Cafe Du Monde, Beignets, Chicory Coffee

I will take a beignet with my history lesson-NOLA Day 3

Day 3 in New Orleans started very similar to day 2…hungover. It took everything my boyfriend and I had to roll out of bed for breakfast at B & B Monrose Row. We drank as much coffee as possible and still decided to go back to bed until around 1 pm. It was a little rainy which is the perfect weather for an after breakfast nap.

Once we finally were able to get up we were hungry AGAIN, so we grabbed an umbrella from our fabulous host Cindy and went out for the day. We took a lovely stroll through the French Quarter all the way down to Decatur St. where we stopped at the Original French Market Restaurant that has been open since 1803. We were greeted by the most animated waiter who raved about his food and told us he had the best oysters in the city. We took him up on his offer and started with the garlic and herb char-grilled oysters. They were so delicious…like a must-get! I am salivating just thinking about it. Those and some alligator sausage and we were stuffed.

Alligator Sausage, The Original French Market

Gator Sausage

But not that stuffed… After lunch was the moment I had been waiting for since we arrived in the Crescent City. We were walking up to the world famous Café Du Monde which is French for “café of the world”. I could smell the sugary dough blocks from the tiny little café and couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into one of their warm beignets. I was astonished at how large the café is for only serving two items on their menu, chicory coffee and beignets (you can also get regular coffee). Somehow my boyfriend and I showed some sort of self-control because we only ordered one order to share and two chicory coffees. ONE ORDER!! That may be the biggest regret of my life this far. Each bite was so delicious it took everything inside of me to not just lose it and order like ten more.Cafe Du Monde

Earlier that day (like that 30 min span we were awake for breakfast) our host Cindy was telling us about how after Hurricane Katrina, the French Quarter was dead. There was no running water and definitely no tourists. It had been like that for a few months, until one day the most wonderful smell was filling the streets. Every single shop and restaurant owner took a minute to follow their noses and were filled with such joy because that sugary smell meant Café Du Monde was up and running after being shut down for two months. To the residents of New Orleans, the reopening of Café Du Monde meant that New Orleans would be able to recover after Hurricane Katrina. That particularly sweet day, Café Du Monde served up free powdered sugar beignets and warm chicory coffee for free for all of the people of their beloved city. I think that’s a prime example of the sense of community I felt while I was in New Orleans.

It took a while to move after our sugar coma, but we eventually decided to take a New Orleans Scandals tour with the Haunted History Tours company. The tour began with drink vouchers for ½ off hurricanes, so we were pretty positive that we had made a great choice to kick off our evening. The tour ended up being my boyfriend, myself, and two 50-yr-old wild women from Indiana who were away from their husbands for the weekend. They provided non-stop entertainment starting with jello-shots and ending in marriage advice. To top it all off, one of the women’s legal names was Shadow. They wanted to meet up with us later, but I am pretty sure they passed out on the walk back to their hotel.

The tour was interesting (and entertaining) but we got the real history lesson at this tiny little absinthe bar called the Absinthe House that is hidden right off of Bourbon Street in a dark alley way. The bar has been around for almost 200 years and is situated in a building that bears the name of Jean Lafitte. It is rumored that the pirate Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson met there and planned the victory of the battle of New Orleans. The Absinthe House also happened to be the after work hang out for many of the local tour guides. My boyfriend and I had the hot seat as different tour guides came and went and we picked their brains for as much juicy New Orleans history as we could get. We learned all kinds of interesting things such as the first settlers of the region were all male convicts from France. It seems there is a good possibility that most of the initial settlers were eaten by a near-by tribe of cannibals called the Atakapa, being lured out into the marsh by females of the tribe for “dinner”.  Needless to say, France had to send more convicts and this time they added in mentally insane woman and prostitutes.

In a land filled with misfits, the first two buildings built were a gambling house and a brothel. New Orleans was full of brothels and sometime in the late 1800’s a new music form called “Ragtime” started to become popular. According to our drunken history buffs, Ragtime began in the brothels of New Orleans.  As many of us ladies know, living with other women often causes our menstrual cycles to become synchronized. It turns out it’s been that way for 100’s of years. When the prostitutes were “on the rag”, they couldn’t work for a few days. In order to compensate during “rag time” the madam of the house would urge the musicians to play more vigorously in hopes of inducing customers to stay around dancing and spending money. This energetic jazz music was appropriately named “Ragtime”.

History is so cool. If my high school history teacher was as interesting as these bar patrons, I maybe wouldn’t have cheated my way through class!!

The last bit of history I have to share is about the lore of the green fairy and absinthe itself. Many of you have probably read about how absinthe was a muse to bohemians or that it makes people mad and hallucinate. It is also rumored to have drove Van Gogh to cut off his ear.  Sadly many of these stories just aren’t true. According to the lovely lady behind the bar dressed in an outfit from the late 1800’s, cloudy green absinthe started out as a medicinal drink and that’s why it tastes terrible. The wormwood was put in it because many people at that time literally had worms, and the wormwood was meant to rid you of that problem. The hallucination rumors may have started because some “free thinkers” may have dripped liquid opium on the sugar cube while waiting for it to dissolve into the green abyss.

Though the colorful rumors of absinthe are a lot more fun, more realistically the wine industry of France was probably responsible for demonizing the spirit. In the middle of the 1800’s, the French wine industry worried that cheap absinthe was eating into the market and used its political clout to get the liquor banned. Good new for us,  absinthe is no longer illegal in the United States !!! Whether you are chasing the green fairy or not, I suggest you try absinthe not only for the unique taste but because the traditional method of serving absinthe is a ritual and very beautiful.

Absinthe is served in a beautiful Pontarlier glass which has a well at the bottom indicating how much absinthe to pour. An ornate, slotted spoon is then laid across the glass, with a sugar cube. The final step is to drip ice cold water, possibly using an absinthe fountain, into the glass until the liquid turns cloudy.

I hope that this particular blog has given you really great history tidbits to share at a party or at least inspired you to have a drink! Bottoms Up!

Absinthe

Photo By Eric Litton

French Market, Crawfish, New Orleans, Food

Meeting Jesus on the Dance Floor- New Orleans Day 2

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

Crawfish, New Orleans, Food

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. 

A great way to fall in love all over again is to take a vacation!

New Orleans, NOLA, selfie

Rock Me Like A Hurricane-NOLA Day 1

New Orleans, the Crescent City, has always been a vacation destination on the top of my list.  This year was my four-year anniversary with my man so we decided we must celebrate our commitment to one another by eating and drinking in NOLA for a long weekend getaway.  Not only did we pig out for 84 hours straight, but we also learned about New Orleans’ fascinating history and that it may be one of the only cities in the country that offers drive-through daiquiris.  How do they get around the open container law you might ask? Obviously they leave the little piece of paper on the top of the straw!  New Orleans has an energy like no other place in the United States.  The residents of the city believe there is magic there, and I have to say after my long weekend that I am a believer.

When buzzing around the world, I really like to try and find unique places to stay.  We hit the jackpot in New Orleans.  We ended up staying right outside of the French Quarter in a beautifully restored Bed & Breakfast named Monrose Row. Monrose Row is situated in the heart of historical Faubourg Treme just two blocks from the French Quarter.  A melting pot of cultures, the Treme was home to infamous Storyville and Basin Street. We got the entire top floor to ourselves and the house was intricately decorated with voodoo inspired art.  Our lovely host Cindy not only made us a delicious breakfast every morning like French toast with caramelized almonds, but she was the best guide.  Residents of New Orleans love their city and are quick to offer up the top places to catch a bite or watch a jazz show.  Cindy was no exception and was so proud to share all of her favorite spots and some unique history that makes New Orleans so damn cool!

We landed on a Saturday night right around dinner time and were lucky enough to be able to walk into Emeril Lagasse’s casual and funky restaurant NOLA.  NOLA is located in the French Quarter and is a rustic-chic renovated warehouse with a beautiful glass elevator that serves Creole and Arcadian (Cajun) food.  We kicked off our New Orleans experience with one of the first cocktails ever invented called the Sazerac. The Sazerac cocktail is said to have originated pre-Civil War.  The defining feature of the Sazerac is its method of preparation, which commonly involves two chilled old-fashioned glasses.  The first glass is swirled with the licorice flavored absinthe or other various anisettes such as Herbsaint.  The second glass is used to combine the remaining ingredients (rye or cognac, Peychaud’s Bitters, and sugar) which are stirred with ice, and then strained into the first glass.  Trust me, they go down so easy that you’ll be ready for a second one by the time your appetizer comes.

NOLA, Emeril Lagasse

Pork Cheek Boudin Balls

We went to New Orleans to eat and we didn’t waste any time. We began with an appetizer and decided to order the Pork Cheek Boudin Balls with a creole mustard aioli.  Let me just say this was the first of many fried balls we ate in New Orleans.  You can laugh...I just said fried balls.

Just as our second Sazerac arrived, we dived into our main entrees which were Duck Gumbo with Andouille Sausage and the Shrimp and Cheddar Grits.  I think biting into the cheesy, creamy grits was when I officially fell in love with this city and I had only been there for less than two hours.

NOLA, Emeril Lagasse, Restaurant, New Orleans

Duck Gumbo with Andouille Sausage and Shrimp and Cheddar Grits

We obviously finished our meal off like two “fatties” should with the Warm Ooey Gooey Cake smothered in coconut and coffee ice-cream combined with two espresso shots so that these thirty-year-olds could make it through the rest of the night!

After our delicious meal we headed over to the famous Frenchmen Street.  Frenchmen Street is just walking distance from the French Quarter and is known for its wide variety of music any night of the week. It’s basically a two-block stretch where you are likely to hear anything from Jazz to Latin to Blues to Reggae and everything in between.  The covers and drinks are cheap, the bands are amazing, and some of the best music can be found right on the street!  Your main requirement is to tip the bands generously and you inevitably drink heavily because you’re having such a damn good time! Not to mention, New Orleans lets you take your drinks out into the street just as long as they are in a plastic cup.  The rest of the United States should definitely take some pointers from this port town.

I was so happy we had those two espresso shots because I was in the mood to party.  We bought our first Hurricane, another New Orleans staple, around 12 AM.  A Hurricane is a sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, fruit juice, and syrup or grenadine that will get you F&*#$% because it tastes like Kool-Aid.  As we were sipping…chugging away, we started talking to a local who said if we wanted to really experience the infamous Bourbon Street, that Saturday night would be best! We always listen to locals so off we went with our plastic cups.

It turns out we weren’t the only ones drinking Hurricane’s that night.  Bourbon street was riddled with the young and old seemingly “letting their hair down!” It was another world and it was definitely in full swing at midnight on a Saturday.  It was fun to see the oldest street in New Orleans but it was overflowing with garbage and beads.  It was literally like the Disneyland Pirates ride and Vegas had some weird, freaky child and named it Bourbon Street. Though a bit rough around the edges, it was a carnival of sights and sounds.  Bourbon becomes a pedestrian walkway during the evening hours when no vehicles are let through, which allows for all walks of life to enjoy the many bars and gentleman’s clubs.  It was definitely fun to see but after too many drunken men asked me to show my boobs for $ .25 beads, I decided that was the end of night one.  I did go home with one pair of beads though, but I will never tell if I flashed my boobs or gave a homeless man five dollars.