Gastro Monkey // 美食家

After Jazz Fest and all of the excitement of the day before, we thought we would take it easy and just walk around some more and see all of the things we didn't get to yet. Like Jackson Square. We saw it from a distance when we ate at Cafe Du Monde, but it was late and the gates to the park were closed. I'm no fan of Andrew Jackson (look up the Trail of Tears if you need one of many reasons to rethink this American "hero"). This square is famous and along with food, I like seeing the history and main points of interests in cities. Even if it means passing by the statue. Actually, the church is what really interested me. It's always lurking in the back of scenes in movies and shows. We went in to check it out and to also take refuge from the heat. St. Louis Cathedral 615 Pere Antoine Alley New Orleans, LA 70116 I think I really started appreciating places of worship because I went to so many temples with my grandma, and also went to various chur...

The first time I had a muffaletta was at Baguettes in Elk Grove. Baguettes was pretty good, and at the time, I had no idea what a muffaletta was. It had olives, salami, mozzarella, ham, and provolone. At least, that was the best I could gather from looking at the one someone else was eating in the shop. So I bought one too. It was layers upon layers of meat and cheese. Of course, the combo was gold. Eventually, I learned that muffalettas are from New Orleans. Then, since I knew I would be going to New Orleans, I had to find the best places to get it. Central Grocery kept popping up everywhere I looked. How would it compare?  It was so good, that when I went again this year, I made a point of going there to get another sandwich. Central Grocery is located a few blocks down from Cafe Du Monde, in case you want to plan for dessert right after lunch. Or dessert before lunch--no judgement. The grocery is mostly that - a grocery. Lots of Italian food it...

Ah, The Carousel Bar. It looks so awesome once you're inside. It's a playground for adults. Kind of. The best is if you can snag a seat at the carousel, but each time I've gone, the seats are all taken, or there's a random seat for one. Instead, w e nabbed a cushy sofa not far from it and hung out for an hour just enjoying the surroundings and jazz.  I definitely like The Sazerac Bar more, even though there isn't live jazz there. That and the Sazerac there was much better. The tastes just came together there, while the one at Carousel tasted like I was drinking straight whiskey with an orange peel in it. Worth coming just to see, and great on nights with live music!  The carousel. Of course it's packed. Live jazz, of course! Sazerac ($12). Blue crab & crawfish beignets ($13). The locals with me all said that these are not beignets. There was quite the discussion and they ended up agreeing that these are indeed, hush puppies. Eith...

Food is always the first thing when I plan a trip. My first trip to New Orleans last year started with food (and honestly, ended with food too). What should be the first thing to be devoured upon arrival? Our flight landed at MSY around 6:30pm. I knew it would take around an hour to get to the hotel after getting our luggage, so I had to plan for dinner. It was no easy feat deciding where to go first. I read a ton of articles of which there are no shortage of before going bookmarking a location. Basically my methodology revolves around reading articles, blogs, looking at Yelp pictures and reviews, and Foursquare--it really is a production!--before deciding on which places to bookmark. From there (wherever I am), I look at my bookmarks to see which places I'm closest to. That night, we went with Deanies. I knew that the first thing I wanted to eat was crawfish. We get them in Sacramento around August, but not lately as the prices have gone up a lot since I first moved here in 1...