I spent a whole day in New Orleans and ate a lot of food. Never had been to Central Grocery before so I parked my car on the river near Decatur and walked over for an early lunch. Waves of people were pouring into the place, which is tiny. I am guessing about 85% of them were tourists, but I did see a few singles looking very business-like w/ their Mufalettas. I mis-pronouned Mufaletta and then didn't order it right and the guy fairly rolled his eyes at me. Oh, it was delicious, though. I easily could have eaten 3/4s of the whole thing, but since I only ordered half, I had 2/4ths. Easily the best food I had on my trip. If you are ever downtown or in the Quarter, just do yourself a favor and go to Central Grocery for a Mufalletta.
Then it was on to the Cafe Du Monde, alternately walking in the crisp shade and the bright sunlight. Blue skies, all day long. Cafe DM was half full. I sat outside and ate one beignet and drank some coffee w/ milk, watching a stained, faceless homeless man wastebasket dive. Saw several street people, looking pretty desperate, but not asking for money.
By this time is was after the noon hour, so when I passed the Old Absinthe House I couldn't resist nipping in for a Sazerac. I understand the business cards posted by the thousands on the walls is a tradition, but it really destroys any sense of history. Kind of sad in there. Tourist couples drinking Bloody Marys. Lots of cigarette smoke.
On to more dessert. I found a gelato shop across the street from the The Gumbo Shop called La Divina Gelateria. The nice man scooping the gelato was the owner and he served me up some Chocolate Azteca which was spicy. But dingit, I should have gotten a shot of espresso with it, but I did not know it was also a coffee shop until looking at the website. I had a nice time eating my cinnamon-tasting, spicy, organic gelato in the courtyard, listening in on a New Orleans real estate agent hustle on his cell phone.
About this time, the Mardi Gras Marathon expo was open, so I walked back through the Quarter and weaved in and out the streets, taking in the sights, and eventually finding Canal and then Poydras and then the big hotel. After officially registering in Sunday's marathon, I started to get hungry again. Time to carbo-load, New Orleans style. Many blocks later, I was in my car and back on Canal heading for Mandina's. Mandina's is described as Creole and Italian and it's a casual place. This trip was dedicated to casual, so it was on my list. I ordered water and spaghetti and meatballs. It was just what I needed, and I could only eat half. My waitress was super friendly and we talked for awhile about food and New Orleans. Within a half hour I was on my way again, before the Friday crowd even got in their cars to drive to Mandina's.
Last stop: Juan's Flying Burrito on Magazine Street for a vegetable and bean burrito to go. I needed something to eat the next day and this lasted a great long time: it was great after a few minutes in the microwave, very spicy, very fresh.
If I had my sistah or my best girl buddy with me, I would have gathered my tired self up, hit a few espressos on Magazine, and high tailed it to The Wine Institute of New Orleans. However, I was alone, tired and needed to start babying my legs, as they would be jogging 26 miles in a couple of days.
Two days later, after the marathon, I was craving King Cake. Lucky for me the Ponchatoula, Louisiana Winn Dixie bakery was serving it up!
O New Orleans, how many culinary treats you keep hidden from me, a tourist and a Midwesterner. I promise to keep searching! Here is another excellent New Orleans food tour.
