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A quick visit to New Orleans, Part 2
As I wrote last week, I
had won a trip for two
to New Orleans when I
supported my sister-in-law, B.J.
Adler’s, nonprofit arts group. I
didn’t realize at the time just
how lucky I was to get a chance
to visit such a unique city with a
charm all its own.
As part of the “package” was
dinner at the Commander’s
Palace restaurant, where we
were greeted by waiters in polka
dot vests and black ties. One
after the other, they greeted us
with "Welcome, Welcome!”
Their friendly greeting put big
smiles on our faces as we were
seated in a large room with
crystal chandeliers and wellspaced,
white linen-covered
tables.
Our meal was as good as
the surroundings. The cuisine
featuring Cajun and creole
food excited our palates, and
their jazz brunch is a real New
Orleans treat. After dinner,we discovered that the restaurant
also has a table in the
kitchen, a large outdoor patio
and a glass-enclosed dining
room facing the garden patio.
On our half-day guided tour
of the city, we got a taste of
the charm of the other neighborhoods
surrounding the
unique French Quarter with
its wrought iron patios overlooking
the street scene and
its many historic buildings.
Fortunately, most restaurants
survived Katrina but
had to close, some for years,because they couldn't get staff
and there were no customers,
and the tourist trade had
come to a stop! But they have
come back and one restaurateur
reported to me sales are
up over last year. Arnaud’s
Restaurant was my favorite
because it's where the
“Brooklyn” cocktail was created.
Here’s the recipe for the drink:
½ ounce rye, ½ ounce vermouth,
½ ounce cardamaro
and 1/3 oz of Luxardo
maraschino liqueur stirred
with ice and garnished
with a Luxardo cherry!It was unique and worth
repeating.
If you can’t get to New
Orleans, try making the
cocktail yourself. You will
love it too!
Our next must-see stop
was the Preservation Hall
Jazz Band. We had priority
seating on a bench
but to my surprise most
of the visitors had to stand
in what was a surprisingly
small space accommodating
maybe 100 people.
The night I was there
for the 45-minute session, they
offered $5 per request. I asked
them to sing my favorite Louis
Armstrong song, “What a
Wonderful World.”The piano player,
drummer, bass
clarinet and sax
and trombone
group
thrilled me and
the audience
cheered the performers.
They ended
the session with appropriate favorite
“St Louis Blues!”
The space was established in
1961 by Alan and Sandra Jaffe.
They had stopped in New Orleans
on their honeymoon and fell in
love with what they heard at
Preservation Hall. They decided
to stay and became proprietors
of the Hall. Their vision helped
to build both the reputation and
business of the New Orleans site.
Powerfully, they ran the
racially integrated jazz institution
through the mayhem that
accompanied the civil rights
movement in the south and
never bent to angry segregationists.
The Jaffes were also a force
in helping bring the city back
after Katrina forming outreach
programs to help the jazz
artists survive and assure
the revival of the jazz scene
in New Orleans.
Today their son Ben runs
the business and keeps it
alive and flourishing with
lines still winding up the
street with people waiting
to enjoy the show that runs
four times a night.
For more great jazz,
Friendship Street offers
club after club.
Being a lover of flea
markets -- after all, my
family runs the Long
Island City Flea Market
every weekend -- I was
delighted to find that
there are several in New
Orleans. We visited the
French Market where
there is an extraordinary
coffee shop Cafe du
Monde that serves outrageously
mouthwatering
beignets, which are
doughnuts
smothered in
w d e r e d
sugar. One
bite and
you are in
heaven!
D o w n
the block
is the
flea market
offering
food and
drink stands,
produce and
a hundred vendors
selling trinkets,
souvenirs ,clothes, jewelry and
of course tourist tee shirts.
I talked with a friendly, savvy
man who’s been selling women's
apparel there for over 20 years
and shared with me his fear that
Amazon will put him out if business.
Not so fast! He's got location,
location, location -- and charm.
As you might surmise, I found
New Orleans a place like no
other I've visited before. It combines
great food, great music
and survivors who love their city
- also an easy one to traverse and
fall in love with. I will most definitely
return! After all, it’s just a
2 hour and 5 minute plane ride!
h
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Linda DeSabato
and I enjoying
a “Brooklyn” at
Arnaud’s
Beignets at Cafe du Monde
Fleur de Paris on Royal Street
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Beignets at Cafe du to
Preservation Hall Jazz Band is
not to be missed!
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