Eating My Way Through NOLA

New Orleans: the city of bourbon, bistro, and Brandon!

This past weekend I went to visit my close friend, Brandon at his new home in New Orleans. Brandon moved to NOLA from SF a few months ago, and I've missed him dearly. When Brandon was living here, we spent most of our time together shopping at the farmers market, cooking dinners, drinking wine, and exploring new hot spots in San Francisco. I have not since found a foodie friend to replace him, and I am currently accepting applicants.

The last time I had visited New Orleans was when I was seventeen-years-old - a senior in high school - visiting my older friend at Tulane as a prospective student. Needless to say, this time around was an entirely new experience. Not only was it my first visit since Hurricane Katrina, but saw the city from the perspective of someone who lives in the French Quarter, dines with local farmers in mind, prefers Trefethen s.i.n. Rose to Pat O'Brien's Hurricanes, and has a car.

I arrived at New Orleans airport at approximately 11:15pm. This was after two legs of flight in first class (thanks to American Airline miles), 3 large glasses of wine, and a vodka cocktail. Read: I was pretty drunk already. Brandon picked me up and we drove back to his spacious and beautiful studio apartment on Royal Street. After changing into something more appropriate for the thick 90 degree heat, we opted for a drink at the Carousel Bar in Hotel Monteleone. One drink was clearly enough, as I was already drunk and the room was spinning (literally, the bar spins in a slow circle as you're served drinks), and it was a Thursday night so Brandon had to wake up early for lunch.

The next day I was on my own for the morning. With a key to the apartment, a flowing skirt and tank top and a mission to shop, I was off in the French Quarter!

I didn't get very far down Royal Street before Brandon called me to tell me to grab an umbrella before meeting him for lunch since the sky looked like it was about to open up and release buckets of rain. Before heading back to the apartment, I did manage to purchase a few small items like spices, a magnet, measuring spoons and some Hanky Panky thongs (my favorite). I met Brandon on the corner of Canal and St. Charles and he whisked me away to lunch at one of his favorite spots, Cochon Butcher. We stood in a long line waiting to order, then took our seats at the bar - according to Brandon, "we would get better service" at the bar. We sipped on homemade iced tea and waited for our lunches to arrive, about 5 minutes after we ordered. While he delved into the brisket special, I feasted on the pastrami sandwich - a Creole take on the Ruben. YUM!

Brandon told me that this place was the kid brother restaurant to the larger and more fancy Cochon next store. Both use practice sustainability and specialize in Cajun dishes. And Brandon was right, we did get better service at the bar. We exchanged stories of the East Coast with the servers and talked about food in New Orleans. It was a lovely first meal experience in NOLA for me!

Later that evening, Brandon took me on a drive through New Orleans' Garden District and pointed out the homes of Sandra Bullock and John Goodman, as well as some other historical mansions. We had dinner at Lilette, a new-ish Creole Restaurant on Magazine Street, and one of Brandon's favorite spots to dine. We shared a bottle of Grüner Veltliner - my pick - and ordered some appetizers to start. Brandon got the beef short ribs with cucumber and lime-ginger vinaigrette, and I ordered the Braised veal cheeks with baby greens and horseradish vinaigrette. Both were delicious, but my entree took the cake: Paneed red snapper with Israeli cous cous, leeks, tomato and ver jus mussel butter. Even Brandon was drooling over it, though his grilled Mahi Mahi with braised escerole, leek puree and satsuma-basil butter was almost as perfect as mine. We happily agreed to skip dessert because we were so pleasantly full, and to outsource the calories on the many bevvies that were to come.

Our next stop was Columns Hotel, an old Bed & Breakfast that boasts various large rooms with high ceilings and tables outside and inside to sit and enjoy a drink. We waited for his friend to meet us, and the three of us had three rounds of drinks consisting of mint juleps, bourbon and coke, and vodka and soda. We decided it was time to hit the next spot just a few meters away at Delachaise. I ordered a whopping double vodka and soda and we sat outside on the patio, making plans for the rest of the weekend. We headed back downtown where we separated from Brandon's friend and made one more stop at Bar Tonique, which was a near split image to one of my favorite bars in San Francisco, Alembic. I nursed a strong gin drink called The Last Word (gin, lime juice, green chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur) while Brandon sipped on a Pimm's Cup. A delicious end to a delectable night.

Saturday we slept until 10am and got dressed for brunch in the Bywater district. Brandon took me to Satsuma, a hippy-dippy organic place with five staffers, a small but affordable menu, an assortment of tables outside and inside, and of course free wifi. Are we in San Francisco? Brandon later explained to me that this neighborhood was in fact the more Bohemian area of the city, with brightly painted houses and small cafes and shops, and if you turn the corner you may find yourself in the Ghetto - a lot like the Mission district in San Francisco. After brunch, Brandon gave me a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, the area of the city that suffered the most devastation after Hurricane Katrina hit five years ago. First he took me to the Doullut Steamboat Houses, two very special and historic homes in New Orleans, one of which Brandon's friend owns and lives in.

We then drove through the area that Brad Pitt's company has been rebuilding. The houses were very modern and interesting looking, all on stilts to protect them from floods. While the seemed to solve the issues of flooding, they don't look very much like typical New Orleans homes. But kudos to Brad for using his money and fame to make better homes for people in need!

By this point, it was so damn hot outside and Brandon's car AC only worked when we drove fast, so we decided we best sneak inside one of the hotel roof deck pools in his neighborhood for an afternoon swim. I was so worried that we would get caught, but we slowly realized that nearly everyone who was sitting by the pool were locals who must have got their bright and early to claim the pool deck chairs. We even met one girl who claimed she was "not a fan" of San Francisco, and the people were "snobby and uptight." Mmm hmm. Go back to your Rickys and Ronnies. We left the pool shortly after to dine on some creole tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil from Brandon's balcony planters - and of course the Trefethen Rose that I trekked across country. Our buzz and heat exhaustion called for a much-needed nap. When I awoke, it was pouring rain with thunder and lightening. This lasted about 30 minutes, and then the sun came back out. At least I got to witness at least one of NOLA's infamous summer afternoon storms.

Later that evening, after we were well-rested, showered, and dressed for dinner, we headed back to Magazine Street to eat at Bistro Daisy, a small American bistro restaurant featuring seasonal and local dishes. I ordered a heaping glass of Duckhorn Decoy Zinfandel and we selected our appetizers. For me, jumbo lump crab and gulf shrimp in aioli with artichokes, new potatoes, petite croutons and chives; for Brandon, grilled sweetbreads with lemon supremes, fried capers and toasted pinenuts in a browned butter. Both were fantastically prepared, with all of the flavors melding together in every bite. For my entree, I chose the lamb with risotto and tomato-mint reduction while Brandon dined on the fish special (which I can't remember because I was so immersed in my lamb and Zinfandel). We again opted to skip dessert, but were pleasantly surprised when we were brought a dish of homemade ice cream - for free! It was literally the icing on the cake.

After dinner, we went back to Brandon's house to change into our evening clothes. After enjoying some bourbon and coke drinks at the apartment, we took to the streets to enjoy some live music and Bourbon Street entertainment. We stopped at DBA and Mimi's, and from here it gets kind of fuzzy - in true New Orleans fashion. We finished off the night with a stop at a taco stand, a five block cab ride back to Brandon's house (apparently I refused to walk), and an expensive faux New York hot dog that lead us to loudly imitate/mock the New Jersey accent for the next 30 minutes or so.

Fortunately my flight on Sunday wasn't until late in the afternoon, so we were able to nurse our hangovers and enjoy a homemade breakfast while watching one of our favorite movies, Sleepy Hollow. Once we were motivated enough to leave the house, we spent some more time walking around the French Quarter doing window shopping at antique stores, history shops, jewelers and a very small but entertaining sex shop. To ease the beads of sweat dripping down our face, we stopped at a small Popsicle shop owned by a woman from Nashville. I highly recommend stopping in this place if you find yourself in the French Quarter on a hot day.

I could not have asked for a more pleasurable experience during this trip. Not only did I get to spend time with one of my best friends, but I got to see a side of New Orleans that I didn't know existed. Special thanks to Brandon for one of the best weekends this summer will bring me!