2009 Trip Day 18 - May 30

I forgot this yesterday - At DBA I got a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Beer - this was the WORST beer I have ever had. I've never drunk dirty sock water, but I imagine it would taste something like this barleywine beer.

We started the day at La Peniche. I had a pancake (10 inch plate with a 12 inch pancake). Peggy got scrambled eggs, smoked sausage, grits and toast. She gave me half the smoked sausage and I gave her a piece of pancake. With coffee, orange juice and a coke - 21.00.

Went to Louisiana Music Factory and saw Benny Maygarden - pretty standard blues band stuff, but still good. I would name the band "Old F**kers Still Getting It Done".

We then walked back to the apartment and walked Hank and after a very brief rest, we walked back to Louisiana Music Factory again and caught the last part of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. They put on a great show.

We went down to the river and saw a little bit of Rockin Dopsie, but the crowd was large and we didn't stay for very long.

After a nap.....HEY, I was tired from walking.....we sat out for dinner. We first went to El Gato Negro, but they had several large groups and we decided to try somewhere else. Since it was Saturday, I like to go to Mona Lisa and get the white pizza and a couple of salads. I didn't go there at first, since I had just been there last night and didn't want to go to the same restaurant two nights in row. But it was just what I wanted. With two sodas - 21.00.

My usual Saturday night stroll down Bourbon...which wasn't real crowded....back up Royal and back to the apartment and walked Hank. Now my feet are tired again :-)

Tomorrow, we await the arrival of The Man, The Myth, The Legend.....The Lightning Bug.

2009 Trip Day 17 - May 29

We ate a couple of pieces of the Cajun Kringle (which didn't seem to have as much filling as last year) for breakfast and then washed a few clothes at the corner washerette.

I got hungry around 1pm and we wanted to eat a little something light. We decided on either K-Pauls and split a dish or The Green Goddess since they would be "small plates". We decided to go by The Green Goddess first and see if we could get a seat inside, since we're not much for eating at outside tables. They had some tables inside and as we went in, someone was saying "Peggy, Peggy". Since most of the people we knew have moved away, it was a complete and nice surprise to see Marrus. She and Peggy have been emailing back and forth to see if Marrus was going to set up anywhere while we were here and we could get another print (unfortunately, we can't afford the real thing).

Peggy had the Acadian Country Breakfast (2 boudin patties inside sweet potato biscuits with pepper jelly and Steens Cane Syrup and Grits on the side).

I had the Da Meatloaf Sandwich (bison and bacon meatloaf dressed with Creole mustard, arugula, tomatoes, and roasted garlic aioli, and Nueske’s bacon).

To drink we had 1 Abita Root Beer and 1 Lychee Ginger Mint “Julep” made with Lychee puree, ginger syrup, ginger beer & muddled mint. Non-alcoholic since Chris has not received his liquor license yet. However, I had a hard time convincing myself that it wasn't alcoholic, since it left a slight burn in your throat.

So the "small plates" were not so small and we were stuffed when we finished. Chef Paul, who works the lunch shift, did an excellent job on both dishes.

We went to DBA and caught Ingrid Lucia's first set and on the way back to the apartment we watched saw Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham and the movie crew for the Expendables. The best thing we saw was Stallone leaving in a fancy red sports car and driving just like you would think Stallone would drive - all out.

After a brief stop at the apartment, we went to Mona Lisa for the Mona Lisa Special Sandwich, with a couple of sodas, our bill was only 13.00. One of the cheapest meals we have eaten.

After dinner, we went back to Esplanade and hung out and watched the movie people some more. Stallone was walking around with his cigar and giving directions. We finally did get to see a little action, when Jason Statham rode a motorcycle up the street a couple of times.

2009 Trip Day 16 - May 28

We went out Jefferson Highway for 2 reasons. One to hit a couple of thrift stores, the other to get to Haydel's Bakery.

The Salvation Army Thrift was clean and pretty good, although we didn't get much there. There was too much good stuff and it made "shopping" overwhelming. The Red White and Blue Thrift was huge and noisy, we got nothing at this one.

Stopped by Haydel's and got 2 almond croissants and a Cajun Kringle.

Then it was time for lunch. We swung by River Shack and they looked packed, we drove by Crabby Jack's and their parking lot was full. So we just drove on back into town and went over to The Joint. We had 2 BBQ sandwiches with slaw, sides of baked mac and cheese and potato salad and 2 drinks - 18.00.

It has turned H-O-T today and we hid out in the apartment during the afternoon, waiting for things to cool down.

We left out about 7 and went to Acme for charbroiled oysters, with 2 drinks - 23.00. We got sat at a double two top with a couple from Virginia. They were our age and this was their first visit to New Orleans. They came because it was their anniversary and New Orleans was on the husband's "bucket list". They were nice dining companions.

Desserts were the almond croissants from Haydels:

2009 Trip Day 15 - May 27

We left out early to go to The Bridge House Thrift Store on Airline Highway. It's a pretty good thrift store, with everything marked up and then 1/2 off....must work for them. Plus, we found that today, some things were 75 per cent off and if you were over 55, books, videos, cds were 25 per cent off. With all of our discounts we got two bags full, plus a Twitty City plate for 36.00.

We drove back into the city and went to Cafe Reconcile for lunch. There weren't as many people eating there today, plus not as many workers. And the workers that they did have, looked like they thought they were prisoners! Didn't see many of the workers that looked like they would every make it in the service industry. I had the catfish poboy again with potato salad. Peggy had catfish with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. Plus we had their award winning bananas foster bread pudding. Our tab with 2 drinks was 26.00.

After an afternoon rest we went to the Wednesday Music at Lafayette Square. We went primarily to get Peggy her Nectar Sno Ball, but once we got there we had white beans with tasso, andouille sausage and rice and a strawberry kiwi tea from Between the Bread. Both of these were really good.

I saw that the restaurant Zoe had fish tacos and I always wanted to try one. Well, now I can say I had one and while it wasn't bad it was just ok, just not really to my taste. But they had fancy plastic plates to serve them on.

Then we got our nectar sno ball and went around front to watch a local cover/party band - Bag of Donuts.They really put on a great show.

After a very brief stop back at the apartment, we went to DBA to check out The Tin Men. I always thought this was going to be some type of all horn jazz band, but when I checked earlier today, I saw that it was Alex McMurray, Washboard Chaz, and Matt Perine. We have seen all of these at one time or the other but never together in one band. They say that they are the #1 sousaphone, washboard, guitar trio in the World :-)

So, not only did I discover another favorite band, but this was a full and fun day in New Orleans.

2009 Trip Day 14 - May 26

No breakfast today. We left early to go back to Joey K's - We split the reuben again plus I had a cup of gumbo and Peggy had a cup of corn crab bisque, they were both quite tasty. The bisque was loaded with crab and the gumbo was the first decent gumbo that I have had this trip. The reuben didn't quite have as much meat as last time, but was still good. We also split a bread pudding. Total - 30.00.

After lunch we walked around in an antique mall nearby. Prices were outrageous, but they had LOTS of STUFF to look at and it was interesting to browse around.

Then we headed back over to Dorignac's to pick up some more doberge squares for later and a few other odds and ends. By the time we got back and walked Hank, I was worn out. Could be from not ever getting a good night's sleep because of the noises that come from next door at all times of the night.
Or I could just be old and eating makes me tired :-)

Even though we ate early, neither one of us was very hungry, so we went to Remoulade and split an order of meat pies and a boudin link, with 2 sodas - 18.00. They make their own meat pies, instead of like most places that just heat up Mrs. Wheat's meat pies(which are also tasty). It's strange at Remoulade, everything is very good and flavorful, except for the fries that come with the meat pies, they are probably the most tasteless fries I have ever had. We really should tell them to leave them off the plate, since we never eat them, but I'm afraid the plate would look skimpy without them.

After dinner we walked on down Bourbon and caught the brass band on the corner. This is the first time we have seen them this trip, but it could be because we don't usually walk all the way down Bourbon to Canal. These kids can sure blow!

We went down a block on Bourbon and walked back up Royal most of the way, then cut back over to Bourbon and back to the apartment. Walked Hank, ate some doberge squares and watched Heaven's Prisoners with Alec Baldwin, a New Orleans filmed movie that we found at the book sale just after arriving.

2009 Trip Day 13 - May 25

How To Have Fun in New Orleans and Be Back in Your Room by 7:30

It was steady raining this morning when I walked Hank. After getting him back and dried off, we had to determine what to have for breakfast. We decided to walk to La Peniche, each with our own giant golf umbrella. I had the pecan waffle, Peggy had the blueberry pancake, we split a side of smoked sausage and had 1 coke and 2 coffees - 27.00. Needless to say they make a good breakfast.

Then off to the laundromat for Monday wash day. We barely got through with the wash and back to the apartment in time to leave for the annual Mascara Drag Race. As usual, this was a real hoot! If you want to learn what goes on at the drag race check this link

After another very brief rest we sat out to eat....what to eat....what to eat...I finally decided to go to The Napoleon House. I had a meat ball poboy, Peggy had a 1/4 muffuletta and a small Caesar salad and we had 4 amber bocks - 27.00. And it was a good thing we went when we did, because they close at 6 on Monday.

After we ate, we went by The Green Goddess to get a photo of the sign designed by Marrus and this put us into a picture taking frenzy of different sights and restaurants with a stop by Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets.

After all of this we were back in the apartment at 7:30!

2009 Trip Day 12 - May 24

Is this Friday the 13th?

First Hank got under Peggy's feet and tripped her up and she ended up on the floor almost on top of Hank. Both of them seem to be ok though. Then we took a hike to The Cakeman to get a slice of cake for our late night snack, only to find that they had no cake, only cupcakes, and a very long line! We chose not to wait just for cupcakes.

We ended up going by Croissant D'Or and confusing the girl there because now she knows what we get for breakfast and had started setting up a tray for us. We had to stop her and tell her we were taking croissants "to go" today. Plus we got a couple of snacks for later.

And on top of all of this we drove out to Belle Chase to the Plaquemines Parish Heritage and Seafood Festival and it was a bust. We went there last year and it was small, but pretty decent. This year it was even smaller and NO Char Broiled Oysters. And it rained while we were there, but at least they had a tent to get under.

The only good spot of the festival was that we had a great roast beef poboy - 6.00 ....of course when you count the 10.00 admission fee and the 1.00 raffle ticket we bought....I guess you could say that the poboy actually cost of 17.00! Peggy did get a free Census 2010 canvas totebag, so that is something, I guess.

Back to the FQ where parking is HELL on the weekends. And this is a long weekend.

After walking Hank and having a brief rest. We both were hungry and since we hadn't eaten any roast beef in a few hours, we decided to go to Acme and try their roast beef poboy plus have some boo fries. Luckily the line was fairly short and since we agreed to sit at the regular bar, we only had to wait a few minutes. They had a great roast beef debris po boy and of course the boo fries were good. with 2 Barq's, our bill was 21.00. Acme had one huge line by time we got out, so we were lucky on our timing.

For dinner we called Mona Lisa and ordered a sandwich called the Mona Lisa Special - Pepperoni, ham, bacon, mozzarella cheese with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mustard and mayo. It also came with black olives and mushrooms, but we asked to leave them off, since we are fans of neither. It was a huge sandwich with a side of pasta salad. Below is a photo of 1/2 of the sandwich. It was super good. It was 9.00 and we actually had 1/4 of it left over.

We finished out the night with a chocolate mousse dome and a raspberry croissant that we had gotten earlier from Croissant D'or.

2009 Trip Day 11 - May 23

There had been a threat of a lot of rain coming this way, but it veered toward Mississippi. We were grateful since today was Bayou Boogaloo. We arrived just a little after 11am, which was opening time, so not too many people there at first. They didn't have as many arts and crafts booths as last year, but they did have more food booths.

After getting a fresh squeezed lemonade, we had crab cakes. I always get crab cakes if a festival has them. We were going to get crawfish and green onion sausage next, since we had the same last year, but it wasn't quite ready, so the guy asked me if I wanted some boudin, since they had it ready. Here's a photo, as you can see, he just looked like a man you would want to buy boudin from!

Next Peggy had a strawberry daiquiri and we walked around deciding if we should eat dessert next, or maybe something else before dessert. We decided to go back to where we got the crab cakes, since they had bread pudding. But on the way, we passed by the boudin stand again and had to stop for one more link, it was just that good.

We finished off with some bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Everything we ate was good and I think our total was around 21.00.

For dinner we went to Mona Lisa to avoid the weekend crowds...I hate tourists :-)

We had our normal meal there - 2 salads, white garlic pizza, couple of sodas - 20.00.

After dinner, I told Peggy let's take a stroll, so we walked down Royal until we heard the church bells ringing at St. Louis Cathedral. We thought they must have had a wedding and went to check out the wedding procession (aka parade in NOLA) but it had already started. We went around the block the opposite way and caught back up with them on Royal and then we continued on down Royal with a swing down Canal (got to see the new huge CVS). Then Peggy figured out she had gotten conned into walking back to the apartment via Bourbon....Hey, it's Saturday night and I can do lots of people watching!

For a late night snack we had small lemon and cherry pies we picked up from Loretta's at the French Market.

A final miscellaneous: the other night when I was buying cigarettes at Walgreens, the clerk said " Can I see your ID", then he glanced up at me and just said "Oh"....I think I got the message :-)

2009 Trip Day 10 - May 22

We had our usual light breakfast at Croissant D'Or. Then we started to walk to The Cake Man for desserts for later, but it started to rain slightly, so we headed back to the apartment.

For lunch we decide to try K_Paul's since they are open on the weekends for deli style lunch. Their prices are so high in the evening that we have never eaten there. But their prices at lunch are within reason.

Peggy had Fried Catfish Chips - Thinly Scalloped Catfish Battered and Fried Crispy. Served with Fried Onion Rings and Cool, Caper Dill Tartar Sauce and Potato salad. She thought the onion rings were THE BEST, sliced very thinly and fried crispy.

I had Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy - Beef Cutlet seasoned, battered, fried and served with bacon, Chardonnay Cream Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Slaw.

We also had a side of chicken and andouille gumbo and some bread pudding.

I really thought his gumbo would be out of this world good, I mean it was K-Paul, but it was just ok, more like a heavy beef stew. However, everything else was really good. With the standouts being the catfish strips and the onion rings.

With 2 drinks, lunch was 33.00, if we had forgone the gumbo, it would have been right in our price range of 25.00. It was definitely good enough to go to again.

On the way back to the apartment after lunch, I heard the following between two older guys. "Those horses pulling the carriages are odd looking, they have such long ears". The second guy tells him - "They're mules". Hard to believe someone could get as old as me and not know what a mule looks like!

Later in the afternoon, we set out for Southern Candymakers to get some evening snacks. Along the way, we popped into the bottom of the French Market complex and purchased a fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade made with fresh Ponchatoula strawberries....it was like drinking the strawberries with just a slight tart aftertaste. It was mighty tasty.

Since we had had such a large lunch, we went smaller for dinner and went to El Gato Negro. We each had a pork taco with sides of sour cream, pico de gallo, and guacamole, with 2 Mexican Cokes, our bill was 17.00.

After dinner we took a stroll down Decatur and back up Bourbon.....or since directions are screwed up here, we actually walked up Decatur and down Bourbon!!!

2009 Trip Day 9 - May 21

A couple of odds and ends to include before I start today's post:

Peggy wanted to include the fact that she got some New Orleans Ice Cream Co. Ponchatoula Strawberry and teases the fate of her stomach with a couple of spoonfuls a day.

Things that amuse me:

When we were right off Magazine Street the other day, I saw a sign on a church that said "For Sale By Owner".

Overheard conversations:

1st person "What should we do now?" Second person " I think we should get more beer"

Overheard from someone on cell phone "I've had you know... like too much too drink already"

Now on to today's post:

Over the river and through the woods.....ok, just over the river and through Terry Town to Thrift City's 1/2 price clothing sale. As I was looking in the books, some old guy (probably about my age) was bragging to me about all of the valuable books he had found in Thrift City. He pointed to the bottom shelf and said he just didn't feel like stooping down for the low ones. I took a look and lo and behold a copy of Teen Cuisine with the Peter Max cover. I pulled it out and said " you're right, here's a 25.00 book." He just got a sick look on his face and walked away.

We were going to try to find another thrift store, but traffic was snarled due to road work and we got in the wrong lane, so just made it back to 90 and crossed back into New Orleans over the toll road.

Since we had that not so good bbq sandwich yesterday, I decided that it would be nice to go to The Joint for some real bbq.

We both had chopped pork sandwiches with slaw, plus I had a side of bake macaroni. Peggy had the Green Salad with smoked tomato & onion dressing. With a coke and a tea, our bill was 18.00. The Joint has bbq that is like what we have back home and finding good bbq in New Orleans is not easy. The Joint is the only place we have ever found in New Orleans that has good bbq.

We went back to the Napoleon House for dinner and split a 1/2 of muffuletta, plus their tap was working, so we had 3 amber bocks - 18.00

We went to DBA to see Paul Sanchez. He had Matt Perrine (tuba player) and Alex McMurray (sort of like Randy Newman but with guitar instead of piano) with him.

We finished out the night with the rest of the doberge squares from Dorignac's.

2009 Trip Day 8 - May 20

Since we were going to Casamentos for lunch, we just had our light breakfast of croissants at Croissant D'or.

We left out a little after one, since we knew that they close at 2 sharp. When we got in front of Casamentos, the shutters were drawn down. I just figured they must be closed on Wednesday, but after getting back to the apartment and checking their web site, we found that they had already closed for the summer.

We had thought about Cafe Reconcile earlier, so we decided to go there.

I think everything must be good here, since everything we have had is great, but the catfish is our favorite. I had a catfish poboy with potato salad and Peggy had catfish with garlic mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.

We wanted the bananas foster bread pudding for dessert, but they had already run out of it. We'll have to go earlier next time. We had the strawberry shortcake instead and it was super tasty, plus Peggy said it was real shortcake and got to school me on what shortcake was. With 2 drinks, our bill was only 21.00. This is a super bargain.

After an afternoon rest we headed to music on the square and it was packed. We tried a pulled pork sandwich from Pull My Pork and it was just fair. But we did get a nectar snoball from Williams Plum Street Snoball stand.

Since we had had such a good lunch, for supper we just got a pepperoni pizza delivered from Rotolo's. It wasn't quite as good as the one we ate in their restaurant. Funniest thing was when I placed the order, I had to spell out Bourbon for whoever was on the other side of the phone. Since they are only 2 streets over from Bourbon, you would think that they night have heard of Bourbon Street!

We finished our meal off with a couple of the doberge squares we got from Dorignac's yesterday, splitting them in half so we could both have lemon and chocolate.

2009 Trip Day 7 - May 19

Since we were going to leave the FQ for lunch and we wanted something light for breakfast, we just went to Cafe Envie and had 2 white chocolate lattes. I've already forgotten how much they cost..over $7 for the two. I had to add a couple of packs of sweetener to mine, but Peggy thought it was fine like it was.

Our destination for lunch was Joey K's on Magazine Street. We had eaten there in the past and while the food was as good as any local neighborhood restaurant in New Orleans, it wasn't anything special. However, I understand that someone new took it over a couple of years ago. It seems like something I heard on The Food Network. The main reason for our visit today was that when we last went to Liuzza's BTT a fellow diner told us that Joey K's had a great reuben. Since Joey's reuben is only served on Tuesday...today was our day.
















Well, did it live up to expectations? Oh My, Oh Yes! Peggy declared it the best reuben she had ever had and I think I would have to agree. Not only was the sandwich properly prepared, but the corned beef was so tender, it about melted in your mouth.















The sandwich was so good, we wanted to try one of their desserts. We decided on bread pudding. It had walnuts, apple bits and raisins and what we think was a lightly flavored rum sauce. We forgot to take a photo before we chopped it all up, but did get a photo before we ate very much of it. It was a great end to a great meal. Cost with two sodas - 20.00.

After we left Joey K's, we took a scenic route through neighborhoods ...since I hate getting on the highways here....to Dorignac's to pick up a few goodies from their bakery. We got four squares of doberge cake (2 lemons and 2 chocolates) and a pack of 2 Shoe Soles (pie dough rolled thin, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon & baked until crispy).

For dinner we tried to go to a new place called The Sugar Shack, since they were suppose to have boudin balls and meat pies....but they were out of boudin balls, so we left and went to Remoulade.

At Remoulade we split an order of meat pies, a piece of boudin, and crab boiled potatoes. Everything was good and tasty and spicy, except for the potatoes, which could have used a little more crab boil taste. With 2 cokes - 21.00.

2009 Trip Day 6 - May 18

This morning we went back to Croissant D'or for a couple of croissants - blueberry and raspberry and a coke - 4.65 for breakfast.
















Then we were off to do the laundry at The Clothes Spin. While we were there David called to let us know that he and Carl were coming into town for the day. They finally arrived at the apartment around 1:30 and spent about 15 minutes on a visit. They had already seen Danny and Sandy and were going to get David his frozen coffee from Cafe Du Monde and stop by Petunia's to see an old friend

After they left, we went to Yo Mama's and split a cheddar burger, which was tasty and grilled perfectly. The baked potatoes could have stood a little more time in the oven. With a root beer and a beer - 20.00. I meant to have a photo of the burger, but got so excited by the time it came to the table, that I just started eating!

John and Karl called and invited us to dinner in their courtyard. They also had invited their friend Julie. She was such a nice person and told some stories from her childhood, that I still think about.

John was the cook, server and bartender. I'm not sure exactly of the correct name for the entree. It was small strips of beef (like grillades) with pearl onions baked in a poppy seed dumpling (with some spices that made it taste similar to dressing), topped with a tasty gravy, plus a caesar salad. Dessert was a blueberry and peach cobbler with ice cream and crème fraîche. This was so good! We had such a great meal and a great time.

John is also a very good bartender.....thus the reason that this post for yesterday wasn't done until this morning!

2009 Trip Day 5 - May 17

We started the day with breakfast at La Peniche. Peggy had 2 scrambled eggs (looked more like four) with bacon, toast and grits. I had the pancake. That's correct - The Pancake - it is finally back on the menu - One pancake, bigger than the plate it comes on, plus I added some smoked sausage which was very tasty. With 2 beverages - 24.00.

We stopped by Washington Square where they were having art and entertainment to go along with the tour of Marigny Homes. We stopped and watched a band for a little bit. I have no idea who they were. They started out good and even did a great Mozambique, but then did a terrible version of Angel From Montgomery. It looked like a storm was coming just as they started an original and were back on track to be pretty good.

We got caught in the rain and gradually made our way back to the apartment without getting too soaked. We got some free entertainment on the way back. A drunk who wanted a job at the coffee shop Cafe Envie was mad because they wouldn't give him one. Lots of cursing and arm waving, plus pulling his shirt up and showing his bare chest....this might be some kind of middle eastern thing, since he appeared to be Arabic looking. Anyway, they called the cops, who arrived with a paddy wagon, but alas, he was gone by then, so we didn't get to see an arrest. We did get to hang out with a guy who looked like a young Robert Blake and acted like him too.

Between the rain showers, we were able to go to Boutique du Vampyre where Andrew Fox (author of Fat White Vampire Blues and Bride of the Fat White Vampire) was signing his new book The Good Humor Man...no vampires this time around. He was a super nice guy and we got to chat a little bit with him. As soon as we left, rain was coming again and we got just slightly wet on the way back to the apartment.

It continued to rain most of the day. Around five o'clock, we set out for dinner with many choices on our minds. Acme Oyster House was our choice. We split a oyster poboy with Tabasco infused mayonnaise and an order of Boo Fries (cheese fries with roast beef gravy). The oyster poboy was great as usual and the Boo Fries were Oh My God Good!

After leaving Acme we stopped by Southern Candymakers and got a praline to eat then, one for Peggy for later and a white chocolate peanut butter Ritz for me for later. While there, we got a sample of a sweet potato praline...tasted like candied sweet potatoes or a sweet potato souffle.

As I was having a smoke outside on the porch, the black woman that visits Jamie next door offered to give me her cell number in case I got "lonely". When I told her that I had a wife inside, she said that was even better!

2009 Trip Day 4 - May 16

Since we had promised Bill to go to lunch with him to try a reuben sandwich, we had a light breakfast at Croissant D'Or again - 2 raspberry croissants and split a coke - 4.65

At noon we went to Sean Kelly's on Royal Street to try their reuben. First of all, the place was an unorganized mess. You order at the counter, but they only have 2 menus to pass around, no matter how many people are there. Then they are a little bit on the surly side about taking your order. And finally, the kitchen is slow getting food out. We commented to ourselves that this had better be a darn good sandwich. Well, it was ok, maybe a C+. The corned beef was shredded and not all that tender, plus the bread was not grilled properly. It did have a pretty good taste, better than LBTT. With 2 sandwiches, 2 soft drinks, and 1 beer - 21.00.

Around 4 we went to the Louisiana Music Factory for their in store performer - Les Kerr. He was ok, but as Peggy stated, sort of a formula songwriter.



Then we went a few doors down to Beckham's Bookshop to browse a bit. After we left there, we got our first praline and for later, a couple of white chocolate covered peanut butter Ritz crackers.

We had dinner at Mona Lisa. 2 salads, a white pizza (yes, that is the 3rd pizza we've had in 4 days) and a couple of soft drinks - 21.00. We also had a ditzy waitress. We've had worse, she just had trouble organizing things.

My Saturday night walk down Bourbon found that it wasn't all that crowded or wild yet (it was around 9:30). But as we walked back up Royal on the way back, we saw evidence of what happens when it's too hot for pants (see below).

2009 Trip Day 3 - May 15

We decided to go to a yard sale on Orleans before breakfast, but once we got there, we found that it didn't open until noon.

So then we decided to go to Cafe Fleur De Lis for breakfast. On the way we saw the kickoff for the Louisiana Seafood 2009 "Bonne Crevette" or Good Shrimp season. They had a small brass band, but I unfortunately did not work the camera correctly and didn't get a movie. Oh Well. Plus we got to witness a horse and buggy running into a car as it was trying to turn the corner. The young girl driving the car was not upset...it was her bosses car, not hers.

At Fleur De Lis, Peggy had blueberry pancakes and I had buttermilk pancakes, with two sodas - $18.00. After breakfast we walked down to Decatur to check out Peaches Record Store. Although they did actually have some new vinyl albums, the store just did not impress us. Although, they have a good location, The Louisiana Music Factory is a much better store.

On the way back to the apartment, we saw Mr.Okra, the produce man who drives in his colorful truck all over the Quarter and Marigny, singing his wares over a loud speaker.

"I got strawberries...I got blueberries..I got cantaloupe..I got peaches..I got grapes..I got eggplant..I got orange potatoes." He was stopped so we didn't get a video. However, at the bottom of this post, I will embed a Morning 40 Federation video that features Mr. Okra.

We made it back to the yard sale around 3pm and found out that it wasn't any good. So, we strolled through the flea market part of the French Market and got a case for our camera.

Peggy then reminded me that we hadn't had lunch, so we went to the Napoleon House and split a half of a muffuletta. Their draft Amber Bock was out (this seems to happen here a lot), so we just had a couple of soft drinks. - $11.00, cheapest meal we have had. We consider the Napoleon House muffs to be the best. And this one today was super tasty.

After resting a while, we decided to go to Rotolo's for just a couple of slices of pizza, since we had a late lunch. And what a surprise when about 2 blocks from the apartment, we ran into our old friend Danny. After talking for a bit, he decided to go to Rotolo's with us. We split a pepperoni pizza and had 3 drinks - 21.00.

Morning 40 Federation featuring Mr. Okra:

2009 Trip Day 2 - May 14

We had a light breakfast at Croissant D'or - 2 raspberry croissants and split a coke(4.65). Just enough to keep us going until lunch.

Then we headed out for the Symphony Book Sale at Delgado College. It's a pretty good sale and we got 3 bags of books, videos,cds, and one dvd.














It was almost 1 when we left there, so we were ready for lunch. We decided to check Liuzza's by The Track to see if they were busy and were easily able to get a table. We split a reuben, I got a cup of gumbo and Peggy got a side of potato salad(21.00). Peggy thought the meat was tough, I thought it was pretty good, but The Sandwich Shack in Chesnee has a better reuben. The biggest disappointment was the gumbo. They use to have one of the best. This tasted more like beef stew with a couple of pieces of shrimp on top. LBTT has just never been as good since the storm and they lost their original cook.

A quick Wal Mart trip to stock up on supplies. Between the people who actually work there and the other shoppers all cutting in front of me, it made me wish that I was at the Berea WalMart.....and I hate the Berea Walmart.

We did get to see the Tide's Loads of Hope Free Laundry Service. It was set up in the top part of the WalMart parking lot.















After we got back and parked, I managed to close the back lid of the car on my head giving me another knot on my head.

On the way out for dinner we saw the acrobatic street performers that were on America's Got Talent. Hopefully, I will get a video upload of them on in the next few days.

We had dinner at Acme, a dozen charbroiled oysters and 2 Barq's(23.00).















Strolled by Chris DeBarr's new restaurant, The Green Goddess, and he was just going back into the restaurant. He said he hopes to open by Wednesday.

Finished out the night with apple cobbler for Peggy and coconut cake for me from the Quartermaster(5.00)

2009 Trip Day 1 - May 13

This should have actually been day 2, but since we were sick on 11th, had to wait an extra day before we left.

In bed with lights out before midnight. Gonna sleep until 5am. Yeah right...woke up and looked at clock at 3:45 and never did get back to sleep good.

We pulled out the drive way around 6:30am est and made it to New Orleans around 4:30pm cst. I think this works out to 11 hours traveling time. A little slower, but still a surprise, since it took forever to get through Atlanta and we really didn't start to pick up any time until we got on the other side of Montgomery.

Apartment looked good at first, but actually had LOTS of hidden dirt. Peggy has probably already put several hours into trying to get it up to snuff.

We picked up a white pizza(10.00) from Mona Lisa in order to watch Lost. Great pizza, but very unusual to get a pizza cut into 7 slices! We also munched on a couple of Hubigs.

The Brown Bag Stagglers

The Brown Bag Stagglers - St. James Infirmary. On my last few visits, I have always seen this group playing outside on Frenchman Street in New Orleans.

THE BINGO! SHOW

GREAT entertainment with VERY talented people and unlike anything else. If you get a chance to see them, you won't be sorry.

CLINT MAEDGEN - Complicated Life

A great version of The Kinks song. This video really captures the laid back feel of New Orleans.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band featuring Clint Maedgen on vocals with a guest appearance by the New Orleans Bingo! Show.

BEST NEW ORLEANS BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

If you love New Orleans and you haven't read this book, do yourself a favor and give it a try. If you have already read it, ask yourself, isn't is time that I re-read it.

The story is set in the early 1960s. The main character is Ignatius J. Reilly, although he has a college degree, he still lives with his mother at age 30 in uptown New Orleans. He is forced to seek employment and in his different jobs, he meets a wide assortment of characters.

My synopsis doesn't even begin to do the book justice, but it will give you a general idea of what the book is about.

The character of Ignatius is so revered in New Orleans that they have erected a statue of him on Canal Street.

If you're ever in New Orleans and you see Paul Sanchez playing anywhere, you need to check him out. You won't be disappointed. He plays some intimate shows at D.B.A. on Frenchman Street. This video is from his Rolling Road Show at Lafayette Square in New Orleans.

GREAT REVIEW of ANGEL HEART

Angel Heart is one of my favorite New Orleans movies. Bearded Weirdo has done a great review of this movie. Much better than I would ever be able to do. So check out his review: Bearded Weirdo .

INGRID LUCIA & IRWIN MAYFIELD

"Do They Play Jazz in Heaven?"