Author: kelly

View of the cathedral from our
hotel room at the Omni Royal.

Random photos of our first day.

Drinks and appetizers at a new place, Royal House on the corner of Royal and St. Louis, was one of our best meals in NOLA ever. Suggested by our concierge, its right across the street.

Open air table was great for people watching.

We saw a protest march.

I had oysters on the shell, (not raw), for the first time. Cooked with butter, garlic and parmesan. Mmmmm

We walked for an hour or so, checked out the sights, bought a t-shirt and some voodoo dolls for friends at home.
  Then we popped into the Oceanna restaurant for dessert. Dan loved his pecan pie and Hurricane made from actual fruit juices instead of the powdered mix used at Pat O’briens. I was disappointed with my bread pudding and brandy milk punch. Neither was very tasty. Antoines bread pudding last yr is hard to beat.
We won’t go back…there are much better places to eat in New Orleans.
Tired, but delighted to be back, we head to the Omni for some sleep. Several good street musicians serenaded us on our way.

A few quick and dirty highlights, as today is our last night in NOLA.

On Sunday, Antoines for brunch was exceptional.

Surprisingly, I liked the Pimms cup at Huck Finn better than the one at Carousel bar or at Mr. B’s Bistro. Meant to go to Napoleon, but we were too tired on our last night. After a fantastic dinner at Red Fish grill, hickory grilled red fish topped with lump crabmeat, roasted potatoes and the bbq oysters (I was an oyster virgin), I was disappointed with lunch at Mr. B’s. (crabcake, grilled fish were so-so, even the bread pudding dessert was off, cold sauce.) I like the b-fast at Mother’s but hubby did not. Their black ham is out of this world imo. We had b-fast a different day at Commerce, where Brad Pitt was filming the night before. Maybe I sat in his chair?

Deannies was a fun place to get messy with some great bbq shrimp.

We Loved Mark and the Pentones at the Funky pirate. The WWII Museum was excellent and moving. Carousel bar was cool, we snagged seats right away, stayed for a drink each. Frenchmen’s street was great, we went to dba and Spotted Cat and were very impressed with the music. As we were walking there, we walked right onto the set of a film they were making in front of LaFittes Blacksmith. There was dirt on the street, the street signs were down and it was very dark. All of a sudden there were men on horses in period costumes. Then we saw the trucks and equipment. They were not filming at that exact moment, no one stopped us from blundering in the way. We were told the title is “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”.

The courtyard at Pat’s was beautiful and we had hurricanes on our first evening. Thanks for the tip about turning the glasses in for some money.

The 3 day trolley pass was well worth the money and saved the aching feet. The NOLA school of cooking with Chef Kevin was hilarious. We also rode the streetcar down to Tulane Univ., walked the campus to the bookstore for a hat and tee shirt. We enjoyed the carriage ride with “Hot Stuff” the horse on autopilot.

Still to do: ferry boat ride, Kerry’s Irish Pub, cheap but good supper at Yo Mama’s.

 

A note about our accommodations:

The first 2 nights were at Holiday Inn on Royal St, in the middle of the Quarter, but one street away from the noise of Bourbon St.  It was exactly what we expected. Clean room, quiet, comfortable beds. Then we spent the next 4 nights at a Wyndham property on Magazine St.  It was exceptional, the one bedroom was huge, 2nd flat screen tv in the bedroom, came with a kitchenette (who cooks in New Orleans? Not us).  Beautiful, extremely comfortable, very quiet. Location was a block and a half out from the edge of the French Quarter, close to the Street Car line.  We walked in to the quarter for our meals, except for a great diner down the block. There is a little market out front for snacks and drinks for the room.

The purpose for the trip was to have a fun weekend and get out of the cold Northeast and to go to fun restaurants. We generally like non-fancy restaurants with some character.

We arrived on Wed. 3/16 and dropped off our bags at the hotel. They suggested Coop’s Place, Fiorella’s or Gumbo Shop for lunch, and said they would call when our room was ready. The phone call was a nice touch that I hadn’t experienced before.

We were planning to go to Coop’s anyway, but we appreciated her suggestions.

Coop’s for lunch, with perfect timing as we managed to grab a table without a wait. The duck quesadilla, crab stuffed jalepeno poppers, blackened redfish po’boy and green beans cooked in bacon fat were all excellent, and the portion sizes were enough to satisfy us without leaving us over-stuffed.

I forgot to pack a hat (in a rush!) and found one on a sale rack in one of the French Market stalls- not the flea market part that was cute and inexpensive.

We met a friend at Margaritaville (hey, don’t knock it, we’re parrotheads and the beers were $2 at happy hour) and were highly entertained by the live music.

For dinner we went to Frenchmen Street to have dinner at Adolfo’s. We had seen it in a rather odd guidebook and it sounded fun. Even at 8 pm on a Wednesday we still had a hefty wait of a little over an hour, but that was spent pleasantly enough in the scruffy Apple Barrel bar downstairs. The singer that night is a waitress at Adolfos’s when she isn’t singing.

I think our waiter was named Ramon and he was bossy and told us what we wanted for our dinner which cracked us up and he was exactly right for all 3 of our meals. Lamb (full 8 rib rack), Fish with the lemon/caper sauce and Fish with the Ocean Sauce. Glad I tried the Ocean Sauce, but would probably pick a different one next time. The pasta marinara that came as a side looked ordinary, but the sauce was good. We threw the waiter off by asking for an order of mussels after we had put our dinner orders in, and we never saw the mussels, and he couldn’t remember how many glasses of wine we had ordered. This restaurant is a tiny 11 table, 2nd floor charmer and we had a blast. I think going with a large group or expectations of something ‘fancy’ would result in dissapointment though. Character, yes. Speedy charming service, no. We will keep it on our list for a future visit.

Croissant D Or has oustanding pastry and coffee. You might like it better. Good luck.

Croissant D’Or @ 617 Ursulines Ave., New Orleans, LA 504 – 524 – 4663.

Restaurant August has a weekday lunch special for $20.09 for a 3 course lunch. Make sure you take advantage. Go to Lucy’s Bar on Tchoupitoulas or Ernst Cafe on S Peters for fine happy hour drinks. Good luck.

The Magic Words:

Nabbing a Better Seat
“Do you have any of those day-of-travel standby upgrades available?”
According to Tom Parsons, CEO of Bestfares.com, a number of airlines fill empty first- or business-class seats on North American routes by selling last-minute upgrades for, say, $25 to $75. Some airlines base the price on the number of flight segments, while others vary the charge according to the number of miles flown. Not long ago, Parsons upgraded his family on an Aeroméxico flight from Dallas to Cancún for $50 per person.

 

“I’d like to invoke Rule 240.”
If your domestic flight is delayed or canceled and it’s the airline’s fault (e.g., the problem is mechanical rather than weather related), cite Rule 240—it’s the section of the airline’s contract of carriage that details what the carrier must do for you if a flight doesn’t take off as scheduled. Each airline’s Rule 240 is slightly different, but most require that you be put on the next available flight, even if it’s on another airline, and, depending on the length of the delay, that you be provided free hotel accommodations and meal vouchers. Before heading to the airport, print out a copy of the carrier’s Rule 240 (find it at www.mytravelrights.com, in the “Travel Law” section) and carry it with you. Since many agents are unaware of the rules or won’t automatically offer to put you on a different airline, you may have to ask them to do it.

And it helps to use insider lingo. Here’s what Peter Greenberg, author of The Travel Detective: Flight Crew Confidential (Random House, $16), suggests you do if your flight is delayed or canceled. Don’t wait with everyone else who needs rerouting, he says. “While you’re standing in the world’s longest line, all your flight options are taking off without you.” Instead, call your airline’s reservations number and ask which carrier has the next flight to your destination. “Say it’s Delta flight 906. Go to a supervisor at a different counter and say, ‘Can you please 240 me over to Delta flight 906?’”

 

Getting a Free Ticket
“Do you need volunteers to be bumped?”
Booked on an oversold flight and have time to kill? If you don’t mind leaving later in exchange for a free ticket, don’t wait until the gate agent calls for volunteers to give up their seats. Offer yourself the minute you arrive at the gate, so your name is first on the agent’s list. If they do ultimately need volunteers, be sure to ask, “Will you provide a confirmed seat on the next flight?” so as not to end up a stranded standby.

If you’re stuck in coach, remember that just because you were assigned a seat doesn’t mean you have to live with it. If your flight isn’t full, ask the check-in or gate agent if there is space in an emergency-exit row, which typically has extra legroom. Because those seats are rarely assigned in advance, they are frequently available an hour or two before the flight. “Do you have a seat next to an empty seat?” is the way to get more elbowroom; it helps to add that you need to get a lot of work done during the flight.

 

 

Getting the Right Room
“Can you fax me a floor plan or a property map?”
When you’re headed to a beach resort, a European palace hotel, or any historic or one-of-a-kind property where the accommodations can differ considerably, even within the same category, a schematic may reveal each room’s pros and cons (which is most secluded, which is most convenient, which has a larger balcony). Definitely request a particular room or particular attributes; make no requests and you’ll get whatever is left over after everyone else’s have been filled. Ask “Exactly what will fill my line of sight?” and “What is the square footage?” to discover view obstructions and room size. You don’t need magic words if you can befriend the magic person—which in this case is the on-site reservations manager. “Which rooms are the most popular and why?” can start an enlightening conversation leading to “Which is your personal favorite and why?” By now the reservations manager is your buddy, increasing the chances that you’ll get the room you request and perhaps even an upgrade.

 

Getting an Upgrade
“Are you running any incentives at the desk today?”
Let’s say you reserved a standard room but decide at check-in that you would prefer an oceanfront suite if you can get a deal. At off-peak times, says Cottrill, “hotel managers create incentives to drive revenue,” enabling front-desk staff to give out upgrades for a nominal fee that may be negotiable. “Hotels do not like rooms to go unsold—especially those with premium views,” he explains. “Hoteliers want you to be happy, because happy guests spend more money. So you can say, ‘I’m willing to pay a small additional amount. What could you offer me that would be of value?’”

“We’re on our honeymoon.”
If you’re celebrating a special occasion, let the manager know about it. Well-run hotels want to make anniversaries and the like memorable so you’ll tell all your friends and return for future occasions. Not celebrating anything? In modern city hotels, the best rooms are often on the highest floor. So consider “I’d like a room on one of the top floors” as one of your requests. Should some superior high-floor rooms become available—thus allowing the front desk to hand out complimentary upgrades—you’ll be among the first in line.

Complaining When You Don’t Get What You Asked For
“That’s unacceptable.”
This is your route out of just about any hotel screwup, as long as you say it politely and with a solution in mind, and as long as the hotel is in the business of keeping customers happy. “It’s a three-step tango,” says Morri Berman, a senior partner with the international communications firm Fleishman-Hillard, who logs 150,000 miles a year. “You say, ‘This ain’t gonna work.’ They say, ‘Sorry—that’s all I can do.’ You ask to speak with the manager and say, ‘What you’re offering me is just not acceptable.’” At hotel front desks, as a general rule never accept a no from someone who isn’t empowered to give you a yes in the first place.

restaurant: Oceana Grill on Conti. if you like crabcakes get them here.

http://www.oceanagrill.com/

walking tour: there are a lot of good walking tours in the Garden District, but last trip we did a great one that keeps you right in the French Quarter: Creole Mourning Tour

urbanadventures.com/New_Orleans_tour_creole_…

they also have a Scandalous Cocktail Hour Tour that sounds very fun.

Johnny’s Po-Boys has already been mentioned and it’s legendary. there was an article in the Wall Street Journal recently surveying the Po-Boy scene. i bookmarked it and here’s the link:

…wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870355960457…

the WWII museum is great. we’ve spent a whole afternoon there and that almost isn’t enough to really see it. highly recommended.

even if you’re not a gambler, a walk thru the casino is worth the time.

a cruise on the Natchez is fun and you get to learn more about the river and the city.

http://www.steamboatnatchez.com/

as has been mentioned take it slow and wander. it is a visual feast and it has a wonderful vibe. gritty too, but we wouldn’t want it any other way. i think there are ghosts there, or something other-worldly. it’s not like anyplace else.

if you enjoy it you will have to go back again to complete your sightseeing! have a great time!

Got a 2 hour flight delay? How about 15 minutes?

by Gailen David

Making marvelous use of your time at the airport may improve the quality of your trip ten-fold. That is of course if you know what to do with your time. Remember, people watching gets old especially when you realize they’re all going to be on your flight!

Why not make a decision to pamper yourself and opt for a quick relaxing massage, mani-pedi or even a facial before or even after your next flight or during a delay. Sound Good? There’s a place that’s been created just for you! XpresSpa was started by Marisol and Moreton Binna, travelers just like us who identified a need for full service spas available to travelers who are delayed or arrive at the airport earlier than in the past to allow for longer security lines and other terminal hassles. It turns out that many travelers have more time to kill in the terminal than ever before and like I said before, it’s how that time is spent that makes the difference.

XpresSpa has 24 locations in 14 airports with more on the way. We’ll be talking about how to feel fabulous and look gorgeous all while making a flight connection; on the Jetiquette Show. I used to think that it would just take too long to stop into one of these spas, but I’ve experience a 15 minute manicure at the airport; all in time that would have gone to waste.

Your Wine Flight is Now Boarding

If you ever need to get a hold of me and I am flying out of DFW, you will definitely find me sampling wine and snacking on delicious Boursin Cheese and olive tepanade. Although I’ve been stopping in to La Bodega every chance I get, I was surprised to discover they are the first winery in an airport. They feature many Texas wines along with a collection of boutique wines from around the world.

On my last visit, I enjoyed a La Bodega Cabernet Sauvignon (Texas) and a La Bodega Merlot (Texas) which helped my delay fly by!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/03/new.orleans.frenchmen.street/index.html?hpt=Sbin

 

New Orleans (CNN) — To say I was looking for the real New Orleans is perhaps an unfair statement, considering that Bourbon Street, despite all of its annoyances, is just as real as anything else in the Crescent City. But for music and culture, it just wasn’t the New Orleans I was looking for.

Nevertheless, I soon found myself wandering under wrought-iron balconies holding something that consisted of one part rum to 60 parts sugar. You might call it a Hurricane, but that would be offensive to the original Hurricane, which is more like one part rum to only 20 parts sugar. Either way, they’re awful. Which, of course, is why I had four.

Maybe five. Six at most.

That first stroll down neon-lit Bourbon Street immediately brings you into sensory overload. On the right, a strip club. On the left, a T-shirt shop. Up ahead, a bar… flanked by a strip club and a T-shirt shop.

Add thousands of tourists who can’t seem to turn down three-for-one drinks, bad cover bands, or avoid the occasional bout of projectile vomit, and you’ve got a typical night on the French Quarter’s most famous stretch of pavement. On a Sunday.

Mind you, the entire French Quarter isn’t defined by Bourbon Street. Far from it.

But that’s where most people seem to go. As one local resident so eloquently put it, “Bourbon Street is where we quarantine the tourists, so they don’t [expletive] up the city.”

So where is the real New Orleans? At least the New Orleans not defined by Bourbon Street?

Read more New Orleans coverage on Eatocracy

Amazingly, arguably the best answer to that question is just steps away from all the madness.

Welcome to Frenchmen Street, a colorful two-block strip in a neighborhood called The Marigny. It’s literally adjacent to the French Quarter, and this is where the true spirit of New Orleans seems to come to life.

Many New Orleanians told me that Frenchmen is what Bourbon Street used to be. It’s hard to picture it, but what is now home to venues blaring several really bad versions of “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” at the same time up and down the street was once the birthplace of jazz.

Yet wander into any of the clubs on Frenchmen and you’ll still find some of that serious talent. And locals.

On a Monday night, several hours after promising every god I could think of that I would never drink another Hurricane for as long as I lived, I stumbled into The Spotted Cat.

There, on maybe a 6-foot-by-6-foot stage, Dominic Grillo and the Frenchmen Street All-Stars treated a polite crowd to some absolutely amazing jazz. There was no cover, and it almost seemed criminal not to have to pay for this kind of musicianship. Tips are welcome, of course.

Later, I ventured across the street to another club called d.b.a. On this particular night, Glen David Andrews (cousin of Trombone Shorty) was absolutely destroying the crowd in what I can honestly call one of the most energized performances I have ever seen. The cover: $5. Yes. Five dollars.

Joining Andrews and his band on stage was a phenomenal Cajun fiddle player named Amanda Shaw, who pounded her heels into the floor as though she was trying to break through the wood. It was truly an all-star night of music — Andrews and Shaw were recently named Future Famer Honorees in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Did I mention it was only five bucks?

Quite simply, Frenchmen is where the best music happens in New Orleans — it’s where world-famous musicians might even show up on stage just because they feel like playing.

And it’s quirky. Just because it isn’t Bourbon Street doesn’t mean that Frenchmen doesn’t have its weirdos. Only these weirdos hang out here because they think there are too many weirdos over there.

I enjoyed the company of one particular weirdo: an artist painting next to the Apple Barrel Bar. By day, he was friendly and bizarre, loaded (quite literally) with fun stories. By night, he was dangerously fueling giant flames from his cigarette lighter with a can of spray paint.

I liked him better by day.

In general, though, there’s a warm, comforting sense of community on Frenchmen Street, and people I met often used the word “neighbors” to describe each other. They believe in their little village and wouldn’t want it any other way.

Which is not to say that they don’t want tourism. They do. But they want the right kind of tourism; they don’t want to spend the bulk of their time mopping up after drunken frat boys who happened to have some jazz with their Jäger shots.

And Bourbon Street isn’t a terrible place. It’s a party. And for many people, that’s terrific. On top of that, the French Quarter is an absolute American jewel.

But there’s more to New Orleans than Hurricanes and Hustler Clubs. There’s Frenchmen.