New Orleans – Day 8

For our last day we only had a a couple hours to devote to Katrina Corps, so instead of manual labor Marshall took us on a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward which took the brunt of the flooding.  Whole blocks where houses once stood are just empty lots overrun with weeds.  On one spot an entire High School is gone.  The houses that do remain are in disrepair.  Only about 10% of the residents have been able to return.  We went into a couple houses that Katrina Corps had helped gut, visited the Katrina Memorial, saw some of the Brad Pitt “Make it Right” Houses, and then finished off with a stop at the Lower 9th Ward Village (http://www.lower9thwardvillage.org/).

The Lower 9thWard Village is a Community Center in progress, being established by a long-time resident of the community, Mack.  We spent a long time speaking with him about his work, his family, his Katrina story.  It is truly unbelievable that all of this has occurred and still is in as bad a shape as it is.  Like the Studio yesterday, this spot was also part of the Propect 1 art exhibits, so as we spoke, many folks dropped by to see the exhibits being hosted there. 

Marshall dropped us back home around lunchtime, and we headed to Nola since Erin had missed out on that dinner.  I finished off thetrip with a good southern theme,  shrimp and cheddar grits, and we shared a piece of chocolate pecan pie.  I didn’t eat anything else the rest of the day I was so full, but it was so delicious.

Erin then flew off to DC while I sopped a little more before heading to the airport.  I was a little worried my flights might get screwed up due to the freezing rain in Seattle, but luckily it was clear but cold by the time I landed.  and by cold, I mean COLD!  24!  I thought New Orleans had been bad.  But G got me home safe and sound.

New Orleans – Day 7

This was a day I was really looking forward to.  Eleni had spent a week in New Orleans in July volunteering with Katrina Corps (http://katrinacorps.org/), and once I knew I was coming down, I extended my trip over theweekend so I could do a little volunteering as well.  I recruited Erin & Julie to come with me, so Saturday morning we were picked up by Marshall, a member of the Katrina Corps team, and spent the day doing some recovery work.

Katrina Corps is currently helping clean up a former middle school and turn it into a community center/art center/etc called the Studio at Colton (http://www.cano-la.org/studio_at_colton.html).  Our task today was painting on the third floor – through the day we got white on the walls and ceiling of an alcove and one hallway, then did the baseboards black in the alcove and three hallways.  The day flew by and after painting baseboards all afternoon sitting on the tile floor my butt was so cold.

Part of the Studio at Colton is already open for business though, so as we painted through the day there was a steady stream of visitors coming by for the Prospect 1 art exhibit (http://www.prospectneworleans.org/) and a small craft fair.  We just told the visitors we were the performance art piece.  It was a good day – in the end we didn’t do much, but every little bit helps I hope.

Getting back to the hotel, Erin and I immediately dove under the covers to get warm and even dozed off for a bit.  Once refreshed, we met Julie downstairs and headed off for dinner #7, Dante’s Kitchen:  http://danteskitchen.com/

This place was way out by the Camellia Grill, so we took a cab.  It had been recommended by Doug’s friend who knows the chef and I had also read a lot about it.  It started off great when they brought us molasses spoon bread.  From there I had BBQ shrimp and then swordfish “fish & chips”.  But this resembled fish and chips in now way.  It was good though.  We also shared a side of caramelized onion mashed potatoes and a side of root beer mashed sweet potatoes.  I could have just eaten side dishes all night.  We were actually so full at this meal we didn’t order dessert (though secretly Erin had an alternative plan up her sleeve).

On the way home we hopped the St. Charles street car and were entertained by four Tulane students heading to Pat O’Briens.  Once we we got off we went in search of a mask Julie wanted to buy for her nieces, and somehow ended up wandering back towards Stella!.  Erin was hoping for a grilled cheese sandwich dessert encore, but unfortunately by the time we got there, the kitchen was closed.  We also struck out on Julie’s mask and Eleni’s coffee mug, so we heaed home 0-3.

New Orleans – Day 6

In complete contrast to the day before, woke up to clear sunny skies.  First thing I ran down to check on Julie’s all day meeting and once things were good to go I spent the morning on email with a quick escape to the gym.  Once lunch was underway, I escaped in the afternoon for a bit of shopping as well, wandering along Riverwalk place and through the French Quarter.  Even though it was clear, it was still chilly out.

Most of the team had now left New Orleans, so dinner #6 was just me, Erin & Julie at a spot I had been looking forward to all week, Stella!:  http://www.restaurantstella.com/

This was a true foodie meal of interesting combinations and beautifully presented plates.  On the recommendation of Tom-Tom I started withe butternut squash soup with applewood smoked bacon, and it did not disappoint.  For dinner I had scallops served atop an andouille-potato hash, and stole bites of Erin’s salmon and Julie’s sea bass.  Dessert was the real star though – a grilled cheese sandwich!  seriously – triple creme brie and chocolate grilled between two slices of bread on top of a huckleberry sauce.  In addition, we also had a chocolate cake with a pink lemonade sauce.  So sour and so good.

After dinner we called Peter to see where he and the UNC folks were and to hear about his day trip to Biloxi, but no answer, so we all turned in early for our big day of volunteering.

New Orleans – Day 5

Woke up to snow! yes, snow!  lots of little snowflakes swirling all about my 43rd floor window.  It apparently hasn’t snowed in Nola in 4 years so it was a big deal.  Like Seattle, the city seemed to freak out and quickly tell everyone to hunker down and not leave their house. 

The morning around here was quiet as the conference was winding down and folks were starting to leave.  I didn’t have anything to do until lunch meetings, so I finally made it to the gym.  It was good to not feel quite so slothful anymore.  Doug & Julie then each had two big meetings kicking off at lunchtime so I rode the escalator back & forth quite a few times for 30 minutes.  Kicking off Julie’s got especially stressful when Erin & I had problems with the memory stick of presentations, but it all worked out.

With both meetings up and running, I escaped with Peter for another adventure.  The snow had melted away already bit it was still COLD, so I bundled up in whatever I could and went up the street to jump on the St. Charles streetcar.  Peter went to Tulane for a year, so we headed to the Carrollton district to eat at Camellia Grill and walk through Audobon park, two of his favorite memories.  I think I’ve been to Camellia grill with Mar – its a diner, but very popular.  I had a grilled cheese and a piece of chocolate pecan pie.  Peter had the same, though the true reason for the trek was red beans & rice.  Unfortunately, they only serve them on Mondays which we did not know.  The most amazing thins was the pie.  As we ordered, our waiter asked if we would like it heated and we both said yes.  He then proceeded to cut a slice and put it ON THE GRILL!  crazy!  He literally just put the pie on the grill where our sandwiches had been made.  And then, he flipped it over! omg!  it was nuts – and delicious.

Our post-lunch walk was perfect.  It was still cold out, but noticeably warmed up as we continued around the park, with the sun trying to peak out.  Peter was on a search for Spanish Moss and we found lots.  After making a full loop, we hopped the streetcar back downtown, and both did email the rest of the afternoon.  Around 6:00pm we had planned another field trip to visit one of the new modular libraries that was opening thanks to funding from us.  I was a little nervous it might not be happening because the NO website said all libraries were closed due to snow.  So, when our taxi driver didn’t know where the address was, we took that as a sad sign to abort this mission.  I’m sure it’s a lovely library

Dinner #5 was at Antoine’s, the oldest restaurant in New Orleans, open since 1840.  http://www.antoines.com/  This was a big group dinner for Julie’s meeting, so we had a pre-set menu and not a lot of choice, but everything  was yummy:  some puffy potato slices and crab gratin to start, then trout amandine with creamed spinach, and bread pudding to end. 

After dinner, we all just headed back to the hotel for a quiet night and catching up on the blog.

New Orleans – Day 4

So, we didn’t really get home the night before until about 1:45.  I was tired, but Tom had a meeting starting at 8:00.  So I set my alarm for 7:45 and when it went off I quickly threw on my jeans, a top and ran a brush through my hair.  I ran downstairs and made sure everything was in good shape, and then caught the elevator back up to the 43rd floor.  Back in my room, I threw my pjs back back on, jumped under the covers, and slept for another hour and half which helped A LOT.  I spent the rest of teh morning on email before going down to get each of Kate and Julie’s luncheons off and running.

Once they were both set, I met my adventure buddies Peter and Bose in the lobby for a true field trip.  We hopped into a cab and went in search of a fabulous little bakery I had read about but that Bose had also seen written up in Men’s Journal of all places.  This place was adorable:  http://www.shopsucre.com/magazine/  We had lunch (pork sandwich for me on a soft brioche roll) and all bought lots of treats.  I do have to admit my Chocolate Peppermint cupcake was a little disappointing.  The top part of the frosting with peppermint candy on it was good, but below that the frosting was pretty tasteless.  I still have a bread pudding from there to eat, so hopefully that will make up for it. 

The afternoon was more of the usual (email and meetings), then Bose emailed for happy hour.  First I met him on floor 42 where the secret preferred guest lounge is.  Then we headed to Pat O’Brien’s via taxi because it was pouring outside.  Pat O’Brien’s is famous for a rum drink called the Hurricane so Bose wanted to try it (and he had two!)  I don’t actually like them, so I went with the more appropriate Rainstorm (which was even green & blue, two things I love in a drink!).

At 7:30pm we met some of the team at Nola for Dinner #4:  http://www.emerils.com/restaurant/2/NOLA-Restaurant/  This is part of the Emeril empire, which had made me question whether or not we should go.  Plus, I had gone there previously with Mar.  But I remembered really liking it, and last night did not disappoint.  4 words for you:  Bourbon mashed sweet potatoes.  That was my side dish to fried chicken breast and some snap peas.  For a starter I had BBQ shrimp which were also super good.  We were all so full we couldn’t do dessert (plus we were saving up to take Andrew to Cafe du Monder since he had never heard of a beignet).

Very full as usual, we walked some of it off heading back over to Frenchmen street again, but we did not stay out as late.  We hung at the spotted cat once again, until grabbing a cab to Cafe du Monde, where Andrew could only mutter “I love them.”

New Orleans – Day 3

6:00am came quick again, and 7:00am was even more exciting:  we had another breakfast session we were hosting – the schedule told people to go to ballroom D, but the hotel set the food up at ballroom A.  Good Times.  The rest of my morning was spent figuring out the mix-up and making sure the rest of my event plans were correct.

For lunch Peter, Bose & I went across the street to Palace Cafe(http://www.palacecafe.com/) to scope out one of the restaurants I was sending Tom and his group to the next night.  They greeted us with a jingle bell necklace which was fun.  I had super yummy pecan catfish and Peter had gulf fish panzanella.  Bose had pasta – New Orleans is a tough town for a vegetarian so Bose has not been eating as well as he did last year in Philly.

I spent most of the afternoon on email and checking meetings, but Bose, Peter, Gretchen & I did manage to escape for a quick field trip into the French Quarter to buy Pralines.  We went to Leah’s which had been recommended to us by a local chef sitting on a stoop the day before as we were wandering.  http://www.leahspralines.com/

Dinner # 3 was at Bayona:  http://www.bayona.com/     Susan Spicer is a popular local chef and dinner was great.  I started with the cream of garlic soup and then had striped bass.  For dessert, Anastasia and I shared a pistachio pot de creme that came with a phyllo wrapped pear and pomegranate sorbet.  It was a really random assortment of items but all tasty.

After dinner we wandered over to Frenchmen Street for live music.  Lots of folks were gathered at the Spotted Cat, and I really enjoyed the band playing there.  Once the took a break, we went up the block to the Apple Barrel where Bose and eventually all of us befriended a local named Gus (Augusta).  Gus was very friendly and told us all about New Orleans and his Katrina story, so it turned into a pretty fascinating outing.  But alas, we once again all had early morning, so we eventually made our way home, but not without a quick stop for beignets at Cafe du Monde!

New Orleans – Day 2

From 4 hours sleep Saturday night to 6 hours sleep last night.  I’ll hopefully get 7 tonight and be back to normal.  The 6 hours sleep was due to the fact that our team was hosting a 7:00am breakfast session, so I had to be down there by 6:45 to make sure all was well (which it was).  After that session I went in search of the meeting room our team has reserved for any side meetings we want to host through the week.  I planned to make it my base of operations until I learned it would cost me $250 a day to activate the wireless.  (!!!!)   So, now I’ll be shuttling back and forth between my room on the 43rd flor and the meetings rooms downstairs because wireless up this high only costs $10/day.   The other kink in my plan of the week is working out – I’m much busier this year than last year and the gym costs $10 to use.  So, we’ll see how many times I make it to balance out the gorging.  I better do a few push ups and crunches before I go to bed.  Maybe I’ll only get 6.5 hours of sleep…

But onto more important things.   Breakfast was a very unexciting granola bar.  Lunch however found me walking into the French Quarter with Peter B to Napoleon House on the recommendation of the concierge.  It was a great old building from 1797 – I had a roasted chicken sandwich with herbed chevre on an onion roll while Peter had Shrimp Remoulade in an avocado.  Both were good.   Since we now nearly in Jackson Square, we were easily swayed over to Cafe du Monde to have beignets for dessert.   MMM – how they can they be so good?  Warm and sweet, crispy and chewy.  Sadly though, we eventually had to wander back to the hotel for more meetings, logistics and email.

Dinner #2 was at a newer restaurant near the Convention Center called Grand Isle:  http://www.grandislerestaurant.com/home.php

Starters included calamari, oysters with jack cheese & tasso ham, and Angela got frog legs!  ewww.  For dinner I got a fish I’ve never heard of and still haven’t figured out how to spell – phonetically, it’s papadrum but I’ve googled various spellings and can’t find anything.  It was good – pan fried with a beurre noisette (nut butter) served on top of spinach and sweet potatoes.  Others got tuna, pasta with lobster sauce and I can’t remember what else.  Everything looked good, except Bose said his mac & cheese side was “two thumbs down” after the best mac & cheese EVER he had in Boston a couple days ago.  I finished off with bites of Peter’s Pecan pie, Jan’s dreamsicle cheesecake and Doug’s german chocolate cake.

New Orleans – Day 1

Who’s ready for Kendra’s culinary tour of New Orleans?  Most of my team, that’s for sure.  While last year’s culinary tour of Philadelphia was much more haphazard, accompanying the team to New Orleans this year has brought much bigger expectations of where they can eat besides the conference hotel.  Of course, I am happy to oblige and organize.

I flew in Sunday via Houston on Continental.  Assuming that all airlines had given up on free food service completely, I made my usual Sea-Tac stop at Kathy Casey’s D’Lish for a breakfast panini and Chocolate Toffee S’More cookie.  Imagine my surprise when the flight attendants actually served us honey nuts cheerios, a muffin and a banana! miracle!

I got into New Orleans around 5:00pm and after getting settled in my room, met up with ten fellow co-workers for dinner #1:  MiLa (http://www.milaneworleans.com/)

MiLa stands for Mississippi and Louisiana, the home states of the husband/wife chef team.  It took awhile to get the menus and then get our orders in which was a little frustrating since most of us were starving, but once the food started coming all was forgiven. 

To start, Janice and I sharedt the white sweet potato soup that had a big grilled scallop in the middle of it. Then for dinner I had pan seared Atlantic Grouper with a couple little sweet potato medallions, andouille and bok choy.  Other folks at the table had tuna, duck and pork for the most part – all was beautifully presented and yummy.  Desserts shared at our end of the table were caramel poached apples with mini beignets and a chocolate peanut butter tart.  Someone at the other end had satsuma sorbet which also looked good.

Then it was home to bed since we all had to be up and at the malaria presentation at 7:00am!  eek – and I was running on 4 hours sleep after Kate & Zoey’s birthday party and my early flight.  We’ll find some music Tuesday night though I hope.