The Big Easy

Sara and I went down to New Orleans yesterday to check out the scene. It was my second trip to the the big easy but my first really checking out the French Quarter and other sites in the city. The hour long drive from Baton Rouge was sunny but right when we got parked in the French Quarter it started raining. We waited out the rain for a little while and then decided to go eat lunch at the Crescent City Brewhouse. We both got some local food: Sara ordered a fried shrimp po boy and I got Jambalaya pasta. Overall it was pretty good food but not necessarily a local creole restaurant. After lunch we went and walked around the French Quarter. It wasn't really what I expected. Of course we went and checked out Bourbon St. It was full of shops full of junk (kinda like Gatlinburg), bars, and cabarets. Pretty crappy if you ask me. The rest of the French Quarter was full of much of the similar except with quite a few nice restaurants and shops mixed in.

After we got done in the French Quarter we decided to take the streetcar down St. Charles Street to check out some of the architecture and schools in New Orleans as well as the Garden District. The houses on St. Charles have many different architectural styles making it pretty cool to see. We also rode past Tulane University and Loyola on the ride. Both campuses are like none I have ever seen before. The city campuses were very compact and composed entirely of similar architecture. Pretty neat to see a campus lifestyle other than what I am used to. After our trip through the Garden District we came back to Canal Street and checked out the Business District before going to dinner. We decided to eat dinner at the semi-famous (Man vs. Food) Acme Oyster House. This was more of a local restaurant. Here we ate some outstanding creole food. Sara got the New Orleans medley consisting of red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, and sausage. I had the Fried Peace Maker Po Boy (fried shrimp and friend oysters) which is #4 on the Food Networks list of Top Ten Sandwiches. It was an awesome dinner.

Overall, New Orleans was a pretty cool city to visit. The French Quarter is ok, pretty overrated in my opinion unless you are there to party. The food around the French Quarter is outstanding though. I really enjoyed taking the street car to check out some of the other sites in the city. NO wasn't one of my favorite cities but it is definitely an interesting one to visit with great food. A trip to Mardi Gras will definitely be in store.