“Residency Week 7 – Happy Saint Patrick’s Day”
As the residency winds down, we’re trying to make it to some of the places we’ve wanted to try but haven’t been to yet. We walked down Magazine to Empanola for Monday lunch. You guessed it – they specialize in empanadas with all kinds of fillings. We shared an Argentine beef and a shrimp etouffee. Delicious!
Damon came in for a few days on Tuesday. We took him to Que Rico – the Cuban place next door for lunch after he got settled in. Then we joined Fred and Denny at Monkey Hill for Happy Hour and a few games of pool. Damon has never been to New Orleans and it was fun to see him enjoying discovering the architecture and charm of the city. We attempted to have some good oysters and seafood for dinner at Basin Street Seafood but they were fully booked and very busy. Plan B was Tito’s Pisco and Ceviche, where we sat outside and enjoyed a very tasty dinner. They had the scallop special that I had enjoyed a few weeks ago – had to get that again.
Wednesday started with a run in Audubon park where I tried out my new water and phone belt – worked out really well – much better than my phone and water bottle banging around in the pockets of my shorts. It’s the little things that make a difference. I was surprised to see that the thousands of ducks are all gone. I wonder where they migrated to and if they all went in one massive flock (is that the right term for thousands of ducks?)
Denny and I took Damon for a ramble around the French Quarter and Bourbon Street in the afternoon. Of course he got hungry and had to have a slice of pizza.
The much awaited Dads Steak Night was on Wednesday evening. We all convened on Kenny’s porch for cocktail hour – it was very sweet to see Denny and Greg chatting away on the porch swing. To minimize the number of vehicles going to Charlie’s, several of the guys decided to pile into the bed of Denny’s truck. Not something that you would get away with anywhere else. There was no way I was getting in there with all the potholes in the roads here.
Charlie’s is a very old school, neighborhood steak house. There are no menus, the waiter tells you to start with onion rings, followed by a wedge salad, and then describes the different steaks available. Mason was quite happy with his T-bone and I enjoyed my filet – large enough to have left overs for two brunch omelets.
The Moms had to have their night out as well. They tried to go for oyster Happy Hour at Pascal’s Manale but they had a sign on the door saying that they had temporarily suspended the oysters due to supply chain issues. Plan B was Superior Seafood, which had plenty of oysters and a very nice brasserie type set up. They followed that with some snacks at the lovely Chloe restaurant. Seems like they had a very nice evening.
On Thursday, we walked down to Tracey’s in the Irish Channel area to see what Saint Patrick’s day looks like in New Orleans. As expected it was quite the party, with a block party between Tracey’s and Parasols bars.
We enjoyed people watching for a while and then walked through the Garden District for a snack at the Columns. Damon (has the largest appetite of anyone we know – and is tiny) was starting to get quite hungry and wanted some oysters, so we walked down to Superior Seafood for their oyster happy hour – a great deal. On arrival home we had covered a solid four miles on foot.
Damon flew back to Philly on Friday morning, and Diana and I revisited the Columns for our regular Friday late lunch date. We tried the burger this time and it was excellent – bacon and marmalade really making for a yummy treat. I love the tree in the Columns garden and the view from the porch.
Saturday began with the usual walk/run in Audubon park. Then we enjoyed another porch concert. This one on Laurel street next to Patois restaurant – one of the first places we ate in New Orleans. The folks on Laurel have put together a whole organization that regularly hosts musicians on their porches – a way to keep things going for struggling musicians during the pandemic. It was quite a professional operation and we had a lovely afternoon. Sporty’s Brass Band (Sporty is on the trombone) kicked things off and were very good.
Sunpie and the Sunspots played after Sporty’s and made everyone smile with their happy Zydeco style music. Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes is quite an interesting character, hailing from Arkansas, played in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs, is a park ranger and naturalist who gives moonlight swamp tours, and taught himself the Creole dialect so common in Zydeco music.
Diana and I enjoyed a very good Italian dinner at Red Gravy after the concerts. This is the last of the restaurants on our block that we hadn’t tried yet – surprisingly good appetizers and pasta. There was a very pleasant jazz trio playing to set the mood.
We’re looking forward to dinner outside at the Chloe tonight with music by Jon Cleary and his band – more about that next week.
Not much time for reading this week with Damon in town – I’ve just made a bit of a start on the Paris Apartment by Lucy Barton – a lot of interesting hints at the mystery of the apartment, but I have no idea what’s going on yet.
Here are three songs that were played between bands at the Laurel Street porch party – I liked them all sufficiently to Shazam them and find out the artist. I would like to chat with whoever put the music selection together.
Weren’t those all really good songs?
Stay safe and kind to everyone!