Garden District to the French Quarter

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Today did not begin until lunch. This was planned. After 15 years of traveling together we have discovered that the day after you arrive, you need to work into the experience. In other words, let yourself sleep in. Sleeping in for me lately means 8:30 as opposed to 6:00. Jerry is the better sleep in person.

The schedule was not jam packed. Lunch in the Garden District, then The French Market in the French Quarter with a stop at the 1850 House. The day would end with Dinner at Antoine’s (celebrating its 175^th year).

Clang, Clang went the trolley,

The St. Charles Street line was the mode of transportation to and from lunch. We stopped at Walgreens and got our 3-day Jazzy pass, unlimited transportation for 3 days. The line starts and ends one block from our hotel. We technically got on at the last stop, which turned out to be smart since it got quite crowded. The streetcar is a national landmark, it is also noisy and not air-conditioned. Fortunately, all of the windows were open so there was a slight breeze. Since we were the first to get on, we did get some good, yet uncomfortable, seats.

It took about 45 minutes to get to our stop. It is really; the best way to get to the Garden District with all of the big houses. Most people got off at Washington Street, where most of the walking tours begin. We continued on for about 5 more stops. Our lunch destination was La Petite Grocery on Magazine street.

After getting off the streetcar we walked about 9 blocks (not New York Avenues but regular city blocks.) It was not a bad walk, but the humidity was not helpful. We arrived at the restaurant exactly at our reservation time of 12:30. As the name applies this used to be a neighbor grocery store. In fact one of the woman (more on this in a moment) at the table next to us use to do her shopping here. Walking in to the restaurant was a great relief, excellent air conditioning.

We were seated at a great table that allowed us to observe much of the goings on, but was not in the main dinning room. This is a good thing because when I got up to go to the bathroom later, as I walked through the main dining room, it was full of the “women who lunch.” There was more chardonnay and rose in that room than in all of France. Of course I had my own class of Rose or two during lunch.

The food was very good, the service a bit scattered. It was Creole slightly updated. You could easily make a meal out of the starters. Which the three women at the table next to us did. So, the next table. It was a table of a classic southern family, Grandmother, mother and daughter. All smartly dressed and with their bottle of chardonnay. They were discussing the daughters New Year’s Eve wedding later that year in New Orleans. Grandma still lived in the city but mom (and dad) had an apartment in the city but lived elsewhere and daughter appears to have moved to Arizona. They did make a meal of every appetizer on the menu. This was there way of eating light, but most of it was fried, so I think that ship sailed.

La Petite Grocery

This was our anniversary lunch, which is why we were in the Garden District, just needed to be out of the quarter for a bit. The menu was small but diverse. It was a bit hard to decide on the appetizer until our server described the specials. Fried Green tomatoes with a salsa Verde. I have never had a true fried green tomato so I knew that would be my starter. Jerry went with the crab beignets. Both were very good and the salsa Verde with the fried green tomato was excellent. The beignets were also very good and in fact gave me an idea for an appetizer for an upcoming dinner party in November.

Our mains were equally as good. Jerry had a braised pork sandwich with thinly sliced cabbage, gruyere cheese and a side of Russian dressing (he hated that, total mayonnaise face). The sandwich was very good pork melted in your mouth and very nice flavor. I had shrimp and grits. It was really good, but not quite as good as what I had in Savannah a few years back. I also enjoyed a couple of glasses of Rose, I can lunch with the best of the “ladies that lunch”.

Dessert was butterscotch pudding for me, with pecan shortbread and Jerry had a root beer float. I have not had butterscotch in years, it was great. Almost didn’t get the pecan shortbread as they forgot to plate it. Jerry says the float was good, but I am not a root beer fan.

After lunch we walked back to St. Charles to the street car and rambled back to the hotel to change and check on Tarragon. Lunch, including travel took much longer than we anticipated so the rest of the plans for the day were modified as we went.

French Market

We took the canal street line to the end and transferred to the waterfront line. This added another 45-minute delay as the waterfront line was down to one track due to some issue with a stalled street car.

So, we stood in the heat for a while, but finally boarded and made it to our destination the French Market. Now in the day, I am sure the market was quite the place, but at least today, it was mainly full of food vendors, a flea market and not much interesting to look at. Wednesday is apparently the day to go as the actual famers market is that day. We did walk from one end to the other, but nothing jumped out at us.

Next up was the 1850 house off Jackson Square, but by the time we got there it was closed for the day. We then just walked down Royal Street and various other avenues in the quarter, crossed over bourbon street and made our way back to the hotel for wine thirty and kitty attention time.

Three is a pool at the hotel and we have our suits, we just have not made it there yet, but I am sure we will. A nice dip in the pool after a day of walking in the heat and humidity would be very refreshing, as it was on our trip to Thailand.

We relaxed in the room for a while and paid attention to Tarragon. Earlier in the day before we left the hotel and while Jerry was in the shower I had arranged for a bottle of Champagne to be chilled and waiting in our room when we returned from the day of sightseeing. This was my anniversary surprise for Jerry, I was so busy the days before we left I had zero opportunity to even get him the traditional card.

Dinner at Antoine’s and a surprise

It was with great trepidation, that we headed to dinner. I was nervous that dinner would be less than stellar given that we were going to another while renowned, still a very old French Quarter restaurant. I wanted more than ok for our anniversary dinner. It turned out to be much better than the night before and apart from yet another loud obnoxious group next to us, it was, as you will soon learn, a very memorable dinner.

Antoine’s is pretty much a New Orleans institution, it has been owned and operated by the same family since it was funded by Antoine Alligatored. Antoine arrived in New Orleans in 1840 from Marseilles France, where he had served Kings and royalty of France. According to travel guides and the restaurant itself Antoine invented or at least the first to serve such diches as Crayfish Etouffee and Shrimp Remoulade. The menu is inspired by France but with a clearly Creole influence.

With all of this history behind it, expectations were high yet reserved. We are well aware that many famous long running establishments lose their zeal after too many years, numerous examples abound in New York. The restaurant is located between Bourbon and Royal on St. Louis and occupies a good two thirds of the block. The restaurant has 14 dining rooms over two maybe three flours, there is also the Hermes Bar and around the corner on Royal is the Annex for coffee and pastries. We were sat in the main dining room, not the one as you come in the door but the larger one in the back. Tip, if you’re not with a crowd and would like a quitter atmosphere request one of the smaller dining rooms when you make your reservation.

We were sat at a good table, but again next to a large group that were too loud and totally unaware that they were not the only people on earth, can we say entitled 20 somethings. (although last night was just entitled 40 plus something’s). Our server was Mike and he was very friendly and did not rush us and let us take our time going over the very extensive menu and wine list. The choices were difficult because it all sounded good. We of course started with a glass of champagne and toasted our anniversary.

Since we were having a very difficult time deciding on starters we choose three to split. Server 2 was a wonderful older man who clearly had been there for decades, if not since 1840. He was sure to inform us that the bread and butter were excellent (he was right) and that everything on the menu was “A1" and that we could not make a bad choice.

The Meal

We started with a trio of appetizers: Pommes de Terre Soufflés, Crevettes Remoulade and Ecrevisses Cardinal. Translation; puffed potatoes (light and fluffy they were like light hollow French fries but 10x betters), Shrimp Remoulade (gulf shrimp in a wonderful spicy remoulade sauce, hard to describe but tomato based with lots of kick, some are a bit more mayonnaise based but this was not), and Louisiana crawfish tails in a tomato, wine and cream sauce, a heart attack waiting to happen but what a way to go. This was a first taste of crawfish and it was my favorite of the three appetizers.

We skipped the salad, based upon the disappointment of last night and because wanted to make sure dessert was going to fit in.

The mains were equally as tasty as the appetizers. Jerry had a Boeuf en Brochette, which was slated to come with a Marchand de Vin sauce but of course he substituted the béarnaise. The béarnaise was very good, needed just a bit more acid and tarragon, but almost as good as anything we have had in France. The beef tenderloin was cooked a perfect medium rare. I had a Cote de Veau Rossini. A thick veal chop served with duck foie gras mousse and a red wine truffle port sauce. The sauce was excellent, Jerry said it was like something I would make, the veal was slightly over cooked but still very flavorful

The three women at the table next to us were very interested in what we were eating especially our appetizers, but they took what they believed the healthy option. To be perfectly clear, not even the salad is healthy here. This is a restaurant to forget about your heart, diet or whatever other health issue you may have, sit back order and enjoy the food, if you’re looking for kale, beets, or tofu, this is not the place for you and Vegans, you are completely out of luck.

We knew what we were going to have dessert before we got here. One of Jerry’s favorite desserts is Cherries Jubilee (Cerises Jubile). Cherries flambéed in brandy and served over ice cream all done table side. The Jubilee was good, but they took the short cut method on the presentation. In the past, the entire thing is done table side (except the making of the ice cream) they build the sauce up and then flambee in brandy. Here they brought the sauce pre- made and just did the flambee part at the table. It was still a show, but not the full show. It was good and very boozy.

With dinner we had a nice bottle of Bordeaux from St. Emillion. After it opened it went very well with our entrees. With dinner complete we sat and enjoyed our wine as the crowd dwindled. The loud table had left but the three women at the next table were still present. I only mention this because of what happened next.

The Big Surprise

As you know this was our 10^th anniversary, we have been together for 15 years, but 10 years ago we had a very large wedding (not legal mind you because same sex marriage in Oregon was not yet allowed at that time). The year before that in 2006 we were on our first trip together in Europe (London, Paris, Niece, Venice, Florence, Rome, Sicily, Naples and back to London) this was pre- blogging. So long story short, in Venice one night after dinner we took a gondola ride through canals and as we passed by a house were Mozart once lived, I handed Jerry a blue box with a key chain (to hold the key to my heart) and proposed.

Fast forward 11 years later, in New Orleans, Jerry pulls a blue bag with a blue box in it, and a card, that says “10 years later it is time I gave you something to hold the key to my heart on,” inside was a key chain with the world on it. So, the card went on to ask me to legally marry him. (just in case you don’t know a blue box means it was from Tiffany’s).

The table of three women didn’t quite know what to do, not that they horrified, but I am pretty sure they did not approve.

The proposal was a perfect ending to a wonderful meal and at a historic New Orleans restaurant.

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Photos

Meanwile back at the Hotel
The King Tarragon at rest

Trio of Appetizers
Left to Right: Pommes de Terre Soufflees, Ecrevisses Cardinal, Crevettes Remoulade

Comments

[Sharon]

Congratulations
The surprise ending brought tears to my eyes. I'm so happy you guys are happy.

[Connie]

Wonderful day
Sounds like this was a wonderful day ending with a delicious dinner in a great setting! Happy Anniversary, just make this your true finale and not the disaster dinner!!!!