In lieu of buying things for Christmas this year that we really didn't need, my wife and I decided to impose a small limit for the holiday and spend the rest of what we allotted on taking a trip somewhere. We had enough miles to get free airline tickets, so we figured it would be a relatively cheap adventure. Given our standing in the Harrahs properties, we decided to go to New Orleans and stay at their hotel casino right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. We were able get five nights for free if we arrived Sunday and left on Friday. With the price being right, the trip was on, and at a very reasonable price.
My wife had wanted to go to New Orleans for a long time. I had been there on business in 1998 and other than taking a dinner cruise down the Mississippi and then going to Bourbon Street, I didn't remember a whole lot about it. In fact, given that I went to Bourbon Street on Halloween night, which is the second craziest time of the year there next to Mardi Gras, I had a less than stellar recollection of the experience. Now, don't get me wrong. I get the allure of the wild party scene for young adults. Between the ease by which one can get liquor and the constant flashing going on, it's a young male's paradise. But alas, I am an old male. To me, the mass of humanity that evening was just way too crowded for me to enjoy. I left Bourbon Street after about a half hour and went back to the hotel while my unmarried friends partied until the wee hours.
My wife wanted to see the city however so I acquiesced and agreed to the trip. As is usually the case, my wife was right. We had a great time in a truly wonderful city that is filled with a rich, interesting history, great attractions and of course, amazing food. Oh yes, they have truly amazing food.
Before we left, some friends of mine warned me of crime problems in the town. It needs to be mentioned that even though Hurricane Katrina happened in 2005 there are still a number of areas in town that have not been restored. Some have not even been touched since the catastrophe. That has left some people in a bad way financially and that has contributed to there being a problem with crime in some parts of town. I have to tell you however that it was never a problem during our stay. We walked through the French Quarter without incident, including at night. The Central Business District had a huge police presence as well. We rode all of the trolley cars all over the city and there were never any problems. Some locals did tell us areas of town to avoid, as would be the case in any city, but those are not places a tourist would go anyway. We did encounter a few people asking for money, but they were actually very polite and even called me "sir" when asking for a handout. I am not saying that it would be smart to go off the beaten trail, but as long as you stay on it, you will be fine.
Now, if you wear a Philadelphia Eagles jacket around town, that is another story.
Yes, the citizens of New Orleans love their Saints. I always thought that Philadelphia was a huge supporter of the Eagles or New York the Giants but let me tell you folks, it's not even close. There is Saints gear everywhere in The Big Easy, on the streets, in the stores and on the people. The Saints drubbed the Eagles earlier this year and Philadelphia had lost in the playoffs to Dallas the day before we arrived so you would think that all would be fine with a guy from New Jersey wearing an Eagles jacket right? Wrong! I got some good natured ribbing from some folks, nasty comments from others and a few really scary people stared at me in a way that made me wonder if violence was imminent. Luckily, it wasn't but I will definitely bring a different coat the next time I am there. Unfortunately, the city was under a cold spell with temperatures in the 30s much of the time, so I had to subject myself to abuse from the locals.
I don't blame the people though. After Katrina, the Saints as an organization was great to the city and quarterback Drew Brees has been a godsend to New Orleans, both in raising money to help the people and giving himself, as well as his time, to the cause of restoring the town. He is truly a civic icon that takes the overall health of the city very seriously. They are very lucky to have him. Everyone in town has at least one Katrina story. As a few people told me, it will be part of their life until the day they die.
With that out of the way, let's get to the trip.
We had an early flight on Sunday so we booked a room at the Marriott at the Philadelphia airport via Priceline.com for $55 bucks, less than half the normal price. If you haven't used Priceline before you should. You can get amazing values there, especially if you can wait until near the last minute to book. Even if you can't wait, you still can get a better price than offered on the company websites of the properties.
We also looked on Priceline for a rental car but the cheapest price we could get was $193. Given that it costs $33 dollars (plus tip) each way to the airport and that everything we wanted to see was within walking distance or accessible via the great trolley system that they have (where you can get an all day pass for $5) we decided to skip the car. It was a good move too. We saved $100 easily, and that doesn't even take into account having to pay to park downtown (which is pretty steep).
After a smooth flight and quick experience at bag claim (shocking I know), we arrived at Harrahs around 1:00 p.m. local time. We checked in and surveyed the property, which is very, very nice. The staff there was extremely friendly, to the point where they could have been poster people for "Southern Hospitality". After checking into our room, we decided to jump right in to the food scene and went to Mothers Restaurant, a famous local institution. It's a really cool place, where you stand in line to order and then pick a table and wait for your food to be delivered. The place is so popular that we had to wait outside for 10 minutes before we could even get in (and it's very big inside). It was well worth the wait. They prepare everything from scratch fresh daily. They cook the ham, chicken, turkey, roast beef, etc. every morning and then prepare their various dishes. And man, you can tell once you eat it. We decided to split a Roast Beef Po Boy Dressed (meaning it has all the fixings including amazing sauce) and get a bowl of Crawfish Etouffee. It was out of this world delicious. I knew we would be back there before we left.
After lunch, we walked down Canal Street (which is literally line that separates the Central Business District and The French Quarter) and got stuff we needed for our stay, you know the accoutrements that they don't give you in your hotel room. Since it was getting late and we were kind of tired from the early flight, we gambled a bit. I did really poorly and was worried that the casino would be tight, since it's the only game in town. As it turned out that was not the case as I actually did very well for the week. By the time dinner rolled around, we weren't all that hungry since we had the late, big lunch. We decided to just hit the Harrahs buffet. It was solid, but was also the worst dinner we had while we were there. That would stand to reason considering how good the other places we went to were. They do a different "special" dish every night and they were doing stone crab claws that night. I should have gone on the night that they had Dungeness Crab.
We hit the ground running on Monday as we decided to hoof around the French Quarter. We went back to Mothers for breakfast and it was hearty, and by that I mean if you like your meals prepared with butter, you would love that breakfast. My wife got her eggs with ham, which Mothers is famous for. I opted for Andouille sausage with mine. We also got their biscuits, as well as grits. My wife had never tried grits before and wanted to taste them. Now that she can say she has, she won't ever be doing that again. It's not that grits are bad, they just really don't have any taste. They are like tasteless oatmeal. The rest of the food was great and the portions were much more than we needed to eat, so ignoring the grits didn't matter at all. Then, it was off to work that huge breakfast off by exploring The French Quarter.
For those who aren't used to walking the trolley cars can ease some of that burden of visiting the city but even so, you will have to do some serious hoofing. We went up Canal St. to where Bourbon Street starts and headed on down through the historic avenue. Bourbon Street is tacky and kind of sleazy, but it has an old charm to it as well. Obviously, there are bars everywhere but they also have the old buildings with the balconies, where at night girls do whatever it takes to have guys throw beads at them, and vice versa. It looked a bit sleazy in the day time but at night it lights up and comes across better. One thing you should also look for in the French Quarter are the wonderful gardens that people have behind the buildings (if they are viewable from the street, don't go trespassing).
One street down is Royal Street, which runs parallel to Bourbon. It seems like it's miles away however as it has an eclectic feel, featuring art galleries, fine eateries and overall culture. It has sort of a Cape May, NJ vibe to it. It's a really cool street. We encountered a number of street bands playing along the way. It was a really fun experience. A block down from there was Chartres Street, which was pretty non-descript until we got to the back of St. Louis Cathredral, a lovely old church where the Pope visited back in the 80s. On the other side of that was a park called Jackson Square, which led down onto Decatur Street, a block off of the Mississippi. It had a lot of restaurants and stores, as well as the World Famous Cafe Du Monde, which sells coffee and beignets. They market them as French donuts but they seem like a cross between donuts and funnel cakes to me. I had my first cup of coffee since 1998 along with two beignets. They were both delicious.
We then took a horse and buggy ride around the French Quarter for $12 apiece and it was a lot of fun as the driver took us down many of the streets that we had just walked on and gave us a nice history lesson. I always like to get the take of the locals when I visit a new place. I am kind of an information junkie. After that it was back to the hotel.
For dinner, we went to Dragos in The Hilton next door. We had heard great things about it before coming to town so we gave it a try. On a Monday night, when the town was pretty empty, they were mobbed. That is always a good sign. The food there was excellent and the staff was great. I had the Crescent City Shrimp (Large Gulf shrimp seasoned with fresh herbs and spices, served the “New Orleans Way” with French roll and a baked potato) and it was amazing. Creole cooking is so different from anything I normally eat that it made my meals here taste even better. My wife wasn't sure what to get so she asked the server (who was excellent by the way) what she recommended and she told her that she loved Herradura Shrimp (Shrimp sautéed with sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and onions, deglazed with tequila, served with a grilled portabella mushroom) so she tried it and loved it. She couldn't thank the server enough for her suggestion. We definitely give Dragos four stars (out of four). The food was excellent and the price was very reasonable.
Tuesday saw us take advantage of a pass that was being sold at the Aquarium on the waterfront. For $34.95 you gained entry into the Aquarium, The Zoo, The Imax Theatre and the Insectarium. We got there just as an Imax movie was starting, so we went and saw a feature on Dinosaurs. It was pretty cool, narrated by Michael Douglas. Food was already on my mind however. Being the gregarious sort that I am, I asked the ticket lady where she would go for a Po Boy. She didn't hesitate, immediately saying, "Johnny's!".
Once we got there, we knew why. After all, you have to love a place with the slogan, "Even My Failures are Edible". Johnny's, located in the French Quarter, is smaller than Mothers but man I have never had a better sandwich in my life. Well, at least not until I came back a few days later. My wife got a ham Po Boy. I went for a turkey club Po Boy. It was awesome, totally awesome. I wished I lived there so I could eat there again. Today.
After lunch we went back to the Aquarium on the waterfront. A friend of mine had once told me that it blew away the one in Baltimore, so I had high expectations. Well, it didn't, but that's OK because Baltimore is amazing. The Aquarium here was solid, but I was a bit let down. I was expecting to see big sharks and didn't, but at least I got to see a white alligator. Overall it was solid, but it was no Baltimore.
After the Aquarium, we went to the Insectarium. Honestly I didn't even know there was such a thing but I have to tell you, it was very, very cool. The best part about it was the movie that they showed at the end. I won't spoil it for you but it's really worth going to and I looked at it like an afterthought beforehand.
That night's dinner was The Gumbo Shop. Our daughter had eaten there when she was in town on business and recommended it. We saw in New Orleans magazine (I think that was the name at least) that it was voted best Gumbo in the city. So we walked about a mile from our hotel down to the French Quarter. It's funny, when you mention gumbo or jambalaya to people, some say it's just throwing scraps into a pot and making a meal out of it. Like Po Boys, which local lore says came into existence during a trolley strike when two local brother restaurateurs that formerly worked on the rails fed scraps of meat on bread out of the back door of their restaurant to their out-of-work former cohorts, just because a dish comes from humble beginnings doesn't mean that it can't become a high end meal when chefs tinker with it over time. And The Gumbo Shop has taken the local delicacy to the next level. They had a special where they had gumbo as an appetizer, one of three entrees, a side and a dessert for $23.99. Sounded like a winner to me. We got seafood gumbo to start things off, Crawfish Etouffee for dinner, spinach and mashed potatoes respectively for sides. It was a lot of food, so much so that I couldn't even finish desert. Again, it was another great meal at a very reasonable price.
On a side note, it was wild to see Bourbon Street dead at night, especially given how insane it was the last time I was there. Royal Street had far more activity and it was not of the lascivious variety. The walk back to the hotel was cold, but safe.
On Wednesday, we decided to start our day with breakfast since we were heading to the zoo. One really bizarre thing about New Orleans is for a town that is famous for its night life, many, if not most, of the restaurants in town stop serving breakfast at 10 a.m. Now, if someone is drinking until the wee hours on Bourbon Street, what are the odds that they will be up and ready to eat that early? We set out around 10:15 looking for a place to get a good breakfast. We hit all of the major hotels looking for one that was still serving, only to be rebuked. Finally, a very nice doorman told us about a place up the street called Lil' Dizzy's Cafe, which was inside a nice old bank building. It turned out that Dizzy's has another location around town that is a famous local restaurant. I should have known when I walked in because this was a really high end place but even so the prices were great. They were still serving breakfast at 11 a.m. and we had a great meal of eggs, potatoes and bacon. It was exactly what we were looking for. On a sidenote, our server was a guy named Errol, like Flynn, who was experiencing his first day on the job. I can tell you I don't think I have ever had a more attentive person take care of me at a restaurant. I think the guy will have a job there as long as he wants.
After that, it was off to the zoo. We bought the all day trolley pass and rode the rails around town. On the trip to the zoo, the driver was a great guy with a dry sense of humor. Me being me, I started asking a few questions about the town. When I do that, one of two things happens. I either get someone who loves to give the guided tour or I get someone that just wants to do their job and not be bothered. Luckily, he was the former. He was so interesting that we actually rode past the zoo, took the trolley car to the end of the line and then got off at the zoo on the way back. When I got off the trolley, he actually shook my hand so I guess he didn't mind telling me about the town he obviously loved.
The trolley stop for the zoo is a good mile from the actual property but don't worry about that because they run a shuttle so you don't have to walk it. I won't do a blow by blow other than to say it is a really wonderful place with tons of cool exhibits. We had a ball there and even saw one pissed off gorilla freak out at a little baby, beating his chest like he wanted to kill it. At one point, I was wondering if he was going to try and jump out of his area to get to it. It was cool, and a little unnerving.
New Orleans has a free ferry which takes you across the Mississippi to a town called Algiers. There isn't a lot there to do, but my wife wanted to take the ride so when we got back from the zoo, we hopped on the ferry. Instead of going across the river, it headed downstream. For about 15 minutes, we had no idea what we did but then it pulled into a dock on the other side and it turned out that there were actually two boats, with one going to the far end of Algiers. It was a fun, free 20 minute ride down. We waited on the boat and then came back.
That night, we had reservations at the world famous Emerils, his flagship restaurant. We walked about a half mile to get there. On the way we saw a number of high end eateries that had a few people inside as it was a quiet time in town. Yet, we got to Emerils and it was mobbed. Again, while not always a perfect barometer I generally subscribe to the "the more people there the better it is" theory. And in the case of Emerils, it held true. Everything at Emerils was excellent. My only complaint would be that there wasn't much interaction with the serving team other than the obvious. I get that they are all business (and yes, they were busy). The foot was excellent, as you would expect, but it was definitely pricey. It was $21 just for two drinks. As a side, I got an Emeril Salad while my wife got the Lobster Bisque soup. I had an amazing Veal Chop with Louisiana Crab for dinner, while she had the scallops. The check came in at $134, but my daughter had given us a gift certificate for Christmas, so it was a bargain to us.
Thursday was our last day in town. We had to decide whether to take a Mississippi Riverboat Ride or go on a Swamp Tour to look for alligators. Since it had been cold, the gators wouldn't be out so we did the boat ride. We left in the morning to get our tickets. We met a wonderful lady at the ticket booth and she told us amazing stories about Katrina and the damage it wreaked. They run a Katrina tour in town, next time I go I will make sure to take it.
Since we had until 1:30 to kill, we hopped on the trolley and went to the French Market at the end of the French Quarter. It's an open air market with lots of vendors and some cool items for sale. Our suitcase was loaded or we would have bought more stuff. Next time.
As luck (actually design) would have it, we happened to be at Johnny's at lunch time. I decided to get the Roast Beef Po Boy. All I can tell you that two bites in, I was making a face that led my wife to say, "You are really loving that aren't you?" Right she was. It's the best sandwich I ever had (and that includes Tony Luke's in Philly and The White House in Atlantic City). It was just amazing. My wife got a half of a shrimp Po Boy with a bowl of seafood gumbo and was making the same kind of face. Johnny's rules.
After lunch, we took the ride on The Creole Queen. It was a nice, fun ride that stopped at the site of the Battle of New Orleans, from the war of 1812. It was a nice leisurely ride. We sipped a cocktail on the way back and enjoyed the ride.
Our last meal in town would be at The Besh Steakhouse inside of Harrahs. When we booked the room, they gave us a $75 dollar food credit there so we decided to try it. It ends up John Besh is a prominent New Orleans chef that Harrahs brought in to oversee their high end restaurant. We went because of the comp and it ended up being the best dinner we had in town. Our server was a very nice guy who told us all about Besh and a number of other things related to the town. As good as he was, the food was better. We started with an appetizer called "Louisiana Seafood 3 Ways". As I said, I like to try the local cuisine. It was Shrimp Remoulade, Crab Maison with caviar and fried oysters with blue cheese dressing. It was off the charts. I never, ever, ever thought I would like oysters. I was wrong. I could have ordered a few more of them and made it the meal, but we decided to be adventurous. After ordering a salad, we heard that the special was a Louisiana-ized Redfish. Neither of us had ever had Redfish before so we gave it a try. Wow, it was awesome. I am no chef but let me tell you they knew what they were doing in preparing that fish because it was amazing.
Sadly, Friday came and we had to leave by 1:00. Harrahs gave us a late check out so I went up to Mothers for some jambalaya and a couple of 2/3 (less than full sized) Po Boys. We ate them in our room and I realized that would be it on southern cooking for a while. But don't worry Big Easy, we will be back!
