Day 6: Nola Livin'

Here I am wearing my Hoagie Haven t-shirt, standing outside of Lil' Dizzy's Cafe. I got a quick cup of coffee from there and then walked around the city.

It didn't take much wandering for me to be hungry, so I wandered over to a burger place called, Port of Call.

In front of Port of Call...the inside of this place has super dim lighting.

This picture doesn't do the food justice. I got a plain burger with blue cheese on the side. 

Absolutely delicious.

Port of Call was packed, but we lucked out and found a spot at the bar where we were able to be served fairly quickly.

After the grub, the adventuring continued.

Found this Estelle Musson House.

The sign on the house reads:

"Estelle Musson had this Italianate-style house built in 1881. After she was abandoned by her husband, Rene Degas, went almost blind, four of her six children died. She moved here with her sisters, Desiree and Odile from their family home at 2306 Esplande Avenue. 

A portrait of Estele painted in 1872 by her brother-in-law and cousin, French impressionist artist, Edgar Degas, is housed at the New Orleans Museum of Art. 

The house remained in the Musson family until 1902."

I thought it was pretty interesting...or rather...pretty tragic.

Anyway, I took a trip over to City Hall where my friend, JT works to pay him a visit.

JT & I in front of City Hall

While I was at City Hall, I was fortunate enough to meet and speak with the Deputy Mayor, Andy Kopplin. He was nice, welcoming and happy to see that there is an abundance of young people visiting NOLA!

After our visit to City Hall, we ventured on over to Magazine Street - as per many recommendations. 

Magazine Street has lots of little unique shops and restaurants. We walked a fair amount of Magazine in both directions. 

Below are some pictures from some of my pit stops along Magazine Street.

Grabbed a coffee from Corner Muse. They had a piano in there for customers to play.

Purchased two 45s from Jim Russell's Records. I asked the store manager to pick me out two of her favorites. 

After magazine street, we decided to head back to Bourbon Street to continue to fulfill our tourist duties. 

Want to know what a big deal is in New Orleans besides beignets, drinking and Po-boys? 

Seafood - oysters in particular.

I don't care much for seafood, but when in Nawlins'!

Raw Oysters from Le Bayou

DISCLAIMER: What I am about to say may offend you.

You've been warned.

"Eating" a raw oyster was probably one of the most pointless things I have ever done. 

Okay, now let me explain. 

I put the oyster on a saltine cracker, sloshed some tartar sauce on that thing and squeezed some lemon juice as a final step of preparation. 

Then I put the saltine on my bottom lip and threw the oyster down my esophagus. 

I'm sorry...what was the point of that? 

The only thing I tasted was the tartar sauce and the saltine cracker that I chased it with.

Pointless.

I don't see myself doing that again anytime soon.

Anyway, in hopes to consume something a little more tasteful I ordered a chocolate martini. 

Chocolate Martini from Le Bayou.

Now that was something that had a taste and I enjoyed.

The Best Bartender in New Orleans, Mr. Dave Bliss

After Le Bayou, we went down the street and grabbed some HUGE ASS BEERS, then called it a night.

Thanks for the good times, NOLA.

Day 5: Nola Livin'

Here I am rocking my Vintage Vinyl Tee - Vintage is one of my favorite local record stores! I'm standing outside of Erin Rose, capitalizing on their AM drink special for Bloody Marys. 

After grabbing a Bloody Mary togo from Erin Rose, I continued to venture around the city and explore. 

A section of the city was blocked off. 

Want to know why? 

Because they were filming a television show!

Photo Release Sign for the TV Show's Filming

All of that roaming around made me hungry, naturally. So I went over to a notable restaurant called, Johnny's Po-Boy.

As I have previously mentioned, Po-Boy's are huge in New Orleans, and Johnny's is rated one of the best in places to grab one in the city.

Evidently many people think it's the best - look at the line!

While I was inside of the restaurant I overhead the history of the Po-boy being told by a tour guide. Apparently, back in the day, two streetcar conductors started making these sandwiches amidst a strike. They remember their roots and they fed all of their fellow streetcar conductors - who were poor because they were on strike - these sandwiches. They fed them for free and thus the name "poor boy" originated. 

Since then, the "or" of the word "poor" has been dropped and they are commonly referred to as Po-Boys. 

Anyway, enough of that. I got a roast beef and gravy Po-boy, dressed.

Bag of Zapp's Cajun-flavored chips on the side.  

Roast Beef Po-Boy - YUM.

After devouring my delicious Po-boy, I continued to wander around and wound up hanging out in front of this scenic view:

Overlooking the Mississippi River

After hanging out riverside for a while, it was time to hit my third, and final destination to try beignets.

The infamous, Cafe Du Monde.

I had to wait in line for a bit just to get some beignets togo. The line for the sit-in service was a lot longer in length and a lot longer of a wait as well. 

But not to worry, the beignets were worth the wait, and so was the coffee!

Beignets and Chicory Coffee - TOGO!

I ate my beignets and drank my coffee on the fly and then headed on over to a local event called Wednesdays At The Square. 

The event is pretty self-explanatory - every Wednesday in the spring at Lafayette Square there is live, outdoor music and various local vendors selling their product(s). 

This Wednesday, a band called, Bucktown All-stars + Park Row played. 

The music was enjoyable, and I perused around the square to check out the local art and food vendors. 

Naturally, I wound up buying some food. I tried an arugula and quinoa salad and some habanero kettle corn.  

The salad was pretty tasty, and the kettle corn was decent. It lacked the habanero "kick" that I expected it to have. 

Lafayette Square

There were a lot of people at the event. From what I gathered, there was quite a diverse crowd in attendance. I saw people that were there just to enjoy the music and drink a beer, and then there were people who used the event as a platform to network. There were tons of young business men and women walking around. They didn't hesitate to flash their business cards.

Overall, it was an enjoyable way to spend my late afternoon into the evening.

After Wednesdays in the Square, it was time for us to head on over to try some more touristy alcoholic beverages.

For those of you who don't know, the hand grenade, is the ultimate tourist drink.

I wish I could tell you what was in it, but apparently, no one can.

You get the drink from a place called, Tropical Isle. There are only three Tropical Isle locations in New Orleans. 

When you order the drink, you can get it frozen or on the rocks. If you get it on the rocks - as I did - the drink comes out of the built-in pourer. You know the place where bartenders dispense the soda and water? 

Yes, it came out of that spout.

You know what that means?

The drink recipe is TOP SECRET.

There is actually a sign in front of the door that states, anyone who claims to know the hand grenade recipe and is sharing it should be turned in. There is a $250 dollar reward for turning someone of this nature in. 

Serious secrecy. 

Jessy, Doc & I with Hand Grenades

As you can see, the drink is a fluorescent-lime green. 

Something you can't tell, is how sweet this drink was. 

So sugary...

and so unnoticeably strong.

We ended our night at a more local-esq bar called, Fahy's. The clientele there was a heck of a lot more local than the crowd on Bourbon Street.

Day 4: Nola Livin'

Here I am outside of Nero Cafe wearing a Relay For Life Shirt. Shout out to all who participate in this event nation-wide and a special shout out to participants in RU's Relay For Life and my team, Superstorm Sandies.

First things first, I grabbed some food from Nero Cafe. Kept it simple.

Garden Salad and French Onion Soup.

After brunch at Nero Cafe, I went on over to one of the famous cemeteries of New Orleans - The St. Louis Cemetery. I went on over to #1 and got to observe a bunch of the different graves.

It was quite a sight because all of the graves are above ground and there are many famous politicians and entertainers buried in these cemeteries.

The entryway 

Some of the graves

Look at the height of them - some tombs bury entire families inside.

After the trip to the cemetery I went over to Bourbon Street and caught some mid-day live music at Famous Door.

Band jamming inside of Famous Door on Bourbon Street

I heard a lot of talk about Erin Rose's "famous" Frozen Irish Coffee, so I decided it was imperative that I tried one. 

Let me tell you something, the drink was delicious.

It was basically like a coffee-flavored milkshake (with alcohol in it of course).

There aren't too many places that serve Irish Coffee in a frozen form, but Erin Rose is one of them, and they do a great job with the drink.

Outside of Erin Rose

The delicious, Frozen Irish Coffee - garnished with coffee grinds

Since I took my Frozen Irish Coffee togo, I brought it on over to the Food Network acclaimed, Cafe Beignet.

Cafe Beignet was featured on The Food Network's, "Best Thing I Ever Ate." I wanted to test out their opinion to see my opinion matched up. 

The atmosphere of the cafe was pretty cool - it was outdoors and there was a live jazz band playing but back to the subject matter: THE BEIGNETS.

They were delicious, I must say. Definitely better than the ones I tried previously at Morning Call Cafe - the cafe inside of City Park.

Mmm Hot & Fresh.

Powdered Sugar Oblivion.

After devouring my tasty snack, I walked around a bit more and explored the French Quarter. 

A stumbled upon a pretty comical sign...

This was outside of a bar...

Oh, New Orleans. There is never a dull moment.

After walking around for a bit, I decided it was time to eat again so I hit up a taqueria that came highly recommended to me from local New Orleans' folk.

The place is called, Felipe's.

Plate of Delicious Mexican Food From Felipe's

I'll admit, Felipe's was a great recommendation. The food there was very authentic and flavorful. 

After filling up on Felipe's, it was time for some music - AWOLNATION at the House of Blues!

House of Blues in New Orleans - The Original

Before the show, we went into the bar and restaurant area. The way the venue is set up is pretty cool. There is an outdoor courtyard where there is a little stage that is fitting for open mic events, and then there is the restaurant and bar area behind that. 

On the other side there is the venue for the large-scale acts along the likes of AWOLNATION.

AWOLNATION

The show was absolutely fabulous. AWOLNATION put on a fabulous live show and I was entertained the entire time. I would highly recommend seeing them perform live if they are ever local in your area.

Emulating The Blues Brothers

After the concert, we went on over to a high-end bar called, Victory. The bartender there was great - you told him what flavors you liked and he mixed you up a fine cocktail. 

Great way to end an awesome day.

Day 3: Nola Livin'

Here I am rockin' an Olde Queens Tavern tee. Shout out to all who frequent this spot and all the employees. I'm standing outside of The Ruby Slipper - an extremely popular breakfast spot in New Orleans.

The Ruby Slipper was very busy, therefore we had to wait a little more than half an hour to be seated, but it was well worth the wait.

The Costa Rican.

The Costa Rican is rice and beans over a warm salsa with two eggs, chorizo and slices and fried plantains. I'm a big fan of Spanish-influenced cuisine and this dish was a delicious way to start my day.

The Ruby Slipper has three locations throughout the city of New Orleans. There was a sign on the wall inside of the restaurant that described a little bit about the story behind premise of the restaurant.

There's no place like home!

After brunch at The Ruby Slipper, we wandered around a bit and stumbled upon a small shop with decadant sweets. The shop is called Bittersweet Confections.

The menu

The picture above only features a part of their menu. I wound up getting Bittersweet Confections' version of a peanut butter cup.

Their peanut butter cup is a milk chocolate and peanut butter filling, piped into a dark chocolate shell, garnished with white and milk chocolate hazelnut sticks. YUM!

Me and my peanut butter cup

At my stop at Bittersweet Confections, the employee, Ben, recognizted my Olde Queens' t-shirt and told me that he was originally from Jersey. He then gave us some informatoin of some fun spots in New Orleans to hit up before we go back to Jersey.

After the brief stop at the sweet shop, we wandered into a glass blowing shop.

An ocean scene all created on-premise in the shop.

Everything in the shop was blown on premise. We got to go into the back of the store to see the glass blowers at work. There wasn't too much work going on at the time of our visit, but it was still interesting to see where everything is made.

Then, we continued forth on our walking journey and made our way to The National World War II Museum.

Posting up outside of the museum

The museum was very interesting and informative. Something that stuck out very vividly in my mind were the posters of propaganda between the U.S. and the Japanese that were used during wartime. They are so extreme and because of this, they seem as though they are jokes. 

I took pictures of examples from both sides - The U.S. & Japan.

Quick Ways To Spot A Jap. (US Propaganda)

President Roosevelt Depiction. (Japan Propaganda)

As a student it only cost $13 dollars to enter The World War II Museum - not too bad of a price. Afterwards, we found another small museum to explore. It is called the Contemporary Arts Center.

The Contemporary Arts Center was only $3 dollars to enter, so we figured...

why not check it out? 

The museum had 7 different exhibits to check out. There was one exhibit called "The Lion: For Slightly" by Eliza Zeitlin. 

It's a pretty intricate piece of artwork constructed of primarily metal pipes and wooden planks. You can climb the exhibit "at your own risk."

So I did.

 My climb. <-- click the link to see a video.

Here I am beginning my climb.

Another exhibit that is currently on display in the Contemporary Arts Center is, "a thousand threads" by Luba Zygarewicz.

a thousand threads is an exhibit that is constructed of solely tea bags, and a massive amount at that. 

Pretty unique idea.

a thousand threads...without Me

a thousand threads...WITH Me.

All of the other exhibits inside of The Contemporary Arts Center were interesting, I would suggest going there if you're ever in town. Not only is it interesting, but it's pretty inexpensive to check out.

(If you don't think that $3 dollars is inexpensive you probably shouldn't travel to New Olreans, or anywhere for the matter, really.)

After our brief museum binge, we needed to grab a quick snack.

A praline!

What is a praline you ask?

A hunk of butter, brown sugar and pecans. They come in different flavors, such as chocolate, coconut and peanut butter. Even though I'm a peanut butter fanatic, I always grab the original when it comes to this tasty treat.

If you've never had a praline, heed this warning:

NEVER SETTLE FOR A PLEBEIAN PRALINE.

I tried a few different pralines around Nola and I found one that was amazing, finally.

The praline was from Southern Kicthen Candymakers. They ran about $2 bucks each.

The delicious, scrumptious, winning praline.

After the hunt for the perfect praline, we walked around a little and found some cool spots - like Peaches Record Store.

Got myself a Peaches Record Store Tee! I'll be sure to wear it in my future travels.

Our stop inside of the record store was short-lived, because we wanted to continue forward with our wandering. The next attraction we stopped at was La Plaza de Armas.

La Plaza de Armas is more or less the main square of the area. 

Here I am inside the gated area of La Plaza de Armas of NOLA.

After all of our museum visits, adventuring, snacking and shopping it was about that time of day...

HAPPY HOUR! 

In our search to find a bar to grab a drink, we stumbled upon this gem of a sign.

Don't know where this sign is from...don't know what  this sign actually means.

So, we decided to stop in somewhere called, Checkered Parrot. They had a two-for-one special. I tried a Nola Blonde and Jessy got a Abita Amber.

Happy Hour - Nola Blonde at Checkered Parrot.

After our happy hour drinks, we went over to a local recording studio with JT the Publicist and local artist, Kevin Stylez.

It was pretty awesome to be inside of a studio in New Orleans. I had the opportunity to jam with Kevin. He sang along as I played the guitar to some songs, like Miguel's "Do You."

Vibing with Kevin Styelz.

After the studio, it was time to eat. We were starved. We went over to a restaurant called Roux. I ordered the gumbo. Yum!

The gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage.

NOTE: andouille is pronounced "an-do-ee." It is basically just a smoked, well-seasoned pork sausage.

Dinner at Roux was very enjoyable. Afterwards, Jessy and I headed on over to Bourbon Street.

We stopped in at an oyster bar that my friend, Dave works at. It's called Le Bayou. But guess what?

We didn't get oysters.

We got drinks instead.

The bartender made me his drink special of the day. It was a rum drink with muddled strawberry, garnished with a cucumber. It was fruity and refreshing. Mmm!

The drink of the day made by Mr. Dave Bliss

Though the gumbo from Roux was very tasty, it didn't keep me full for too long. I decided it was time for snack from Le Bayou.

I got an appetizer called, "Shrimp Ya - Ya."

Shrimp Ya-Ya

This dish was absolutely delicious. It's shrimp in a cajun pesto sauce - therefore, the pesto had a bit of a kick to it. It comes with two pieces of garlic toast.

The creaminess of the pesto sauce with the cajun kick was a great complementary combination. 

After Le Bayou we ventured over to a bar appropriately called, Last Call.

Got a drink or two, then called it a night. 

Til tomorrow!