The Garden District

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The only thing on the itinerary today is a walking tour in the garden district. Self-Guided walking tour. You can pay for a guided walking tour, but there is so much information online that you can print out your own map and walking guide, which is what Jerry did before we left home.

Another trip on the St. Charles line to the stop just after Washington Street. Our tour was to start at a place called Grocery, where you could get an authentic po boy. However, it apparently had closed and in its place was a women owned bakery called Gracious. They had a pretty eclectic menu, with a slight southern flair but not really, more your standard hipster kinda place, quinoa, etc. They did have some good sandwich offerings. Jerry had a Tarragon Chicken Salad sandwich on green onion bread. The chicken salad was some of the best we have had in a long time. I had a Smoked ham with cheddar spread, pepper jelly on a baguette. It was also very good. The soup special was a potato chicken andouille, so had to have that. It was pretty could but more like a mushroom soup than potato based.

After that we began our tour. We spent about 2 and half hours walking through the district. The weather had taken a wonderful turn for the better, low humidity, cool breeze and mid 70’s. It was a pleasure to be out and about for a change. The Garden District is full of huge home after huge home. More than I can possibly write about. The highlight for me as the Ann Rice house, which her books the Mayfair witches is based on. She also lived there for several years.

After we finished the tour, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the pool. It was a light day as most things are closed on Monday’s.

K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen

Tonight, dinner was at the famous Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s. Downhome Cajun fare. We had originally planed a day touring a couple of plantations, but to rent a car here you have to be King Midas, it was just too difficult. Anyway, our reservation wasn’t until 9 as we didn’t really know when we were going to be back form the plantations. That of course was not an issue since we couldn’t get a car, and zip cars are evidently non-existent here.

We were seated right next to the kitchen. I know that many think that is the worst seat in the house, but for us it is the best, especially when it is an open kitchen. On one side was a large window designed specifically for customers to watch them cook. I made a couple of trips, and definitely watched them cook our entrée. The waitress was definitely local and Cajun. She lived 53 miles outside the city in the country on the other side of the lake. Too much of a commute for me. Shelia was very friendly, actually too friendly because she tended to ignore one table in order to talk to the next, but it all worked out in the end.

The advantage of Shelia was that she timed everything perfectly, ok, she did forget what we ordered for the entrée and had to ask a second time, but other than that it was a nice leisurely meal and we were one if not the last table of the night. We started with champagne splits. One of the reasons we were looking forward to this dinner was one of the appetizers, crawfish enchilada. The first time I had this was when I met AJ for the first time. It was so rich and so good. Unfortunately, crawfish are not in season, so the enchilada was a shrimp enchilada with a green chili pork sauce. Jerry ordered this for his appetizer. It was really good just not the same as the crawfish. I had the fired green tomato with remoulade sauce, I know Jerry typically orders this, but tonight was my turn. It was also very good, and had a bit more kick to it than the other remoulades we have had.

We needed greens, so our next course was K-Paul’s caesar. It was one of the better caesars we have in a restaurant, good dressing, but the anchovies were on the salad and not in the dressing. We like anchovies, but 7 it a bet much on any salad.

After the salad I went to the kitchen window to watch them cook our entrée’s. We were both having different versions of blackened beef. I thought they had cooked it to long just by watching, but it was done perfectly. I was going to have a blackened double stuffed pork chop, but the menu said it was cooked medium well to well to insure the cheese melted. I didn’t want a dry pork chop so went with the blackened ribeye instead. Jerry and Blackened twin filets. They were both cooked perfectly medium rare and the sauce was very flavorful, a wine reduction that captured all of the nice blackening spice. As far as the blackened part, it could have had a bit more heat for me, and I know that the actual recipe in Prudhomme’s cookbook does have a kick, so they clearly soften it for the dining public.

We could barely finish our entrée’s so dessert was out of the question. Not even the walk back to the hotel help work off the meal. It was a definite food coma night.

That was it for the day, compared to other trips we seem to be slowing down on how much we accomplish in a day. But maybe it is just being in the South, everything is slower here.

Tomorrow Louisiana Cook’n.

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Photos

Haunted Mansion
The Disney Haunted Mansion is based on this house

Anne Rice's House
Can you feel the witches

Blackend Ribeye
There was no butter in those potatoes

Comments

[Andrea Vaughn]

As always, pics of food are mouthwatering!