Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Big Easy

On Monday, my husband and I returned from a long weekend in New Orleans.  We were there to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary.  While there we met up with good friends from Texas and a good time was definitely had by all!  This was my first visit to New Orleans and the first time my husband and I left all four of our kids.  My sister came in from the Left Coast to watch the kids and they had a great time with their Auntie and were in excellent hands. 

New Orleans is a little gem of a city and I was very surprised by the laid back attitude, excellent food and culture.  Our theme of the weekend was most definitely, "Too Much Food!"

If you are planning a trip to the City, here is my Top Ten list of must do and see:

10. Bourbon Street - You cannot visit the city and not go here. Good to experience both during the day and at night. Two different experiences!

9. NOMA - New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park.  Hidden Gem with a very nice permanent collection.  While there we met a wonderful docent who was definitely a true Southern Belle!

8. Cafe Beignet on Royal Street - excellent spot for Beignets without the lines of Cafe DuMond

7. Davenport Lounge - located at the Ritz.  We went to see Mr. James Davenport himself.  Excellent!

6. Coquette - fantastic neighborhood restaurant in the Garden District.  Hidden Gem favored by locals.  Excellent seasonal food and fantastic prices!

5. Jackson Square - great spot to sit on a bench and people watch or walk around (with a cocktail!) and check out the local artists.  I found some adorable paintings for the twins' room~

4. Stanley's - Fantastic Restaurant off of Jackson Square - famous for the Eggs Benedict.  Delicious! 

3. French Market - Open air market.  Great prices!  Go to the Banana Cafe for a Bloody Mary - best one in the city!

2. John Besh - this guy is New Orleans!  We went to two of his restaurants: August and Luke.  I thought Luke's was fantastic!

1. Cochon/Butcher - My favorite thing in New Orleans is a tie!  These are two of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at.  Cochon is Cajun Southern Cooking and Butcher is the most amazing sandwich shop.  EVER.  They make all of their own meats and you can taste the difference!  At Cochon I had a Cajun spin on a BLT  - with Oysters!  I was also adventurous and tried some new things.  I must say, I do owe the Chef Donald Link an apology.  While preparing for the trip, my husband was very excited about going to this place.  After I took a look at the menu I really was a little disgusted and figured that I would only be eating a side of grits or greens when I went.  Boy, was I wrong!  My apologies Chef.  Please open up a location in DC!!


Thanks for stopping by.  More to come later this week on our trip, including some pics!


4 comments:

  1. Aw, so fun! Came here from the multiples monday link up. We live in New Orleans, and it's always nice to see other people appreciate it. :)

    Butcher is SO good, holy cow! Yum.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I might email you with the request to fed ex a sandwhich from Butcher! lol!

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    2. there might be a bite out of it. :D

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  2. It sounds like you had a great time! I am glad you were able to get away and enjoy fun and R & R. Thank you for linking to Multiples Monday.

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