NEW ORLEANS: K-Paul's, Frenchman Street & Café du Monde
So it's still day 3 in NOLA.... I think my last post left off at Dreamie Weenies. So continuing on from there, where do we go again? The French Quarter. Again. Not like it's a bad thing - I mean that in best way possible. I absolutely cannot get enough of le Vieux-Carré!
Everywhere you look, it's completely gorgeous. The architecture, the balconies, the people, the music, the food, the drinks.... It's easy to just wander around the same streets for hours here.
Somewhere in the Quarter
Even the laundromats in the Quarter are super cute
Chartres St., at the top of Jackson Square - every time I pass here there's a different set of tarot card readers or musicians
And everyone enjoys stopping to look and listen for a bit
Break time!
Watching life go by on Chartres Street
Peeps getting their cards read
K-PAUL'S LOUISIANA KITCHEN
Tonight we've ditched the kiddies to have a proper N'awlins dinner, and what better way to experience authentic local cuisine than to head to K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen. If you haven't heard of Chef Paul Prudhomme.....that I don't know what rock you've been hiding under. Credited for popularizing New Orlean's Cajun and Creole cuisine, this resto is a must!
One of those few restaurants where the menu changes almost daily because they buy everything fresh - but you can expect traditional items such as andouille sausage, gumbo, shrimp étouffée, blackened stuffed pork chops, cajun jambalaya, soft shell crabs..... and desserts - OMG - sweet potato pecan pie, bread pudding - makes my mouth water just thinking about it!
Legendary K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo (Cup)
Had to have more of that Andouille sausage
Soft shell crab - looks a bit icky to me... it definitely caught the eye of the other diners in the restaurant
K-Paul's stuffed potato and veggies
Blackened pork chops....
....with a healthy helping of chicken & shrimp jambalaya
Took our sweet time eating and closed the place down!
FRENCHMEN STREET
If it's drinking, partying and madness you're after, then head to Bourbon St. For the music - go to Frenchmen Street. A lot calmer than Bourbon St., the folks that end on Frenchmen are true music fans. This street has an amazing variety of music venues with live bands playing jazz, blues and even a little bit of rock. If you can't find a seat inside, you can still hear the great music from the street. Luckily we snagged a seat, ordered a couple of drinks and got to enjoy the music for a bit. Too bad it was our last night here, because I could have easily spent all my evenings hopping from one bar to the next on Frenchmen - the music was phenomenal!
Strolling down St. Ann, making our way to Frenchmen St.
Here we are!
A quick stop at the Frenchmen Art Market
Lots of stuff here for sale by local NOLA artists
Of all the music we could hear from the street, it was these guys in Bamboula's that drew us in
Wish I had caught the name of these guys, they were amazing
This guy was awesome.... stumbled on stage completely liquored up and managed to play the harmonic like this!
CAFÉ DU MONDE
Every evening we'd end the night off at Café du Monde - so last night in NOLA, of course that's where we went. They're open 24-7 so you have no excuse not to head to this famous little café. You're selection is pretty limited, they've sold coffee, hot chocolate, milk and beignets since the 1800s and just added soda in the early 1900s. That's it - and that's all they need because no matter what time of the day or night, this place is always packed.
The beignets come three to an order and are LOADED with powdered sugar... and are delicious. I was instantly hooked on the Café au lait; the chicory really brings out the flavour of coffee, and even with all that hot milk, it was soooo flavourful. Don't be a tourist and try to get your café with soy or skim milk, it's whole milk all the way - all that soy/skim request will get you is a "Bitch, please" look from whoever is serving you... and with good reason!
This stuff is so good, we came back home with 3 boxes of their beignet mix, as well as a couple of tins of their chicory coffee.
Powdery sugar goodness
Last night showing up late at Café du Monde - That's it for NOLA!
Photos taken | written by JENNIFER MAHON
LIKE THIS? YOU MIGHT WANNA CHECK THESE OUT:
- NEW ORLEANS: Marigny, Louis Armstrong Park & Dreamie Weenies
- NEW ORLEANS: The French Market & The Quarter
- NEW ORLEANS: Voodoo - Trick or Treat?
- NEW ORLEANS: Blues, Blackened & Battered (Day 1)
- NEW ORLEANS: Blues, Blackened & Battered (Day 2)
