Our sister and her closest childhood friend came to visit and party in New Orleans last weekend...we did it up, mistah!! They stayed at the luxurious
Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in the heart of the French Quarter, which had a great view of the city and the Mississippi River from their observation deck where we threw an impromptu nosh to welcome them prior to running off to Emeril's famous
NOLA Restaurant a block's walk away (BTW - we had the Hickory-Roasted Duck with Whiskey-Caramel Glaze!)
We did all the tourist stuff - much for the first time, actually:
- Coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde
- Bus tour of the city - got the good bounce with a hilarious tour guide
- Hopped on the steam driven riverboat Natchez and saw the Port of New Orleans from the Mississippi River (and the vessel's incredible engine room!)
- Walking tour of the Quarter to haunted houses which stopped by Nicolas Cage's place and Brad/Angelina Jolie-Pitt's place for extras
- Ran over to the fabulous Oak Alley Plantation which looked gorgeous in intermittent sun showers with giant blue and green dragonflies darting around the lush, carefully cultivated flora
Last Saturday night, we joked it took guests to visit, but we finally got over to
Cafe Degas, an intimate French restaurant (actually named after Degas who lived down the street for about a year) located in our old Bayou St. John/City Park neighborhood, which has been there since we first lived in New Orleans over twenty years ago...such a warm and cultivated atmosphere - and of course an epicurean gem. We have been reintroducing fine wine into our culinary adventures, and so appetizers and a lovely San Giovese at a fantastic little wine shop called
Swirl across the street from the restaurant beforehand...the shop owner is a charming lady whose goal in life is to provide the best $10 - $20 wines available to her patrons whom she treats like old friends...the shop has two wine tastings a week, is dog-friendly, and is open until "8-ish" on weekdays...
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