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Visiting New Orleans – Weekend Warrior

Intro to New Orleans

I decided to take a weekend trip to New Orleans with the lovely Dr. Mila (she made sure the new prefix was there – Congrats!). Both of us had never previously been to NOLA, so we didn’t know what to expect. With a weekend to do as much as possible, we were immersed in the jazz and dining scene, explored the bayou, walked a cemetery and much more. Will my susceptibility to spice hold up in the creole kitchens? Will Dr. Mila become alligator bait in the bayou? More to come on that.

As a side note, we went during Mardi Gras off-season, so be warned, this post will include a lot of stuff, excluding Bourbon Street debauchery and king cake (though I did try to find some!)

Thursday Flight In

I arrived in New Orleans mid Thursday and had a few hours to spare before Dr. Mila would fly in from Michigan. With that, I started off strong with some crème filled beignets at the airport and hopped on the public bus ($2) to take me downtown. I booked our stay at the Q&C Autograph Collection Hotel which was just a few blocks walking distance from the French Quarter. Marriott’s Autograph Collection hotels are a great choice for stays in places with rich history, as the theme is always infused with art and culture from the local area.

Beignets I’m sure most are familiar, but for those who aren’t, it’s a popular deep-fried pastry.

As Dr. Mila arrived at the hotel after a delay, we started getting our itinerary ready for the weekend ahead. Our plans were left open, so we could play it by beer. There were a few “can’t miss” items, but most was impromptu and will be detailed in the post.

Dr. Mila’s Delay? While getting luggage out for passengers, the airport shuttle driver somehow locked the keys in the truck. Gotta love when that happens…

Thursday night in the Big Easy consisted of our first dinner in the French Quarter at the Oceana Grill, by recommendation. No reservation was needed, and we were seated almost immediately. We ordered a mix of stuff to get a baseline for the cuisine – alligator bites, Po’ boy shrimp sandwich and crawfish Étouffée. Crazy, fast service! And yes, the food was spicy and I may have shed just one sweat tear.

French Quarter Friday pt. 1

Friday was our first full day in New Orleans and we planned on sticking around the French Quarter. In the morning we were able to walk Bourbon St, Royal St and the park along the Mississippi river; eventually ending up at Jackson Square. Walking up some stairs, an artillery piece sits up on a hill by the river and overlooks the square and St. Louis Cathedral, making it a great backdrop for photos.

All that walking inevitably led us to our endgame morning destination – Café du Monde. I’m sure there are a million reviews on this, so I’ll keep it brief:

This place does absolute numbers.
The menu is simplistic, and the beignets are classic.
Get the frozen coffee with beignets.

Continuing on with a beignet-coffee high, Dr. Mila unfortunately had Dr. things to do, so we split ways midday. We used the street car to get back to the hotel which proved to be a really cheap and old-school way of getting around – only $1.25 to your destination.

WWII Museum

At this point, I exited the French Quarter and decided to check out the WWII Museum on my own time. Let me say, I thought this could be passed up, but it ended up being the highlight of the trip for me. The museum showcases the entirety of the war, with an emphasis on D-day. The European and Pacific theaters (Campaigns of Courage) are done exceptionally well with a large display of artifacts and personal documentaries. The museum also covers politics, propaganda and overall war logistics for the United States. It was awesome, and for anyone interested in WWII events do yourself a favor and go!

All of the vehicle/transport types used in D-day

Campaigns of Courage…

French Quarter Friday pt. 2

After speaking Dr. Mila’s head off with all the interesting things I saw at the museum, it was time for Operation Crawfish to commence. It was foolish of me to assume that most restaurants had steamed or boiled crawfish because, well, they don’t. When our first restaurant choice fell through, the hunt was on for an alternative.

We ended up walking the French Quarter for a good bit, did some window shopping, and entered a few shops on the way for some taste testing. It was harder than we thought to find a sit-down place without a reservation.

After some cheap jambalaya at a corner restaurant to hold us over, we stumbled upon the French Market, and the rest was history. My Pimm’s Cup was the only thing holding me back from complete internal combustion. With my embarrassing tolerance, these crawfish were spicy, dammit. I powered through, though, showing those suckers no mercy. Clean plate club.

To top the night off and cool the heat, we got some gelato at Amorino on Canal Street. I guess the spice got to my dome, because I have no pictures to share of my inimitable and caramel combo masterpiece.

Swamp Saturday

Friday night we dedicated a little time to scout out some swamp tours on Expedia and Groupon and landed on Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours. The starting point was about 30min outside of downtown New Orleans for our 10am tour.

Our boat captain Darren led us down canals and into the bayou where he gave us background of the area while spotting some gators. If you’re a Florida native, like myself, gators and swamps are nothing new. The real entertainment is watching everyone scramble to get pictures and freak out while holding a baby gator. Of course, Dr. Mila handled it like a pro!

Florida vs. Louisiana Alligators I found it pretty funny that in the short time in New Orleans, multiple people took pride in attesting to the fact that Louisiana gators were way more passive.

Once we were back in the city, there were a few places to check out. First up was the city park. Unless it was going through renovation, this is an easy pass. Next was the Greenwood Cemetery. Going midday definitely takes away any spooky sensations. The grounds were very expansive with hundreds, if not thousands of above-ground tombs. Wanna know why? Dig a few feet down, and you’ll hit water.

Lastly was Frenchmen Street. We spent a good bit of time here at the Louisiana Music Factory (plenty of old records), getting specialty hot dogs at Dat Dog, and bar hopping to listen to some live music. It’s still plenty touristy here, but a great alternative to Bourbon St.

Sunday is for Mr. B’s Bistro

Every now and then, a killer brunch is in order. I can say with confidence, we hit it right going to Mr. B’s Bistro (also by recommendation). It was a perfect last meal before heading out. The “Sunday Jazz Brunch” featured a live standing band, savory entrees and ridiculously good dessert cocktails. The chicken pontalba, breakfast bowl and crispy fried oysters were delicious. And don’t skip the Brandy Milk Punch or Mr. B’s Orange Julius. Once again, clean plate club is in order.

Now before ultimately saying goodbye to New Orleans, we did stop at an insectarium before making it to the airport. I think this one is going to fall in with the City Park. Unless you REALLY like bugs, this is a pass. So, with that said, we found ourselves back at the starting point – Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Before security, we gave in and purchased some final crème-filled beignets. Can’t. Resist.

In conclusion, we covered a lot of NOLA ground in a weekend and became fairly familiarized with the French Quarter area. Could I spend another weekend in New Orleans doing a completely different itinerary? Absolutely – we barely scratched the surface. Can I eat creole cuisine without breaking a sweat? No chance in hell!

-ML

Recap of Places

Shout-out to Matt G. for the recommendations.

Q&C Hotel – Marriott Autograph Collection, NOLA themed rooms
Oceana Grill – all around good restaurant serving NOLA classics
Cafe du Monde – a must do for beignets (and frozen coffee)
Jackson Square – historic landmarks
WWII Museum – best WWII museum I’ve been to
French Market – where I got crawfish
Jean Lafitte Tours – inexpensive tours of NOLA bayous
Greenwood Cemetery – one of a few historic cemeteries
Dat Dog – NOLA style hot dogs
Mr. B’s Bistro – recommend for the Sunday brunch

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Michael Lakus

IT professional, athlete, musician, ponderer of many things... Born and raised in Florida, I began traveling internationally after college. I created this site primarily to remind myself of where I've been and to share my experiences on traveling with a quirky, stress-free, travel attitude.

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