is at it's best-not only are the vendors and the bargains first rate but the people watching, jazz music and festive atmosphere take on the most invigorating air! Be sure to stop at either Gazebo Cafe or French Market Cafe (they are basically the same place just on opposite ends of the Market) for one of the best Hurricanes in the city or try another one of their fancy frozen drink concoctions (Mud Slide,etc...) along with a heaping bowl of great Seafood Gumbo, Catfish Po'boy or try their fried alligator appetizer! Stroll through the outside market where the deals are pretty darn good while the shops inside offer bargains as well. Vendors are more than happy to talk with you and brag about their wares and even haggle a little. This is the place to pick up your Mardi Gras beads, t-shirts, sunglasses, even socks! Stalls feature lots of jewelry and other items too numerous to mention. Across from the Market is the Jazz National Historical Park where you can catch some smooth jazz absolutely free. See schedules posted for times and groups performing.

Right around the corner from the breathtaking St. Louis Cathedral is St. Peter's St. in the French Quarter. It is home to some of my favorite places to visit in New Orleans. If you turn right on Chartres Street (pronounced "Charter" street by locals) you will happen upon the Gumbo Shop. This is a favorite local and tourist hangout as the eats are relatively cheap and you can pick up a quick dash of local flavor in a short amount of time. It is not he Ritz. The emphasis is on Gumbo and other good food such as catfish po'boys and other cajun delights. The place was a little crummy as were the tables but service was good and they had a few good wines by the glass.
Directly acroos the street from the Gumbo Shop is La Divina Gelato-my new favorite location. I stopped there several times in one day...I stopped, ate and took takeout. The selection of gelatos and sorbets is unlike anything I have seen outside Italy. Having acquired a serious gelato habit in that country I have been able to keep it at bay due to the shortage of good gelaterias in my own area. But La Divina Gelato is a real find. It changes some of its flavors daily...we were treated to 3 or 4 different levels of chocolate; dark chocolate, deep chocolate, death by chocolate, expresso, cappuccino..the list goes on.
There were also unique and wonderful fruit creations such as strawberry with balsamic vinegar (our 2 day favorite)limone,mandarin orange and a medley of other concoctions that were truly gourmet and truly delicious. You can get your scoop in a bowl, to eat there, to go or in a cone (waffle,pretzel,sugar). They also serve a limited amount of breakfast sandwiches and lunches.
Go for the gelato!

If you turn left on Chartres St. onto St. Peter you will be in close proximity of the famous Old Coffee Pot Restaurant. I love this place so much I have given it its own review ...please see my N.O.journals to read more about this place.

While I must admit that I am enamored of the French Quarter it is impossible not to be lured by its special charm,no matter how matted and tarnished it may appear at the moment. Everyone in all of the shops on St. Peters St. loved having visitors and were more than accomodating to our business in order to have us return!

While tourists and young and senseless may flock to the French Quarter, Canal Street is the real heart of New Orleans. All of the best shops (Saks) and grand old and new hotels have addresses here. The Ritz-Carlton,Marriot,Crowne-Plaza,Doubletree Hotel,among others, call Canal Street home. It is the hub for the St. Charles streetcar and Canal Street line that runs from Harrah's to the cemetaries at the end of Canal.
During the holiday season the palm trees are beautifully festooned with lights and wreaths,ribbons and garland decorate buildings,lamposts and balconies. Spend a few dollars whiling away the afternoon in Harrah's -but don't try to eat there. The noise and craziness coupled with mediocre food is a complete waste of fine dining time unless you are a candidate for Gambler's Anonymous and can't bear to leave the tables for a delicious meal somewhere quieter.
After shopping till you drop at Saks catch a movie in the Canal Street Place theater. You can't spend ALL of your time in NOLA eating and drinking and Canal Street is a good excursion that you can undertake by foot.

How disappointing. After all the hype we had heard about this long-time popular French Quarter establishment (it is advertised on every street corner and publication as far as the eye can see ) we were unimpressed by the pretentious,condescending and frankly phony service, the over-priced and over-rated food, and the lack-luster glamour that the waitstaff keep insisting is there but we were sore-pressed to find. We must have been reminded at least 5 times that we were about to be treated to the "world famous" and "world class" food (I wrote those exact words down) that was being prepared especially for us. Our waiter,in his disheveled and poorly fitting tux,along with his very elaborate southern accent could have easily passed for an Elvis impersonator in any other venue. He was overly solicitious but then forgot to bring the a second glass of wine that I requested. He was so busy bragging about the food and bragging about Brennan's that his main job,of serving graciously,was thrown out the window. After insisting that "right now Brennan's has the best gumbo in town"(I begged to differ on that point) the waiter took our order from a 3 course prix-fixe menu;Creole Onion soup that was served lukewarm and just so-so served with plain old ordinary French baguettes; Oysters Benedict which were good but plated over Holland Rusks which,pardon me, are crackers. The hollandaise sauce as well as the soup,were only lukewarm -not steaming. My partner was happier with his "Eggs Owen"-poached eggs served over beef hash accomapanied with Marchand de Vin sauce. They weren't bad but were also not very warm. Partner had his usual cosmo with the meal which he declared to be "okay". Our desserts (both flamed with a LOT of DRAMA -probably more than they deserved ) were Bananas Foster and Crepes Fitzgerald which were strawberries flamed in a maraschino liquor. While the meal was okay it certainly did not live up to its hype. Right now I simply consider it a "tourist trap" to be avoided unless one goes for the "kitschy" Old New Orleans style.

Rated "The Best Seafood Restaurant in America" by highly acclaimed Forbes Traveler magazine,GW Fins is a well-kept secret that is worth discovering. If you love seafood..true seafood-then you will relish this highly focused,elegant but simply furnished dining spot.
As an appetizer I could not resist the sizzling oysters served on a bed of salt -they were so fresh and sweet and were just barely seared but oh-so-tender dipped in the accompanying drawn butter. My husband craved a Caesar salad and was happy with the shaved parmesan shards that accented the fresh romaine and delicate dressing of this sometimes overdone salad. We were graciously served very light,sweet and tender biscuits that replaced that ever-present French baguette that seems to accompany most meals in NOLA. I chose a luscious Cakecellar Sauvignon Blanc to accompany my entree of Monkfish served over Lobster Risotto(server recommended). My husband (who cannot tolerate wine) enjoyed the absolutely delectable Fins Cosmopolitan with his Canadian Short-Smoked Salmon served over Roasted Corn Butter Mashed Potatoes and thin asparagus spears. I immediately suffered from "entree envy" and thought he made the better choice. While mine was delicious the mild flavor of the monkfish was almost too mild for my taste. Both dinners tasted of extremely fresh and well-prepared seafood and I did save a little room for a dessert of Tiramisu made of amaretto, mascarpone cheese,and shaved chocolate. We enjoyed our dessert with a Cappucino Fin-served with Kahlua and a chocolate liquor. It boosted our energy level to leave GW Fins immensely satisfied and ready to take on a night in the Vieux Carre!

For a place that simply doesn't advertise (it doesnt need to) "The Old Coffee Pot" is the kind if place that once you have had a good experience there you will come back ..again and again. On our 4th visit to the city (our first since Katrina) we were anxious to find out if the quaint cafe had survived. It did and was every bit the same as when we left it. We have gone for breakfast,lunch and dinner and always receive outstanding,friendly genuine down home service, with a dash of local color and food that is the real deal. I have had their seafood gumbo (I declare it to be the best in the city) as well as their tasty breakfast dishes like Eggs Rockefeller.Try the rice callas...you wont find them hardly anywhere else. My husband (who is their #1 Hurricane fan) favors their catfish po'boy and I cant resist taking a bite of this monstrous sandwich when it arrives. Zagats gaveCoffee Pot a rating of EXCELLENT for 2007 and while I dont always agree with their picks I certainly do on this one. Say hello to Ms. Pearl and the other ladies who have worked there FOR YEARS. A thoughtful and talented artist painted a great picture as a tribute to them;you can see it when you sit in the dining room. Check out my other reviews of this place written in previous New Orleans journal. You will see why we keep coming back !(4stops on our last 1 week visit).

What a pleasant surprise awaited us on Christmas night when we stumbled upon Cafe Adelaide (adjacent to the Swizzle Stick Bar) in the lovely Loews Hotel in the Convention District. We had just stepped out of the movie theater in Canal Place and there were not many promising choices open at 7:00pm Christmas night.
Cafe Adelaide not only greeted us with open arms but provided us with possibly the best meal of our entire trip! The Swizzle Stick Bar (where we waited for our table) provided an absolutely fabulous drink titled appropriately"Oh Delicious" -filled with limoncello and other enticing liquors. Hubby opted for a Cosmopolitan and he dubbed it the best in New Orleans (even tho he usually drinks Hurricanes..hmmm).We were shown to our table,greeted sincerely by name and presented with a menu and recommendations from both the maitre'd and server.
Adelaide's follows the Commander's Palace tradition (it is actually a bistro version of the reknowned NO restaurant) of serving everyone at precisely the same moment. This requires the enlistment of all available servers at the exact second the dishes come out of the kitchen. Not an easy task but accomplished smoothly by the experienced staff here. I was more than pleased with our Turtle Soup and delighted beyond belief with the Muscovy Duck perfectly cooked at medium,paired with a lovely glass of zinfandel recommended by my attentive and charming server.
My partner went with a steak -and for someone who claims not to be a steak afficionado,he relished every morsel. While the desserts looked tempting we could not eat another bite but vowed to return on another visit to this lovely little secret on Poydras St.!

Have stayed at many hotels and B&B's in New Orleans. This was our first experience with an RCI Timeshare exchange in New Orleans and we were sorely disappointed. Our other exchanges have been heads and tails above this one. I don't know what it looked like pre-Katrina but now it is small,cramped,with an "off" smell and I'm not even sure that all of the interior was up to "code". The headboard was not attached to the tiny double bed in the loft so it banged needlessly every time you moved. The bathroom was adequate (clean,roomy) but the pedestal sink was not connected to the wall so it jiggled when you leaned against it. There were plenty of towels but no place to hang them and no tissues were provided-only toilet paper. These may seem like small things but they added up. There were holes in the beamed ceiling where an attempt at putting recessed lighting must be underway but is not completed. Furniture blocked access to the rickety spiral starcase that led to the loft sleeping quarters. There were 2 refrigerators,no freezer (or ice) and no dishwasher. The stairs lead up from the shabby lobby and the street entrance was through a door that did not close completey in the rain. Whoa Security??? (We had to receive instructions from the concierge on how to properly close it.) The lobby has seen better days and the stairs leading up to the unit were carpeted but desperately needed vacuumed and cleared of construction debris.
RCI? If you are listening I think you better check this one out again. It is not up to the standards I have experienced with you in the past. Marlene the concierge at front desk was the only redeeming factor of the whole place.