“Residency Week 5 – Lundi Gras King and Queen”
I learned this year that Lundi Gras (the Monday before Mardi Gras) brunch at Commander’s Palace restaurant is a big deal with the New Orleans locals. Anne was able to get us all a reservation and strongly encouraged us to dress up in fun Mardi Gras outfits. She lent Campbell and Molly some fun duds:
Denny and Anne were also very sparkly – Anne with her band hat and tasseled boots:
And then D with her complete flapper girl outfit:
The food at Commanders is always excellent, with great service and good fun all around. I met my work friend, Fred, who recently retired. His family all had matching crazy suits:
A small band toured the restaurant taking requests. I asked them to play “What a Wonderful World” – and the trumpet player had a great deep, raspy voice:
Here we all are in our corner table after a lovely meal:
And then….as we were about to leave, the lady in charge of the room asked us to wait a minute because she had something for us. Oh boy, what she had was not anything that I expected. She quietened the room and then announced that she had chosen Diana and me as Lundi Gras brunch King and Queen. We were awarded decorated spatulas and then paraded around the restaurant behind the band waving them to all the diners. Who knew that was a thing? Apparently the locals did because Debra asked Diana the next day if they had crowned the King and Queen. Diana had a good story to reply with.
What to do after all that excitement? How about….another parade? Yes – this was going to be the last one for us. Orpheus was quite different with the floats beautifully decorated and lit up – a real feast for the eyes. I always enjoy checking out the bands warming up in the park on the corner – and St Augustine’s is one of the best in the city:
Here are some pictures from the parade watching:
Yes – even the penguins made it out for this parade.
I had been told that Mardi Gras day begins very early, and there was a rumour that Mardi Gras Indians and bands would be gathering at Tipitinas shortly after 6am. Vince and I made our way there to check it out. Galactic was just finishing their overnight show when we arrived. It was funny to watch the concert goers emerge into the daylight. The Professor Longhair statue at the entrance was all beaded up:
Kenny and Kara joined us and we waited for a long time – but no Indians or bands. Calling it a bust, we went back to the condo to get ready for our bike ride down to the French Quarter and the Marigny to checkout all the crazy outfits.
The group assembled and then we were on our bikes and off.
After a couple of stops we arrived in the Quarter and stopped to admire all the outfits.
We ultimately arrived at Anna’s in the Marigny and Diana and Debra enjoyed some champagne together.
That was maybe the most fun day of people watching that I’ve ever had. We were exhausted after the day, but the kids headed off on the bikes to meet up with the rest of the krewe at The Kingpin. Oh to be in your twenties.
Debra manages Jacques-Imo’s restaurant (first meal Diana and I had together in New Orleans was there) and had secured reservations for us on Wednesday night – a last meal for Campbell and Molly. Denny, Anne and Jack joined us for an excellent meal. Debra had arranged a lovely bottle of French champagne for Diana, and loaded the table up with complementary appetizers. She is so sweet and kind. This place was quite the opposite of Commander’s Palace – very casual and loud. The southern food was amazing and the portions so generous that we were eating left overs for two days. Molly was talking about her fried chicken on the flight home.
Honey was happy to have her parents back home on Thursday, and quickly destroyed her treat from the parades. How could you be angry with that face?
Campbell texted me, “We had so much fun and will have stories forever.” Mission accomplished!
We walked over to the Columns Hotel for drinks and snacks on Friday afternoon. New ownership has really upped the cocktail and food game there. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed passing an hour or two on the porch.
We passed this nicely decorated house on our walk down Marengo to The Columns.
Saturday started with a pleasant run in Audubon Park and a trip to Octavia Books where D stocked up on reading material for her sun-bathing sessions on the back terrace.
In the evening, we picked up Denny and Anne and drove to Faubourg Brewing in East New Orleans. It used to be called Dixie Brewing, but has changed like so many other businesses as the Dixie statues and monuments have been removed. Sun Pie and Gal Holiday were both performing outside on the expansive lawn. Gal sat down at the table with us and rapidly consumed a bunch of crawfish before her set – she had some great peeling and eating skills.
There were several games available on the lawn and I was very impressed that Denny was able to outplay the Connect 4 champion McD. You could tell he was really concentrating.
We enjoyed some chargrilled oysters and boudin egg-rolls and called it a reasonably early night.
Sunday’s run was in the Riverside part of Audubon – an experiment that we won’t likely repeat – the pavement is just too rough and unpredictable for a leisurely run.
In the afternoon we attended another porch concert. This was hosted by one of Anne’s tennis ladies who was celebrating her birthday. These started as a way for musicians to make money during early COVID and I hope they continue. Just a great way to pass a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.
The band was The Walrus and they played all Beatles music – and played it very well. A nice selection from all the albums.
There was an interesting moment when one of the guitar players amplifier broke down. No worries – the man of the house quickly nipped inside and emerged with a replacement. “The beauty of playing at a musician’s house”, said the singer. I did chuckle at the guys in their “Laissez Boy” recliners, fresh from the parades.
Kenny and Kara joined us for pizza at Theo’s. It was nice to sit outside, enjoy the yummy pizza and tell stories.
I finally finished “The Great Wide Open” by Douglas Kennedy. Almost 600 pages long and pretty dense, but a really good read.
Here’s the summary from Amazon:
“Alice Burns – a young book editor – is deep into a manuscript about the morass of family life. The observations within resonate, perhaps, because she has just watched her own family implode.
As she reads she wonders: When did the sadness start? And could it be that unhappiness is a choice?
Thus begins a great American epic which follows Alice as she navigates high school, first love and sexism at an elite college, a spell in 1970s Ireland, and a tragedy that sends her stateside as the US embraces a cowboy actor named Reagan.
But it is also the tale of her endlessly complex parents and brothers – how their destinies are written by the lies they tell themselves and others.”
The book started out very well but veered into a bit of unbelievable territory in the middle sections. There’s only so much that can realistically happen to one family, and I felt that Kennedy was trying to cram in too many historical references and events. That being said, I still recommend this read if you have the patience for such a long book.
This Tom Petty song was in my head each time I picked up my book:
Here’s one from the late keyboard player, Chuck Leavell that I’ve had on pretty heavy rotation this week:
Stay safe and be kind to everyone!