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Friday, November 11, 2016

NOLA - Partie Trois

This is the final part of our trip to New Orleans. Stay tuned because I will end this with a wicked recipe I created for Seafood Gumbo.

Day 4, Friday: We had a leisurely morning. It always takes us some time to wind down on a vacation so it was good to get a little lounging in. But we did have 9:30 reservations for brunch at Brennans. I have heard about the grandeur of this place many times and I just had to see and taste for myself.
It was magnificent. Both Bulent and I had the Eggs Benedict except I had a side of grits and he had a side of potatoes. I'm not a potato fan, but his potatoes were perfection! The hollandaise was excellent and the service, impeccable. In case you can't tell from my posts, New Orleans is an eating town!

There were charming details in this restaurant: a collection of vintage oyster plates hung from the walls in one dining room. Painted murals in another, a peacock etched on a mirror in yet another, a courtyard with a water feature that had a family of turtles living there. It was a little world all it's own. And the dubious history of the place was so evident!  The building was constructed in 1795 by Edgar Degas great grandfather and was once a private residence frequented by President Andrew Jackson.







Yep. They live at Brennans. Lucky.

Such a fancy turtle. You can see him so clearly with his cognac and cigar.



After breakfast we took a trolley ride to the garden district.

NOLA is truly unlike any other place I've been or seen. It is it's own little biome of goodness. What I mean by different is that I often hear people say that San Francisco is reminiscent of a European City (well, it isn't, it is decidedly American) but you catch my drift. New Orleans has Spanish influences and obvious French ones too. But the history is rich, eclectic and diverse.




After seeing Magazine street and the tiny shops along the promenade there our stomachs got rumbly and we hitched an Uber to Superior Seafood. 

Did I mention $.50 happy hour over there. Huz and I ate probably 50 oysters and drank champagne for 2.5 hours. It was like heaven.

We took the trolly back into town from there and headed to the hotel for a rest. Tonight was a trip to Arnaud's.

Arnaud's is the "grande dame" of original Creole dining, but we were not going for the food. We went for the scenery and a famous french 75. By scenery, I mean that many people have said it is reminiscent of The Shining. It is, sort of. It really more reminded me of American Horror Story: Freak Show.

Did you know there is a secret museum there? Well, there is. It's not really secret but not many people know about it. Chris Hammond, the gentleman bar keep told us about it and escorted us to peek at it. It was magnificent.







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