Wednesday, February 8th, was a big day in our home. I cooked a close replica of the first meal I made for Diana, catfish with orange and rosemary sauce and green beans. That was followed with me playing and singing (if the word stretches that far) a poorly rehearsed, but well received, version of Marc Cohn’s beautiful song, “True Companion”. Then I dropped down to one knee and proposed to Diana – and she said “Yes”. I believe that I was able to completely surprise her.
On Thursday we flew down to New Orleans for a long weekend. First stop was “Avery’s” – a Denny approved hole in the wall restaurant with outstanding barbecued shrimp po’boys. Then to the local French wine shop to pick up some nice champagne to celebrate our engagement with the Ogans. The gentleman who owns the store was quite a character and full of stories. Dinner was at “Meril”, a new restaurant from Emeril Lagasse named after his daughter. The food was great and very reasonably priced. Diana had Korean short ribs and I tried the saffron tagliatelle with roasted lamb – both delicious. Dessert was a selection of cheeses from the St. James cheese shop – another of our favourite New Orleans destinations. We always laugh when we think of Anne’s Mum, Carolyn, telling Diana that Jack Bauer was paying when we went there with her because he had just received a big bonus for saving the President’s life.
After dinner Denny consulted the extensive listing of concerts happening in New Orleans that night and we decided on Marc Stone at the Columns hotel. He was playing in the front room and at one point there were just the four of us listening to him. Denny had a good chat with Marc and didn’t forget to slip in some “Wash Dat” marketing activity. I thoroughly enjoyed his show. So much fantastic music is happening all over New Orleans every night. We headed to Dos Jefes cigar bar next to listen to a Japanese trombone player with what appeared to be a band composed of local music students – a great finish to our first night in New Orleans. We’re always amazed at how much ground we cover in a day when there.
Friday began with a trip to SOFAB (Southern Food and Bev
erage Museum). Toups meatery has a restaurant inside and I loved the goat tacos that I had for lunch. There were lots of interesting exhibits on food and cocktails over the years. Next we had a coffee at “Morning Call” – a 24 hour coffee and beignet shop close to City Park and also to the restaurant where Denny had last left his credit card. Next to the coffee shop was the outdoor sculpture garden and we had a pleasant wander through it while enjoying the beautiful weather. Here’s a picture of my favorite sculpture – it seems to represent the evolution of man but I can’t remember the official name.
Friday dinner was at “Petit Lion” in the new Troubadour hotel. Another lovely meal with delicious appetizers and then steak au poivre. That was followed by a refreshing walk to the Smoothie King center to see a concert by Billy Joel.
None of us had seen him perform before and were all very impressed with the showmanship and musicians. His saxophone player is a real star and his solo on “New York State of Mind” was a real treat. I particularly liked that Joel included a number of New Orleans songs in his show. Here’s his version of “House of the Rising Sun” done with a tone that really conveys the song’s message well.
Cocktails at the Cellar Door finished the evening as we waited for the crowd to disperse.
Saturday started with a Jack and Mason soccer game accompanied by champagne and King cake (as only happens in New Orleans).
The boys always enjoy torturing “Miss Diana” when she comes to town. She’s in the middle of some kind of protest here. I see the boys play about once a year and am amazed at how much they progress – the team played really well.
Soccer was followed by a unique experience – a visit to the “batture”. The batture is the inside of the levee on the Mississippi – so right up against the water on stilts and right beside all the busy boat traffic.
Our host was Macon, a very interesting local character. His girlfriend was celebrating her 50th birthday and so Denny and Frank shucked over 300 oysters which Bruce barbecued on the upstairs deck with Denny’s yummy blue cheese sauce. Macon is a great story teller and well connected with the local musicians. He was telling us a story about a friend who was in Los Angeles because the band he plays in was nominated for a Grammy award. I asked him if the music they played was like Tommy Malone’s band – the name of which I couldn’t remember. Denny said, “it’s the Subdudes” and then Macon said, “Tommy Malone’s right upstairs”. You can’t make things like that up.
We left the batture and meandered to the French Quarter to watch the Krewe de Vieux mardi gras parade – pronounced “Crew de Voo” in New Orleans. This was the first parade of the season to roll and featured very irreverent political satire – if only Trump could have watched. The floats were smaller since they had to be non-motorized and drawn by donkeys. What a hoot the parade was – with excellent local brass bands throughout. We finished up the evening with cocktails at Broussard’s from Pete the world renowned bartender.
Another amazing trip to New Orleans wound down with brunch at Paladar 511 in the Bywater area. Denny and I tortured Diana with discussion about wedding plans and options. I love this restaurant’s decor and food – it’s by a family that owns a small but famous pizza restaurant in San Francisco.
And so it’s back to boring McKinney. We’d love to live in New Orleans but it’s probably just as well we don’t have all that decadent food, music, and cocktails at our fingertips.