Thanksgiving at Tujague's

Thursday, after a day of rapid cleaning in preparation for my mother-in-law's arrival, my in-laws arrived in New Orleans. They brought us some more things we left at my mom's. And Shelby. Because we were doing our own Thanksgiving the next day with lots of our NOLA EMS friends at the house, we decided to take Dustin's mom and her boyfriend for a drive down St. Charles and for something to eat. While New Orleans has a plethora of places to choose from when hunger strikes, many of them weren't open. Or were bars, and since we had our 4-year-old in tow, that was out, too. So we drove down to the Quarter, where something good is always cookin'. After driving down Decatur, we decided upon Tujague's (Too-jack's, so we're told).

We'd never been before, and I was excited. We hurriedly walked through the bar (want to feel awkward? Lead your small child through a crowded, smokey bar at about 8 o'clock at night...) and to the dinning areas. After a few minutes they seated us in the Begue room downstairs. It was a nice intimate room with only about two or three other tables. Being Thanksgiving, they told us of their special Prix Fixe menu for the evening. It sounded terribly good. They brought us some bread (three whole loaves of French bread) and butter, and filled our water glasses. Our first course was shrimp remoulade. Spicy, but very nice. Boiled shrimp topped with a remoulade and some leafy greens. The salad could have been drained a bit more, though. This was followed by sweet potato-crab bisque which was soooo creamy and wonderful. Since it was insanely cold outside, it hit the spot. Then they took our bowls away and brought us a small piece of brisket with Creole horseradish sauce. Pi-zow! The sauce was fab, but I guess on the third bite I got too much of it and it shot up my sinuses like a grease fire. I'm just glad I didn't start choking at the table. Flames not-withstanding, it was great. We thought we were about done, since we were starting to get full. Maybe another small plate like the ones before, then dessert. Oh no. They brought out small individual platters filled with roasted turkey breast, sweet yams, dressing, gravy, home made cranberry sauce and what I guess was a marinated/ pickled cinnamon apple slice. Do I need to even go into the details of how all that tasted? Lets just say, it didn't suck. At all. By then we were begging, Please, no more! But then it was time for dessert: a tiny scoop of banana bread pudding with caramel sauce and coffee, a perfect ending to our beautiful meal. We were completely stuffed. It's a good thing Dustin and I didn't have time to eat during the day.

I'm glad we enjoyed it so much, because I for one was a bit shocked at the bill. I suppose I shouldn't have been- it was an upscale, iconic, 150 year-old restaurant with a fixed special menu, on a holiday no less. For the four of us adults to eat, it was $162 and some change. We split the bill down the middle and froze on our way to the car, totally stuffed, a little surprised, and very ready to go to bed.

Us going there made me keep thinking about the scene in A Christmas Story when the family goes out to an empty Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner and the servers sing to them. Even if there was no singing, it wasn't a Chinese restaurant and it was the holiday immediately preceding Christmas.

The only complaint I really have is that they didn't offer Shelby anything. They never acknowledged her (as far as food or drink) or asked if we wanted something for her, nor did they ask if we'd be sharing our food with her, which we did, of course (she really never eats much when we're out anyway, unless it's boneless BBQ chicken wings). There were other children a bit older than her in the other rooms, and a baby crying somewhere, so I know that kids were permitted. Oh well, other than running out of water near the dessert course and the carafes not being refilled, and it taking forever to get our bill, I have nothing negative to say. A lovely time was had by all.

Subversive Cross-Stitching, And Other Barstool Conversations

The baby stayed with the MIL when we left Texas, so Dustin and I have 4 fantastic days sans-child to do things and catch up with each other. After driving in Sunday night we stopped by the Avenue and hung out with some friends from work. Our new buddies are the best and we had a great time chatting over assorted beers (and Franks' Diet Coke). Even though we'd had Thanksgiving early in the day, we wanted a little nosh and ordered something from the kitchen, J'Anitas. The home made chips and fresh guacamole are fabulous. There was even a little animal cracker hiking up my avocado mountain. People started peeling away quite early, about 9 or so. But apparently that's how a lot of them do it, with having to be at work so early, their internal clock is just set that way.

After leaving there we decided to go down to our favorite place Molly's on Decatur. I'm still very upset our girl Renee no longer works there. But the new girl Crystal was very nice. We even got to see The Cat. He's this big old gray cat that lives in the bar and comes out at random times to sit on his favorite bar top or by the door. You can tell by the way he carries himself that it is in fact his bar, and he allows us to be there. Thank you, Cat.

After gin & tonic for Dustin and amber bock for me, we decided to walk down Bourbon, just for nostalgic purposes. I'd never been to Boondock Saints on St. Peter so we headed that way. I like the movie- which they play over and over on one of the TVs- and the bar is even better. The ladies' room isn't bad, just small, like the bathroom in your first apartment where you can go to the bathroom and brush your teeth at the same time. I don't know how much the drinks were, but I had probably 4 draft beers and Dustin had his gin as well as Jameson, and the tab was only about $30 with tip. The Teri Pollo-look-alike bar girl was quite charming and we struck up an hour-long conversation with a local named Scarlett, who lives near us, and her Scottish boyfriend. Got some good tips for our trip to Ireland in March. We also talked about tattoos, our small town roots and that subversive cross-stitching. She had made a piece that says "Whiskey is Good" that hangs above the bar. After telling her of this, our next door neighbor Laura and I are thinking about getting together, drinking and stitching one night. I'd love to see the end result.

When we finally left there, we just walked down Bourbon, turned around and walked to the other end. I had to go, so since it was nearest, we went into the Bourbon Pub. It's a gay bar (except for the stray tourist) with lots of colorful lights and Madonna on the big screen. The one other time I've been there, I watched the Emmy's on DVR and the cute little bartender danced and spun while he poured my drink. It was fun. The Ladies' room, however, was less impressive. It was a tiny galley-type room, with no door. Well, some bathrooms don't have one, but this one was in kind of a public place. But then the stalls didn't have any, either! The stalls were also so short, that your knees stick out. When you gotta go, you gotta go, and I didn't see any women (well, none that were born that way), so I just made it quick. I've never hurried so much in my life. Mark that one off the bathroom list. At least it was clean.

Just for kicks, we walked across the street to another rainbow room, The Oz. This one is a bit more...... colorful. Hot-guy-in-yellow-Speedo-dancing-on-bar colorful. But we stayed to the back of the bar, and except for the cash-only policy and the way overpriced beer, it looked like a fun place to dance with the girls and not have men bothering you. Dustin finished his beer in record time and we went on our merry way.

To top off our long night of debauchery, we stopped in at Vieux Carre pizza: the best pizza. Ever. Take that NYC and Chicago. This place is good. The French Quarter pizza is magnificent. But we just got the extra large pepperoni (breakfast tomorrow!). We only had our debit cards, so we had to go hunt down an ATM that a) had money in it and b) didn't charge ten dollars to take out cash.

After we procured the goods, we headed home. It was a long night, but a fun one. To say the least, we enjoyed ourselves. This is what we used to do on vacation. Eventually, though, you get tired of going out to party and turn your attention to other things. Like shopping. But it was fun to stroll down memory lane, and that lane happens to be called Bourbon Street.

Hangin' with Franky & Johnny

Have I ever mentioned that payday is my favorite day of the week? We almost always go out for lunch on payday to flaunt our wealth and indulge ourselves (ok, maybe one of those is an exaggeration). Today after having a lazy day at home- still getting used to Dustin being on nights, it's not bad, after he sleeps in we all have brunch and go about our day- we decided to walk down to Franky & Johnny's. It's only a block away, and even with me chickening out trying to cross the street and Dustin and Shelby having to wait for me to find a good traffic opening, it took like three minutes to get there. Maybe five with the Frogger moment. But the point is, it was terribly close to the house.

It's an old yellow two story house with a sign out front, a sandwich board and several neon beer signs. Once our eyes adjusted in the dark, I could tell why it's a neighborhood favorite. I've only ever seen maybe one episode of Cheers, but this place certainly has that feel. A cigarette machine by the door (seriously), a long old-as-dirt bar and a claw-drop machine that was older than me I'm sure (and some of the toys inside were, too). You pass the bar to the hostess podium with several signs urging you to wait to be seated, and an old man comes out and tells you to sit anywhere. The more we walked, the longer the place seemed to get. There's a room past the main dinning room that looks like it would be a lot of fun for a party. There's all kinds of cool stuff on the walls- local art, Zaggat awards, old beer advertising stuff, Joe Namath's jersey, a picture of New Orleans Most Famous Bars. The specials are on a chalk board on the wall, and Dustin ordered the special- BBQ sandwich, jambalaya, corn and salad- from it. Shelby got a children's shrimp plate (enough for an adult) and I got a shrimp poboy and fries (sold separately). I love a good poboy. With a little Crystal hot sauce sprinkled on top, superb. With water to drink it came to $31 and some change, plus tip. And we had leftover shrimp and fries. I love leftovers. Shelby and I are going to back one day for lunch and to get some oysters and a piece of chocolate pie.

I give the place a thumbs up. The food was very good, even if not OMG! good, and I loved the atmosphere. I'm a sucker for atmosphere. We were the only diners at the time we were there (it was a bit early), but I bet it's a lot of fun packed with Saints fans on game day (when they have raw oysters and beer specials).

Tomorrow we're going back to Texas for family functions this weekend, but looking forward to coming back and enjoying our new city some more. Enjoy your weekend, folks!

I'll admit it, the above picture is not my own. I forgot my camera and had to scour Photobucket for a picture that resembled my poboy. I promise it won't happen again. Often.

The Saints Went Marching In- And Won!

Though this blog is mainly about getting out there and experiencing New Orleans in all it's splendor, sometimes you just feel like staying home. And watching some football!

Today we had our very first (and I don't mean first-for-New-Orleans, I mean ever) football get-together at our house. It was great. A few friends from Dustin's work came by and we watched the Saints go head-to-head with the St. Louis Rams. Black & Gold reigned supreme! It was an exciting game (especially for me, I don't watch a lot of football anymore so I had to pay good attention to keep up). We won 28-23. Yea!

No matter how fervent, fans cannot subsist on game alone. So we had green onion bacon dip, chips, pretzels, Lil' Smokies, Ginger Ale & beer. Food of the gods, naturally. During halftime, Dustin's buddy Frank was sweet enough to draw some chalk characters on the sidewalk with Shelby. Very cute. After the game they made a chalk outline of another friend on our neighbor's sidewalk. Also cute, but a bit creepy.

And speaking of winning streaks, the Saints are now 9-0: the best winning streak the team has ever had! It would truly be super if the first year we lived here, our city's team went to the Super Bowl. Personally, I believe our presence has had a little somethin' somethin' to do with it. But, I suppose there could be other reasons, too.

More Photo-rific Fun!

I'm slowly figuring out how to share more than just a few photos with each post. After all, I am a photo addict, and take way too many pictures whether the situation calls for it or not. And I wanted to share the magic with you.

At the end of each upcoming post, you'll be able to click a link and see what fun we had. You won't miss a thing. Aren't you relieved?

Now, if all goes as according to plan, click here to see more photos from our outing at Cafe Luna and afternoon stroll down our street.

Coffee at the Moon

Yesterday after running some stuff to Dustin at the EMS HQ, Shelby and I went for a stroll. We have a beautiful street. I'm not sure how long it is, but it's at least a few miles. The homes to either side have lots of character, and range from the modest to the majestic. Nearest us the huge oak trees line the avenue and meet overhead to shade the road in many spots. I absolutely love it.

We just took off walking, enjoying the scenery, the cars going by, the unique and beautiful homes and their courtyards & gardens. Several had spectacular roses out front. We passed by a house not far from ours where the bottom tenant must be an artist of some kind. I was surprised that the air outside smelled heavily of some kind of perfume, something similar to my mom's. We weren't peeping, but as we passed I could see canvases and paint and all manner of creative clutter inside, and someone had drawn a large picture on the sidewalk with crayon, although I doubt it was a child. Very neat. About five blocks down we came to a corner with cafes, shops and an art gallery. We decided to pop into the Cafe Luna for a drink. A Victorian home-turned-coffee shop, this quaint little place is just adorable. Big trees in the yard, tall covered porch, apothecary jars full of goodies and the mantle being used to hold the flavored syrups- I'm a fan. Shelby got chocolate milk and I got a small cafe au lait. The $4.25 wasn't too bad, and she did make the chocolate milk right there when we ordered... Maybe I'm just a tightwad. The rest of the prices seemed Starbucks-ish, but I guess that's just what fancy coffee costs now. There was a bulletin board full of ads and announcements, and the shelf holding the free add-ins and lids also housed a ton of local literature and papers about art galleries, bands and events. We sat on the porch enjoying our beverages and watching the 6th grade lovebirds cuddle at one of the yard tables (which was slightly more nostalgic and cute than gag-o-rific PDA) in the afternoon sun.

When we'd finished we made our way across the street and began the walk home. Not much was different on the return, although the road workers (not really sure what they were doing to begin with) had gone home. As we walked past one house a little old lady stepped out of her door and asked if Shelby was cold. I replied no, she's hot natured (it wasn't really all that chilly, anyway). "Oh, well I'm cold for her! I suppose it's the grandma in me," was her response and she told me how she'd been waiting for the plumber all day, but feared the construction had scared him off. We chatted a few minutes more before getting on our way. When we made it home, we'd been gone a little over an hour even though it seemed like it had only been a few minutes. Shelby chalked some more on the front walkway and then we went inside to make supper.

It was a truly wonderful day and I hope we have many more like it! As I mentioned, there are several businesses on that corner, and further down the street. In order to give us something to look forward to on our walks, Shelby and I are going to visit only one a day (unless we need caffeine). Moderation is the key. Spread it out to prolong the novelty. I can't wait to see what we discover next.

Red Beans & Rice Ice Cream, Anyone?

On our first official full day as a family in NOLA, we went for lunch at our favorite sushi place, Sekisui Samurai, in the French Quarter. We didn't think about it being Sunday until we were bombarded by a sea of black and gold as we made our way by the Super Dome. The Saints were playing and fans were out in fine style. We even saw some fluffy little pooches dressed in their Sunday (football) best riding in what looked like a tiny black and gold streetcar. It was mayhem, but aside from the tourists who insisted on walking in the street in front of us (Bourbon isn't closed to traffic until night time, hello!), we loved all the craziness. At Samurai's (what we call it since we can't pronounce the first word properly) we got the usual two and three roll lunch special, respectively, and shared our non-spicy, cooked rolls with Shelby. She loves sushi and when she gets her own, likes their snow roll- a mixture of crab meat and who knows what else. But it's very tasty. Dustin got the usual Philadelphia, spicy tuna and crawfish rolls. I had the California and the tuna & avocado. The tuna wasn't my favorite color to see on raw yellow fin, but that's what I get for ordering it on a weekend, right? It was still fresh enough to smell right, so it's all good. The lunch special comes with salad and soup, both yummy, and we got tempura broccoli & sweet potato as well. After indulging in our favorite raw fare, we passed by the extreme tailgaters and got another show on our way back to Uptown.

I was very excited to try out a place we've been meaning to find for a while- the Creole Creamery. Ya know, in the name of research. Shelby had no objections, of course. I like the fun, sort of vintage-y atmosphere. They're known for having all kinds of funky flavors, like lavender honey, black pepper & sweet corn, and the afore mentioned red beans & rice. The flavors, made on site, rotate occasionally and on this day it was gorgonzola and walnut. It was tempting, but I was too chicken to ask for a taste. Shelby got blue cotton candy (the first bright color she saw), Dustin got bananas foster- one of his favorite desserts- and a cup of coffee, and in honor of the Saint's 7-0 record (now 8-0) I got the black & gold crunch. It was fantastic. I forget what all was in it, but I know there were Oreos, chocolate chips and chicory ice cream. We all got one scoop in a cone and barely finished. Trust me, one is enough, the scoops are huge. They also have plenty of special treats, like parfaits, ice cream sodas, sorbets and sundaes. There's also the famous Tchoupitoulas (Chop-a-tool-a's)*- made with eight scoops of your choosing and eight toppings, whipped cream and cherries. It looks good on TV, but I'm sure it's quite intimidating in person. If you want to give it a try, there's the reward of being on their wall of fame if you finish it without help. Good luck with that! Even though it was a bit chilly out for ice cream, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I hope all our adventures are as tasty as Sunday's. With all the great restaurants in town- some mere blocks away from where I sit in my living room at this very moment- I doubt finding good eats will be a problem.

*Because I was, and still am, embarrassed to attempt pronouncing some of the words so common locally, I'm going to do my best at offering phonetic pronunciations for you good people when I can. Hope it helps!

New Orleans, New Life

New Orleans, we have arrived. Aren't you excited? I know I am. The packing was extensive; the trip was arduous; the unpacking seems insurmountable. But it's all part of the journey. And the pay-off will be worth it.

I will never again see a moving truck packed so tightly, and I will never know how we fit everything we had in a three bedroom, two bath house, plus lawn furniture and a BBQ pit, inside. Dustin's old fraternity brother is quite the packing pro. Maneuvering three vehicles in a convoy with my cell phone not working was no small feat, either. I also can't believe that with only the help of my tiny mother, we unpacked almost the entire thing. Thank goodness one of Dustin's new supervisors was cool enough to finish up. We only had one casualty during the move- one of our Paris prints was badly torn. It was only a cheap black and white poster we had yet to frame, and none of our canvas art was harmed, so it wasn't a huge loss. I had to drive back to Texas the very next day for our Geaux Local open house at the Barking Dog. It was a great event, but I was dog tired (pun sort of intended). After finishing up some business and picking up our daughter I drove in Saturday, and swore I wouldn't be back. At least not until Thanksgiving. Now it's all over but the unpacking, and man, what unpacking there is left to do. My Dear Hubby was sweet enough to set up the bedroom, living room and den furniture while I was gone. All that I have to do is unpack each of the 2,000 boxes. Though, as I've said before and am sure I'll say again, it's well worth the work.

When I drove Shelby and I here Saturday, I took a wrong turn and ended up in the Central Business District. I was quite proud that I didn't get all stressed out, and even prouder that I knew the area enough to find my way. I rolled down the windows, and no sooner had I inhaled that sweet New Orleans smell- of fried food, roux, coffee and things not identified- than Shelby said "Mama, I like the way it smells. I think I like it here." I couldn't agree more. We had a lovely drive through the business district, a poorer neighborhood- where someone had turned their garage into an operating bar, complete with music and neon lights- and down St. Charles street. Being the weekend, there was a ton of activity and two of the grand buildings had weddings either going on or about to start. We got to see a bride in a beautiful dress posing for portraits on one of the lawns, which Shelby really enjoyed. It was almost serene with the breeze blowing, hustle and bustle of street cars, joggers and party-goers, and the ancient trees overhanging the avenue. A perfect welcome home from our new home town.

If you'll allow me to sound sickeningly sentimental, I'll say that this is really going to be the adventure of a lifetime. I can just smell it. And I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with you, I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

Peace out, homies!

The Time Has Come!

The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of other things- of U-Hauls, gas and Speedy Pass, of boxes and of bling.

Well. Maybe bling has nothing to do with it. But I like the word. Whatever sort of Wonderland rhyme is attempted, the time has truly come! Tomorrow we'll be picking up the U-Haul (big drama- they are idiots- don't even ask) and a few friends of Dustin's are coming to load the truck. We'll sleep one last night on our bed sans-frame (we'll have loaded the TV's and taken back the cable boxes... I guess we'll just have to sit around and look at each other) and then head out bright and early Wednesday morning!

Yesterday was the first time I actually got a little scared. Like "Oh my gosh.... what are we doing!" freaked out. But it soon passed. I know it will be much better once we get all settled in. I'm focusing on the good things- Dustin working less. Living in a less stressful, more laid back atmosphere. Picnics. I plan on doing lots of picnics. At the river, at the lake, at the park. Picnics everywhere.

So this will be my last post as a Texan. The next time you hear of me, I'll be in New Orleans! Until then, wishing Abita wishes and beignet dreams!