The week started out with us picking up Diana’s new ride – a triple black (paint, upholstery, and wheel rims) VW Passat. She seems to be enjoying it so far but always missing the convertible top.
My bachelor party with the boys in New Orleans kicked off on Thursday afternoon. We had a drink at a brand new bar named the Portside Lounge which had a tiki bar theme and some great beverages.
Dinner was at DTB (Down the B
ayou) on Oak Street – another newly opened spot – Denny keeps his eyes and ears open for anything new popping up in his city. DTB is billed as a modern Creole Cajun restaurant and menu choices included crispy duck confit, cornmeal gnocchi, and mushroom boudin balls. Another great find by Mr. Denny.
The first of four excellent musical experiences followed dinner – we saw Reckless Kelly perform at Tipitina’s. This was a country rock band with a bit of an Irish flavor that we all enjoyed – including Timmy (a rare moment when he wasn’t complaining about our musical choices being too “esoteric”). We were able to see the newly awarded Anders Osborne plate on the pavement outside Tipitina’s in recognition of his contributions to New Orleans music.
Jack and Mason (perhaps with prompting and supervision from Anne) like to install obstacles for me when we head out in the evenings. This time it was a blowup Grinch hanging from the shower rod to greet me as I returned to the cottage.
Friday kicked off with lunch at Gallatoire’s on Bourbon Street. This is an old school New Orleans restaurant with white table cloths and tuxedoed waiters. Friday lunch is a highlight of the weekly social calendar for NOLA movers and shakers. The mayor and his entourage were waiting with us in the bar for their table – we posited that they might be celebrating the smooth removal of the last of the confederate statues (General Lee from Lee Circle). Alex, Gary, and Thom joined the usual quartet of me, Denny, Sean, and Tim. The food, company, service, and atmosphere were all excellent.
The afternoon was consumed by a ramble through the French Quarter and taking in the local sights. Sean and I headed over to the Maple Leaf for some excellent late night music while the rest of the boys got some sleep.
Saturday got off to a reasonably slow start. We had planned to participate in a bicycle pub crawl associated with the Bayou Boogaloo festival that we were going to in the evening but didn’t make it in time. We did, however, meet up with the cyclists at the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club where we enjoyed the third excellent musical performance. The Showtime Brass band put on a great early afternoon show.
Next stop was Rosedale for some lunch. This very unassuming restaurant (looks like a shack from the outside) is part of the Susan Spicer empire and the food was certainly up to her very high standards.
After lunch we headed to the Bayou Beer Garden to relax before heading into the Boogaloo music festival.
Only Sean and I ended up going to the festival and enjoyed a performance from Chris Thomas King before the heavens opened and we headed for the exit and cover.
We decided we were too old to get drenched to see Cracker close out the evening. Just as we exited, I got a call from Denny saying he was at the Cracker stage and had come out to surprise us. It didn’t take much to convince him to head home as well and we avoided having to call an Uber.
As always, it’s painful to leave New Orleans to travel back to the “real world”.