Everyone always loves that feeling of getting home from a trip. You can get back in your bed, with your stuff, your plates, cups, and silverware in the kitchen, but that’s how I feel when I take exit 12D off I-10 from the airport in New Orleans. A quick right-hand turn, and you find yourself in the beautiful Garden District. It feels like home, and one day I will call it that.
This was a fast trip. I usually go for Christmas with my wife and then again in the summer just to make sure I can still stand the humidity. COVID-19 kept us homebound the last two years, so we snuck away last weekend for a Valentine’s Day getaway. Speaking of COVID, every single restaurant, bar, hotel, or indoor public space required proof of vaccination WITH boosters and masking unless seated. Way to go, New Orleans.
On some trips down to the Crescent City, we never stop moving. There are so many places to see and so much history to take in. This trip was not like that at all. We slept in, stayed up late, lingered in courtyards, and enjoyed the nooks and crannies of the lovely Hotel Saint Vincent on Magazine Street.
Saturday
Our first night started with martinis and jazz by The Mark Braud Quartet put on by Preservation Hall at the Chapel Club, a dimly lit guest only bar at the hotel.
Thereafter, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant, San Lorenzo. The service was wonderful, and both my wife and I are still debating if it's the best Caesar we’ve ever had. We had it again the next night at last call for a midnight snack.
We started with a Negroni and split a giant, perfectly cooked porterhouse with this killer Barolo. Seeing as we were staying at the hotel, we took our last glass of wine and sauntered back to Chapel Club for a downtempo DJ set. If there were more drinks, I certainly don’t have photos of them.
Sunday
Sunday morning started late, and we got going with a stroll down Magazine. We walked under the bridge that heads over the Mississippi River out to Algiers Point, and ended up at Bearcat Café for breakfast. We have eaten at Bearcat before at the Uptown location, but this new spot was in the CBD and walkable. The wait was forever. I rarely wait in New Orleans for much anything because there is always something around the corner. Breakfast is always a tricky thing in New Orleans if you aren’t in the Quarter, or out by the campus, and Bearcat is worth the wait. Oh, and because its New Orleans, just grab a Bloody Mary from anywhere and ask for a go-cup and enjoy the sunshine outside until they call your name. I had the crab scramble, and I’ll do it again the next time I am there.
We didn’t need lunch because it was 1 pm or so when we finally got sat, but we had some bubbles leftover from the meal and walked through Coliseum Square Park following the sound of clarinet and trombone. A small jazz band had set up near the fountain at between Euterpe and Race on Camp Street, so we sat on the edge of the fountain and finished our plastic cups of Crement.
On the way back to the hotel, we took a small detour and ended up at Wetlands Sake on Orange Street right before Tchoup and sat down for a pour of legit sake made with Louisiana rice. I was surprised at the quality, and the facility is first-rate. I will certainly be taking a tour the next time we are in town.
Now my report on dinner for this night, I am going to leave out because the meal sparked some ideas that Caroline and I are going to flesh out in the coming weeks. I will say we dined at Lengua Madre, a coursed, and perfectly lit, reservation only modern Mexican restaurant in the LGD. We have so much more to say about it, but it will come at another time, another way.
Monday
The next morning started a touch slow—seeing a pattern here? We sat out in the courtyard and sipped our chicory coffee, and for the first time this year I took off my sweater because it was too warm. We had a beautiful, sunny and 65 degree day ahead of us.
Lunch was a few miles away at a spot called Bevi Seafood Co. on the corner of Canal and Carrollton, and you can easily take the Canal streetcar there. My friend Katie turned me on to Bevi when I was down for Tales of the Cocktail one summer, and it has been a stop every time I am in town. Bevi is one of those spots that doesn’t seem all that special at first glance, but oh boy would you be missing out if you didn’t pop in. Well, unless you have a shellfish allergy. In that case, you should walk on the other side of the street and skip the next paragraph.
Lucky for me, I have no aversion to crustaceans or their shelled brethren, and it just so happens to be crawfish season. We ordered their regular platter that comes on two big trays (one for shells) and consists of 2lbs boiled crawfish, 1/2lb boiled shrimp, 3 crabs, and all the usual boil fixings like corn, (spicy) potatoes, and sausage. Oh, and two yellow fizzy beers from a local brewery. They are also known for their frozen daiquiris, but it was 11am and a canned lager seemed like the appropriate move.
Right as we finished pinching, peeling, and sucking the first round, they brought out a fresh batch from the back and I couldn’t leave without another 2lbs of those delicious red mud bugs.
We took a cab back to the hotel to save time because it was our last day in town, and sat in the courtyard drinking white wine and soda water over crushed ice. When it got too warm in the sun, we moved up to the porch and ordered some french fries and oysters before moving into the lobby bar, they call it The Paradise Lounge, for something stronger than a spritz. Turns out they make a darn good Tuxedo #2, and it was a perfect end to a lazy afternoon.
I had reservations at La Chat Noir for our Valentine's dinner but after a quick family meeting we decided to keep casual, cancel the reso, and run over to Freret for a Champagne Cocktail at Cure. We also ordered some “cajun” caviar that came with Zapp’s chips (sour crème and onion) for scooping.
The bar seats at Cure can be hard to come by, so we wanted to hold on to them. Also, the bar staff certainly knows their way around a cocktail, so we decided to have another round, but this time off the seasonal menu, and I am glad we did. I ordered a Night Service described as, “a citrusy and aromatic 20TH CENTURY COCKTAIL with white cacao, cherry bark, and dried flowers,” and Caroline got a Lyons Share, “Burnt orange, beachgrass, and clove come together in this full-bodied NEGRONI.” Both were great!
Before heading back to the hotel we needed to grab some real food and I knew Val’s, a Big Star-style Tex-Mex spot (and also in cahoots with Cure) was a block down the street. As it turns out, Margarita Monday is a thing down in New Orleans too, and we put down a pair of those frozen concoctions to stay festive. The food was great—tacos with corn tortillas made in house, salsa, SUPER HOT pickled veggies, and a giant bowl of queso, if I remember correctly. I am sure my waistline certainly does. Then the Mezcal. Oh man! Val’s has an impressive collection of agave-based spirits, and the bar staff really knows their stuff. I fell down that rabbit hole for a few splashes, which is not my usual MO. I find that Mezcal and I aren't the best of friends, but they had a few of my favorites on the bar.
On the way out, the bartender poured us a copita of this special bottle made just for Val’s. As a matter of fact, their copitas are also made custom and each one unique. Caroline said she kept getting the bigger one!
Back at the hotel with full stomachs, we plopped down at the Paradise Lounge and chatted with a kind stranger until last call. He was drinking perfect manhattans, an interesting choice that I couldn’t say no to for long, as we traded a round. When the lights came up we said our goodbyes, settled our final tab of the trip, and headed to bed but not before raiding the mini bar for more Zapp’s (voodoo), peanut M&Ms, and popcorn. There was also a lovely box of Macarons waiting for us from the hotel.
All in all, it was a lovely trip even though it didn’t contain any Sazeracs, gumbo, beignets, or a stroll through the French Quarter, but that's okay with me. We had our fill of crawfish, great wine, ice-cold martinis, sake, and of all things, Mexican food! Oh, and a great lifesaving bowl of grits in the Delta lounge the next morning.
Thanks, New Orleans, I will see you again soon!
Further Reading:
Record-breaking production for Prosecco DOC
MARTINI & ROSSI Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo
The sale of private selection bourbon barrels violate state regulations
Diageo to create £73m Guinness microbrewery in London
Iron Fish Distillery takes home multiple national medals
Maker’s Mark becomes largest distillery to achieve B Corp Certification
Takamine, a Koji-Fermented Whiskey, Arrives Stateside
FEW Spirits acquired by Heaven Hill Brands
Britain’s Oldest Pub Is Closing
Bardstown Bourbon Company releases collaborative series with Founders Brewing
Angel's Envy Rye Whiskey Finished in Ice Cider Casks
Queen Elizabeth Releases New Sparkling Wine to Celebrate Platinum Jubilee
Why Do Rye Whiskeys Almost Always Have Green Labels? An Investigation
A question for you:
When cocktail time rolls around, do you normally order the same drink or branch out and try something new?
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