After a home run our first night in New Orleans, day two had a lot to live up to. Since I turned my dirty thirty, recovering after a night of drinking sugary drinks has become more and more difficult. The threat of feeling like I got hit by a hurricane after a night of drinking Hurricanes is real, but thankfully I awoke easily to the smell of freshly baked muffins that our host Cindy had been making at our B & B Monrose Row.
I am a firm believer in lazy Sundays so after our delicious breakfast we decided to start our day off at the French Market Place. It’s a small flea market right by the Mississippi River full of all kinds of goodies ranging from alligator heads to voodoo dolls, 3 for $10 T-shirts with creative sayings like “I Got Fucked Up on Bourbon Street”, tons of handmade jewelry, and lots of interesting people that are willing to “make a deal just for you!” It also has yummy food. Since my boyfriend and I were on a mission to eat, we decided it was time to have lunch because it had been at least two hours since we had eaten breakfast.
During our hunt for food, it began to sprinkle which inspired us to stop by the Organic Banana to grab some piña coladas… just in case we got caught in the rain. There were so many vendors so it was hard to decide what yummy foods we were going to try next. We are seafood junkies so when we saw J’s Seafood Dock was selling fried oysters on a bed of collard greens and artichokes, we had to stop and try some. After we demolished those, we got an order of boiled crawfish. They are delicious but take a lot of work for a little pay off. Eating crawfish is not for the faint of heart. Here is my suggested method for eating those little cockroaches of the sea.
Ashley's Method for Eating Crawfish
Prepare yourself for the carnage that is about to ensue.
Remove the head from the tail. Pinch the head between two fingers with one hand, and hold the tail with your other hand. ...
Suck the head. Place the open part of the head between your lips and suck out the juices. ...I know, it sounds disgusting but the broth is so good!!!!
Crack the tail's shell. ...
Devein the crawfish. ... (If you’re daring and disgusting like my boyfriend, you may skip the deveining part.)
Eat the tail meat. ...
Suck the claws.
It takes a lot to fill you up so prepare for a lot of work!
After lunch we felt like we needed to walk off some of those calories. We walked along the Mississippi river all the way through the Bywater district to Poland Avenue where we stopped at Bacchanal Wine. You would never know by the front how amazing this place is! The entrance of the building looks tiny and leads to a small wine store...we passed through and it was like entering your best friends backyard. They have a large courtyard with an array of different tables and chairs. In the center was a small stage that provided continuous live music. Before we knew it, we killed a bottle of wine while rocking out under the beautiful grey sky. It was such a great vibe that I didn’t even mind getting shit on by a bird. I figured it was good luck (even though it was on an outfit I borrowed from my sister without asking…oops) Another reason I loved this place was because there are no children allowed! There are signs everywhere that say no one under 21--that includes babies! I realize this might rub some people the wrong way, but as non-breeders, we appreciated this!
Bacchanal was a success because we were drunk by 4 o’clock on a Sunday. We decided to walk back to our Bed and Breakfast to catch a QUICK snooze; we woke up at 9pm!!! Since we slept a good portion of the evening away we thought what better to do than eat! We decided to go back to Frenchmen Street to grab some tapas at Maison. This is a lively place on Frenchman Street where there are live performances from local jazz bands. It’s dark and intimate and the stage is visible from the dining area and the bar. All the tables fill up quickly so be prepared to wait.
Once we were seated we decided to order a few more Sazeracs and some more fried balls! We got the alligator bites which were breaded with Japanese panko bread crumbs and served with a red pepper coulis sauce. We didn’t stop there and ordered the jambalaya with alligator sausage. The live jazz band was so fun and they had the sexiest singer in a tight leopard dress. We really enjoyed ourselves and got our second wind. We guzzled down our Sazeracs and decided to head over to the Blue Nile.
The Blue Nile club is staged in an 1832 building, reportedly the first constructed on Frenchmen Street. It’s got a funky blue and gold décor and hosts an array of bands. My boyfriend and I wandered in while the next band was setting up. We grabbed two bar stools in the corner which turned out to be the BEST seats in the house. As the night went on, the dance floor filled up with all kinds of characters. We were basically scientists watching a little petri dish that was the dance floor …people falling in love, falling out of love, trying to procreate with their clothes on, I even think we may have met the modern day Jesus with sunglasses.
Day 2 in New Orleans was another success! We ate, we drank, we fell in love, AND danced along side Jesus.
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