Keep Calm & Have a Cocktail March 2018:Day 4. New Orleans. Riverfront,French Market,Jazz Brunch

[WileyCoyote]

yesterday is HERE

Tuesday 13 March New Orleans Riverfront, French Market and Jazz Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters

We had a really indulgent lazy morning and ordered a room service breakfast which was very nice but really overpriced!

Andy had an omelette, I went for a continental .

We didn’t have any major plans for today - we had thought about watching the basketball this evening but hadn't booked any tickets so we said we would just see how we felt later - in the end we didn't get there - next time !

Late morning, we set off for Jackson Square, stopping at the Cathedral to look at the artists.


We got chatting to Danny De Lancey - we had seen his painting the previous day and I had thought it was a bit spooky - then we read about it and we spent some time chatting with him.

He was so lovely and so interesting - he talked about his work and art generally in New Orleans.

We bough the two prints that he had and took them back to the room.

I am sure Andy was keen to buy the big canvases as well - maybe next time!


What an unexpected and interesting start to the morning.

We set off again for the riverfront

, taking in the humungous queue for Café Du Monde.

yes that last picture is the end of the queue for coffee and beignets at the Café !

We had a quick stop in Washington Park overlooking the river - there is a lot of construction along the riverfront.

We walked Decatur street browsing the shops (a lot said no photos) and picking up some of the Blue dog/Werewolf prints as they reminded us of the dogs at home and they are a quirky NO keepsake. Get us going all arty this trip

It was just lovely, some of the cafes had live music, there were lovely boutique stores and despite it being quite cold, the sun was shining.

We passed Latrobe park where we saw that they were doing a lot to support the homeless people with food and drinks which was very touching.

We found ourselves at the French Market which is food and drink/crafts at the start and Flea Market at the end. Again lots of signs with no photos

Loads of interesting things to look at and very similar to farmers market in LA and Dallas. Not as upmarket as Chelsea in NY though. It still had such a nice laid-back vibe.

We walked back towards Royal Street taking in the scenery

and passing the house where Tennessee Williams wrote A Streetcar named Desire. Its a tiny little store now.

WE also bought some pralines - they are so much sweeter than I remembered - just a big circle of sugar!

We had booked a jazz brunch for 2pm so with an hour to spare we perched ourselves in the Hermes Bar at Antoine’s restaurant and sampled a few cocktails with the really chatty barman. We thought it was funny that the fire was blazing as the locals thought it was “freezing”. We had a really lovely hour or so in here before the short walk to Court of Two Sisters

The barman let Andy try a taste of Sazerac and also some Rum Punch for no fee ! ( eesh, tasty).

I went for a Magnolia Blosom

Rum punch on the left, magnolia blossom on the right

[WileyCoyote]

Wow, what a place.

Amazing array of Cajun and Creole food, beautifully presented and so tasty.

We had an absolute feast

$32 per person, All you can eat buffet from 11-3.
We had booked for 2pm. The Jazz stops at 2.30 and they clear away from 2.45 so I would book earlier another time.

What an idyllic place. Jazz, hidden courtyard, fabulous food and dining under the trees in the sunshine.

So much food to choose from
Huge Salad station
Creole choices like gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp
Rice, potatoes , noodles, duck
Carvery Rib of Beef
Half a dozen dessert choices

And that's just what we had

I had coronation chicken and some cheese and pasta to start

The jambalaya, duck , mash and chicken gumbo

Washed down with a mimosa, and so good I got a second plateful

Andy had shrimp and rib

And a bottle of red wine.

I tried all the desserts
Apple cobbler, lemon cake, chocolate cake and bread pudding

The bill

We thought it was brilliant value for a totally chilled out experience

It was about as perfect as you could wish for, sitting in the sunshine, listening to Jazz and eating the most delicious food while the city bustled about around this quiet courtyard.

It was one of those moments you wish you could bottle.

With very full bellies and feeling very content , we headed back to the hotel to chill out for a while , taking in some of the street performers in Jackson Square along the way.

Andy was so impressed with the lunch, he was all for booking it again tomorrow - it was that good

We lazed around until just after 7 when we headed down to the hotel bar to listen to the band and have a couple of drinks.

What a lovely day it had been mooching around with great food and drink in between !

The next day is HERE

[disney owl]

Jazz brunch looks delicious

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Jakey Neverland

Totally perfect day but why was the queue so long for coffee?

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The queue is for the beignets rather than the coffee. It’s the most famous place in NO to get them. We cheated and got them from their small place in the outlets on our first trip.

Originally Posted by disney owl

Jazz brunch looks delicious

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It was an amazing lunch, fab food and so laid back.

[KarenG]

Two Sisters was already on my “short”* list and it’s definitely staying there now! Looks wonderful, food, surroundings, everything.

I’m way too tight to pay for room service. It makes me think of being in depressing hotel rooms for work

Love the day mooching, my perfect day.

* list of restaurants that is not at all short, and getting longer by the day

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Two Sisters was already on my “short”* list and it’s definitely staying there now! Looks wonderful, food, surroundings, everything.

I’m way too tight to pay for room service. It makes me think of being in depressing hotel rooms for work

Love the day mooching, my perfect day.

* list of restaurants that is not at all short, and getting longer by the day

See more...

We are returning to Two Sisters on my birthday. I am really looking forward to it. Booked in for 1230 so we can make full use of the buffet and hear more of the jazz.

We rarely use room service ever and after discovering their breakfast room the next day , we may well just stick with that! It was really pricey for what we got . And I hate the cling film on top of everything. Not classy. Or planet friendly

[Melbatb]

Such a nice day - mooching is very much underrated in my opinion! Lovely blue sky even if it was a bit nippy!

Again such delicious looking food and drinks!

[CrispyA]

Sounds like a really lovely day and the lunch looks great! I ove a good mooch around a place and the art looks really cool

[JudyC]

You are really selling New Orleans to me. I also fancy Nashville, but I reckon DH would prefer NO

[yellowrose78]

Another lovely day