New Orleans Food Fes... errr... JAZZ Festival

My idea of a great vacation is going anywhere that I haven’t already been. I love to explore and discover. I love being surprised. I love adventure. I love trying to get by in a foreign language. There is, however, one exception to that rule, and that exception is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I inherited this annual pilgrimage to New Orleans from AT, an 8-year veteran. If I want to see him the first week in May (on any given year), it has to be in New Orleans.

This year was my third Jazzfest. During the trip, I felt a little out of sorts as I kept checking my daily to-do list, realizing that there was nothing I * had * to do on that day. Nothing I had to see (I have been there 3 times before). Nothing I had to buy. Nothing. I felt like something was missing, but I gradually got used to, and..I must admit.. I even appreciated it.

• Sherri vacation = active + requires constant thought/planning --> return home exhausted
• Scary vacation = inactive & requires no thought/planning --> return home frustrated
• Jazzfest = active + requires little thought/planning --> return home relaxed
  

To pay homage to the now-defunct list (just for Jazzfest, mind you, I’m still rockin’ the to-do list at home!) I am going to I’m going to describe the entire trip through the use of lists.

Who was our crew at the Crescent City Guest House?

• Stefan (Boston)
• Lisa (Boston)
• Andrea (Boston)
• Ophelia (AT’s mom, Boston)
• Nancy (AT’s aunt, Novato, CA)
• AT (San Francisco)
• Sherri (San Francisco)
• Plaut (honorary guest. Tee hee)

How many ways can you get crawfish at the Jazz Festival?

• Crawfish beignets
• Fried softshell crawfish po-boy
• Fried crawfish tails
• Crawfish sausage po-boy
• Boiled crawfish
• Crawfish etouffee
• Cajun crawfish rice
• Crawfish puff
• Fried eggplant with crawfish sauce
• Crawfish sack
• Crawfish pie
• Crawfish enchilada
• Crawfish sushi rolls
• Crawfish spinach and zucchini bisque
• Crawfish remoulade
• Crawfish struedel
• Crawfish Monica
• Crawfish bisque
• Crawfish bread

What did we eat at the Jazz Festival? (# indicates multiple servings)

• Spinach and artichoke casserole#
• Crawfish pie #
• Tajades (tortilla chips, pickled cabbage, marinated pork)
• White chocolate bread pudding #
• Crawfish Monica #
• Praline bread pudding
• Fried fish Ferdinand #
• Cochon de Lait po-boy
• Fried eggplant with crawfish sauce #
• Fried chicken
• Key Lime Pie
• Grape Snow Cone
• Crawfish struedel #
• Sausage po-boy
• Crawfish bread
• Raspberry Iced Tea #
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Popcorn
• Mango freeze
• Crabcake
• Banana bread pudding
• Meat pie
• Fried pork chop sandwich
  

Drinks mixed for us by Chris McMillan, venerable Louisiana mixologist at The Ritz-Carlton Library Bar:

• Ramos Gin Fizz for AT
• French 75 for Andrea
• Pimms Cup for Stefan
• Jane Doe for Sherri
• Mint Julep for Ted (complete with history of the drink in verse as well as hand-chipped ices)
• Blueberry Hill for TodMojo Rising for Plaut
  

(Some of the drinks might be attributed to the wrong drinkers. I was mesmerized by 1.) Chris’s knowledge of the history of cocktails and entertaining demeanor and 2.) Lisa passed out on the sofa after telling us she didn’t feel a thing from that Monsoon. )

Non-Jazzfest meals:

• Dinner at Ophelia’s friend Steven’s place, just around the corner.
• Fine Dining at Emeril’s Delmonico. Beet salad, BBQ shrimp on grits, sweet and sour calamari (delightful!), pickled watermelon with crawfish salad…. to START.
• Beignets at Café du Monde
• Table for 9 at Marigny Brasserie (decision: healthy steamed vegetables or pasta in lobster cream sauce?)
• Burger, Fries and a cocktail at Checkpoint Charlie at 3am.
• Sukho Thai, where Stefan’s food was THAI SPICY, and spicier than anyone else’s food.
• Dinner at Angelis after giving up at Coops
• Muriels on Jackson Square. Did someone say bread pudding?
• Huge burgers and baked potatoes at Port of Call (drool drool slobber slobber)
• In-N-Out Burger in Mill Valley, CA. Hey, we weren’t HOME from vacation yet, so we were still free to eat like little piggies without guilt!
  

Highlights & Lowlights of the festival:

• Torrential downpour + high winds.
• Wading through the flooded fairgrounds in search of food (nothing will keep us from Fish Ferdinand and white chocolate bread pudding)
• Remembering to cover the bike seats with plastic bags
• Crawfish Monica closed from power outage in the storm (gasp!)
• AT running out to find his mom and forgetting his rain poncho.
• Jazzfest shuttle on strike!
• Mitch’s waterproofed phone and non-water-proofed self
• Mud squishing through my toes (fun!)
• Mitch’s 6-beer holster, 1-beer necklace and 2 hands.
• Crawfish Monica re-opens (joy!)
• Dancing with AT
• Accidentally getting the wrong bread pudding for Nancy and Ophelia and having to suffer through eating the extra praline bread pudding. Suffer, I tell ya. Suffer.
• Mating bugs using my arms, legs, shirt, hat, chair, under my toes, and food as a place to get it on.
• Heatwave! So hot that Sherri can’t hear the music anymore. Has to go home early to cool down. I’m mmmmeeellltttttiiiinnnnngggg.
• People of all ages dancing with highly decorated parasols to the Dixieland band.
• Guiding Lisa through her first Jazzfest food run (you just CAN’T send the vegetarian of the group to give guidance on such an issue!)
• Running into Mitch & the Gang and Plaut & Company
• Learning about Saint Arnold. Patron Saint of Artichokes? Of course not. AT’s namesake could only be the Patron Saint of Hops! (St. Arnold Brewing Company)
• Fantastic selection of music from all genres.
• People watching at it’s finest!
• Riding a bike in a skirt (no, NOT AT, silly!)

What we did at night:

• Two nights at Rock-N-Bowl: one night focused on beverage consumption, music, and messing with Lisa (telling her to tell the drunk lady she loves the Mucky Duck, and the tall guy Happy New Year); the other busy with bowling, hula lessons, and closing the place down.
• Shopped for Lisa’s pink feather boa.
• Civilized cocktails with Mitch & Company at the Bombay Club. Complete serenity just steps from Bourbon street.
• Pat O’Briens for Hurricaines
• Sherri won a Hula-Hoop contest with the owner of Mid-City Lanes/Rock-N-Bowl
• Cocktails at the Swizzle Stick Lounge
• You had to know that Sherri would go to Harrah’s for some gambling! Once with AT and once with Aunt Nancy. Very happy. The Wheel of Fortune giveth. (almost as much as the Wheel of Fortune tooketh away last month in Nassau!)
• Walked for miles and miles in search of the next tasty cocktail.
• Went to the Carousel bar (twice). The carousel (indoors) actually rotates around the bar very slowly. Try not to be too tipsy when you sit down!
• Sherri stayed in one night. AT said he went to see a “Can Opener”. No no no, he said “Piano Player”. However, apparently a can opener would have been more entertaining.
• Listened to the local weather station speak of a tornado watch and thunderstorms.

What we did during daylight, outside of the fest:

• Window shopping on Royal street in the Quarter
• Admired art and trash
• Wondered who would come out of each room at the B&B every morning
• Got chased out of a gallery when AT and Stefan tried to take pictures
• Woke up without an alarm clock (heaven!)
• Found a Blue Dog painting that Sherri loves, and it’s only $45,000
• Played “HEY, I’ve been LOOKING for a (insert cheesy item here)”. See below for the winning items in this game.
• Took a bicycle tour through Gentilly to see how much has changed since last year’s ride when it was 100% abandoned. This year, we witnessed some FEMA trailers and home rebuilding, but not a very large percentage. And this wasn’t even the worst neighborhood, the lower 9th Ward was even worse. So much remains to be done. SO MUCH.
  
• Visited the new and very beautiful Court House. Through the metal detector and baggage screen, long wait for printer paper, get a photo ID, lock up phones and cameras. No court in session. Visited the LA supreme court and a district courtroom.
• Drank Turbo Dog on tap
• Took naps

Quotes:

• “Look at that dorky kid having a great time.” -Ophelia
• “I LOVE this!!” -Lisa
• “Jazzfest express to the left. Taxis and RTA busses to the right one block at Stallings Playground”
• “No shade canopies”
• “This drink doesn’t have any alcohol. I don’t feel a thing” -Lisa
• “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz” -Lisa, 1 hour later
• “Mmmmm. I smell fried!” -Stefan and Sherri
• “I know I’m in New Orleans when I hear live music at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and I’m walking down the street with a beer.” -AT
• “Turbo Dog on Tap!” –AT and Stefan
• “I’m sure we can find a place around here somewhere to get you a beer.” -AT to Plaut
• “There’s nothing hotter than a woman in a bike helmet.” -Plaut
• “Crap, I just lost $50. Now I have to go over to the dollar Wheel of Fortunes to get it back” -Sherri
• “Uh oh. We lost mom again” -AT

Contest: Find the most unique, tacky, ugly, and useless object for sale in New Orleans.

Contenders:

• Giant fish lure (18” long) with a big smiley face, to hang from ceiling
  
• Miniature gong held up by a cow horn
  
• Alligator dressed as a bride
  
• Ceramic cat standing up and playing the harp
  
• Ceramic dogs (matching)