Two days left...no pressure!

With only two days left here in NOLA, we're trying to sort through the list of all we wanted to do but haven't yet and, of those, what our priorities are if we can't get to them all.  Having said that, I promised Andrew that he could sleep in today - we've been up and out of the house early every other day, so far.  He took full advantage and slept until 9 am - scandal!  I was awake at 6:30, which is pretty good for me.  We showered and hit the door by 11 am to meet some friends at the Louisiana Seafood Festival.  

The LSF takes place every fall here in New Orleans.  They have live music and, you guessed it, lots of seafood.  About 50 local restaurants prepare a few dishes each and sell them out of tents.  The choices were almost overwhelming, but we managed to pick out a few.   Andrew ate his lobster mac & cheese before I could photograph it. 

Lobster ravioli

Shrimp po' boy

Oyster tacos

After eating all we could hold, and then some, we walked to the trolley stop and back to Canal Street.  The friends we met up with wanted to go down to the Garden District and look around. As we had already done this, we opted to go down to the river front to see what caught our eye.  Almost immediately after getting off the trolley, we noticed the aquarium.  Since we didn't make it to the zoo, we decided that the aquarium would be a nice substitute.  We spent a couple of hours there looking at the exhibits.  Andrew was very happy that they had an aviary room where you could feed the parakeets.  As usual, I took photos and tried to steer clear of the creepy birds.  

Us on the streetcar

This Moray was a good 7 feet long, and as big around as a leg.  Look carefully down
in the left corner, there's a lobster down there that weighed about 40 pounds!

I can't even count how many pictures we have EXACTLY like this.
He loves to feed the animals.

After the aquarium, we walked back to the Quarter via the river walk, which follows along the Mississippi.  It was hot today - temps in the upper 80s (about 30 Celsius) and very humid, necessitating a stop for ice cream along the way.   We made it home to the air conditioned apartment and happily relaxed until it was time to get ready for a late dinner.  

The Mighty Mississippi - a little less mighty this time of year, but still impressive.

Jackson Square & St. Louis Cathedral

Just before 8 pm, which is typically about bedtime for us, we went out for our last dinner in New Orleans.  I still had a muffaletta on The List, and I was not going to leave without one.  A little internet research and I found Napoleon House - not only one of the oldest buildings in New Orleans, but they offered a muffaletta AND a charcuterie plate on the appetizer menu.  I'm in!   

For those who may not be familiar, a muffaletta is a sandwich popularized by Central Deli here in New Orleans.  It consists of deli meats (salami, pastrami, etc.), cheese (usually provolone) and an olive tapenade (a chopped olive salad).  It's all piled on to a large round loaf of bread, and it is delicious.  We shared a 1/2 of one, and we would have been perfectly fine sharing a 1/4 for what we ended up not being able to finish.

Muffaletta!

In addition, they offered a cheese board and a charcuterie plate on the appetizer menu.  Charcuterie is the practice of making prepared meats such as cured sausages, pates, terrines, and confit.  Besides my odd love of cemeteries, I must also confess an addiction to charcuterie products.  I have never met a cured or potted meat that I didn't like!  Add in some cornichon & spicy mustard, and you achieve perfection.  Seriously, this will go down as being one of my top ten meals!

Cheese plate and charcuterie - amazing!

After an amazing dinner, we walked around for a little bit until it was time to head to the pre-wedding party Cliff & Chris had planned.  They had rented Preservation Hall for a performance!  Preservation Hall is a building from 1750 that was taken over in 1961 as a venue to preserve New Orleans jazz.  Some of the biggest names in jazz have played this tiny, run down little venue.  While I'm not a jazz aficionado, I can certainly appreciate the history of this building.  We were allowed in just after 10 pm and filed in to the smallest concert venue I've ever seen.  There were a couple of rows of rustic benches, and chairs at the front for the band.  That was it.  Even with only 60 guests invited, there was not enough room for everyone to sit.  

At 10:15 pm, the band came in and the adventure began.  They played for approximately an hour and quickly had everyone clapping and tapping.  Some guests were dancing, some were singing along;  all were grinning from ear to ear.   The band was having such a great time playing that it was infectious.  At one point, one of the saxophone players got up and led the entire group around the building in a modified conga line.  What an experience!  

Preservation Hall = not much to look at from the outside.

And, not from the inside either.  

Small venue - seating for about 40 people, only.  

Waiting for the band

After the band finished, we all trooped over to a little cigar bar around the corner.  Cliff & Chris had made arrangements with them to stay open past their 11 pm closing time so that we could avoid the crush of Saturday night on Bourbon Street.  It is so fun to see all the Lethbridge people (Mario, Barry, Luis, Jason, Sandy, Di, Marj) here in NOLA!  

Now it's VERY late for us - almost 2 am!  Tomorrow is our last full day in New Orleans, and the wedding...stay tuned!

In to every holiday, a little rain must fall

Today was the first day we didn't have to be up and out the door early, so we took advantage!  We slept until after 7, and then wandered up the street about 12 blocks to have breakfast at another place from The List - Cake Cafe.  It is what you would imagine, a local bakery that specializes in wedding and other special events cakes.  However, they also serve beautiful breakfast and lunch menus.  The food is fresh, local and colorful...and delicious.  I had Boudin (a local sausage patty) and grits, with lovely soft eggs and a biscuit.  Andrew had a grilled crab, spinach & brie sandwich.  

My breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked back home through the French Market to have a little look around.  We didn't find anything we liked, but that's not uncommon for us.  We often don't buy anything to bring home from our travels.  Back at the apartment, we started a load of laundry and we ran in to Bob, the property manager, in the courtyard.  He expressed concern that he hadn't seen much of us, and that we might be in need of something from him.  We reassured him that we are VRBO veterans, and don't expect this type of accommodations to be a full-service hotel.  We expect that someone will meet us upon arrival, give us a key, and show us around.  After that, we assume we'll be on our own unless there is an issue with the plumbing, or the like.  He said that one of the last round of guests posted a very negative review saying that they didn't feel the manager was attentive to them, so now he's careful to check in a lot with guests.  We said he should assume we're fine, unless he hears otherwise.  

Around 1 pm, we decided we'd try to go to the zoo, which is about 8 miles from our VRBO.  We had detailed instructions using a combo of public transportation and walking.  What we didn't count on was the fact that the street car system is excruciatingly slow, stopped at practically every corner, and that it was under construction in a certain area requiring a transfer to the bus.  After about 90 minutes, we arrived at the stop labelled "Zoo".  From there, it was another 1/2 mile walk, give or take, to get to the zoo entrance.  We were prepared for this, however it started raining just as we were getting off the bus, necessitating a dash under a picnic shelter to wait it out with several other people.  We sat under there for more than 20 minutes before the downpour turned to drizzle.  By this time it was nearly 2:30, with the zoo closing at 4 pm.  With minimal time left, we opted to skip the zoo and wander back through the Garden District admiring the amazing homes.  Don't ask me why I didn't take any pictures.  

While we did miss the zoo, we didn't miss another very important activity...happy hour at Luke's!  For any foodies reading this, Luke is one of John Besh's four restaurants here in NOLA.  While I'm not particularly interested in John Besh, I am interested in the fact that Luke's offers 50-cent oysters on the half-shell from 3-6 pm!  A half-priced cocktail each and a dozen oysters to share, and our bill was $16, plus tip.  How can you beat that?

Heaven!

Our last activity of the evening was another ghost tour that Chris & Cliff arranged for all their wedding guests.  Our guide, Andrew, was fantastic.  He was very animated and completely captivating in his storytelling.  In addition, he did not duplicate one stop from our tour last night, which was pretty impressive.  Andrew and I were fairly certain that we were going to hear several of the stories twice, so we were more than pleasantly surprised.  Apparently there are a lot of ghosts in this town! 

Oh, we did stop in Pirate's Alley on the way home so that Andrew could try absinthe, a licorice liqueur that is poured over a sugar cube and then diluted with water.  I think it tastes like a cleaning product, but Andrew thought it was "not too bad".  There's no accounting for some people's taste!   

25-cent martinis & things that go bump in the night

I can't believe we've been here for 3 full days, already.  We still have three more days, but I'm starting to get a little panicked that we won't fit everything in.  And by "everything" I, of course, mean The List.  The good news is, we did check off four places today.  I'd call that a win!  The bad news is, there are many, many left.  I guess when I was planning I thought we'd be here for a month and would need at least six meals a day.  

We started off our morning at Deja Vu - a dump of a bar that is open 24-hours a day and is known to serve a great breakfast and an extra-spicy Bloody Mary to locals.  We arrived about 8 am and made ourselves at home with the small gathering of folks at the bar and the video poker machines.  I'm am fairly confident that we were the only two people in the place (the waitress was a maybe) who weren't paid for our services the night before, but everyone was certainly friendly.   We ordered a couple of egg sandwiches to go with our Bloody Mary's, and did not have to wait long to indulge.  The Bloody's were extra spicy and filled with pickled green beans.  The egg sandwiches were buttery and crispy-toasted on a flat-top with runny eggs and lots of cheese.  I can see why this place is popular with the hangover crowd.   Check one off The List.  

After breakfast, we met up with our tour guide, Melissa, for the first of our two tours today.  In researching our trip here, we came across a company called "Free Tours by Foot".  The premise of the company is that you pay what you feel the tour is worth at the end.  Basically, the guides work for tips, rather than charging a fee up front.  The first tour was of the St. Louis Cemetery #1; famous for housing the tomb of Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo Priestess from the 1800's.   I feel compelled to confess my love of cemeteries to all of you, and to admit that I will visit a cemetery every chance I get.  Even as a kid, I would ride my bike out to the town cemetery and spend hours reading the tombstones.  I was fascinated with what might have happened to people and would calculate their ages to determine ways they may have died.  I feel much better now, having got that off my chest.  You may, or may not.  Onward...  

We all know that, because of the high water table, New Orleans cemeteries are above-ground.  What I did not know was that, apparently, this took a while (and many floating coffins) to catch on here.  They finally came around in the early 1800's.  In addition to looking cool, the crypts also allow the city to utilize a very small amount of space for cemeteries by burying many people from the same family in one small crypt.  This is accomplished through a natural cremation process that takes place when the heat inside of the crypt combines with the gases given off by the decomposing body.  After about a year, the body and the casket are reduced to ashes and a small amount of debris.  The larger bits of debris (mostly pieces of the coffin) are removed and the ashes and small bits of bone are pushed in to the back of the crypt to make room for the next person.  See?  I told you cemeteries are fascinating!   

Wall crypts, or "ovens" as they are referred to because of what happens inside of them.
Interestingly, this section was originally 4-rows tall.
The first row has sunk in to the mucky soil here.

I love the look of above-ground cemeteries.

The tomb of Marie Laveau - the famous Voodoo Priestess

We ducked out of the tour a few minutes early and rushed back to the apartment to change for our Commander's Palace reservation.  For those of you who don't know, Commander's Palace was opened in the 1880's, and has a colorful history.  For many years, the riverboat captains would come there for a meal and other services in the private dining rooms on the second floor, while families dined on the first floor.  In more recent times, most big-name New Orleans chefs (for example, Paul Prudhomme & Emeril Lagasse) are trained in the CP kitchen.  It is one of the most recognized buildings in New Orleans, and known by foodies for is cuisine and outstanding service.  Chris & Cliff joined us and Chris & I were giddy at the prospect of this meal. 

When we arrived, I stated my reservation and we were seated promptly.  Our waiter referred to me several times as Miss Karin - delightful!  As I mentioned, CP is known for it's high standard of service, and this is immediately apparent.  As we were seated, the waiter noticed that both Cliff and I were wearing dark colored pants and quickly swapped out our white napkins for black ones.  "The white ones are supposed to be lint-free," he stated with an exasperated look, "but they are not."   Chris & Andrew, wearing light-colored pants, were permitted to use the white ones.   

We were presented with the wine list, and also verbally given a run-down of the 25-cent martinis.  Yes, you heard me right...25 cents.  They do have a 3-drink/person maximum because, as the menu says, you don't need any more than three.  Very practical advice - between the 4 of us, we had 8 martinis, which came to a grand total of $2. 

Now, on to lunch!  We spent a fair amount of time discussing our order choices.  I do love that Chris & Cliff are game to order with the intention of getting to taste everyone else's.  Not everyone, I've learned, is thrilled to have you stick your spoon in their soup!   I ordered the two-course lunch special with turtle soup (yes, it's made from turtles), and the Commander's Mixed Grill.  Sounds like a flavor of cat food, I know, but it was lovely.  Andrew had the same special but chose oyster and bacon chowder and shrimp & grits.   Chris had the gumbo to start, and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten.  Seriously - I'll remember it for a long time!  We also had a few desserts between us and the boys agreed that the cheesecake was the best one they've had.  I do not like cheesecake, so will take their word for it.  I loved the apple and root beer strudel - to die for.  I only took pictures of my own food (except for dessert).  Sorry. 

The famous turtle soup.  Yum!  

My entree - grilled, smoked sausage; creole shredded beef & a calas (friend rice ball)

Note the cost of 8 cocktails - $2!

As we were eating our entrees, I noticed that tables around us were having their leftovers returned to them in foil packets shaped like birds.  I was immediately smitten and, though I promptly threw it in the trash after we left the restaurant (I don't eat leftovers.  I know, but I just never get around to it.)  I asked to take mine home.  My whole life I have wanted to have my leftovers packaged in a foil swan, and today that dream came true!

My first foil swan!   Also, not all of those glasses are mine, I swear.

After lunch, we posed for a photo in front of the famous sign.  Check two off The List. 

Cliff, Chris, Andrew & I

After we left CP, we returned to the apartment for a brief reprieve before meeting up with Diane, Marj, Corey & Mario for dinner.  Number three on The List for today was Coop's, which is known for fried chicken.  Coop's is another dive of a place, and they actually cook the food in the alley/courtyard behind the restaurant.  Oh well, the chicken is delicious!    Finally, we wandered over to Cafe du Monde for the famous beignets & an iced cafe au lait.  You have to eat these little suckers very carefully.  Exhaling at the wrong time, or even the faintest laugh will cover your dining companions in powdered sugar.  Black clothing is discouraged, for obvious reasons.  

Now, literally bursting at the seams, we made our way across Jackson Square to St. Louis Cathedral to meet up with our final tour of the day - ghost tour!  Same company (Free Tours by Foot) and, coincidentally, same guide (Melissa).   We spent the better part of two very enjoyable hours walking and listening to all of the tales of murder, hauntings, ghosts and pirates.  A great way to end the day and, sadly, burn off only a tiny bit of what we ate today! 

Beignets!

Swamps and socialites

 Today we took a full-day van tour outside of New Orleans.  We were picked up in front of our VRBO at 8 am, joining a group of 10 other folks.  We drove for about 45 minutes and arrived at Swamp Adventures.  We were hoping to do a small-boat tour, but everyone else wanted the air boats, so that's what we ended up with.  It ended up being better than we expected.  Captain Gary stopped the boat a lot and we saw quite a bit of wildlife considering how much noise we made.  As well, Captain Gary gave us a wild ride through the twists and turns of the swamp, which we thought was very fun.  

When we started out, the water was so still it was like a mirror.  Because of the perfect reflection as you moved along, you had a sense of vertigo at times.  

Like a mirror!

 After stopping the boat in various places, Captain Gary would holler out and, as if by magic, gators would appear.  The first was a little one (3 feet) named Mary, who came directly over to the boat for a chicken leg, before disappearing in to the murk again.  

Mary

 The next gator was a big guy.  He was probably 8 feet and he was less than thrilled to see us.  Captain Gary kept talking to him and he finally opened his eyes and looked at us.  It then took another few minutes before he'd allow himself to be bribed over to the boat for a piece of chicken.  It was cool this morning so I guess he was more interested in staying up out of the water on his sunny log, than he was in getting a treat.

No name, but a big guy. 

Open wide!

 In addition to gators and birds (no snake sightings, thank hell), we saw a lot of beautiful scenery.  Captain Gary obviously loves the swamp and pointed out all kinds of interesting trees, plants, and other tidbits.  He told us about a woman who asked him if one of the birds was a pterodactyl (WTH?), and also about the time a woman from Calgary fell in to the swamp when they were stopped to look at something.  He said he'd never seen a person more scared than she was, and that she didn't make a peep or move a muscle she was so afraid of something getting her.  She just laid there twitching slightly. Luckily, he was able to quickly haul her back on to the boat without any permanent damage.  She did, however, lose her shoe, which he found again about 3 months later.  

Pretty much exactly what you think of when you hear the word swamp.

Spanish moss

Swamp people

 After the swamp, we loaded back in to the van and drove another half-hour to Oak Alley Plantation.  Oak Alley is a traditional Greek revival plantation that grew sugar cane to produce sugar and rum.  If you've seen Interview with a Vampire, you'll recognize the lane up to the house.  The trees are estimated to be more than 300 years old!

Oak Alley Plantation

Master bedroom at Oak Alley

 Last stop was Laura Plantation, which is a Creole style plantation.  I thought that this building was much prettier, even though it was much less ostentatious in design.  The colors and architecture of this style are copied from the Caribbean culture, which we love.  

Front view of Laura Plantation

Front porch at Laura - how many colors can you count? 

View out the back of Laura

Satsumas growing on the property.  Sadly, they're not ripe until around Halloween

Overall, the plantations are beautiful in terms of the grounds and buildings but, with a history so entrenched in slavery, it's hard to be terribly excited about them or what they stood for.   As well, there is a sadness to the air that is unmistakable.  

Original slave quarters at Laura Plantation

After a long day and an hour drive back to the city, we were tired and starving.  We quickly dashed off to Quartermaster Deli, which is a small 24-hour place that serves only take-away.  We ordered a smoked sausage po'boy and mac & cheese.   Andrew also ordered a poutine po'boy, just to see what it would be like.  It's a little shocking that they would take one of the most fat-laden dishes known to humankind (poutine), and ramp up the heart-attack quotient just a little more by putting it on to a French roll.  Can you imagine?  Even the guy making it said he couldn't understand the point of it.  I didn't take a picture, because it was too horrifying.  Andrew ate a bite or two and the rest, thankfully, went in to the trash.

Now we're lounging around the apartment for the rest of the evening. I've got a lovely glass of wine, and my book is calling.  See you tomorrow! 

Exploring the city on foot...

We covered a lot of ground today!  We were up early and I sat outside with coffee until it was time to get ready to go for our first NOLA tour - a 10K run.  We haven't run much lately because of injuries and, let's be frank, because of laziness.  That, combined with the uneven sidewalks and streets of New Orleans had me thinking that this could be one of those "sounded like a good idea at the time" situations.  Regardless, we had paid a deposit so we headed out to meet Marcus, our running guide, a couple of blocks from the apartment.  We were also joined by a woman named Jen, who promptly offered that she was hungover.  I'll admit that my immediate feeling was relief that her 24-ounce flu may mean I wasn't the slowest one on the run.   We headed out and my fears were soon put to rest when I realized that, not only were we not running particularly fast, we also only ran for a few minutes at a time before we stopped to take a picture or look at a point of interest.  In the 90-ish minutes we were out, we covered just shy of 7 miles.  The longest stretch of running without a break was probably 15 minutes and we actually really enjoyed this tour.  Not only did we see some things that we wouldn't have known about on our own (where Sandra Bullock and Brangelina live, and where Jefferson Davis died), but we got in a good workout.   Possibly our only one for the week.  

After we made it back home, we showered and consulted "The List" for a lunch venue.  We landed on Yo Mama's; a dark and smoky bar this is reputed to have some great burgers.  Andrew chose a cheeseburger with bacon, and a side of mac & cheese; I chose the peanut butter and bacon burger with a baked potato.  As you can see from the picture below, the portion was enormous and heaped with enough bacon to send you in to instantaneous cardiac arrest.   We'd committed, however, so we dug in and were not disappointed.  I'd not heard of the PB & B combo before, but it was actually quite good.   

Peanut butter & bacon burger from Yo Mama.  Check another one off the list! 

We reluctantly left a significant amount of the meal uneaten and hit the streets to walk some of it off.  We wandered around the quarter, including Bourbon & Canal Streets, taking in the sights.  The whole time being mindful not to sprain an ankle.  I know I keep saying this but, seriously, it's bound to happen to at least one of us before we leave. 

Bourbon Street during the day.  Nice and quiet, but a little stinky.  

Brass band playing in Jackson Square

Quintessential New Orleans view - wrought iron, ferns and "watch your step on the buckled sidewalk" cones.

For dinner, we met up with Chris & Cliff to check out one of the star attractions on "The List" - Jacques Imo's.  Chris had head about this place from a friend and my research verified that it was, in fact, List worthy; despite what the sign out front might imply. 

Jacque-Imo's

The food was Southern & Creole in flavor.  We ordered a variety of things and shared them all:  alligator & shrimp cheesecake, duck & andouille gumbo, grilled grouper with lobster imperial and tabasco hollandaise, BBQ Shrimp and, the star attraction, Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes.  This monstrosity was a tower of friend green tomatoes and grilled eggplant topped with a fried soft-shell crab filled with oyster-stuffing.  Crazy! 

Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes

 To end the night, we took a second stroll down Bourbon Street and stopped at Pat O'Brien's for a Hurricane.  For those of you who are not familiar, Hurricane's are a potentially lethal combination containing at least 4 ounces of alcohol disguised in a lovely fruit juice.  Oh, and it's legal to have open alcohol on the streets in New Orleans, so you can sip as you stroll.  Is the insanity that is Mardi Gras starting to make more sense to you now?  It is to me.   I think we'd better call it a night before things start going south.  :)  

Cliff, Andrew, me & Christopher having a hurricane at Pat O'Brien's on Bourbon Street

New Orleans bound...

We're on our way to New Orleans!  This trip has been on the books for more than a year, and it's finally here.  We had an afternoon flight, which was a lovely change.  Usually we have to be up in the middle of the night to get to the airport.  This morning we had time to run a few errands, mow the lawn, and walk Harley before the taxi picked us up about 11:30 am.  We breezed through security courtesy of TSA pre-check (thank you Nexus/Global Entry).  I do love not having to take off my shoes or empty out my carry-on of laptops & liquids.

The last year, or so, we've started arriving a little early to the airport so that we can stop at Ike's for breakfast (actually lunch, in today's case) and their famous bloody Mary.   As you can see from the photo, it's a whole lot going on!  

Ike's "Weekender".  A cocktail (or two) and a meal!  

The flight was without incident, which is my favorite kind.  Delta has a new class of seating called "Economy Comfort".  For about $30 extra (each), you get the joy of 3-4 inches of extra leg room, and you get to board in Zone 1.  For those of you who haven't flown lately, early boarding is critical if you plan to put anything in the overhead bins.  Since the onset of paying to check bags, people carry the most ridiculous amount of crap with them on to the plane.  We still pay to check bags because we don't like to have to drag them around the airport with us, but we also like to be able to squeeze a camera bag or something similarly small in between the masses of roller bags clogging up the overhead bins.   

We arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport about 3 hours later, and jumped in a cab to the vacation rental.  We love to use the Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) website to find places to stay because 1) we like the extra space and amenities (kitchen) of an apartment or house, and 2) they tend to be a much better value than hotels.  Lanata House is no exception.  It's in the heart of the French Quarter, just three blocks from the French Market and five blocks from Jackson Square & St. Louis Cathedral.   It's far enough away from Bourbon Street that we don't have the noise and crowds, but close enough to everywhere that we can easily get around on foot.  Oh, and did I mention that it's less than $100/night??  Most places in the quarter are at least double that, so we feel like we got a great bargain! 

We were met outside by the manager of the House, Bob.  I've spoken to Bob on the telephone several times, and had a very clear image in my head of what I thought he would look like (Google "Leslie Jordan", if you're curious).  Of course, he looked nothing like what I had envisioned, but he was gracious and Southern, nonetheless.  He toured us around the apartment and grounds (photos of the grounds tomorrow) and gave us some dinner recommendations before leaving us to our own devices.  I promptly commenced unpacking which, if you're a regular to this blog, you'll already know is one of my favorite things to do.  For those who are kindred spirits in their desire to feel at home while on holiday, you'll understand my delight when I discovered there were about FOURTY hangers AND a hanging organizer in the closet, in addition to a dresser.  Squeeee!   

Living room.  The window is two stories high! 

Huge door!  

Spiral stairs up to the bedroom.  Note to self, limit the number of cocktails close to bedtime!

Bedroom in the loft.  Check out my new suitcase!  

Window from upstairs.

Once everything was neatly stowed in it's proper place, we headed out in search of dinner.  New Orleans is known for it's food, and I have spent the past two months carefully researching and compiling the most perfect list of places to eat.  It is a work of art, quite frankly.  Categorized by meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner), distance from the apartment, ideal mode of travel (walk, streetcar, taxi), and type of food (seafood, Southern, creole).  I've also listed what each place is most known for and any tips I was able to sleuth out.  In short, I'm about to gain 10 pounds, and that's if I show a considerable amount of restraint.  

A short walk led us to El Gato Negro - a rare Mexican establishment in a land of Southern cuisine.   We ordered Margaritas (orange/lime for me; Devil's Blood (spicy!) for Andrew) and fresh guacamole with fresh jalapeños made table side.  

We also shared a combo platter, but ended up bringing most of that home with us it was just too much food!  On the way home, we swung by Verti Mart (a tiny 24-hour corner store) to pick up some cereal for breakfast.  We're doing a 10-K running tour in the morning, so needed something quick to eat here before we head out.