What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Stimulating the No'leans Economy

  • #21
It' always about partying.

PAK - We haven't partied at all (except for the wine and drinks we've had, lol); but, we walked down Bourbon Street at night tonight and just took it in. It's not crazy, packed, or out of control. There is so much to do around the entire city, not just in the French Quarter.

xvart.
 
  • #22
Yeah, NOLA's not all about the partying... it's got a bad reputation... but there is a lot of that going on down there. Bourbon is PACKED on the weekeds usually. It's crazy. I tend to stay away from Bourbon when I go 'cause it's so nuts.
 
  • #23
Yeah, my wife and I actually watched the last half of transformers in a bar tonight. Talk about wild! lol. It really is all about the culture and the people.

xvart.
 
  • #24
Very nice swamp pictures I remember when I was 10 my dad, brother and me went to conoe in Jean Lafitte Swamp or maybe it was another one I think it might had Bayou in it's name it's been so long well anyways I had alot of fun there we went to an area where no one else was it was sorta scary, but neat I saw alligators, herons, turtles, and various plants and birds my older brother was really scared because of the aligators, but we survived and ate some sandwhiches and Zapp's chips afterwords.

I'm glad you and your wife having fun thanks for the pictures I haven't seen a great blue heron in a long time and that Cyprus tree looks nice I miss seeing those big trees my neighbor had a nice big one in his yard it stood up to the hurricane pretty well.

I hope next year me and my family can visit Louisiana again to take plantation tours maybe stay in the Myrtles plantation also I'd like to go to Natchez in Mississippi too that place has some nice plantations last time I went alot of cats there.

Kinda sad in that picture of the blue heron there's trash soda bottles and cans makes me mad kinda reminds me of my pond when I moved to our new house. :-(
 
  • #25
My wife and I like it soo much in Nawlin's that was the theme of our wedding. Instead of numbers, each table at the reception had a name like, "Bourbon Street", "St. Charles Streetcar", "Cafe Dumond", etc.

There's a Cajun-Zydeco festival up here in a few weeks and some big names will be playing there like Michael Doucet & Beausoleil. The music is sooo cool you can't help but dance. I actually bought a Cajun Accordion, but haven't had the time to learn it.

I do make recipes from Paul Prudhomme's books. You just can't get that kinda food up here!

Have fun Xvart!!
 
  • #26
Beausoleil is greeeeat!

Yeah, I think the things I miss the most after I left LA is the music and the food... We should have a CP meeting in New Orleans. ;-)
 
  • #27
The only partying I saw while I was there was on and around bourbon st. I had to go just to "see the sites". It was pretty crazy though.
There are other things to see other than Bourbon st. The battles of New Orleans site was pretty interesting.

There is a little museum that is free and it has the entire history of NO. Then we walked into the back room and there was a woman that was cooking gumbo. She was a local Indian, and she explained their history, way of life, and how it was when she was a child. Her and her daughter showed how they made baskets. They had dolls that were made from Spanish moss. The dolls were black and they said that when the moss died it turned from gray to black.

The gumbo was not the traditional gumbo you'd think of from NO. It was made from file. Pronounced fele.

I also went to Cafe du Monde. It wasn't by choice though. It was on my wife's lists of things to do. She said she had heard that you have to go to Cafe du Monde. I had no idea what she was talking about. So I asked what it was and she said it's like a restaurant. I asked what was so special about it and she said that she wanted to try the cafe au lait and beignets. Of course I said "What the hell is that?"

She said it's like a doughnut. We got there and there was a line all the way around the building.
I told her there is no way I'm waiting in that line for a ******* doughnut.

I don't even like doughnuts. I told her I'd take her to Dunkin doughnuts when we get back home. She said it's not the same, beignets has powered sugar on it.
I told her that I'll buy some powered sugar and put it on her dunkin doughnut.
So I won that argument and we were walking down the street a little while later and I saw a sign that said "Beignets". More important there was no line at all. So being the nice understanding man that I am, I suggested that we go there and she can get the beignets. She told me it wasn't the same because she wanted to get one from Cafe du Monde. Of course I can't see the difference, so I told her that they had the same thing at that place and they didn't have the hour long line. I reminded her that there was no way I was going to wait inline that long for a doughnut.

So about 30 mins later we were back at Cafe du Monde trying to find where the end of the line is. That's when I discovered that the line was for take out and not for a table. I saw an empty table and we sat down. The waitress came over and my wife ordered a cafe au lait and a beignet. I was looking at the menu trying to find something to drink. All they had was different kind of coffee and beignets. I don't really like sweet things nor coffee. So I ordered the only thing on the menu that I did like, milk.

About two minutes later the waitress brought back my wifes cafe au lait, my milk and two plates of these doughy things covered under an ungodly amount of powered sugar.

So then I was stuck with a plateful of beignets. . The sugar melted and it was like a glaze. They weren't like a doughnut at all. I ate them and they weren't bad. I wouldn't want to go back for more, but like I said I don't like sweets, but they were pretty good.

Those swamp pics looks like the rivers here.
 
  • #28
The gumbo was not the traditional gumbo you'd think of from NO. It was made from file. Pronounced fele.

Lots of people pronounce file like "fee-lay." File is actually dried and ground up leaves from the sassafras tree (the roots of the tree are what gives root beer its flavor). File adds a unique flavor to the gumbo while acting as a thickening agent. When I left Louisiana and moved to Arkansas, I couldn't find file anywhere and I ended up buying some when I would go home and visit my folks. I have been able to find it for sale here on occaision now, and I even ate at a cajun restaurant in NW Arkansas (Copeland's - it's a chain based out of New Orleans) and I asked the waiter if they had file... he didn't even know what it was. :(

I'm slow to eat gumbo outside of Louisiana 'cause it's usually not right. I ordered it one time and it was red. Gumbo by definition is made with a dark roux and contains okra. :) When I cook gumbo I typically use chicken and andouille (cajun smoked sausage) as the meats and lots of the cajun trinity (bell pepper, onion, celery) and some garlic. YUM! Pour it over some rice and it's good to go! Seafood gumbo is gooooood too!

Will
 
  • #29
So about 30 mins later we were back at Cafe du Monde trying to find where the end of the line is.

The POWER of WOMEN! :rookwoot: :-))
 
  • #30
The POWER of WOMEN! :rookwoot: :-))

Women are like real life super heros. Their super power is the power of nagging.
 
  • #31
File is actually dried and ground up leaves from the sassafras tree (the roots of the tree are what gives root beer its flavor).

Yes she explained that. She said that salt water has killed most of the trees. So it was getting hard to find (at least where she lives.) Yhe gumbo she made was seafood gumbo and it was like really clear. She gave us a recipe.



264777206O791389742.jpg




My wife went to the grocery store to look for file. I told her she was wasting her time. She asked for it and they told her they didn't know what she was talking about.
Again I told her there was 0 chance of her finding file in the grocery store.
That's when she found it in the seafood section.

I think she used her superpower on the people that worked there and they printed a label and stuck it on a bottle just to get shut her up.
lol
 
  • #32
To experience New Orleans, avoid all bars and restaurants you've ever heard of. The fact that the owner has a self-promotional streak that attracts a TV audience doesn't make a restaurant any better. The wait will be longer, the price will be higher, the service will be rushed and you might as well be in Manhattan.

As for file, I've even found it here in CT. It's been a while, since I'm vegetarian now and don't make gumbo, but it's pretty widely available. Make sure you turn off the heat when you add it because it can't boil.
 
  • #33
I also went to Cafe du Monde. It wasn't by choice though.

I told her there is no way I'm waiting in that line for a ******* doughnut.

I laughed so hard when I read this because it sounded oh so familiar. We got there, and saw the line and waited for a few minutes. Then I said, can't we get served? I mean, there were servers all over the place. So we sat down. And waited... The we said, what the heck, and got back in line, and eventually got the beingnets and three pounds of powdered sugar. Anyways, I think I enjoyed it a little more than you...

They had dolls that were made from Spanish moss. The dolls were black and they said that when the moss died it turned from gray to black.

Actually, I learned yesterday that the moss is actually treated and processed which makes it black. 100 pounds of moss will end up being 20 pounds of treated moss. It was originally used in Model-T seats, mattresses, etc. You wouldn't want it untreated in your mattress unless you like chiggers.

Pictures are uploading of our walk around the Garden District. Another beautiful day. Stay tuned!

xvart.
 
  • #34
Unfortunately, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention on our tour today because I was exhausted from all the walking we had been doing, and I was more in the mood to just look and observe the beauty than actually listen and pay attention to anything. It was a wonderful time, and I really loved the district. My wife learned a lot, and says this was her favorite part of our trip so far. I might agree, if it weren't for the gators!

First stop, the Historic New Orleans Cemetery Lafayette #1. Apparently the only cemetery that allows movie scenes anymore after the filming of some movie (can't remember) where there were drugs, sex, and booze videotaped in the cemetery without permission and the catholic church didn't take to kindly to that. So, the state owned cemetery is where any movie will be filmed until the end of time.

The outer "wall" where family members are stored until they can have their one year and one day in the tomb.
NewOrleans-May2008058.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008063.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008069.jpg


Interview with a Vampire, anyone?
NewOrleans-May2008081.jpg


And here is where the "set tomb" was constructed for Double Jeopardy:
NewOrleans-May2008084.jpg


Continued...

xvart.
 
Last edited:
  • #35
Some general house/building pictures from the garden district:
NewOrleans-May2008030.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008031.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008042.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008054.jpg


Nicholas Cage's house:
NewOrleans-May2008092.jpg

I keep telling my wife I caught a picture of Cage on the balcony, but she's convinced it's not him...

NewOrleans-May2008128.jpg


Is this Anne Rice's house? I can't remember.
NewOrleans-May2008098.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008102.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008138.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008148.jpg


Continued...

xvart.
 
  • #36
Some general flora pictures from the area. This trip has resolidified my desire to live in a tropical climate! I would have hibiscus growing out of my ears if I lived here.

NewOrleans-May2008117.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008118.jpg


Probably my favorite pictures yet:
NewOrleans-May2008120.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008123.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008152.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008156.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008035.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008037.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008051.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008053.jpg


The magnolia trees were huge! They smelled so great, too.
NewOrleans-May2008086.jpg


NewOrleans-May2008108.jpg


Well that's about it for today. Oh, one last one for all you computer nerds out there:
NewOrleans-May2008100.jpg


xvart.
 
  • #37
Ozzy's gator post reminded me that I hadn't posted these two videos from my swamp tour.

In this first one, the tour guide is describing why he feeds the alligators marshmallows. Based on Ozzy's comment on people feeding alligators the guide did make a comment on how some guides use hotdogs on sticks which is really dangerous because they alligators can jump five or six feet out of the water and could jump in the boat for the smell.
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/...ction=view&current=NewOrleans-GatorVideo2.flv

http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/...ction=view&current=NewOrleans-GatorVideo1.flv

I'm sure Andrew is loving Ozzy and I for the massive number of pictures we've posted the last few days.

xvart.
 
  • #38
Actually, I learned yesterday that the moss is actually treated and processed which makes it black.

They told us that they either put it underwater or bury it (I forgot which). Then it turns black as it dies.
 
Back
Top