...later that night, Mary took us to her favorite restaurant in New
Orleans called Dante’s Kitchen. It was uptown right by the river, tucked away
in a sweet little corner. The inside was just as sweet and comfortable. I got
the Shrimp & Grits per Mary’s recommendation, with a side of snap peas.
Chris and Mary got Duck Fat Roasted Smashed New Potatoes,
which were absolutely delicious. My food was great too, but I was jealous. Our
waitress was super cool, and made superb recommendations. It was at Dante's where Chris proclaimed herself a "foodie" because the waitress agreed with her food pairing suggestion. Thanks for that, waitress. I totally get why
Dante’s is Mary’s favorite. I think my Dad would love that place!
After dinner, it was time to hit the
town. We took the infamous streetcar (surely named Desire) to the French
Quarter, and dove right in to Bourbon St.
I don’t think I have words to
describe that ridiculous place. It reminded me of Times Square in a way, but
with debauchery everywhere. I assumed the beads thing was just for Mardi
Gras…nope, not true. Beads were everywhere, and so where the pretty much naked
“ladies”, endless amounts of neon (both lights and clothing), and drunk folks
galore. It was awesome.
We stopped at a random spot on Bourbon and got these amazing giant syringe Jell-O shots. 2 for $5!! And they were REALLY good! We felt super scandalous, and soooo NOLA.
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| The flaming fountain! |
The next morning, we had brunch
reservations at Atchafalaya, which is supposedly a top brunch spot in Nola. It
was exactly what we needed after a weekend of drinking. Chris and I got grits
(of course she did), eggs, and bacon, per usual, and Mary got one of their
delicious-sounding benedicts. Our food took forever to come out, so our sweet
waiter treated us to Mimosas, and he had one with us. No harm, no foul.
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| Mary & I needed the shades... |
After brunch, we headed back to the
French Quarter by way of streetcar to see things in the daytime. We avoided Bourbon
St. this time, and stuck to the ridiculous shops and Jackson Square. I was
super into the voodoo stuff, so of course I got myself a voodoo doll. And we
picked up some postcards and a few other little surprises along the way. The
weather was pretty terrible, but we made-do. We walked through the French
Market and Café Du Monde. The shear volume of stuff packed into the place was
amazing. It reminded me of River Street in Savannah. We were hot and hungover,
so we didn’t make it much past the market.
On the way back to Mary’s from the
French Quarter, I finally, after three days of intense googling, figured out
where the Jolie-Pitt house was! I totally count that as one of the great
accomplishments of my life. We decided we should probably go home and pack and
grab a late lunch, but Mary promised we could go by it before we went to the
airport. We went home, packed, and then got in the car and headed to find THE
house. AND we did. So, here it is…You can find Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s
French Quarter residence on Governor Nicholls at Decatur St. If you’re on
Decatur St looking up Governor Nicholls, it’s the third or fourth house on the
right. We got out, inspected the place, and took plenty of pictures. My
googling was confirmed when an older lady-neighbor walked by and told us Brad
wasn’t in town this weekend, which we figured, but we were still excited to
know we were in the right place. The house was sealed up like Fort Knox, but
I’m sure they giggled when they saw me looking for cracks and peaking spots on
their surveillance camera footage. They were everywhere. Ha!
After that excitement, we really wanted
to see the 9th ward, which was one of the hardest hit spots in New
Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Even almost 7 years later, there’s still plenty
of evidence of the storm. It was hard for us to picture all of it under water,
and even harder to imagine the levee breaking.
Since we were already on a Brad Pitt high, we drove through his “Make it Right” program, which is working to rebuild homes for displaced residence from the pre-storm 9th ward. The coolest part about the whole thing is that the homes are being built to be sustainable in both architecture and design, but are also affordable. Brad has gotten some amazingly talented big-name architects to help out with this great cause, and the houses are freaking awesome! According to the foundation’s website, the average price of a single-family home is $150,000 to $200,000, and homeowners are asked to contribute as much as they can. The average resident contribution has been around $75,000, and then Make It Right covers the rest.
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| Bridge to the 9th Ward |
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| The river's on the other side. |
Since we were already on a Brad Pitt high, we drove through his “Make it Right” program, which is working to rebuild homes for displaced residence from the pre-storm 9th ward. The coolest part about the whole thing is that the homes are being built to be sustainable in both architecture and design, but are also affordable. Brad has gotten some amazingly talented big-name architects to help out with this great cause, and the houses are freaking awesome! According to the foundation’s website, the average price of a single-family home is $150,000 to $200,000, and homeowners are asked to contribute as much as they can. The average resident contribution has been around $75,000, and then Make It Right covers the rest.
After spending time down there in the Lower
9th ward, we were even more fascinated than ever before, so we of
course came home and researched. We found an awesome documentary on Netflix
called “Trouble the Water”, which follows a family before, during, and after
Katrina. The home video footage was amazing, and it was nominated for an Oscar!
We definitely recommend it.
Anyway, we made our way back towards
Mary’s, and had some Red Beans and Rice, New Orleans style on Magazine St. at
Ignatius. We loved it, especially since we haven’t made it at home in a while.
So we are this week! I also got a delicious specialty cocktail that was perfect
for pre-flight Katy.
Can’t wait to go back. The food, drinks, culture, everything. Loved it. I don’t know how people have normal, productive lives there, but no matter. What a gem of a place! I decided that if I ever get married, I’m having my Bachelorette Party there. No excuses, ladies.
And thanks Chris, for being THAT tourist and taking such awesome pictures for the both of us. <3
