In May, Tangram was back in the Big Easy to help out our friends at NBC Universal Cable Networks put on their big show! We had a gasser in Nawlin's putting up the booth - BUT had a better time rediscovering one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
First night we had dinner at Stella! Chef Scott Boswell creates exciting New American Cuisine influenced jointly by world flavors and his Louisiana Roots. The food was delicious but rich, and the wine list did not disappoint. the decor was cool too could have been like an old bordello at one time.check out http://www.stellarestaurant.com/.
After a long day in the "Booth Buildin' Bidness", the whole crew went to Cochon for Dinner! Cochon is everything porky, and the menu was insane. We started with fried oysters as an appetiser, they were so hauntingly delicious, we ordered more during dinner! The food at Cochon was insanely good. It has big bawdy open room which was fairly boisterous on a Saturday night.
Pork!
Here is a link from the website:
"....Chef Link and co-owner Chef Stephen Stryjewski, embracing the old style traditions receive whole pigs and oversee an in-house Boucherie, creating boudin, andouille, smoked bacon, and head cheese. The menu also features handmade crawfish pies, rabbit & dumplings, and spoon bread with okra & tomatoes. Cochon offers specialties from the wood-burning oven such as roasted oysters, suckling pig, and beef brisket. Seafood from local waters round out the offerings with Chef Link’s signature roasted gulf fish “fishermen” style.
The bar at Cochon boasts an interesting variety of bourbons and local beers. Traditional southern cocktails like the Mint Julep are available as well as updated versions of classics like Cochon’s Lemonade. Several brands of moonshine are available for guests desiring a true "Southern experience". ...."
Moonshine! It was crazy nutmeg moonshine! After several shots of "interesting bourbon" and rye sazeracs, nothing finishes a meal of pig fat better than moonshine! It was no wonder we went to the French Quarter to stroll off our fantastic meal!
Don't miss this great restaurant check it at http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/
The French Quarter has revived since Katrina, but there was a lot of changes. Thank God Some Things Do Not Change:
My favorite is Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar (on Bourbon street but waaaay down on the residential side, just keep walking and its on the left). Lafitte's is said to be the hangout of the Pirates Jean and Pierre Lafitte (and others say its haunted) Andrew "Stonewall" Jackson liked to hang here too. One of the oldest continuously operating bars in America, the bar itself is very small and dark (the only lights are above the cash register at the bar and again at the piano, everything else is candles). The piano section of the bar is always fun - go there and hang out and make requests while singing along with the featured player - Johnny Gordon. Check Youtube
Also Check Fritzel's German Jazz Bar and Pub on Bourbon Street at Orleans. Fritzels has seriously tasty Jazz, I once saw an ensemble of 18 clarinet players layin' it down. They also have friendly folks, and Jaggermeister on tap!
Do a Jagger till you Stagger!
Aside from all the freak shows up and down the street, no trip to the Quarter is complete with out a trip to:
In 1808, Prince Suleyman of the Turkish Royal family arrived in New Orleans with his retinue of eunuchs and servants. Six months later, all were brutally murdered in their living quarters. Officially, it is recorded as a robbery. The truth is far more sinister and interesting…
Retribution!!!
Yes, retribution for the young women of New Orleans who were lured into the prince’s nearby Dungeon and prepared for the harems of Istanbul by psychological indoctrination, opium-induced submission and torture.
Can I have a Bud, Please?
The Dungeon seems an innocuous little place. You squirrel down a very thin alley entrance into a courtyard, and very regular looking bar. Push open the faux bookshelfs, and up you go to a small tight intense mirrored dance floor with cages, the ultimate skull bar (pictured above), and a head banging cacophony of heavy metal. The crowd is an, ahhhhh, interesting mix of goth posers and preppy tourists. Don't go before midnight - it ain't open.
Always obey Steel's credo - never stay in any one place for more than 20 minutes in the French Quarter. It is a tried and true survival tactic.
End the night at an OLDE FAVORITE from back in the NATPE days when tradeshows were tradeshows, and men were men:
At the corner of Bourbon Street and Bienville, sits the stuff that legends are made of -- The Old Absinthe House. Many celebrities have been welcomed through our doors in the nearly two centuries since its opening -- including Oscar Wilde, P.T. Barnum, Mark Twain, Jenny Lind, Enrico Caruso, General Robert E Lee, Franklin Roosevelt, Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra. Indeed, the walls throughout this incredible building are covered in the framed photographs of several of our famous patrons. The building endures the name of Jean Lafitte's because of the rumored meeting of the Pirate Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson as they planned the victory of the battle of New Orleans on the second floor (now the newly-renovated Jean Lafitte's Bistro). In fact, many of those who work here will be happy to share their Jean Lafitte Ghost Stories with you!
All of this and we did some work too! NBC Had a great show - broadcasting CNBC's"The Squawk" live from the Morial Convention Center and the NBC booth below!
Rushing around like a blue arse fly, I had to go up Magazine Street to get some supplies for the exhibit. It was a beautiful May day in New Orleans, and all the cafes were in full bustle, and the Magnolias were in bloom. There is no place like New Orleans!
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