Do You Know What It Means To Live In New Orleans? (Making My First Groceries & Coffee At Krewe Du Brew)

April 13, 2013 by

TAKE YOUR BIKE . . . BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES!

My Future Regular Blogging Spot

My Future Regular Blogging Spot

I’ve often been told the best way to get around New Orleans is via bicycle—albeit on a cheap one as theft is rampant. So far I’ve been walking all over town, unafraid to take a forty-five minute stroll to get to a bar or restaurant. This time, however, arriving back at around 5pm Tuesday with my bike in tow, I immediately hit the road trying to beat an impending storm.

Despite the darkening skies, the air was cool and dry, making for pleasant cruising. I first peddled past a potential rental (rough neighborhood, so no dice) and then down Magazine Street past its eclectic restaurants, hip bars, and enviable housing, making it to Canal Street and the French Quarter in half an hour. I tucked this nugget away in my memory, wondering if [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Restaurant Reviews

My Spring Break, Part 1: Don’t Vodka Them After Midnight

April 10, 2013 by

MY FLORIDA YO-YO: TO MOVE OR NOT TO MOVE

A Spring Break Beach Wedding

A Spring Break Beach Wedding

After St. Joseph’s Night I was buzzing on New Orleans, but prior commitments soon brought me back to Jacksonville. Although I supposedly moved to New Orleans February 7th, I’ve spent as much time back in Florida–the deep roots I’ve planted keep drawing me back. I had to return a few days earlier than planned to deal with personal business, though I’d known for a year that my best friend from high school, Todd VanDenLangenberg, was flying down from Wisconsin to spend the week and tie the knot.  He and Meg, his fiancé, used to visit annually and fell in love with St. Augustine so decided to marry on the beach there, arriving Tuesday March 26th and leaving to honeymoon in Key West the following Monday. (I’ve lived in Florida a decade now and my best friend gets married there the month after I move!?!)

Todd & Meg Hanging Out In St. Augustine Wedding Week

Todd & Meg Hanging Out In St. Augustine Wedding Week

That Sunday was Easter and spring break for half of America when two of my best friends from my camp years, Carson and Heather, come down annually with their two kids whom I’ve known since birth and call me ‘Uncle Eric.’ It’s one of the few chances I get to see these dear friends I left in Virginia, so how could I justify not staying another week?! Thus, like so many college kids half my age (sob!) I [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Restaurant Reviews

The Facts of Life: Taking The Good And The Bad

April 1, 2013 by

IT’S NOT WHINING, JUST HONESTY (THE BEST POLICY!)

Ingenious Way To Wear Green How Can You Not Have A Great St. Patrick's Day Meeting People Dressed Like This?

Ingenious Way To Wear Green
How Can You Not Have A Great St. Patrick’s Day Meeting People Like This?

I had a fabulous Mardi Gras and, upon returning to New Orleans, a fabulous St. Patrick’s weekend. In between, however, things went sideways immediately following Mardi Gras as I waded through illness, a truck accident, and a frustrating housing search. Shortly I fled back to Jacksonville to recuperate wondering whether or not to blog about my rough week since this is supposed to be a ‘fun’ adventure blog. Ultimately I decided adversity is part of any good story and besides, honesty is the best policy, right?

Several locals who later read about my week of tribulation all assured me that [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Travel, Venue & Band Reviews

My Year Of St. Patty’s Day, Part 2: Irish Channel Redo & Irish House Bubble & Squeak Stew

March 26, 2013 by

SUPER SUNDAY OF SLOTH (THE 8TH DEADLY SIN WHEN IT’S YOUR PROFESSION TO PARTY!)

Lock & Reload: By Mid Afternoon I Was Ready to Rejoin the St. Patty's Party

Lock & Reload:
By Mid Afternoon I Was Ready to Rejoin the St. Patty’s Party

My Mardi Gras ailment had run smack into allergy season which, driving back and forth between Jacksonville and New Orleans, was compounded by completely different pollen potions. On February 9th the health insurance from my old job had terminated. On February 10th I had awoken sick, struggling on and off ever since. My religious notions are based more on irony and coincidence than faith. Some greater consciousness with a sadistic sense of humor seems to be pulling the strings, for such ironic juxtaposition occurs much too frequently in my life to dismiss as random chance.

On Thursday I had finally visited a Walgreens clinic to throw cash at a Nurse Practitioner for an Rx of ‘cheap’ antibiotics. I hadn’t been deathly ill since just after Mardi Gras but couldn’t shake ebbing and flowing congestion as well as bouts of achy exhaustion once or twice a week. I only mention this because March 17th was not only  St. Patrick’s Day–the climax of four days of celebration–but also ‘Super Sunday’ for Mardi Gras Indians–the one day when they all converge in daylight to show off their costumes and march together. My antibiotics apparently hadn’t worked their magic yet, however, and I woke up once again feeling spent. Instead of chasing Indians and leprechauns, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Greatest Hits, Restaurant Reviews, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

My Year of St. Patty’s Day Part 1: From Red Stick To Irish Channel

March 24, 2013 by

CALLING BATON ROUGE (RING LATE, HANG UP EARLY)

Me With the Tusas At Their Home for The Baton Rouge St. Patrick's Day Parade

Me With the Tusas At Their Home for The Baton Rouge St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Having detoured around an accident, I arrived in Baton Rouge late Friday night where I’d been invited to attend the parade Saturday morning at the home of Dirty Little Angels author Chris Tusa and his wife Pam. I still miss those late-night, heavy conversations from my days in academia and Chris and I immediately dove into formidable quandaries of art, politics, life and literature, pontificating until after 3 a.m. The only downside of this verbal rambling was that, unbeknownst to me, Baton Rouge is an early party town. The parade that would pass by their front yard began at 10 a.m., so guests were already arriving 8 a.m., reluctantly rousing me. I guiltily yet groggily rolled out of bed searching desperately for coffee.

Waiting for the Parade

The Parade Finally Arrives

As we waited on the parade, Chris played dueling stereos with his braggart neighbor, eventually turning off his system in disgust at the one-upper next door while I stayed inside and had a pleasant chat covering a few hundred years of U.S. history with his former neighbor, a retired firefighter. Two consecutive sprawling conversations with well-read sparring partners—it was nerdy nirvana.

B.R. SPD Parade 1When the parade finally did roll by it was [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Taking A Break And A Rookie Mistake

March 22, 2013 by

AN EXAGGERATING FISHERMAN & OTHER UNLIKELY BREAKFAST TALES

Slim Goodies: Rumors Of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exagerated

Slim Goodies:
Rumors Of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

After my wonderfully unexpected yet late Wednesday, I slept in before eagerly strolling to Slim Goodies for breakfast. I had stumbled into La Fin du Monde the day before only because The Captain had told me Slim Goodies, a greasy diner he had recommended last December during a visit, had burned down. I had had an amazing breakfast at this funky little dive with bright walls and an open, eclectic vibe and knew as soon as I learned they had WiFi that this would be a regular blogging spot when I moved town. Thus I was devastated by the news of their demise.

Walking back from La Fin, however, I peeped in and the place looked fine. A cook who was just leaving informed me [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Restaurant Reviews, Travel

A Typical Wednesday In New Orleans (That Unexpected Magic Only The Big Easy Can Conjure)

March 19, 2013 by

FREEBASING JAZZ

A Night of Joy!

A Night of Joy!

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival encompasses all that is great about this region’s music, food, culture, and hospitality in a confined, accessible area, and thus was my gateway drug to the city as it is for so many. Although it name-checks jazz, Jazzfest consists of 11 stages hosting artists from every imaginable genre and ranging from obscure local climbers to superstars from around the nation and world–every major rock artist that I can think of has played except U2 & McCartney. Yet, although Dave Matthews, Billy Joel, and Fleetwood Mac will be there this year, I always advise people to avoid the ‘superstar’ stage; it’s the unexpected discovery that is the beauty of Jazzfest.

And this is the perfect metaphor for New Orleans. While there are certain famous spots tourists will flock to–rightfully so–there are more wonderful restaurants, clubs, musicians, artists, and personalities clustered here than any one person could fully embrace in a lifetime.  While everyone’s life is a [Read more…]

Filed Under: Food & Cocktails, Greatest Hits, History & Trivia, Restaurant Reviews, Travel, Venue & Band Reviews

A Typical Tuesday Night in New Orleans

March 17, 2013 by

WV GUMBO FROM DA BLOCK

I Finally Had Neighboors, This One Apparently Living Mardi Gras Year Round Too!

I Finally Had Neighbors,
This One Apparently Living Mardi Gras Year Round Too!

It was satisfying to unpack and settle into a space of my own. Although temporary, I finally had a room and a neighborhood. When I stepped onto the front porch to greet a beautiful spring day, I felt like a local at long last.

Part of me wanted to rush out and explore my new part of town–excited to actually have a part of town–but I decided to relax and soak it in instead. I’m not a smoker but enjoy a pipe or cigar on special occasions, so pulled out my guitar, lit a pipe, and sat on the front porch waving as locals wandered by like I’d been raised on the block.

FORGET ETERNAL DAMNATION, WE’RE TALKING GOOD ROUX HERE, PEOPLE

I was tired and still unsettled so considered staying in, but I’d moved here to write about the city and felt compelled to get going.  I hadn’t located an Offbeat or Gambit Weekly yet (free local publications that include music listings) but knew New Orleans well enough to know where to head on a typical Tuesday night: Oak Street.  Hiding all the way Uptown, as far from the French Quarter as you can get without swimming, this street houses one of New Orlean’s most popular and controversial [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, History & Trivia, Travel

Train Wrecks, Figurative & Otherwise….

March 6, 2013 by

LIFTED UP BY WHAT BROUGHT CLINTON DOWN

View The Royal St. Charles Hotel in a larger map

As I headed to my hotel on St. Charles Avenue, just a block away from the French Quarter, I should have been in paradise.  This was the most central spot I’d ever stayed at in New Orleans and things were still in their post-Mardi Gras lull, so none of the good clubs or restaurants would be crowded.  My lingering cold had me frustrated, though, and when you are sick, you crave comfort and familiarity.  Instead I was in a strange city and had been staying in a strange house.  The Captain and Peggy are the most gracious hosts imaginable, but in hindsight I would have been better served heading back to Jacksonville once I was well enough to drive with plans of returning to find housing once healthy again.  I was convinced, however, that I needed an abode before departing so I headed downtown for three nights–a bad decision that would domino the way such mistakes do when you can’t think clearly. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, Travel

My Day of Mardi Gras, Part 4: Finale on Frenchman (Luck of the Indians)

February 28, 2013 by

WHAT IS AND WHAT NEVER SHOULD BE (BOURBON V. FRENCHMAN)

Me? A Music Nerd?!

Me? A Music Nerd?!

I have always loved music, with my passion blooming into obsession in adolescence as my shyness and insecurity discovered a constant, non-judgmental companion.  In my early twenties I discovered jazz, and I was just beginning to explore New Orleans brass rhythms when I first visited the city in 1998.  Being the music nerd that I am, I rushed to Bourbon Street ready to embrace jazz history and modern innovation.  Instead I found seedy strip clubs, cheesy daiquiri bars, corny t-shirt shops, and sleazy dive bars full of bands playing the same stringy-haired southern rock you could find in any bar south of Philly.  (I swear these same damn bands were playing Duval Street on my first trip to Key West where I expected to find steel drums and the next young Buffett!  Doh!)

One of my reasons for writing this blog is that, while I’ve come to love New Orleans, it’s not an easy city to get to know.  Jazzfest was the perfect gateway because it encapsulates all that is great about the food, music, and culture in a confined, accessible area, but beyond this fleeting utopia it took effort, research, and years of visiting to begin to crack the code of a city that can be as intimidating as it is welcoming.  Thus, I aspire to provide a point of entry for uninitiated but curious readers who would otherwise step onto Bourbon, say “This is it?” and head home wondering what all the fuss is about.  So, if you are such a reader, take note: Frenchman Street is [Read more…]

Filed Under: Autobiography, Food & Cocktails, History & Trivia, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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