The 2009 Christmas Tour Part 3: New Orleans

Where I grew up, there was a saying...

Thirty days has September,
April, June and November
All the rest have thirty-one
Except February.
Which is endless.

As February approaches, I thought the time apropos for one last visit to my pre-Holiday travels from 2009. The year wrapped up in one of my favorite places, New Orleans.

The trip was actually a logistical nightmare. Pouring, cold rain every day that doubled a planned one night trip. Several soakings through pretty decent clothing due to the lack of covered parking at appointments combined with an umbrella became useless in the wind. If business mandates that you travel much, you know the sort of trip. We all catch one in the teeth occasionally. Yet, thankfully, the evening belonged to me. And I was in New Orleans. Where I happen to know a hangout or two.

Take Antoine's, for example. One of the great restaurants of the world. Just look at the menu cover and you will have a clue of the marvels that await inside it...

This Christmas tree was just left of my table in the "big room"...

A wider view of the "big" dining room...

My meal of speckled trout was magnifique. The service, as always, was superb. After a few dozen visits, you may get to know a waiter at Antoine's in person and receive his calling card. I know two such gentlemen. They always take very good care of me. In the realm of cafe au lait for example, the way it should be made, poured from separate steaming pots of chicory coffee and cream...

Then, since I had been as close to frozen all day as you can get in New Orleans, a ration of cherries jubilee was called for. They usually only do this for two persons. Alas, I was solo. As usual. I imposed upon my pal the waiter to make it for one. The preparation ....

And, the aftermath...

Then, after a cognac, to toddle to my rooms at the Royal Sonesta. The lobby of the hotel was decorated for Christmas, New Orleans style...

One tip. If you are over twenty years old, request an interior room at the R.S. That way you avoid the noise of Bourbon Street. And you actually get to sleep. Which, over fifty, is of singular importance.

The second day was even worse than the first, weather wise. More ice cold soakings. Less parking. Just awful. I retreated for lunch to my favorite Italian joint, Andrea's. I will write more about this place at a later date, but suffice to say, it is the authentic thing and I strongly recommend it for lunch or dinner. Here is a shot of the interior of Andrea's from my table...

It takes a little bit of work to find Andrea's, but every dish I have had there was perfect and the service is beyond words. After a hefty lunch, I still felt the chill in my bones. The only prescription for my condition was a crystal glass of Averna...

I liken Averna to black Chartreuse. I may be wrong. In any event, Averna was just the thing to quell the damp chill of the mid-day and place me back on the straight and narrow. I paid my check and headed back to the French Quarter for a Christmas gift for my wife that could only be procured at the Ritz Carlton hotel gift shop. I squished my way into the gorgeous marble lobby. Nobody said a thing. Just offered me a towel. In the true spirit of hospitality. I explained that I was not a guest but merely a voyager in search of the gift shop. A thick, warm towel was provided anyway in a (fruitless) effort to dry me. This was the Christmas tree in the outdoor garden of the Ritz...


This tree was truly stunning. My "photography" dimmed its splendor. In the lobby of the Ritz, they had a little room all done up in gingerbread and sweets...

Again, my photo does not do it credit, but the effort created a jewel box of a room for children to see Santa Claus and have a photo taken. All this dining and activity did not drive away the deep wet chill I was feeling. The only thing to do was to retreat to the Royal Sonesta for a steaming hot bath. Then dinner in the French 75 bar at Arnaud's...

The bobble head doll at the lower left of the photo depicts the barman Chris Hannah. One of the true barmen I have met. And a fine gentleman as well. He provides valid reading materials to the weary traveller while dining in his room...


He makes a mean Bobby Burns cocktail, which is sort of my trademark...

In case anyone should ask, the Bobby Burns is widely considered the finest of all the whiskey based cocktails. Never heard of it? Never had one? Do not blame me.

Chris noted accurately that I did not look my best. That I seemed off my feed. I told him of the sequential soakings I had suffered the past two days. He thought for a moment. Then said only three words. "Tom and Jerry". A master stroke. I had not consumed a Tom and Jerry for at least fifteen years. It is the perfect winter cocktail. But not easy to make. Requiring certain combinations of whiskey, nog, steaming water, and other items. But Chris made one without blinking. Bless him. As a holiday [saving] gift to the damp and weary traveller....

When you sip a Tom and Jerry, hot whiskey seeps through to the farthest frozen corners of the body. And revivifies the soul. Thus saving my health and making the entire trip a delight. There is no hospitality like New Orleans hospitality. My final trip of 2009 started out in horrid fashion. But was revived by great friends, great food, wonderful lodgings, re-visitation of a winter cocktail of old and a dose of plain old comradeship. The next morning dawned bright and clear. A perfect winter New Orleans day. I sallied forth to meet the upcoming Christmas and New Year's Eve social obligations in fine fettle. A thawed Epic. Content.