New Orleans
I reached New Orleans early evening on a Wednesday. Usha’s flight had delays so I had plenty of time to eat a disappointing salad at the unfortunately-named Dooky Chase’s. I do not understand which sadists enjoy iceberg lettuce but at least they could add spinach and legumes for nutritional content! Usha and I taxied into the city and our driver filled us in on all the New Orleans cocktail innovations, including hurricanes and hand grenades. We stayed at a house in the Tremé neighborhood, adjoining the French Quarter. The shotgun house construction felt odd, with two other abutting units creating a linear space which could host a very long bowling lane. Our rental was otherwise forgettable but the architecture of New Orleans is unique with its balconies, shutters, and wrought iron gates.
We immediately headed out for dinner on Frenchman Street at The Three Muses, a restaurant bar which hosts live music. We enjoyed the limited vegetarian meal although Usha first did not receive her drink then received the wrong drink — something is better than nothing! We listened to the jazz band for a bit then explored Frenchman and Bourbon Streets. Nothing much doing on a Wednesday so we retired for the evening.
Thursday Usha treated me to Shaya on Magazine Street, offering so-called modern Israeli cuisine. This proved to be the best meal we had the entire trip, especially the curried cauliflower over hummus, and they deservedly won a James Beard award. We explored the small shops along Magazine Street for some time, eventually arriving at Lafayette Cemetary №1. New Orleans obsesses with death and an impromptu $5 half-hour cemetery tour revealed the secrets of grave virtualization. Generally, a family or association has a single tomb which accommodates up to two coffins and a caveau for remains. Bodies inter for at least a year and a day before removal, compaction, and placement in the caveau. We spotted the celebrity grave of the Judge Ferguson, of the infamous Plessy vs. Ferguson decision.
We rode the St. Charles streetcar back to downtown which disappoints as much as the SF streetcars. Old-timey feeling but way too many stops delay the train despite its dedicated right-of-way. We chatted up Sarah, one of our fellow gravediggers, who apologized that her boyfriend could not join us due to drinking too much on Bourbon the night before. She also had a semicolon tattoo which signifies a struggle with and presumably triumph over mental illness — very cool. We parted ways and stopped by Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets. I do not understand its renown given the mediocre coffee and diabetes-inducing snacks but the simplified and speedy service holds some appeal.
We took a break at home before heading out for dinner at Silk Road Restaurant, a serviceable Indian restaurant. We wandered Frenchman Street again, finding an artist marketplace and I discovered some mashups of 80s and 90s films and video games. The artist and I geeked out for a while about Choose Your Own Adventure visualizations before we headed next door to Spotted Cat. The Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band played which was likely the best music we found all weekend. One drink later our dogs were barking so we headed out to find a less crowded club where we could sit and settled on Bamboula’s. The music was just OK although I enjoyed a cover of Hotel Yorba and a curious dancing wizard. In between sets, we debated the best way to remove cherries from the bottom of a hurricane using a straw; stabbing is more efficient than chopsticks. Running out of steam we retired for the evening.
The next morning we got a late start since we waited for Deepti and Rahul to join us after a red-eye flight from San Francisco. They looked a little worse for wear but after storing luggage we headed out for a quick breakfast before joining a plantation tour. Our bus drove an hour out of the city to the sugar plantations which allowed for some colorful commentary from our 300 pounds of sexy tour guide who shared his favorite restaurants and smeared FEMA. The Oak Alley Plantation features a picturesque canopy of oaks, hundreds of years old, as well as a two-floor, three-bedroom “big house”. A Frenchmen and his profligate wife constructed this and several surrounding buildings supported them and their sugar plantation. We sipped mint juleps while watching a sugar propaganda film: safe, natural, and healthy! Extensive exhibitions demonstrated the everyday lives of the former slaves including their ramshackle lodgings. We headed back to New Orleans and made a quick beignet stop before returning home to prepare for the evening.
We headed out to Muriel’s for dinner and pieced together enough vegetarian sides to complete a meal, a common practice during our trip. Thankfully they offered a complete drink menu and I worked my way through Sazerac and bourbon cocktails for a balanced meal. Muriel’s allegedly hosts a ghost in its séance lounge although he must have been in the powder room. We fully explored Bourbon Street which had plenty of activity on a Friday night. We stopped by a few places for drinks and dancing which curiously had DJs rapping over popular music and inviting women to dance on stage, including my companions. Finally, we agreed to share a hand grenade, five shots of cheap liquor and enough sugar to kill a diabetic. Wobbling onward, we debated whether to ride a mechanical bull — I wanted to try this but after watching kids fall on their heads I thought better of it and we headed home.
Saturday I wanted to detox and ran through Lafitte Greenway and down Jefferson Davis Parkway, roughly 5 miles. This area was once a canal and later a railroad that the city converted into an open space. I appreciated this dedicated space since drivers do not respect crosswalks or stop signs in New Orleans! I returned to Deepti and Rahul’s place who graciously prepared a bagel breakfast. We set off for a walk through the garden district, which has many famous homes, including Jefferson Davis. Honoring the former president of the Confederate States of America and other rebels and racists seems like a curious heritage and I wonder what other countries celebrate the losing side?
We returned to Jackson Square for dinner at the Gumbo Shop and enjoyed some vegetarian gumbo and red beans and rice — again side plates dominated our meal. Our main event Saturday evening was to watch Krewe du Vieux, one of the more political parades leading up to Mardi Gras. Unfortunately, we misunderstood the parade timing and stood outside for two hours begging for beads before the parade started! I enjoyed the floats where President Trump interpretations worked out very nicely. The procession was long enough that a break in the floats confused us when I went into a store to buy some tall boys for the group.
After the parade really ended we headed towards Frenchman Street and re-encountered the tail end of the parade due to the snaking route. We checked out more street art and I admired a diabetes tattoo before we went into Spotted Cat again. The place was packed but we found a good seat for the New Orleans Jazz Vipers. After the set, we headed to 13 Monaghan for a late night snack and nightcap. On our way home we encountered a curious electric violin that some hipster band was playing in the streets.
Sunday we had limited time due to Deepti and Rahul’s early flight but we managed to find a great vegan brunch at Seed. My gumbo was excellent, better than the Gumbo Shop, although Rahul struggled with vegan pancakes and butter. Next Rahul and I headed to the National World War II Museum while the ladies went shopping — I would rather fight my way through the former. This museum is massive and combined both the tactical movements with individual soldiers’ stories. Unfortunately, we only had enough time to walk through the European theater but I learned how weather and miscommunications threatened several major attacks.
Usha and I bid farewell to our friends and we headed out on the ferry to Algiers on the other side of the Mississippi. Truthfully there is not much on the other side and visitors mostly look at the New Orleans skyline. We had a quick beer at Crown and Anchor before hurrying back to civilization. We made the mistake of dining at Bennachin where poor service and drooping blood sugar levels threatened our temperaments. Afterward, we wandered the streets before settling on Maison Bourbon for a forgettable jazz set and whiskeys to cap our final night in NOLA.
The next day we booked a swamp tour which exceeded expectations. I feared that in the winter we would only see the bayou but our captain found almost ten alligators, a trio of raccoons, and a wild pig named Tebow! The captain’s sense of humor was great and he explained some of his family’s traditions like crawfish boils. Winding down our visit, we had a final disappointing vegetarian meal at Chartres House. The artichoke dip came with deep fried bow pasta and coffee in a giant Styrofoam cup and I could feel both mother nature’s and my arteries clogging.
Overall New Orleans was fun despite some dietary challenges. I have an aversion to the south from my childhood in Georgia which proved unfounded — New Orleans has a diverse and integrated community which welcomes all to party! Jazz is everywhere although I prefer the Elephant Room in Austin any night of the week. Street drinking is legal, just like Hong Kong, and the only city in the States that I have seen allow this. The weeks leading up to Mardi Gras felt nuts and the party itself must be off the hook!
