30 January 2015

Louisiana {50 States of Yoga}




Even though we landed in Louisiana at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans a couple of days earlier, Courtney and I didn't really being our New Orleans experience until Tuesday evening.  We drove straight from Pensacola, Florida - through Alabama and Mississippi - back to where our trip began.  We checked in at a French Quarter hotel and proceeded to the Uptown area to Jacques Imo's on Oak Street.  If you only eat at one restaurant when you visit New Orleans - it must be Jacques Imo's.  There are no words for the foods and flavors we were about to experience, so I will just show you pictures and tell you what we had.

Everyone said have the "alligator cheesecake".  Sounds awful, right?  Well, what it really is called is Shrimp and Alligator Sausage Cheesecake - and it was actually an appetizer, not a dessert.  I love cheese - I don't know what kind this was made with, but if I had to guess it would have definitely included cheddar.  This was rich and divine.  We shared a slice.




After our appetizer our waitstaff {who were super attentive!} brought us salads - that are included with our dinner entree.  The salad is spinach leaves, their own pomegranate vinaigrette and a fried oyster.  I'm not usually a vinaigrette fan, but this was delectable and the oyster was a random, but delicious touch.




We barely finished our salads, already feeling a tad full from the rich cheesecake, and out come our dinners - our unbelievably decadent dinners!  Courtney had the Grilled Duck Breast with orange-soy glaze, shiitake mushrooms and pecans.  I tend to not prefer orange glazes, as I think the orange drowns out the other flavors too easily - but this dish!  Well, they know what they're doing at Jacques Imo's.  I had a taste of Courtney's duck - cooked medium rare - and it was divine.  I would definitely order this dish.  But on to my entree....  I had Rabbit Paneed with shrimp and tasso pasta.  {They also give you 2 sides; I chose mashed sweet potatoes and Corn Macque Chow.}  I can't say enough good things about my dish.  The rabbit was cooked perfectly - melted in my mouth.  The breading crisp and just enough - not too doughy or mealy.  The pasta flavorful and rich. 




The portions are so large and the food so rich that it's impossible to eat an entire entree.  We took half our dinners to go and drove to the airport to return our rental car.  No need for a car when you're staying in the French Quarter.  Everything is walkable or a short trip on a trolley car.  On our way to the taxi stand at the airport, Courtney remembered leaving our leftovers behind... she ran back to the rental return station, but they were already gone!  I hope someone ate them; I'd hate to think such wonderful food went in the trash!

Back in the French Quarter we dragged our tired bones to Bourbon Street.  Soon we were rejuvenated by the lights, the music, and the energy of the party people!  My being sober, I would have to say that I would not have come here a few years ago.  Temptations are great and at every corner.  But having more than 5 years at this point, and being grateful every day for the gifts that I do have in my life - that I attribute to being sober - I wouldn't risk that for a Hurricane or Hand Grenade {some of the more popular drinks in New Orleans}.  We trolled the avenue in search of live music that made us move.  We started at The Swamp where Courtney got a 32 ounce Hurricane - that lasted throughout the night.  I understand how some of the people who were stumbling down the street got to that state - the drinks here are enormous!  We hung around watching a rock n' roll band for a bit, then continued down the street to Funky 544.  This club had a fantastic soul and funk band playing.  The music really moved us.  Our last stop was Krazy Korner where we found the band Radioactive playing.  As a whole they were an average bar band playing covers, but they were playing covers of songs we liked and grew up with.  Rock n roll from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  A couple of things that stood out about them... the guitar player was phenomenal..  really.  Extremely talented.  And if you're ever in NOLA it's worth it to swing by and hear him play.  The other thing, I thought the bass player was cute!  Haha... so it was easy to sit there and watch him play.  I may be a married lady, but I can window shop!  Besides, my husband plays bass... so in my little mind it's ok.  =D












The next morning was lazy as we slowly got ourselves going for the day.  We had no particular itinerary, except to make a 6p yoga class that evening.  After breakfast at the hotel {interrupted by a fire alarm - false alarm - that ran us down, then up 4 flights of stairs} we headed down Bourbon Street in the daylight.  It certainly loses some of it's charm when you can see how dirty it is and get a whiff of the smell of vomit and horse manure baking in the sun.  We visited a few shops, got a few souvenirs, and headed over to the Cafe Du Monde, which is another place everyone said we had to go.  I probably could have passed.  But there was no line and it was cheap - so we went.  And got coffee {blended with chicory} and beignets {drowning in powdered sugar}.  If you don't know {I didn't}, a beignet is a french donut - of sorts.  It's like square fried dough.  It's good, but it's just fried dough.






Beingets at Cafe Du Monde



Street performer hailing a cab!





Of course after you eat sweet treats, you have lunch!  We roamed down Decatur Street, intending to eat at a fried chicken place that was recommended, but ended up roaming in the wrong direction.  We settled on The Gumbo Pot, also on Decatur Street.  I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy foods.  Everything looked wonderful on the menu, but I knew it would be spicy.. at least a little.  I began interrogating the waiter, Jerome, about how spicy the jambalaya was, and then the crawfish etouffee, and then the shrimp gumbo.  I'm kind of a pain.  But Jerome is kind of a genius.  Being from the area, he didn't actually think any of them were spicy, but knew that it might be a different experience for me.  He left us and came back moments later with a plate containing a sample of each!  They were all spicy! Haha... but the crawfish etouffee the most tolerable for me - and so that is what I ordered.  I've since read a few reviews of The Gumbo Pot online {yelp} and many were not favorable - particularly about the waitstaff.  I feel very differently about that, and can't speak for the whole staff, but if you go - don't hesitate to ask for Jerome.  He is extremely effective at his job.  Oh, and the crawfish etouffee was very good.  I saved half, again because the portions are large and food is so rich, and ate it later in the evening.  It was even very good reheated in the hotel.




Trio of jambalaya, gumbo and etouffee to sample!

Crawfish Etouffee













This mask was MADE for me!  How perfect!
If I ever had a use for a mask... I would have bought it!

We had a little time to spare before heading to our yoga class and I had finished my Yoga and the 12 Step Path book on my inbound flight, as well as read in entirety The Four Agreements, which I had brought to read on my return flight.  So I checked around for a bookstore and found Beckham's BookShop on Decatur Street, a lovely little used bookstore.  I asked if he had any Kerouac or Bukowski - both of which he did not.  I was hoping not to waste too much time, as I could browse used bookstores for hours, but didn't have but a few minutes to spare.  I quickly remembered I hadn't read many of Elizabeth Gilbert's books - of Eat, Pray, Love fame - and searched her out.  Sure enough I scored a hardbound edition of her latest book, The Signature of All Things, for $6.  Delighted with my find, we headed back to the hotel to change for our evening's class.

Swan River Yoga {Mid City Mandir} is not terribly far from the French Quarter - just a quick 10 minute ride on the trolley car up Canal Street.  Our class was to begin at 6p, and I thought we had arrived a few minutes early, but really we were a few minutes late.  My cell phone loses time occasionally and had done just that.  We quickly got settled onto our mats to enjoy our last class on this trip.


Swan River Yoga - Mid City Mandir

The Mid City Mandir is a gorgeous space, beautiful inside and out.  The class I chose was Restorative Yoga / Thai Therapeutics with Michelle.  It was a class with just laying and sitting postures, most working on stretching the back.  Michelle played an organ of some sort and chanted, and occasionally circled the room waving burning sage.  I wanted to like this class.  I loved the space, I loved the burning sage, but that's where it ended.  I felt there wasn't enough instruction when changing poses - and her voice was so soft, but the music so loud, what she did explain wasn't heard across the room.  Her chanting and organ are lovely, but distracting for me.  I tried so hard to just breathe and repeat a mantra in my head and relax.... but I just didn't get there.  If I lived in New Orleans, I would definitely give this studio another try, perhaps even this class again.  I don't know if it was because I felt rushed, arriving a little late, or just the energy of being in a place like NOLA, but it sadly did not work out for me this evening.

Courtney and I were eager to get back to the French Quarter and spend our last few hours in New Orleans on Bourbon Street.  We headed back to Krazy Korner, I watched my dreamy bass player for a few hours, then we tucked ourselves in for the night... for an early morning.  There are so very many amazing places to see and things to do in New Orleans that I didn't come close to experiencing.  I will definitely return, with my husband, to share these joys with! {I might even take him to see my bass player crush.}


I have completed 5 states thus far on my journey to 50 States of Yoga!  I'll continue to try to get to 4 or 5 states a month.  Until then... please take a look at the other 3 states from this trip!

Mississippi
Alabama
Florida

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