Part I: New Orleans, LA Jazz Fest 2015 {Travelogue} - Deanies, Bourbon St, Beignets, Jazz Fest, Court of Two Sisters, Commander's Palace, and Maskarade

Nothing like an upcoming trip to make me realize I never got around to blogging about the last time I was in a city! That's right, I'm headed back again this coming June! Thus, I figured it was about time I finally got around to getting my Jazz Fest food/music thrown out there in the interwebs.

New Orleans has so many names! The Big Easy. The Crescent City. NOLA. There are so many names for what I think is the most unique city in the entire USA. The history, the culture, everything. Not to mention the food! Choosing the first thing to eat in New Orleans was quite the ordeal for me. I knew before going that crawdads and hot sauce are a thing, and that I love both and would have to partake. Charbroiled oysters. Turtle soup. Beignets. Poboys! Would I have enough time to eat everything?!

We arrived in the French Quarter pretty late. It's about a half hour cab ride from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). It wasn't until about 8:30-9pm before we were able to get food. I love that everything is walking distance in the Quarter, so we made our way over to Deanies. All I knew was that crawdads had to come first.

Deanies
841 Iberville St
New Orleans, LA 70112

Deanies was still packed when we got there that night. I honestly didn't know where to go to check in and get a number. Luckily, someone saw my lost face and pointed me in the right direction. They gave us a pager and told us that we were welcome to have some drinks at the bar while we waited, or, if we could find a spot at the bar, we could eat there too. Alas, there were people EVERYWHERE, so I figured the best bet would be to order a beer and wait for the yummy yabbies. 

I am a planner. I like knowing what my options are. I have had times where I've been somewhere and didn't do the research only to kick myself after for not going or knowing about something. So not only do I have food options picked out for trips, I have beer and drink options. The first beer I get is an Andygator made by Abita. I've had their other beers, but I definitely wanted something I couldn't normally get. I sip on my refreshing beer, and it is just about 30-45 minutes before we are seated. Not bad for how many people were in the restaurant!

The menu was overwhelming because everything sounded good and we were hungry. Our waiter was very friendly and helped us go with a few favorites - the charbroiled oysters and barbeque shrimp. I think we ordered 3lbs of crawdads. He suggested we eat these first before deciding if we actually need more food. Good call! These three items, along with the baby potatoes were more than enough (instead of bread, they serve little baked potatoes)!

The crawdads were the cleanest ones I've ever eaten. I think the ones in Sacramento are generally from farms. Not crawdad farms, but farms where they are a pest and probably have chemicals and pesticides on them. I haven't eaten any in Sacramento in a long time once I learned that. So, thank you, New Orleans for providing what I've been missing for so long! I definitely ate the bulk of the crawdads.

Cooked oysters don't really appeal to me. I had a really bad Oysters Rockefeller before and would like to take back that experience. Sometimes I like them grilled when I'm in Taiwan because they're relatively small and sweet, and usually grilled to perfection. Raw, I like shigokus and kumamotos. That said, these charbroiled gulf oysters were fantastic! The oysters were bigger than I normally eat, but they were really sweet and cooked just enough that they were still juicy. One of the reasons I don't like my oysters cooked is because so many people tend to overcook it, and it's shriveled and gross. At Deanies, they were plump and juicy.

The waiter brought out extra potatoes for us to dip in the sauce after we finished eating these gigantic Barbecue shrimp. This dish had so much flavor!

Cafe Beignet
334 Royal St

New Orleans, LA 70130

In case you didn't know, New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. I love walking around the French Quarter and love how there is music everywhere. But, it does get tiring walking around so much. There's so much to take in! At some point, I had to stop and take a break and just absorb. Walking down Royal Street, I followed the music and was greeted by the warm smell of sugar and dough. Hm. Maybe I should try some of these beignets. I hadn't made it out to Cafe Du Monde yet. Could they be the only place to do beignets justice? 

There was one seat left in the courtyard so I settled in to listen to the live music and enjoy the beautiful afternoon. While the beignets weren't anything amazing, the courtyard itself has a nice ambiance. When I got up to leave, the sun had already set.   

Bourbon Street

I think when people talk about New Orleans, Bourbon Street is bound to come up. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but Bourbon Street is definitely an experience! All the lights, competing musical venues, joyful laughter, and colorful signs vying for attention.

I suppose it only makes sense that on this street of sin, there is someone available to talk to about God and suffering... 

Walking at night down Orleans Street, pushing midnight, I see this shadow. It's not until I am closer that I can see Jesus. On my walking tour the next day, I learn people call this particular one "Touchdown Jesus."

Prior to actually going to New Orleans, I knew that there was a strong French influence. Imagine my confusion to see these signs! As a first time visitor, the question was answered during our cemetery walking tour. If it's your first time, I definitely recommend going on one. There are a ton of free ones, and the guides are typically very helpful. Since they're free though, remember to tip your guide! 

For more information on the street names and why some seem so random - Street Name History

Café du Monde
800 Decatur St 
New Orleans, LA 70116

No visit to the Big Easy is complete without a stop here! The original location is located just across the street from Jackson Square, and next to the Mississippi River. 

It looked like too much powdered sugar, but it wasn't overly sweet. I found myself dunking more powered sugar from the plate onto the beignets. The beignets are so much better than Cafe Beignet! I'm glad I ate there first before coming to Cafe du Monde. It really made me appreciate just how fluffy but dense and delicious these ones are. And their au laits? Parfait! After we finished, we dusted off our pants (there are powdered sugar chalk lines around each seat in the dine in area!) and made our way back to the hotel via the walkway along the Mississippi.

Jazz Fest

I asked around but no one would tell me any "must eats," but they did tell me that I needed to eat all of the food there. Not super helpful, but I figured we'll just get there and see and try as much as we can. I will say this though, later on in the trip, the tour guide who told us about the street signs also told us that we definitely needed to try the crawfish bread, and that the person who sells it at Jazz Fest only sells it there. Not sure how much of that is true, but if so, I feel like I missed out! Not only that, I read later on that I missed out on trying some yakamein from The Ya-Ka-Mein Lady. I am making a point of trying to find her on my next trip and trying some yakamein, since it's the New Orleans version of beef noodle soup.

Back to Jazz Fest 2015. We get to the fairgrounds around 10am and it's just starting to fill with people. There are a ton of food stands and we have no idea where to start, so we go with the tried and true - poboys. We kick off breakfast with a crawfish poboy. The crawfish was good, but the bread left some room for improvement. It made me feel better about liking the poboy shop in Sacramento, whose bread is freshly made and delicious. 

A little scarred from the not quite great poboy, we decide to walk around a bit and see everything before choosing our next foodstuffs. I was pleased to see the 12 flag flying near one of the stages, along with a California flag. What are the chances there are more 12s from California in New Orleans? 

First fried chicken we had in New Orleans. Some people told me later on that fried chicken isn't really a New Orleans thing, but that didn't make sense to me what with Dooky Chase and Willie Mae's being so famous for their fried chicken. And let's not forget where Popeye's is from!

Little bit of everything - hush puppy, gator pie, fried green tomatoes. The gator pie was interesting. I tried examining the meat to see if it looked any different than fish or chicken. It really didn't. I couldn't distinguish any difference in taste, just that the meat was kind of dry. The fried green tomatoes were my favorite though!

This was the first parade of people I saw and I was super excited. This fit my image of New Orleans. Plus, the colors were awesome! Everyone was just so happy that it was contagious!

He saw me taking pictures and danced over my way....

After the parade was over, we walked around some more and watched this guy dance. It must have been so hot dancing and wearing all of that. I was sweating just standing there!

It's probably hard to tell, but we were hiding behind these signs while we waited for the O'Jays to hit the stage. I picked this day specifically because I wanted to see them perform. And when they got on stage, it was amazing! They were able to sing and dance wearing suits in million degree weather! Props. As soon as they finished, I figured it was time to leave. It was just too hot, and we had dinner reservations at Commander's Palace.

Commander's Palace

1403 Washington Ave

New Orleans, LA 70130

Commander's Palace is located in the Garden District, so it's quite the walk if you are staying in the French Quarter. They have a dress code that doesn't require your Sunday Best, but it's definitely not a shorts/t-shirt restaurant. They will ask you to change before you can dine if you don't meet their standards. Looking around the restaurant, we saw that there was a smattering of those as dressed up as we were and a lot that were right on the line of what's acceptable.

Their dress code: 

• Business Attire
• Jackets are preferred for gentlemen
• Collared shirts and closed-toe shoes required for gentlemen
• No shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts, sweat shirts or sweat pants
• Jeans are discouraged; ripped jeans are not allowed

A few people had already told me I had to get the turtle soup and the souffle. Done. Now, to pick the main course!

Note: Reservations highly recommended!

Turtle soup with table side sherry. This was probably my favorite course of the dinner.

Foie gras. It was a plump, juicy little piece.

My crawfish etouffee. Healthy portion of tails, rice, and one whole crawfish.

His order of the gulf fish (seasonal).

Ponchatoula Strawberry Shortcake - Ponchatoula strawberries with local sugarcane, buttermilk biscuit, and Chantilly cream.

Creole Bread Pudding Souffle - fluffy bread pudding that has to be ordered in advance (I believe 20 minutes).

Jazz Brunch

Court of the Two Sisters

613 Royal St

New Orleans, LA 70130

A friend who had already been to New Orleans highly recommended that we try the jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. It was actually only a few blocks away from our hotel (Maison Dupuy - which may or may not be haunted... it was interesting). It's pretty easy to find on Royal Street. We realized we had passed it a few times already while walking around the Quarter. After checking in, they seated us near a well. Service here is fantastic! The waiters were all friendly and helpful. I think that would be a big thing about New Orleans - people have been incredibly friendly overall. It's hard to imagine that there was any French influence ;)

Like my friend, I highly recommend a visit here for their jazz brunch. The music, the fresh air, the service, and the food all combine to make it a fantastic start to a wonderful day in New Orleans. Everything I ate from their buffet was amazing. I think I had at least five bowls of their turtle soup! The pieces were bigger than the ones in Commander's Palace, and the broth itself had a lot more flavor. The crawfish also, were all boiled up perfectly. I don't even remember how many plates of those I tore up.

Storefront

Inside bar/waiting area

The brunching area and one of the awesome waiters.

Don't forget to touch the lucky gate on your way out!

French Quarter - Daytime

After a hearty brunch, we decided to walk around some more. Some people think New Orleans and Las Vegas are comparable because you are legally allowed to publicly imbibe. I think the two cities are supremely different for other reasons. In Las Vegas, it's glittery and beautiful in its artificial light at night. During the day, it's dry, dirty, and culture-less. New Orleans on the other hand, is colorful and loud at night, and beautiful during the day. You don't wake up, walk around and wonder if you made some mistake the night before. You walk around and think, the people who live here are lucky to be a part of this non-homogeneous society. It's so colorful and alive, even though it's known for being haunted (we passed a house for sale with a sign that read - not haunted).

I love the music. It seems like every block or every few blocks are more people playing instruments. I also like how people will just stop to listen or even better - dance along.

This artist had a mini version of herself creating some art with her.

Touchdown Jesus during the day.

Maskarade
630 Saint Ann St
New Orleans, LA 70116

One of the millions of other things New Orleans is known for - the masks. While walking toward Jackson Square, we passed this mask shop. Three separate rooms with a ton of amazing and unique masks. It made me want to get one even though I have no opportunity to ever wear it. And the really cool ones, if I had it on my wall would probably freak me out.

What's really cool about this shop is that they not only feature local artists, but Italian masks by traditional master mask makers. You can also have something custom made, or even shop their store online. 

Stay tuned for Part II!