Contrary to my usual habit of waking up early wherever I am in the world, I crawled out of bed sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. My breakfast consisted of left over bread pudding. Scrumptious!
Since there was nothing in particular on the agenda, I headed to Jackson Square and into St. Louis Cathedral. It always strikes me as such a pretty church, especially the ceiling. Then, because my cousin had requested some, I went in search of voodoo dolls at the French Market. On EVERY other trip to New Orleans, I could easily find voodoo dolls made from Spanish moss. My very first voodoo doll from my very first trip there is made from Spanish Moss and, believe me, the few times I’ve put it to use, it worked quite well!!! Now, however, all of the voodoo dolls in the French Market seem to be made of twigs and rocks, covered in gaudy material. In other words, they definitely look touristy.
My new friend, Triskell, had mentioned that she worked at Villa Convento on Ursulines and had invited me to stop by whenever. I took her up on that offer and stopped by that morning. Apparently, before moving to New Orleans, that was the hotel that she always used to stay in! I found her at reception and she showed me their back courtyard, as well as the unusual, padded elevator.
Afterwards I wandered around the French Quarter a bit more taking photos until it was time for lunch. I had a 1:00 p.m. reservation at Galatoire’s Restaurant, at the lower end of Bourbon Street (closer to Canal Street). I’ve eaten there twice before and love the tradition of it all. You’ll often see the waiters make a big show of pouring café brulot where the tablecloth is seemingly on fire momentarily. Waiters wear black jackets, black pants, white shirts and bow ties, even at lunch. In fact, as they’re getting ready to seat you, they’ll ask if you have a favorite waiter. Apparently, some regulars request the same waiter for years. Waiters even hand out their cards to locals who may become regular customers of theirs. If, like me, you don’t have a favorite waiter, DO request to be seated downstairs. It’s much more fun downstairs than it is upstairs. The Coolinary Menu at Galatoire’s consisted of either an appetizer and entrée, or an entrée and a dessert. I chose the former, because the less dessert I eat, the better! My starter was a chilled English cucumber soup with smoked salmon on the bottom. That’s not a combination that I would ever have imagined, but it was refreshing and very tasty. My entrée was the petit filet bonne femme served with some asparagus spears. Unfortunately, the filet was a little dry, but still had enough flavor for me. As for the asparagus, I despise asparagus! I sipped on my glass of pinot noir instead.
Then there was more wandering in the French Quarter. On my last trip I’d taken a picture of a white dog, only to find out later that he was a “famous” three-legged dog (which I hadn’t even noticed when he was laying down)! J.W. belongs to the owner of the Mississippi River Bottom (aka. MRB) on St. Phillip, a bar which also serves food. He’s apparently famous because he loves to play with the balls on the pool table, which (unfortunately for me) he didn’t do this day. When I walked in, J.W. greeted me at the front, as if we were old friends. He had a green toy in his mouth, so I played with him for awhile and another patron took a few pictures of us. The heat and humidity had a large part in my decision to sit down for a Heineken while J.W. posted himself right by my barstool. Another customer said that J.W. was guarding me. Even though having eaten not long before, I couldn’t help but order some Natchitoches meat pies; one order was $7.00 and consisted of two meat pies. I’d never had a meat pie before and was very curious. The waitress said that they were filled with ground beef, onion and spices, and that they were spicy. When my order arrived, they appeared very much like empanadas. True to her word, they were spicy! I liked them a lot, but could only manage one; she packed the other to go. I hugged J.W. goodbye and resumed my walkabout before eventually returning to the apartment to regroup.
My dinner reservation was at Mr. B’s Bistro at 7:00 p.m. My appetizer was the sea scallops served with arugula – big, succulent and sweet. Once again, I had a petit filet served with blue cheese Yukon Gold potatoes and haricot verts. The filet was NOT dry at all and was, therefore, better than the one at Galatoire’s. Even so, the potatoes were probably my favorite part of the meal! Malbec was my wine of choice. Service also rivaled that at Galatoire’s. Everyone was so pleasant and attentive, but in a way that seemed sincere and unobtrusive. I skipped dessert, as my caloric intake had been relatively high for the day! The hostess said “Good Night” and complimented my dress upon my departure.
Back at the apartment, I changed once more to get ready to go see Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas at the Rock N Bowl. Shorts, a loose top and canvas shoes seemed appropriate again. The cab ride out there was about $15, but I’d prepaid my ticket for the show. The young Syrian cab driver mentioned that he’d been living in New Orleans for 6 years and got all kinds of crazy passengers. He insisted that he knew how to deal with drunk customers, though, and wouldn’t hesitate to kick them out of his cab! The “new” Rock N Bowl seems more spacious than the old one and is undoubtedly more modern, but lacks a little in the great ambience of the former. I’m not sure where my love of zydeco music began, but Buckwheat Zydeco is my favorite zydeco musician. Nathan is another favorite, though. My knowledge of zydeco dancing is limited, though 3 men schooled me in it way back in 2004 at the old space. It had been incredibly fun dancing with them. Although several men asked me to dance on this evening, I figured that I’d return on Saturday to see Rockin’ Dopsie, at which point, I would dance. In the meantime, I opted to down several Heinekens and enjoy the music. After a few hours had passed, I had them call a cab for me and waited outside.
This cab driver was a Puerto Rican guy who’d moved to New Orleans from New York 12 years ago. I said that he should be making a ton of money this weekend due to Southern Decadence, the Mad Decent Block Party and Labor Day, in general. He assured me that, in a good month, he banks $10,000 in cash from driving a cab there! Beings New Orleans is a hot spot for partying, it would only make sense that both bartenders and cab drivers could make beaucoup bucks! I asked him if there were certain parts of New Orleans that he wouldn’t drive to. He said that he’d drive me absolutely anywhere (even though customers have attempted to rob him on a few occasions), although other cab drivers DO avoid certain areas. Lawrence had spent lots of time in the Middle East, Asia and Polynesia, so our conversation encompassed lots of traveling stuff. He mentioned that he’d like to take me out for a drink. I said to let me know when, to which he responded “How about now?!” Since he works for himself, he makes his own hours. I had been intending to give Cane & Table on Decatur Street a try, so that’s where we went.
Cane & Table is a relatively new bar/restaurant that’s been getting lots of hype about their “artisan” cocktails and their special glass. I ordered something called the Watermelon Man and was disappointed when it was served in a regular champagne coupe. I asked the bartender if they had a special “whale” glass, which she confirmed. The guy sitting next to me said that some bartenders will serve whatever drink you want in the “Shamu” glass, but others are very picky about using it. My drink was fine, but nothing to write home about. The female bartender was nice, yet funky, in that New Orleans style. Lawrence had to get back to work, but gave me his phone number and said to give him about 20 minutes notice before I needed to be anywhere. With that, he took off. I seriously thought about having another drink elsewhere, but decided that it was better to pace myself, so walked back to the apartment, heaved a long sigh and dealt with those 3 flights of stairs.
Part of the Ceiling of St. Louis Cathedral
In the French Quarter
Me with J.W.
Natchitoches Meat Pies from MRB