New Orleans and a "thank you" to Ms. enPlace

The kitchen remodel is moving along, more about that later.  The blog obviously hasn't received any attention these days.    Today is Saturday and the carpenters are working away so I'll finish sharing that surprise trip to New Orleans.

I especially want to give Michelle at Ms. enPlace a big THANK YOU for her local insights. I emailed Michelle to see if she could suggest where the locals eat in New Orleans.  You know it's easy to find the touristy places anywhere and there are a LOT of good places to eat, but I wanted to know where the locals would go.  Michelle gave me lots of places to consider and her recommendations didn't disappoint!  

The Bassman had made brunch reservations at a couple of well known local places.  The first day, we made our way by taxi to Commander's Palace (where Emeril got his start in the kitchen) in the garden district.  I found myself looking often at a layout of the city to see which "district" we were in.  

Turtle soup is one of their specialties and it was good along with that crusty french bread.

Visiting the cemeteries wasn't on our to-do list, but since there was one across the street from Commander's Palace we took a few minutes to take a look.  The architecture is interesting just don't get lost in there!

We made our way back via the streetcar.  This is the way to go as a tourist for no stressful driving!   If they're busy, the timing can be an issue so just make sure you allow plenty of time to get where you're going or better yet don't have a set schedule.

Now on to the French Quarter Festival for some music, sightseeing and lots of walking!

 Of course you don't want to miss Cafe Du Monde's famous beignets.  Are they ever not busy?  More beignets, please!

Dragos just happened to be right down the street from our hotel.  Michelle mentioned that this is one of her parent's favorite places.  And yes, have the grilled oysters.  Now we want to make these on the grill at home, only because there's not a Dragos nearby.

I mentioned earlier about not having a schedule but we did have to set the alarm to make our breakfast reservation at Brennan's.  

Bananas Foster was created here.  This was the fanciest breakfast I've ever had and, yes, I had Bananas Foster for dessert!

Now on to more music, sightseeing and walking.....

...on ROYAL street.  I liked the tile street markers.

WHO DAT cat in the window at the Bourbon Street Veterinarian.

Past a historic architect's house.

On to the house that Michelle recommended for their poboys, Napoleon House in the French Quarter.

I enjoyed the muffaletta.

There was plenty of crawfish at the festival.  Here is the Bassman getting some tips on how they prepare them.  He is getting very good at his own crawfish boil at home.  It is becoming an annual tradition!

Music stages everywhere just stop and listen.  It brought a smile to my face to hear praise and worship music in the French Quarter.

Another place Michelle recommended is Mother's Restaurant.  I wasn't clear on whose mother it was, but her Ferdi special poboy (not pictured) was worth the wait.

Michelle mentioned 7 other places in her email so there was plenty to choose from and not enough time to make it to all of them.  The down side is we both came home with 3 or 4 extra pounds that we didn't have when we arrived!   It was kind of like a scavenger hunt to visit as many as we could and definitely a nice connection to have through a blog!

Thanks Michelle!