by Ester Harrison
New Orleans is such an iconic city. I’ve been several times and each time is a different experience. As a southern city on the water, it always makes me think of Palermo, Sicily. A place that I call home. So on my recent trip to NOLA, I decided to go treat it like home and travel without a plan. As just one member of a fairly large group, I knew that there would be no lack of planning or entertainment, and I would just come along for the ride. I let the city (and my friends) take me where they would.
I had a blast.
This is simple to do in New Orleans, as it is one of the greatest cities in America. And you can quote me on that. The sights, tastes, sounds, and smells (even those not so great ones on Bourbon Street) all make up the city whose essence is marinated in traditions. With 36 hours in New Orleans, it was a packed trip and I got the most out of the city. This is perhaps because, in New Orleans it is easy lose your sense of time completely. Forget your watch at home, it doesn't matter.
Most of us arrived late on Friday night, so the first stop was dinner at Deanie’s Seafood in the French Quarter. My meal was a spectacular sampling of some of the region’s classics: crawfish Étouffée, crawfish au gratin, fried crawfish tails and delicious boiled potatoes as an appetizer. While I normally don’t crave crawfish, I basically lived on them the entire weekend in New Orleans, and I am absolutely okay with that. Dinner was a great kick off to an epic and quintessential night on Bourbon Street. (My advice, try it once and then move on to a different area of the city.)
My first morning in New Orleans was an early one, and by the time regrets from the night before were setting in, we were all seated for brunch at the Palace Café in the French Quarter. This Brennan’s restaurant was extraordinary. I'll vouch for any menu that has an entire section devoted to different variations on poached eggs, specifically Eggs Benedict. I am an aficionado of eggs, but the Benedict variety is probably the greatest breakfast food ever created. Essentially you are layering delicious elements and topping it all off with some hollandaise sauce. The Café Eggs Benedict at The Palace Café did not disappoint. A soft and flaky southern cheddar biscuit is loaded with tender “Cochon de Lait pork ‘debris’,” perfectly poached eggs, and tangy tasso hollandaise. For good measure I chose to add sauteed crawfish to the dish because, why not?! Yum!
Cafe Eggs Benedict at the Palace Cafe.
The great thing about New Orleans is that you walk almost everywhere, which is essential when you eat as much crawfish as I had. From brunch we headed to the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Thanks to a good friend who knew a lot about this cemetery we were able to get an impromptu tour. I've never been on a traditional tour of New Orleans. When I usually go there I wander the city, so having someone in our group who knew about the area was really special and informative. The cemeteries of New Orleans are magical places filled with monumental architecture, rich history, varied spiritualism and a romantic sadness only garnered from hundreds of years of tradition. No trip to this city is complete without a visit to one of these cemeteries.
After the St. Louis Cemetery our trek continued to the New Orleans City Park, which while off the beaten path, is worth the ride on the No. 48, the Canal Street trolley. The expansive 1,300 acre park is an amazing reprieve from the busy streets of the French Quarter. Instead of tourists, the pathways here are filled with old trees hanging with moss. The park also houses the New Orleans Museum of Art, so if your trip allows for it, this is definitely a stop worthy of your time.
A visit to New Orleans would not be complete without stopping by the Warehouse District. So for dinner we ventured out to Mulate’s, an iconic restaurant that specializes in Cajun cuisine in a Dine and Dance atmosphere. Shrimp and Okra Gumbo, another classic, was the meal of choice. With a band playing while we ate, this was a festive and fun way to begin our last night in the Crescent City. From Mulate’s we continued to the artistic Frenchmen Street, where you can enjoy an artisan market and some of the best live Jazz in the city. From there we wandered to the less traveled section of Bourbon Street to find Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, housed in a building rumored to be the oldest bar in America. A few piano bar songs later and I was ready to begin the long walk back down Bourbon Street to the hotel. Time had completely escaped me and with a trip home the next day, sleep was eminent.
A looming flight in my near future, my final adventure in this city was a walk to the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral and some time to enjoy Jackson Square. It was a nice change of pace to see the French Quarter in near silence on this foggy Sunday morning. Since I was already in the area, I figured I might as well also stop in to Café Du Monde for a Café Au Lait and some of their gluttonous Beignet’s. Right?
36 hours in New Orleans, 4 fantastic meals, no regrets. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that I will be back soon.
© All Photos by Ester Harrison