Miles: 350
Route: Birmingham, AL - New Orleans, LA
Sarah and I woke up on Sunday morning to the smell of sausage biscuits baking and coffee brewing in the Underwood's kitchen. We really have had the best hosts during our road trip!
We didn’t linger long in Birmingham though - Sarah was very excited for us to get to New Orleans. The drive is only about five hours and we stopped in Hattiesburg, MS at Crescent City Grill for my first taste of “real” Cajun-style cooking. Gumbo and a po’boy? Check!
We arrived in New Orleans just in time for the Giants game so we headed to a bar on Bourbon Street to watch the G-Men take on the Cowboys. At least they managed to get some points on the board…and it’s hard to complain about watching the game from Bourbon Street!
Sarah was able to get her favorite local beer at the bar (and we obviously didn't have any trouble getting a seat!).
After the game, we returned to The Sunburst Inn, our B&B for the next few days, to get settled in. This place is located only a few minutes walk from the French Quarter and is run by two really nice guys - plus the house has a much more Now Orleans-y feel than some of the bigger hotels. Glad Sarah found it!
The Sunburst Inn - definitely a great deal if you're staying in NOLA for a few days!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the French Quarter and Sarah made sure I tried the local drinks: a hurricane and a hand grenade. They’re both super sugary and super strong! We decided to pace ourselves and call it an early night - we have three more nights here after all!
Halloween is definitely a much bigger celebration here than in NYC. This is one of the many well-decorated balconies we walked past on Sunday night.
First stop on Monday morning: Café Du Monde, New Orleans’ original French Market coffee stand, for café-au-laits and beignets. Both were amazing!
Diggin' in!
After exploring the French Quarter in the daylight for a few hours, we sat down for lunch at NOLA, one of Emeril’s restaurants down here. I can’t remember a time when I was so torn about what to order - besides dishes with shrimp (which I’m allergic to), I would have happily ordered literally anything on the menu because it ALL looked so good. I settled on another po’boy (when in New Orleans, right?) and Sarah got shrimp and grits. Going to need to loosen the belt for the rest of our stay here…
Sarah's shrimp and grits at NOLA.
Full from lunch we decided to take the streetcar to the Garden District so Sarah could show me her old stomping grounds at Tulane. Before boarding the street car we had to stop and get to-go daiquiris though, because that’s what people do down here I guess!
Riding the street car to Tulane.
Tulane has a beautiful campus and, coupled with New Orleans’ vibrant downtown, it is easy to see why Sarah decided to go to school here. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to focus on class given all the city has to offer but somehow she managed!
Obligatory picture by the Tulane University sign.
Sarah found her old house a few blocks from campus, looking a little worse for wear.
One of the many beautiful homes in the Garden District.
No trip to Tulane’s campus would be complete without a stop at The Boot, recently voted the Best College Bar in America. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it was a good place to stop after our long walk around campus.
Given our beignets for breakfast and heavy lunch at NOLA, we opted for a bit of a lighter dinner and headed to Wasabi, a sushi place only a few blocks from The Sunburst Inn. Our long day had worn us out and after dinner we headed back to get some rest.
Tuesday was a more leisurely day for us - we had a late brunch, caught up on the blog and ran some other errands. By late afternoon we were ready to see some more New Orleans classics and headed back to the Garden District for dinner at Jacques-Imo's. Our streetcar ride was a little more eventful on Tuesday, though - as we were getting close to our stop, a car unexpectedly turned across the track and the conductor was unable to stop the train in time. We rammed right into the car, spinning it across to the other track. Fortunately everyone was fine, but a scary way to start the evening!
Sarah's brunch at Horn's - hard to beat eggs covered with crawfish étouffée!
Jacques-Imo’s was great, as expected. We had fried green tomatoes to start, then Sarah and I split two entrees: grilled redfish (the lighter option) and country friend venison (the opposite of the lighter option). Both were fantastic.
We headed to the Maple Leaf Bar next door to watch Rebirth perform after dinner. The show was awesome - it’s no wonder these guys won a Grammy in 2012!
We managed to get a great spot to see the performance (plus the bar itself isn't too big, which helped limit the size of the crowd).
Once the show was over we had just enough energy left to head to Pat O'Brien's to see some live piano before returning to our B&B to crash.
Today was planned to pretty much revolve around one thing: lunch at Commander’s Palace. Sarah described Jacques-Imo's and Commander’s Palace both as quintessential New Orleans restaurants, but very different. I definitely agree. Commander’s Palace was as formal as Jacques-Imo's was casual (there definitely wasn’t a dress code on Tuesday night!) but the food was just as delicious. We both started with the famous Turtle Soup and split a couple of amazing entrees. Oh, and Commander’s Palace also offers $0.25 martinis during lunch. So, needless to say, it was a great lunch!
I got the pork prime rib - phenomenal.
Afterward we explored Magazine street for a few hours before heading back to the French Quarter. Our final meal of the trip was at Port of Call, a casual place known for their burgers. They did not disappoint.
I feel (almost certainly accurately) that I’ve gained five pounds here over the last three days, but it’s been a really fun visit to a city that’s very special to Sarah. Tomorrow morning we’ll make the drive up to Nashville in preparation for Nikou and Mike’s wedding on Saturday!