Tuesday, February 10, 2015

To Eat while Traveling: New Orleans Golden Birthday Edition, Part 2

We awoke the following day to celebrate my golden birthday. #golden30. I took the opportunity to wear all the patterns I owned in my suitcase because, if I were not confined by society's expectations (or the desire to be respected by colleagues), I would probably wear all the patterns all the time. Perhaps, even every garment polka dotted.  

i love this coat. and so many different types of people compliment me on it. i like that about it, too.
Anyway, we grabbed a coffee to go at Satsuma (we're soooooo American) and walked on an industrial type street toward Cafe du Monde for beignets & more coffee.

tourists.
So, I enjoyed these beignets. There were a lot of other people enjoying them. There was a bachelorette party waiting in line to get some and there were 3 older ladies next to us from out of town enjoying them. Which makes me wonder: is this place for outsiders? It always makes lists of places to go in New Orleans. And, it was good, but what if it wasn't famous on lists? And, are there places with better beignets? How does one reconcile wanting authentic (but what is authentic) experiences while potentially patronizing places that are only around because they serve the purported desires of travelers and no one in the actual city? Or, do people in NoLa love this place too? Traveling brings up the tough questions.

We had a delightful walk around the French Quarter, because the weather was nice and it's a cute area. Maybe it's more commercial than I thought it would be? Obviously, it was lunch time and we continued on our tourist agenda to have a muffaletta. Has anyone considered adding hots to this? Because, it would be 80% better. As it stands, we've got deli meats, cheeses and an olive spread.

those are NOT hot peppers.
I'm a sucker for fancy hotel drinks. Michael decided The Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt would be the perfect spot, and it was. He went for the namesake and I went for the gin fizz, which included cream & egg white.


Please note that the fluff on top was nearly gone in this next photo because it was basically whipped cream/amazing/I used my straws as a spoon to shove it in my mouth.

i'm 30 and i'll have a gin milkshake. thanks.
I gather that we had walked roughly 4 miles by this time. I had to make a quick stop in Anthropologie to take advantage of my 15% off in my birthday month. It's pathetic that the only thing I bought in New Orleans came from a chain (see above riff on authenticity and then promptly disregard everything I say). I GET THAT. But, I didn't want to buy stuff, I wanted to eat. So we stopped for happy hour at Luke and I had 75 cent oysters & 4 dollar champagne.

the first 6 of 10 i consumed.
As I look back and write about all the things I ate & drank, I'm gagging. And what happened next should have been no surprise. We went home to rest up for dinner & to watch the first of the 3 part Top Chef finale (#teamMei). I took a nap and woke up and thought I was dying. I was trembling, nauseous, on the verge of puking. I called my mother and asked if it was possible that I had eaten a bad oyster, because OMGIMDYING. She asked what I ate. I recounted everything. She laughed at me. Her response seemed cold at the time, but now that I'm an outsider, I get it; I was a pig and suffering because I couldn't stop eating. I rallied (a moderate, whimpering rally, if we're honest) and we went to La Petite Grocery.

pretending. not pictured: me saying, "i feel like shit. i need to go to sleep."
The chef was on Season 11 of Top Chef (not why we chose it, but a pleasant surprise given our love of the show). I met him when we entered and he made jokes about how I look younger than 30. I didn't get them because I'm anxious and ridiculous when meeting new people.

Frankly, our meal was just good. And that's not only because I wanted to vomit on the table. It was a bit too salty and lacking the finesse of truly magical foods. You know when you take a bite and think "how did this happen?!" There wasn't any mystery to this food. I enjoyed my ricotta dumplings and we ate other things, but I was a little disappointed. The cardamom cheesecake with fiery marshmallow creme, on the other hand, was fabulous.
golden dress on golden30. DUH. #fakeittilyoumakeit
And then, I promptly fell asleep.

Click for parts 1 & 3

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