New Orleans, Part 1: The Food

From March 3 to March 10, 2012, Jim and I took a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana.  Jim had to attend a conference for work there, but we decided to go early, so he could do some of the fun stuff too.  We were also joined on this trip by two beautiful ladies, who are Jim's co-workers, Patti Martin and Lisa Franks.

I have so many pictures and so many memories, that I had a hard time deciding how I would blog about this fabulous trip, and still keep it interesting.  In the end, I figured that the experience was better than an actual rundown of our minute by minute timeline, and therefore will be breaking the retelling of our trip into many parts, focusing on the individual experiences we had.

So where to start?  With the FOOD, of course!

There is so much good food to eat in New Orleans, you are almost guaranteed a great meal no matter which place you decide to dine in.  I swear I gained 20 pounds on this trip thanks to all the yummy food I ate. 

The first night we were there, we ate at Port of Call (corner of Dauphine St. and Esplanade Ave.).  This place is so unassuming during the day, that if it weren't for the recommendation from a friend of Jim's, or the huge crowd of people trying to get in, I don't think any of us would have looked twice at this place.  However, the burgers were phenomenal, and the baked potato on the side was a nice touch too.

The next morning, we had fresh baked muffins, among other things, at The Rathbone Mansion (the bed and breakfast place we were staying at for a few days).

After breakfast, we walked down to the French Quarter.  While perusing the many shops along Decatur Street, I happened to notice that Jim's favorite brand of ice cream was served in a few of the candy shops.  Upon this discovery, Jim immediately got some (and we ate tons of it throughout the week).

For lunch, we ate at the House of Blues (off of Decatur St. in the French Quarter).  You have to walk down a dark alley to get to the real entrance, but the food is worth it.  Jim and I ordered their famous cornbread and a Juicy Lucy burger to share.  Jim also received a free flat bread pizza for checking into Foursquare.  The atmosphere in the restaurant was pretty cool, but Jim really liked the ceiling.

 

For dinner that night, we ate at a restaurant/Jazz club called Snug Harbor (on Frenchmen St).  We all had really good meals, but Jim ordered their Fried Chicken burger, and it was the best fried chick patty I have ever had the privilege of tasting.

 

For breakfast the next morning, we decided to skip the meal our accommodations provided, and went to Cafe Du Monde (Decatur St. across from Jackson Square in the French Quarter) for some Beignets.

 

By lunchtime that day, we were at Oak Alley Plantation, so we ate the restaurant there.  I had the Gumbo (no seafood...YUCK), and Jim had the red beans and rice with sausage.  We also tried a virgin Mint Julep.

 

Before we left on this trip, Jim and I watch the episode of Man vs. Food, where the host goes to New Orleans.  In the episode, he visited a place called Mother's (on the corner of Poydras St. and Tchoupitoulas St. in Downtown), and ate their famous Ferdi Po Boy sandwich.  It was so yummy looking on T.V., that Jim and I decided to try it ourselves, and...it really is that good.

The next morning, Jim and I went to Cafe Beignet (on Royal St. in the French Quarter), to try their Beignets.  Theirs were bigger and a bit more dense than Cafe Du Monde's.

 For lunch, we got a Muffuletta sandwich from the Central Grocery Company (on Decatur St. in the French Quarter).  This sandwich was so big, and so good, I ate off it for three days.  Wish I would have thought to take a picture of it.

That night, we had dinner aboard the Steamboat Natchez.  We were treated to a buffet of southern comforts (food, not booze), and to some really good music, all while cruising up and down the Mississippi River. 

The next day, Jim and I had lunch at Huck Finn's (on the corner of Decatur St. and Iberville St. in the French Quarter).  I had a Bayou Barnyard burger (a burger topped with BBQ pulled pork), and Jim had Jambalaya.

For dinner, we had a very fancy, and very expensive meal at the Commander's Palace (on the corner of Washington Ave. and Coliseum St. in the Garden District).  I had the best Fillet Mignon I have ever tasted, and Jim had the Stuffed Quail and Turtle Soup (double YUCK).

For the remainder of the trip, Jim attended his conference during the day, and I ate off the Muffuletta.  We had dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville (on the corner of Ursulines St and Decatur St. in the French Quarter), and got some fried chicken at Willies (?) Chicken Shack (on Bourbon St. in the French Quarter), and at a convenient store called Brother's (on the corner of Common St. and Carondelet St. in Downtown).