New Orleans Archives - asthejoeflies

Mar 03 2015

3 Days in New Orleans – 3 Days of Eating

Luckily this wasn't the only thing on the menu in New Orleans — Luckily this wasn’t the only thing on the menu in New Orleans

We spent some time checking out the sights in New Orleans, but we were interested in one thing above all else – eating. After a very underwhelming and overpriced dinner at the Intercontinental the night we got in, we didn’t see any bad food until the US Airways sandwiches on the flight on home. Here’s a quick tour of what we got to sample.

Beignets – Café du Monde and Café Beignet

Obviously, options 1, 2, and 3 for breakfast were beignets. We hit up Cafe du Monde, purportedly the most famous purveyors of beignets, our first morning. We woke up pretty early due to the time difference so we arrived there by 8:30. At that time there were still plenty of places to sit – by 9:00 the place was completely full. At 10:30 on the day we left we walked by and there was a line out the door.

The lines at Cafe du Monde can get quite significant – go early

Cafe du Monde has table service and a take out counter. The table service is pretty simple, you order, and then you pay when you receive the food. We got two orders of beignets, I had hot chocolate, and Jess had a café leche. The beignets were amazing (our second order came after we finished the first). For some reason, M wasn’t a fan – she said she didn’t like the “snow” on top (powdered sugar). More for me!

Fried goodness covered in "snow" — Fried goodness covered in “snow”

Cafe Beignet had more to offer than just beignets, although their beignets were quite excellent as well. We also ordered a omelette with Andouille sausage there. All the food was very good and the café had a nice little French café feel to it. I’d definitely recommend trying both if you are in town and have the time.

Cafe Beignet feels like a little French cafe

The beignets there are different stylistically from Cafe du Monde, but also amazing

We also had a third breakfast at a small little café called Merchant that mostly serves crepes. The food there was excellent – fresh, tasty – we ended up getting a crepe to go for lunch on the day we were leaving.

Emeril’s

Although Emeril’s New Orleans is casual, it’s still a bit fancier than what we’re accustomed to taking M to. Still, we really wanted to go so we decided to take her for lunch.

Starting with the bread, we were impressed with every aspect of the meal. It was just a solid and satisfying meal all around. The best part of the bread was the cornbread – it was so good!

Can't go wrong with gumbo in New Orleans — Can’t go wrong with gumbo in New Orleans

We ordered gumbo (pretty much ordered it at every meal) to start. Is gumbo not supposed to be served piping hot? Because that’s what we determined after ordering it four times – it was always warm but never super hot. Emeril’s was probably the best gumbo we had the whole trip.

The BBQ shrimp was great though I could have used more

For our entrees I had the chicken and waffles while Jess ate two appetizers – BBQ shrimp and a squid ink crawfish pasta. Everything was good but the BBQ shrimp stood out to me. It would have been great with some grits or something.

By the time we were done with our meal, M was starting to lose it – it was over two hours past her regular naptime. So, to answer that age old question, “what about dessert?”, we decided to get it to go. This worked out well, we ate it at the Riverfront Outlets, an indoor mall, while M napped in her stroller. Emeril’s did a great job of wrapping it up and even presented it to us before boxing.

Well presented dessert - in a box! — Well presented dessert – in a box!

There was one little mishap with our meal, which was my fault. Due to some crappy math, I wrote $74 as the total instead of $84. This resulted in me stiffing our waiter $10 worth of tip! I didn’t realize this until later when we were walking around – I pulled the receipt out of my pocket and had one of those flashback moments where I realized what I had done. Thankfully I called the restaurant and managed to fix it (and my CC bill confirms that it was fixed) – but I was so embarrassed! Sorry, thin Asian waiter with glasses whose name I forgot. I suck.

Quick Bites – Po’ Boys, Muffaletas, etc.

As we’ve done in the past, we had some quick meals – taking food back to the hotel a few times and grabbing lunch to picnic in the zoo another. Jess’ even took some stuff to go to Boston.

Butcher isn't super toddler friendly — Butcher isn’t super toddler friendly

For dinner our first night we had take out from a deli/bar called Cochon Butcher. We were thinking about eating there but it was all stool type seating so high high chairs weren’t really an option. Actually, maybe they had them but we didn’t ask because seeing the stools were enough to help us decide to take it home.

The food at Butcher was great – we ordered mac and cheese which was probably the least impressive but was very filling. But what really set Butcher apart were the sandwiches. I ordered the “BBQ Pork” Carolina Style sandwich which was amazing. Can’t get good BBQ like that in Boston. Jess got the Moroccan Spiced Lamb flatbread which she was happy with though we both agreed my sandwich was the best.

The day we went to the zoo we bought various foods. Jess got a salad from St. James Cheese Co. which she shared with M. I got a shrimp po’ boy from Guy’ Po Boys which I shared with Jess. Jess had found Guy’s while doing research online – it didn’t disappoint (though I probably should have passed on the fries they were nothing spectacular and all the shrimp was fried already. Then again Jess and M ate bugs.)

On our final day we grabbed another crepe from Merchant but what Jess really had her eyes set on was a muffaletta. It’s some kind of crazy deli sandwich that’s supposed to be delicious. In fact that is all she talked about from the moment we planned on this trip.

Ultimately, she managed to get one from Central Grocery which is where these sandwiches were supposedly created. She packed it into her carry-on bag (they also offer to-go into your suitcase packaging for a small upcharge). She ate it for the next three days. “Delicious.”

Another food item of note was the charbroiled oysters that we had at Drago’s in the Hilton. They were okay – I prefer raw oysters. I can see why people swear by the charbroiled oysters but they just weren’t my cup of tea. Their BBQ shrimp and grits were amazing though.

Pralines and Ice Cream

Since I wrote about beignets already, just a note on pralines. When we first had them, we felt they were too sweet. Yet for some reason we bought them again and again. You’ve been warned.

You can't eat just one — You can’t eat just one

We also swung by Creole Creamery which was excellent.

Final Thoughts

Bottom line – eating in New Orleans is great. Just can’t get that kind of stuff up here, plus I’m a big fan of crawfish. Everybody wins. Just try to go easy on the beignets and pralines (or get ready to gain weight really fast!)

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Feb 24 2015

3 Days in New Orleans: Kid Friendly Activities

Chilling on the Riverwalk before hitting the sights

One thing we have learned about traveling with a toddler, especially on this trip, is that it’s best just to plan everything for her. Sure, we were interested in going to the Zoo, Aquarium, and Insectarium/Butterfly Garden in New Orleans, but we definitely wouldn’t have gone to all three if we were traveling alone. We enjoyed all four sights we got to see in the city – I’d recommend them for adults but there are a lot of other things to do if you’re not traveling with kids (like go out past 7 PM!).

Bourbon Street

Just a short note on this: we decided not to go. We had heard reports it was too touristy (which from what I remember is true), it’s not like we were going to stop in at any bars and listen to music, and I didn’t feel like seeing any “interesting” sights. Maybe when M is older.

Audubon Aquarium

We gave M a choice on the first day – penguins or butterflies. She opted for penguins so we went to the aquarium first. As aquariums go, it was pretty nice, though I always find aquarium trips seem to run short most of the time. We bought the “Audubon Experience” pass (aquarium, insectarium, and zoo) for $41.95 each as adults and $29.95 for the 2+ year old.

There were a lot of cool fish to look at but we spent thirty minutes standing outside the penguins. We got there ten minutes before feeding time (10:30 AM) and stayed through all of it. I only managed to convince M to leave by telling her we were going to feed some birds.

For some reason, the aquarium has a parakeet feeding area. You can buy small feed sticks for $1.50 each – I bought two. Jess was freaked out by all the birds it was hilarious. They are a bit creepy, they land on your arms and your clothes (and purses and supposedly long hair too). I had a good time feeding the birds, watching the delight on M’s face, and the look of pure terror on Jess’.

The claws were kinda skeevy if I'm being honest — The claws were kinda skeevy if I’m being honest

Other than that, the aquarium was pretty standard – a rainforest area, a bunch of cool fish, electric eels, etc. I’d say the New England Aquarium here in Boston is a little more impressive but the Audubon Aquarium is worth a visit if you really like fish.

M spent almost as much time here as she did with the penguins

Steamboat Natchez

Jess and I really wanted to listen to some music while we were in New Orleans, but like I said, we didn’t really want to go to a bar and we weren’t going to be able to go out late at night. The Steamboat Natchez, a touristy steam boat that takes a two hour tour around the Mississipi, ended up being the best we could do.

Let me repeat up front that the Steamboat Natchez is super touristy. They take every opportunity to remind you about the existence of the gift shop, the bar, etc. It cost us $29 each to ride (M was free) – you can also pay extra for a lunch buffet. The dining room kind of smelled funny though.

Checking out the menu - that we didn't really order from — Checking out the menu – that we didn’t really order from

After a short narrated tour of the river, there was a small jazz band that started playing. We managed to get a table right in front and had a great time listening to the music. Not sure what happened to their bassist (I saw the upright bass case even) – even without it they sounded great.

The boat itself is beautiful and a lot of fun to walk around. They make a point to remind you that this is the only legitimate steam powered boat in New Orleans – I don’t think they needed to do that to make me appreciate the boat. You can even go down to the engine room.

The only steam propelled boat on the Mississippi!

Drinks are overpriced but not too bad, the food looks like whatever, but it was nice to get out on the river and listen to music. It’s a touristy attraction, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Audubon Insectarium and Butterfly Garden

The most unique attraction we saw was the Audubon Insectarium and Butterfly Garden. It’s a small museum but they pack a lot in there.

To be honest, I found quite a bit of it to be gross. I mean it’s all bugs and creepy crawlies. The museum is well set up – there is plenty of room in the aisles and even though there was a school group there we never felt overcrowded.

Food made out of bugs...gross — Food made out of bugs…gross

Basically, you’re looking at bugs, bugs, and more bugs. They even have a “bug buffet” where they prepare bugs for you to try and eat for free (it’s behind the regular café). Jess and M partook in some bug…foods or whatever. I was kind of trying to avoid paying attention because it was gross. Jess said they tasted pretty good though (apparently eating bugs would solve a lot of the environmental burdens of food production).

The butterfly garden is small but very pretty. Aside from the butterflies, there are some beautiful flowers, a koi pond, and even some turtles. It’s also super warm in there, though humid. M wasn’t into the butterflies as much as I thought she’d be – we spent a lot of time looking at the turtles instead, haha.

Charles St. Streetcar

After the insectarium we took the Charles St. Streetcar towards the zoo. It’s faster to take the 11 bus (and less walking) but we wanted to ride the streetcar at least once. It was pretty crowded but we managed to find a seat.

The streetcar is a tourist attraction in and of itself

Amusingly enough, after letting us and a few others on, our driver said to the huge group waiting to get on, “You know what? Do me a favor – grab the next one.” <door slams> In his defense, the next streetcar was literally right behind him, but I still found it kind of hilarious. Hopefully those on the street weren’t too upset.

The streetcar is a fun ride – it’s neat to see the different neighborhoods. Eventually we got off and took a short walk to eat before finally making it to the zoo.

Audubon Zoo

The zoo is probably the most standard of the attractions we went to, but it’s located much further out from the main city. It’s definitely not as nice as the Taipei Zoo (it was also under construction which didn’t help). Still, there are a lot of great animals to see and there are also extras you can pay for (like a carousel and a dinosaur zone) if you’re tired of looking at animals.

We didn’t get into the zoo until 2:30 – it closes at 4:00 (an hour earlier than the other two Audubon attractions) so bear that in mind. With our short timeframe we ended up rushing. We hit all of M’s favorites – giraffes, zebras, birds. I had to take her back to the aviary to look at some ducks she had found nestled by the exit.

M's second best friend — M’s second best friend

All in all, a good time – nothing spectacular but nothing disappointing either.

Final Thoughts

Doing all three Audubon attractions in two days was a bit of a rush – if you have more time though the Audubon experience ticket isn’t a bad deal. I probably wouldn’t go to all three without a kid though, just get sick of animals at some point. If you are only going to one we found some coupons online so it’s worth looking up. With the aquarium and zoo you pretty much are going to get what you expect. The insectarium isn’t for everyone, but it was definitely the most unique and thus the most memorable to me. Finally, the Steamboat Natchez is good for some old fashioned tourism – and good music to boot.

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Feb 19 2015

3 Days in New Orleans: Introduction and Outbound

Disclosure: I have credit card links in this post for your reference. None of them are mine, none pay me a commission, and there are likely better offers out there. Do your research!

So despite some dodgy weather, we made it to New Orleans! This was as spur of the moment as we get and a very toddler-centric trip so I thought it worth documenting. It also happens to be our first domestic vacation with M that required a flight. And I didn’t have to see snow for a few days. Winning all around.

Planning: The Flights and the Hotel

Booking a last minute flight can have its advantages. Despite (or perhaps because of) booking this flight two days before President’s Day (and, as I would later find out, three days before Mardi Gras), I managed to find three domestic first class seats at sAAver level for 50,000 AA miles each RT. These flights were all on US metal, which would lead to some problems down the road.

We had to pay $75 each for a close in ticketing charge – luckily I hadn’t bought my gift certificates to trigger my AMEX Platinum airline reimbursement credit yet. So I have already had $200 of the $225 in close in ticketing fees refunded. Yay.

For the hotel, I’d been looking for a good way to use our two free nights from our IHG Rewards Club credit cards. We used these two nights at the Intercontinental New Orleans – which was retailing fore $383/night. Not bad for keeping a $49/year annual fee card.

We booked a third night at the same hotel with 50,000 IHG points I had lying around from a cancellation on our Germany trip this past summer. No taxes and fees on top of the redemptions so I’m extremely happy with our hotel accommodations. I also just noticed that the IHG Rewards Club card is one of those Chase cards where you can get the bonus again after 24 months…hmmmmmmm.

Dealing with Delays

I was pretty stressed out about our flights since a storm was rolling in to both Boston and DCA (our connecting city) when we were scheduled to travel. The weather in Boston turned out to be no big deal for once – we took off on time and arrived in DCA on time.

Unfortunately, once we got to DCA we were hit with a two hour delay on our connecting flight – it took two hours for them to de-ice the inbound in Detroit. Wow. It did lead to a semi-amusing exchange at the gate that I witnessed.

After the Detroit flight landed, one of the pilots was talking semi-heatedly with the gate agent. He was like, “We just need 10 minutes!”. Apparently they were doing our flight to New Orleans as well. The pilot walked off huffing and puffing (I had missed the beginning of the exchange). The gate agent turned to his buddy and said, “See, that’s why he ain’t never gonna be mainline.” SICK BURN. Moving on…

Toddlers are Tougher than Infants

Although M was fairly well behaved on both flights, toddlers are definitely a lot tougher than infants. Infants are great – they just sleep, and eat, and sleep, and eat.

Even when a toddler is well behaved, a flight can be pretty tiring

M wanted to climb everywhere as usual and rip up every piece of paper in sight. We also had to find her food at DCA (overpriced!) and thanks to the delay she was overtired when we got onto our flight to New Orleans.

She fussed a bit before finally falling asleep on top of Jess – who was then incapacitated for two hours on the flight due to a sleeping toddler. Anyway, this trip definitely justified my decision to pay a little bit extra for a direct flight to CLT for FT4RL2. And we haven’t even taken off for the home leg yet.

Arriving in New Orleans on Mardi Gras

We had the unique experience of landing in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday. There were a few memorable situations we encountered while trying to get to the hotel.

First, as we exited the airport, we followed signs to “Taxis and Transportation Center.” Except, I didn’t see any taxis. We ended up in the transportation center which was just an empty parking lot.

So we backtracked, at which point I saw a taxi just kind of idling. I flagged him down and was like “Yo – Intercontinental.” He mumbled something about the police which I didn’t quite catch.

This travel bag is as bulky as it is ugly.

At this point I started unpacking our stupid car seat which we brought for the trip to and from the airport (I’m so torn as to whether we actually should have brought it or not). I’ve got this half installed in the car when this cop comes up and is all, “HEY! WHY ARE YOU PICKING THESE GUYS UP?”

At this point, it registers with me that the taxi driver had said something about cops when he stopped. Apparently he was picking us up illegally, which was a point I didn’t grasp until he was getting into it with the policeman. Umm………so should I take my car seat out now?

I’m like, “OK, sorry officer, but where can we get a taxi?” At which point the officer points me to the taxi stand that is like 50 feet away that I had somehow missed up until this point. Embarrassment city. Anyway the cop shooed the taxi driver away although we saw him cruising for fares from our legit cab five minutes later. Tsk tsk. Anyway, if you’re going to New Orleans and don’t see the taxi stand at first – don’t be like me – look harder.

The Intercontinental had given me special Mardi Gras driving directions which our cabbie ignored. He then proceeded to stop two blocks away from our hotel and point us in the direction that we should walk. Normally, I’d have been totally fine with this, except for the freaking car seat we were dragging in a giant duffel bag. UGH! To his credit, he was super nice about it and didn’t leave until he was absolutely sure I knew where I was going.

The fences were still there the day after - the day before this had been staffed by security — The fences were still there the day after – the day before this had been staffed by security

We made our way towards the parade route – unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) the parades were all over. We had to pass through a bunch of gates to get to the front door of the Intercontinental – they had staff posted at each gate to let us through.

At some point I stepped into a gigantic brown puddle thanks to being off balance due to a giant duffel bag containing a car seat. I was told that said brown puddle was hot chocolate. Wow. I really hope that was the truth.

Final Thoughts

It was an eventful trip, but we made it safe and sound (and mostly happy) to New Orleans. I’m kind of sad we missed the parades – but at the same time I’m not sure we would have made it to the hotel if they were still going on. I guess we could have froggered across? We’ll never know…

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