back to New Orleans

an uneventful flight (oh, when will the day come when New Yorkers can stop saying that!), and here we are in New Orleans for the second weekend of Jazzfest. Now for only a few days you would think packing would be a snap. Guess again. Each day starts with breakfast in town and a little exploring, so skirt and tee, then out to the fairgrounds for music and foooood in the sunshine, tank and shorts, then dinner - you get the picture. Plus the tank/shorts can only be worn once, plus it's necessary to be prepared for rain and mud... Shoes. Hats. Jacket, cotton cardi for air conditioning.

The first thing we did on arrival, naturally, was change and go out to dinner. August! Oh, I just love this place.
Everyone's doing fancy cocktails with their very own cocktail menus which usually read like recipes for medieval cures for snakebite and sore feet. This time was different, I wanted to taste the August version of the Dark & Stormy. Wow. If I had more of a talent for drinking, another 2 or 3 of these delectable creations could have been dinner. That.good. Naturally the glass was full when it came to the table but greedy me didn't stop to take a picture till a little later.

This came with the drinks, too, an eggshell filled with a fluffy and mild fish mousse, caviar on top, tiny breadstick.



I was still hungry when my starter arrived, oysters, pork belly, a dumpling filled with Creole cream cheese, bacon bits, teeny tomatoes.





Others had better manners than I, here's a soft shell crab with green garlic, sitting on a corn cake.


And here's foie gras three ways


and duck with a piece of foie gras.


My dessert was an off-menu special, dark chocolate patė with brown butter ice cream. I ordered it for the chocolate but the ice cream was outrageous.


Another dessert


and I've decided to stop immortalizing coffee cups. Back to hotel to rest up for Jazzfest.