There is so much good food in the New Orleans area, we couldn't possible sample it all on our short visit. The Jazz and Heritage Festival itself is a great place for not only music, but local food. It's a great place to get a sampling of Cajun, creole, everything!! If you go, try the Seafood Monica, Jambalaya, a po boy sandwich, crawfish bread (my personal favorite!), and of course you have to have some crawfish!
The restaurants in New Orleans welcome your business! We went to Emeril's Delmonico, his original restaurant, and it was very nice. Pretty fancy and good food, the bathrooms alone are worth the visit...they're beautiful!
My favorite restaurant of all was K-Paul's Kitchen. We did not have a reservation, and the hosts' were very accomodating! I tasted flavors I never knew existed before! They had muffins of all dif. flavors that just melted in my mouth! Everything we had was fabulous, The fish was delicious, the pasta devine, the salad, fresh and original. I would say this was the best meal I have ever eaten in my life. We even walked back to peek in the kitchen, and (even though they were very, very busy), the cooks welcomed us, told us to come in and let us take a photo with them. I have never felt so welcome in any restaurant, let alone a busy one on a Friday night! I really can't say enough about this place, I was blown away!!!
The other thing I had for the first time while in New Orleans, was a Beneit. I think that's how you spell it. They were SO fabulous, I made my husband go back and get more to take to the hotel. We found them in a little place right on Bourbon street, where they had live outdoor music playing. They also have them at the Cafe du Monde near the French Market. I was so pleased to find a box of mix from Cafe' du Monde at my local World Market, and I made them, and they are almost as good as they were down there. They're kind of like square, deep fried donuts, really fluffy, crunchy on the outside and covered in powdered sugar. My mouth waters just thinking about them!
We ate at a few other places along Bourbon Street. It was all pretty good. Bourbon Street is really a party area, and the farther down you go on Bourbon, the more raunchy it gets. There's a Larry Flint place, and a few "strip clubs" way down, and we saw a lot of women hanging around outside of those, flashing their goods to get people to come in. Not really family oriented, but during the day it was fun to look around.
When we were in New Orleans, we had a hard time deciding what to do, there was just so much to chose from. One thing we did was go to a cathedral downtown (beautiful), they had a display of some mosaics that had previously only been seen at the Vatican. It was beautiful! I'm sure it's probably back at the Vatican, but if you ever get the chance, you should check it out. We also did a lot of walking, and there were some really cool art shops just a few blocks off of Bourbon Street, with everything from original paintings and sculptures, to shops selling reasonably priced prints. Some very cool shops, and again, the shop owners were very glad to see us.
One night after dinner we took a cab to a casino near the river. I'm not much of a gambler, but I'm really glad I went, just because it was such a spectacular site! It was really, really, beautiful! I've been to casinos before, but this was just so cool. They had a jazz band going around doing that whole jazz funeral thing...it was neat.
We spend our last day down by the French Market, looking for souvenirs. This was the place to go. Good shops, again, great food, and a lot of places to buy inexpensive souvenirs.
It was really, really hot when we went. But we had a great time!
The Jazz and Heritage Fest itself was incredible! I heard some of the best music ever. We saw Marcia Ball, fabulous! Eddie Bo, Tab Beniot, the Sub Dudes, all WONDERFUL! I can't even remember all the musicians there. I know we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to. I would definately go to Jazz fest all three days (or both weekends), if I could. And plan out who you want to see. And take a hat and some sunscreen! The Jazz Fest seemed to be a really good place for families or singles, just a real mix. Everyone was friendly and having fun. There were booths set up everywhere with food, t-shirts, souvenirs! Be sure to wear some good walking shoes, you will do a lot of walking in New Orleans! And of course, you have to take the Trolley! Our hotel, the Maison St. Charles, on St. Charles, was a great place to stay. The trolley usually runs right down St. Charles in front of there, but it wasn't operating due to the damage caused by the hurricane. Most of the other trolleys were working, though, so you really should take one. To get to the fest, we took a trolley ($1.25 I think) right to the park where the fest was from the main street. Some people were paying $10. to take a shuttle bus! Anyway, our hotel had a nice free breakfast by the pool every morning! And the pool was small, but good, they had a whirlpool as well. The courtyards at the hotel were nice to sit out at. The people at the hotel were SO NICE and helpful! Rooms were older, but clean and charming. I would stay there again! Did I mention it's right across the street from Emeril's Delmonico restaurant?
I wish I could remember everything else we did and saw, it was a very busy vacation! I would recommend going to New Orleans to anyone looking for a vacation. Especially if you love food and music! On the last note, a was a bit worried about safety, but we found as long as we stayed in main tourist areas, we were fine. So, just use common sense and you should be fine!
Remember...where comfortable walking shoes!!
Check out one of my New Orleans t-shirt designs here
And of course, I must mention the best radio station ever...because we won the fabulous trip to New Orleans from my fav and yours... 1055. Triple M, Madison Wisconsin...it's about the music!
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