The Crown Jewel

Down on the Bayou

We were unable to find a pet friendly motel in the downtown area that could also accommodate parking for the Truckster's big ass, so as always, we ended up at a Motel 6 about 4 miles away. We rolled in and noticed that this Motel 6 was also in an awesome area complete with glass window and sliding money drawer. We found our room to be large and very clean, with a big grassy area where Numnuts could pee and poo freely next to I-10. 

We caught a cab into the French Quarter and with the help of our friend, Renata, who had recently been here, we set out to find the best food and drinks N' Awlins had to offer. It was only a Wednesday night in the middle of September, but this place was off the chain. Like a friendlier, more hospitable version of Vegas, NOLA had so much to offer. Gay bars, karaoke bars, piano bars, jazz bars, oyster bars, and titty bars, (that's what the sign said) there seemed to be something for everyone. 

We walked all over the French Quarter in attempt to burn some of the calories of the crazy meal we just had. The deli Verdi Marte served sides of jambalaya, mac 'n cheese, okra, beans with entrees like fried shrimp, catfish, po' boys, red beans and rice and so on. For 20 bucks we had a feast that easily could've fed 4 and two tall boy beers that we were able to take with us out on the street. It was delicious and came highly rated on Urbanspoon and recommended by locals too. 

Red Beans and Rice, Mac n Cheese, and Jambalaya

The rest of the night was a blur as we drank our way up and down the famous streets meeting new friends along the way. I woke up in the middle of the night fully dressed on top of the covers on Kai's side of the bed, which was odd because we're both pretty sure I fell asleep on the opposite side. It was pouring when we awoke the next day so we gladly nursed ourselves back to functioning level while we waited for the rain to dissipate. We decided to save some cash and take the local bus into town instead of a cab. We walked about 3/4 of a mile through a hood that evidently is still waiting on its FEMA money. Dilapidated hotels and homes lined the streets and glass and litter crunched under our feet under over passes while we walked to the stop. We found our bus driver to be one of the most friendly around, she suggested we hop on even though she was heading the opposite direction, it would be her coming back if we chose to cross the street to wait at the other stop. We decided to ride while we waited and she was chatty as she drove. We were 2 of 3 people on the bus, and my hangover was returning despite my attempt to fight it with an army of Cheladas that morning, so I closed my eyes to rest. I must of dozed off for a moment because when I woke up, the girl who played "Precious" was sitting directly in front of me yell-talking at two other girls in the seat behind us. The bus now was packed as we drove through the super-hood which surrounds New Orleans's Crown Jewel, the French Quarter. 

We got off the bus and headed straight to MRB, a self proclaimed dive bar on St. Philips Street for Bloody Marys, another recommendation from Renata. We were starving as the bus ride and walk took exactly one hour from hotel to bar, so we decided to order food as well. 2 shrimp and goat cheese tacos later, we had a new local friend and were stuffed to the gills. Kai's steak and brie flatbread sandwich could've easily been shared by a group of football players. Why do they give you so much bloody food in the south?!?!?! Do they know nothing of portion control? We attempted to walk that off as well but to no avail, we gave in and sat down at the Cafe du Monde for world famous beignets and coffee. As Renata had informed us, beignets are "a slice of powdered sugar heaven", a deep fried French doughnut-like dessert with pounds of confectioners sugar on top. 

BM

Steak and Brie Sandwich

New Orleans had a super friendly vibe and everywhere we went we were met with, "How y'all doing today?" and "Have a good evening y'all..." Actually much of Louisiana was friendly and warm. We stopped outside of Lafayette at a restaurant recently featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. This place was in the middle of nowhere, on a highway surrounded by farms and made us wonder who scouts out the restaurants for the show because this was not easy to find. I had happened upon it only because it received a 96% for on Urbanspoon in the area for Creole/Cajan style food. We pulled into Glenda's Creole Kitchen and were immediately welcomed by Glenda and her family. They were just about to close shop for the day but we were able to still get Friday's plate lunch special. She asked us to please take a tack and mark on her map of America where we were from. We were her first Alaskans, shocker I know. She was so pleased that we had stopped by to eat and we filled her in on the Urbanspoon app. She talked about how surprised she was by how much food Anthony Bourdain was able to pack away as 'he's so skinny, but he had a bit a e'rything." We could hardly make it out of there as they came running out, "Oh you forgot to try some sweet dough pie!!!" Christ, were these people ever going to stop feeding us???

We continued along through Cajun Country, stopping for cheap gas and an alligator refuge. We held baby gators and watched the handlers attempt to train the babies to feed, dive and swim. Because they were found in suburban neighborhoods separated from their mothers, these alligators have no frenching clue what to do in water. We watched a year old who acted like a cat in water, she had no idea how to dive down and no instinct to snatch up food. The larger 8 year old gator had to be tapped on the nose to get angry enough to snatch up the raw chicken the handler was holding. The trainer said if the chicken meat was just laying there the alligator would show no interest at all. The eventual goal is to get these guys to a zoo, then a transition facility where they'll be microchipped and trained to hunt live food, if they fail in the wild, they'll be returned to a refuge. Though we didn't go noodling for catfish or ride on an air boat, the visit to the Gator Refuge satisfied our swamp land experience and we pushed on toward Texas. Yeehaw.