Made it to the cookery school about 20 minutes before it started - no hardship, as it was located in a spice shop, so plenty to look at.
We were called in by name by order of booking. We were the last called, and our host/cook for the next few hours introduced herself - Anne, born and bred (white)NO. She gave us a quick precis of the culinary history of NO. While this was happening, an entree of what the American's call 'biscuits' - a scone basically. Accompanying this was a sweet sauce, made from molasses and brown sugar - similar to Ruebenkraut if you know it.
The next three hours were spent learning how to cook gumbo, jambalya, pina colada bread pudding & pralines. Included, of course, was being able to sample all this delicious food. This being the US, 'sample' was more than adequate and we left full. Well worth $29! The next half hour was spent in the shop for 2 reasons - presents and because it was raining heavily.
Back out onto Decateur, we went for a walk through the French Market, which is at one end of the FQ, close to the quay, followed by catching the tram along the waterfront to Canal Street. This last road is the centre of the commercial area of NO - big store names, hotels etc.
Walking back to the flat, still feeling full for a bit of a rest. Again, eating and shopping can get quite tiring.
Around 6 we walked back into FQ and popped into Lafitte's on the way past - me with Kentucky bourbon and B with Jack & coke. Great atmosphere inside, and had the look of a really old English pub - open, crooked beams, exposed brick walls etc. Then we aimed for Mr. B's, a restaurent recommended by Anne for the best BBQ shrimp in town. While we didn't try any other BBQ shrimp, I'd be surprised if anything got close to these, as they were absolutely fantastic. Whole prawns (that needed shelling + bibs) in a roux-based pepper and bbq sauce, together with french bread to mop up the liquid, washed down with more jack and coke & bourbon.
Finished our food and jumped in a cab to the Candle Light Lounge around 8; this turned out to be about 2 hours too early, but never mind. Cover charge (entry fee) was $10, but this also included a bowl of gumbo or two if you got peckish. This place was the NO version of a social club - run for the community by the community - unpretentious and friendly.
The Treme brass band were excellent - the band leader said it approximately 1/3 of the full band (6 on stage), and treated us to a rendition of the theme tune from the HB show 'Treme'. Seeing as it was the same guys who played it on that show, it was pretty damn good, as was it all. The lead singer had a voice as gravelly as Luis Armstrong, and just as good in our opinions. B did a lot of dancing and was chuffed to bits when complimented on dancing by an old black lady. Sent her home with a grin on her face.
Showing posts with label Treme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Treme. Show all posts
Saturday, 2 February 2013
New Orleans - 29/1/13
Up late(ish) for breakfast, which had been laid out for us by David. While having breakfast (provided by the owners, which included a delicious fresh blueberry loaf), David came in to tell us of some things that were going on in and around NO in the next few days. Whilst B was chatting to him, he told how Katrina had affected them - 4 feet of water in their bottom floor, so they moved somewhere else for 6 months while the house was getting sorted and upon return, chose to live upstairs. The house had originally been 2 apartments, so there were 2 kitchens, bathrooms, living spaces etc so it was easy to do; once they'd realised that they could live upstairs with no problems, it was a small step to use the bottom floor for AirB'n'B - great for guests!
After breakfast we headed for the French Quarter. This was no more than 15 minutes walk away down St. Philip's street through Treme. On the way we stopped at a house that had a plaque outside; the house it was referring to was the first one to be owned by a 'Free Man of Colour' (f.m.c.) in NO, meaning that that person wasn't a slave. As we were reading, the owner of the house, Alvin Jackson, noticed and came to talk to us about what we were reading on the plaque. He then invited us into his house before giving us an informal history lesson about the neighbourhood and the free people of colour, explained through paintings on his dining room wall that he had commissioned for the purpose. It turned out that Al had travelled a lot, and lived in Europe while in the army & his German was pretty good! We spent about an hour there, and just before we left, he suggested that we visit the 'Candle Light Lounge' just around the corner which hosted the Treme Brass Band on the Wednesday (David had suggested it as well).
Saying goodbye, we resumed the walk to the FQ. Soon after crossing the boundary into the FQ, we passed Lafitte's, a bar that Ory had said was the oldest in NO. Certainly looked that way as well, since it was made of brick (unusual around here) and leaning at a crazy angle. Next up was Bourbon Street - the most famous in NO with tons of bars, and then found Royal Street. This was more of an 'art' street - every other shop seemed to be a gallery. B purchased a lovely Mardi Gras print, which had been painted by a local artist called Mousie, it was a limited print numbered out of 200. At this point we felt the first hunger pangs and enquiries directed us to 'The Praline Connection'. This was on Frenchman Street where most of the non-touristy Jazz bars were located (if that is at all possible).
First up: Gumbo! This is effectively a thick soup with a 'Roux' base. The roux is made from flour, water and spices. Then pretty much anything else is chucked in, depending on what you want - spicy sausage, seafood, veg, rice etc. B had an 'Etouffe' - a stew with chicken and rice and I had a shrimp 'Po-Boys'. A po-boys is a sandwich made with crispy bread, similar to a baguette. I was expecting something light, but no. It was huge. Fully half a baguette with battered prawns, veg and fries. I asked for a sweet tea, but asked for the sweetness to be toned down a bit - the lady said she did, but it was still eye-wincingly sweet. It would have been undrinkable (for me) in it's fully sweetened form. All in all, perfect for our first taste of NO cuisine.
Suitably fed (actually, completely stuffed). Moseyed back into the centre of the FQ via 'Decatour Street' to the tourist info and booked a swamp tour ($49), then back to Royal for more window shopping. Arriving back at the house around 6 to take some time planning for the next day. It was supposed to rain so were looking for indoors-y things to do. Found a NO cooking school - offering cooking demonstrations (and tastings obviously!) which had spaces. After booking this we got a cab to Frenchman Street (still being unsure of the the neighbourhood after dark) and ended up in a place called Cafe Negril ('Open 363 days per year'). This was a great place - food at the back (tacos), stage in the centre and the bar against the back wall. Shortly after we arrived there was a band change, John Lisi and the Delta Funk. These guys were awesome. Good enough, in fact, for me to buy 3 albums after a short negotiation for bulk purchase.
Still being pretty full from lunch, we had a couple of tacos just to top us off, freshly made, hot and delicious. Made it home around midnight. Got the impression that the bar was only just getting going.
After breakfast we headed for the French Quarter. This was no more than 15 minutes walk away down St. Philip's street through Treme. On the way we stopped at a house that had a plaque outside; the house it was referring to was the first one to be owned by a 'Free Man of Colour' (f.m.c.) in NO, meaning that that person wasn't a slave. As we were reading, the owner of the house, Alvin Jackson, noticed and came to talk to us about what we were reading on the plaque. He then invited us into his house before giving us an informal history lesson about the neighbourhood and the free people of colour, explained through paintings on his dining room wall that he had commissioned for the purpose. It turned out that Al had travelled a lot, and lived in Europe while in the army & his German was pretty good! We spent about an hour there, and just before we left, he suggested that we visit the 'Candle Light Lounge' just around the corner which hosted the Treme Brass Band on the Wednesday (David had suggested it as well).
Saying goodbye, we resumed the walk to the FQ. Soon after crossing the boundary into the FQ, we passed Lafitte's, a bar that Ory had said was the oldest in NO. Certainly looked that way as well, since it was made of brick (unusual around here) and leaning at a crazy angle. Next up was Bourbon Street - the most famous in NO with tons of bars, and then found Royal Street. This was more of an 'art' street - every other shop seemed to be a gallery. B purchased a lovely Mardi Gras print, which had been painted by a local artist called Mousie, it was a limited print numbered out of 200. At this point we felt the first hunger pangs and enquiries directed us to 'The Praline Connection'. This was on Frenchman Street where most of the non-touristy Jazz bars were located (if that is at all possible).
First up: Gumbo! This is effectively a thick soup with a 'Roux' base. The roux is made from flour, water and spices. Then pretty much anything else is chucked in, depending on what you want - spicy sausage, seafood, veg, rice etc. B had an 'Etouffe' - a stew with chicken and rice and I had a shrimp 'Po-Boys'. A po-boys is a sandwich made with crispy bread, similar to a baguette. I was expecting something light, but no. It was huge. Fully half a baguette with battered prawns, veg and fries. I asked for a sweet tea, but asked for the sweetness to be toned down a bit - the lady said she did, but it was still eye-wincingly sweet. It would have been undrinkable (for me) in it's fully sweetened form. All in all, perfect for our first taste of NO cuisine.
Suitably fed (actually, completely stuffed). Moseyed back into the centre of the FQ via 'Decatour Street' to the tourist info and booked a swamp tour ($49), then back to Royal for more window shopping. Arriving back at the house around 6 to take some time planning for the next day. It was supposed to rain so were looking for indoors-y things to do. Found a NO cooking school - offering cooking demonstrations (and tastings obviously!) which had spaces. After booking this we got a cab to Frenchman Street (still being unsure of the the neighbourhood after dark) and ended up in a place called Cafe Negril ('Open 363 days per year'). This was a great place - food at the back (tacos), stage in the centre and the bar against the back wall. Shortly after we arrived there was a band change, John Lisi and the Delta Funk. These guys were awesome. Good enough, in fact, for me to buy 3 albums after a short negotiation for bulk purchase.
Still being pretty full from lunch, we had a couple of tacos just to top us off, freshly made, hot and delicious. Made it home around midnight. Got the impression that the bar was only just getting going.
Houston - New Orleans - 28/1/13
On the road by 9.30, destination New Orleans (pron. New OR-lins). The landscape was much different to what we were used to - now mostly swampland - but we soon got used to it again. There wasn't the sense of such a vast landscape as there has been up until now because the freeway/interstates have thick trees either side, opposed to nothing until the horizon as has been hitherto true. Occasionally there was a break in the tree line and *then* you could see water, trees leading into swamp for miles.
Nearing New Or-lins, there was a bridge built into swampland. We were on this bridge for what must have been 3/4 hour, probably nigh-on 60 miles. Then another, of similar length which led onto the southern edge of Lake Pontchatrain. Across the water, could see another bridge that is apparently the lowest in the world - can't be much more than a few feet above the surface of the lake.
Finding our accommodation in NO was more or less straight forward - we were staying in Treme, the oldest Black neighbourhood in the US - but what was pretty hard was the whole network of one way systems around there - we could see the road that we needed, but couldn't get to it.
The house was beautiful. It was owned by an older gay couple who had owned the place for 15 years, and filled it with artwork and sculptures. What we originally thought was a room, turned out to be pretty much the ground floor (bedroom, bathroom, big kitchen and living room) - they had got into the habit of living on the top floor, leaving the ground floor for guests. Great value.
David (one half of the couple) was a great host, gave us a map of the centre, and lots of numbers/ideas of places to visit/eat etc. He said Mardi Gras had started the previous week, but was currently on hold for the Superbowl. Mardi Gras would restart on Monday - how annoying!
We were both pretty tired, so decided not to do a great deal, get some sleep in readiness to explore the city tomorrow.
5 1/2 hours - 347 miles.
View Houston - New Orleans in a larger map
Nearing New Or-lins, there was a bridge built into swampland. We were on this bridge for what must have been 3/4 hour, probably nigh-on 60 miles. Then another, of similar length which led onto the southern edge of Lake Pontchatrain. Across the water, could see another bridge that is apparently the lowest in the world - can't be much more than a few feet above the surface of the lake.
Finding our accommodation in NO was more or less straight forward - we were staying in Treme, the oldest Black neighbourhood in the US - but what was pretty hard was the whole network of one way systems around there - we could see the road that we needed, but couldn't get to it.
The house was beautiful. It was owned by an older gay couple who had owned the place for 15 years, and filled it with artwork and sculptures. What we originally thought was a room, turned out to be pretty much the ground floor (bedroom, bathroom, big kitchen and living room) - they had got into the habit of living on the top floor, leaving the ground floor for guests. Great value.
David (one half of the couple) was a great host, gave us a map of the centre, and lots of numbers/ideas of places to visit/eat etc. He said Mardi Gras had started the previous week, but was currently on hold for the Superbowl. Mardi Gras would restart on Monday - how annoying!
We were both pretty tired, so decided not to do a great deal, get some sleep in readiness to explore the city tomorrow.
5 1/2 hours - 347 miles.
View Houston - New Orleans in a larger map
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