Beignets!!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Oh yeah, that was a quick night!  But it’s anew day and we’re up and at ‘em by nine o’clock! I do a bit of wandering around the hotel first because I can't get over all the stunning places to discover!

It is so lovely to have coffee and other goodies available in the parlor twenty-four seven!  We need some fortification before we set out for breakfast at Café Beignet!  Of course, one unnamed person, Paul, in our party has already been up, ridden the St. Charles trolley and had breakfast!  Never mind!  We’re all off to the Café anyway!  It’s really fairly close to the hotel and the walk will do us good!

There’s a line but it gives us time to decide what we want to order and to gaze longingly at the pastries in the display case.  I’m the last to order which means I don’t have to sorry about all the table shifting that’s gone on so we can all sit together.  I’m having café au lait, scrambled eggs, bacon, grits and, need you doubt!, an order of beignet for our end of the table, to augment the two already in evidence.  They come three to the order, so that should work out fine!

The sparrows are having a blast with people’s leftovers and I’m told that they wanted a shot at my breakfast while I was off getting silverware!  Good to have friends to defend your food!

There’s a busker on the sidewalk singing to us over the fence but gospel on a Monday morning isn’t exactly a hot ticket!

Somehow all the food is gone, except the “French” bread (not so much!).  Who wants plain old bread when you can have beignets??

Bill is ready to go back to the hotel for a nap after last night’s indulgences, so Jackie drives the rest of us to City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Really we are all interested in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden and Norah navigates us there perfectly!  There are many wonders to ogle and enjoy!  Artists we’ve all heard of as well as others who probably deserve more fame than they have achieved!  We wander and photograph until every piece has been immortalized and then head back to the minivan.  Jackie is liking this vehicle so much that she want to adopt the Van Trapp family so she has an excuse to keep it!

On to lunch at Carmo, a Tropical Café.  Clare used to work here with the Armenian lady who is head chef and quarter-owner.  The menu is so unusual and tempting but some of us are still stuffed from breakfast!  Even all that walking hasn’t burned up those beignets!  Amy is hoping for something green when she orders a vegetarian plate but the salad part isn’t very large.  It all seems to be pretty delicious, though!  Paul’s sandwich is equally drool-worthy.  The rest of us split two orders of Armenian flat bread with Havarti melted on top and sprinkled with scallions!  The bread is wafer thin and could probably float away if not held down by the cheese!  Yum!

Back, now, to the hotel where we lose a few more folks!  It’s just Jackie, Amy and I.  We’re off to the Jamie Hayes Gallery.  It’s one of the top ten places on Trip Advisor and when we arrive we find out why!  There’s so much fun and whimsical stuff inside! Goodies!!

 Our shopping itch having been scratched, we wander around Jackson Park, admiring the street artists, listening to a jazz band and chatting with a living statue.  Then it’s back to the Olivier House to regroup for the next adventure.  We’re hoping to catch up with Clare and get a tour of the Live Oak’s kitchen, before going to dinner.  We’ll see how all that works out!

There's been napping and blogging across the land when I get a call from Jackie.  She and Bill are across the street at the Hotel St. Marie's bar and restaurant, The Vacherie.  That's the place with the happy hour that Norah and Chris recommended.  As soon as I'm current here I join them for a Pimm's Cup and catfish sliders.  Both really hit the spot!

It turns out that Clare's day has not gone as planned and she can't meet us for dinner until later than we had thought.  And Anne Marie, Bill and Jackie's niece can't stay at dinner for very long.  But at least we'll get to see them both!  

Amy and Paul have decided to do their own thing for dinner;  but the rest of us reassemble in the parlor at seven and set off for Mondo on Anne Marie's recommendation.  She and Clare come here often and they sure know their stuff when it comes to food! The five of us settle in at our table and Clare joins us pretty quickly.  We're just getting into the menu and some libations when Anne Marie bustles in!  She's an animated, delightful woman with two teenage sons.  I'm sorry they couldn't join her!  One is with his dad and the other is studying for exams this week.  He's the older one and is also an accomplished saxiphonist who often plays with his dad in the Brass Band!  He also has a standing gig at a club called DBA on Frenchmen Street (except when he's studying for exams!) on Tuesday nights. I really hate that we're going to miss him!

Dinner choices are far-ranging from deviled-eggs appetizers to pizza with Bosc pears, prosciutto, goat cheese and arugula, to slow-roasted pork or lamb shoulder! Everyone is well-pleased with their selections and the Avia pinot grigio from Slovenia is light and summery.

Anne Marie has to dash off to a previously-made appointment but the rest of us linger over coffee and desserts.  It is a treat to finally have some time with Clare!  We pretty much close the place down, though, and it's time to head home after making some plans for tomorrow.  Norah and Chris have to leave in the afternoon, so we all want their last day to include whatever they want!

Jackie drives us back to the Quarter and we begin the hunt for a parking spot of the street.  The one we finally locate is pretty tight and Bill volunteers to maneuver the big car into the little space!  He does a fine job but the space is on a street with Tuesday morning street cleaning!  He'll have to come move the vehicle before eight o'clock tomorrow morning!  He says he's fine with that, so we all clamber out and head for home.

That elevator door looks quite inviting and for a change we might all get a full night's sleep!  Might even be able to stay up for a big dose of jazz tomorrow night!