Some Special New Orleans Restaurants to Enjoy!

Commander's Palace, New Orleans

 

I've spent the last three weeks blogging about the last trip my husband and I took pre-pandemic to one of our favorite places--New Orleans, Louisiana. We've visited New Orleans many times before and if you search on my blog you will see posts I wrote about a few of the magnificent anti-Bellum plantations we visited in the area, a swamp tour we took by boat, the beautiful Saint Louis Catherdral which is the oldest Catholic Catherdral in the United States as well as other landmarks, the World War II Museum, the Museum of Jazz, and many places we dined in the past.  Food is so much a part of the lure of New Orleans. It is a mix of French-inspired Creole and Cajun cultures. Both types of cooking have culinary roots in France, with a nod to Spain, Africa, and Native America, and to a lesser degree to the West Indies, Germany, Ireland, and Italy. Both cultures take their food very seriously and love to cook, eat, and entertain. Creole refers to descendants of the original European French and Spanish settlers of New Orleans. Cajun people are technically descendants of the french descendants of Acadia, which was located in the maritime areas of eastern Canada, that were expelled by the British in 1755.

One of the most famous places to eat in New Orleans is Commander's Palace, located at 1403 Washington Ave, in the French Quarter of New Orleans since 1893. A steady parade of renowned chefs - Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Jamie Shannon, Tory McPhail, and now Meg Bickford - have made Commander's Palace the world-class restaurant what it is today and its leading-edge Haute Creole cuisine reflects the best of the city.

We have dined here for dinner in the past, but on our last trip we took an extended tour of the French Quarter--click here to see that post-- and we stopped into Commander's Palace for a late lunch. One of the attractions of their lunch is the twenty-five-cent martini--a limit of 3 per person! As you can see from the photos above their food is exquisite!  My husband and I enjoyed escargot in tomato sauce and fried oysters as our appetizers, and because we like seafood, we indulged in shrimp and redfish. The portions were all generous so we did not indulge in dessert, but they are famous for their Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Sauce-recipe here.

A breakfast spot that we enjoy very much is The Court of Two Sisters, located at 613 Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They have daily jazz brunches with a buffet of Creole classics plus an à la carte dinner and a charming courtyard in which to dine, where musicians play jazz.  We usually order the brunch buffet as there are so many selections of unlimited delicious breakfast and lunch foods to choose from. One can also order a la carte.  The building and courtyard hold an interesting history. Don't miss touching the "Charm Gate" as you enter! The charm gates were wrought in Spain especially for The Court of Two Sisters. Legend says that Queen Isabella of Spain had them blessed so that their charm would pass on to anyone who touched them.

We always desire a muffuletta sandwich for lunch during our visit to New Orleans, and one restaurant which makes them well is the Napoleon House, located at 500 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.   A 200-year-old landmark, the building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod, was mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815. He offered his residence to Napoleon in 1821 as a refuge during his exile. Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck, and since then, the Napoleon House has become one of the most famous bars in America, a haunt for artists and writers throughout most of the 20th century. 

The muffuletta sandwich originated in New Orleans purportedly at Central Grocery where it is still made today. The sandwich is made with soft sesame topped bread, Italian charcuterie, and a spicy Creole olive salad. You can see a recipe on this link.  The sandwich at Napolean House is so large we shared it--delicious! We also enjoyed a drink they are famous for--the Pimms's Cup--recipe here.

A very affordable New Orleans brand restaurant is Pat O'Brien's, located on 718 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter.  Their historical building was built in 1791 as a private home, and later became the first Spanish Theatre in the United States. It was converted back to a private residence until 1942 when Patrick O’Brien and Charles Cantrell purchased the spacious place to become home to one of the most iconic nightclubs in the United States.  They are famous for their dueling pianos, flaming courtyard fountain, as well as their Hurricane cocktail, among other drinks.  The Hurricane is served cold, is sweet, and contains rum--very refreshing!  A Hurricane recipe is here.  Their menu is mostly Cajun cuisine and for our dinner, we ordered a chicken wing appetizer to share, and for my entree, I had Crawfish Etouffe while my husband had their traditional Red Beans and Rice that is served with grilled sausage.  It was all very filling and tasty! We enjoyed the casual atmosphere of Pat O'Brien's very much.

One evening, we dined at another of New Orleans "grand dame" 100-year-old restaurant, Broussards.  Broussard's first opened in 1920, when an eminent local chef, Joseph Broussard, married Rosalie Borrello, and the couple moved into the Borrello family mansion (built in 1834) at 819 Conti Street in the French Quarter, where the restaurant now sits.  Today, Executive Chef Jimi Setchim continues the tradition of a French and Creole-influenced menu.

My husband and tried their Creole turtle soup, and I had the Panned Seared Sea Scallop special while my husband had the Pompano Fish Ponchitrain, served with shrimp.  We could not resist a dessert special: King Cake with frangipane filling for two. The Lucky Baby was sitting on top. Everything was exquisite!

Another of the "great dame" of fine French Creole restaurants is Antoine's, located at 713 St. Louis Street in the French Quarter.  Antoine's has been operated by the same family since 1840.  It is the birthplace of oysters Rockefeller, developed in 1899 by Antonie's son and given that name due to the richness of the sauce. They remain one of the great culinary creations of all time and that recipe remains a closely guarded Antoine’s secret, though it has been imitated countless times.

The restaurant consists of many different rooms and the maitre d' was kind enough to take my husband and me on a little tour, pointing out all the special corners where famous people had dined and the photos and memorabilia on the walls, including much Mardi Gras history.  It was so fascinating!

Our dinner at Antoine's was superb! Our waiter treated us like royalty. He even brought us an appetizer on the house of one of his favorites, and a dish perfected at Antoine's: Pommes de Terre Souffles, or puffed potatoes, seen on the middle right of the photo collage above. I had to try the oyster Rockefeller as my appetizer, seen in the middle left. They were out of this world! I never had better. My husband had escargot (bottom left). As for entrees, my husband had Pompano Pontchartrain (top photo), which was a grilled delicate pompano filet, butter poached jumbo lump crabmeat, white wine sauce, onion rice, seasonal vegetables. I had the special fried Soft Shell Crab served with almondine sauce. As for sides, we tried a crab souffle and lobster mac and cheese.

It was our first night in New Orleans and we were celebrating!  I'm so glad we did, as our trip to New Orleans, and all the places we dined there, were the last for the year 2020, and so far for 2021.  Since then I have done the bulk of the cooking at home and we have not dined out in a restaurant since. Hopefully, dining out will become a reality again for us one day. In the meantime, we are trying to stay safe from exposure to the covid virus.

Chicory Coffee and Beignets breakfast at Cafe du Monde

I hope you enjoyed this series of New Orleans, Louisiana posts. They brought back wonderful memories to me.  I hope to be able to travel there again someday to enjoy even more of its history, friendly ambiance, and hospitality.  Do you have a favorite New Orleans memory that you'd like to share?

Stay healthy and safe!

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Rosenberg's Bagels and Delicatessen in Denver

When friends in Colorado ask me what I miss the most about not living in New York City, I always tell them that besides family and friends that still live in New York the thing I miss the most is the diversity of the food available in New York City. I'll admit that I am a "foodie" and love to eat and will try almost any cuisine. New York City had a plethora of large and small independent restaurants with almost every cuisine of the world. When we moved to the Denver suburbs we sadly found mainly chain restaurants in our area which were not very enticing. However, as Denver grows in population--over 100,000 people moved to the city in the six years that we've lived here--more independent and unique restaurants have followed. My husband and I look forward every February to the annual Denver Restaurant Week promotion where hundreds of Denver’s top restaurants offer multi-course dinners for three tasty prices: $25, $35 or $45.  We try to pick a few new places to visit each year and have many now that are our favorites, many with international cuisines.

Recently, My husband and I and our daughter visited a deli in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, which is one of the oldest neighborhoods and one of the fastest growing for Denver in both redevelopment and population. We were there on another errand but realized as lunchtime approached that we were close to Rosenberg's Bagels and Delicatessen, located at 735 East 26th Avenue, Denver. It was a place we heard about but haven't had a chance to visit up to now. Living most of our lives in Brooklyn, New York, we love bagels and all its usual accompaniments and we heard theirs were the best in Denver!

We were not disappointed!

Owner Joshua Pollack was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City. After graduating from high school, he took his love for food and family west, to study at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met his wife, Kara, who helps him run the deli. Joshua missed classic New York City food and decided to open his own bagel shop and deli, naming it after his mother, Karen Rosenberg Pollack.  Joshua figured out how to replicate the taste of New York City water that makes his daily fresh baked bagels one-of-a-kind in Denver.  They are both soft and chewy--the perfect NY style bagels! He also has fish smoked and cured in house, delicious salads, high-end coffee, pastries and oh, so much more!

Rosenberg's had the look and feel of a New York Bagel shop, with some seating in the back of the store. As we looked at the bagels we immediately felt our gastric juices flowing and our stomachs announcing it was time to eat!  Rosenberg's is open 6AM to 3PM Tuesday through Sunday and has a good variety of bagel sandwiches for breakfast or lunch on their menu--view menu here.

My husband ordered the "Wings of Pastrami" bagel sandwich (photo upper left in the photo) which was shredded pastrami omelet, melted three-cheese blend, served on with his choice of an onion bagel,

I had the "Leo" which was scrambled lox, eggs, and onions, with plain cream cheese on my choice of a whole wheat bagel (photo lower left)

Our daughter had a pumpernickel bagel with a plain cream cheese "schmear" (photo lower right)

My husband and I also shared a Black and White cookie--so good! (photo upper right)  Years ago I posted a New York Times recipe for Black and White Cookie on this link.  You can not be a native New Yorker without having eaten a Black and White cookie at least once in your life!

Rosenberg's also sells a variety of homemade cream cheeses and salad spreads (click on the photo to enlarge)...

...fish such as gravlax, smoked salmon, kippered salmon, sable, smoked sturgeon, smoked whitefish, creamed and pickled herring, and seasonal smoked fish.

 They also sell knishes, kugels, assorted cookies, and other pastries...

...and freshly baked rye bread, and challah loaves and rolls...

...as well as New York style pastrami, corned beef, turkey, habanero bacon, maple smoked bacon and ham. 

Since Jewish kosher dietary laws prohibit the use of pork products and mixing meat and dairy products, Rosenberg's also has another location at 942 S. Monaco Parkway in Denver that is strictly kosher and offers fish and cream cheese spreads, but no meat. Their hours are Sunday-Thursday: 7Am-3PM, Friday: 7 AM- 4PM
and Saturday: Closed.

Of course, we did not just eat bagel sandwiches at Rosenberg's--we also bought a baker's dozen bagels and plain cream cheese to take home with us. What a treat!

Meanwhile, Colorado has had a very cold and snowy winter so far. These deer who paraded through my backyard one day all were wearing their heavier winter furs.

When we drove past the Coors brewery in Golden, Colorado, one day there was lots of steam rising up into the frigid air. 

The Colorado front range has had its share of snow, but the high Rockies has had record-breaking snowfall this winter with avalanche danger the highest it has been for many decades. Sadly, some deaths have occurred from avalanches, including a young man helping to remove snow off a roof in Crested Butte. March is usually Colorado's snowiest month and it can snow well up until June. As you can imagine, many of us are hoping spring weather comes sooner!

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Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

A week before Christmas, my husband and I visited the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder, Colorado to enjoy lunch. The teahouse is located along Boulder Creek in the Central Park area of Boulder.  As the teahouse website states: "Completely built by hand without the use of power tools, the teahouse was constructed in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, as a gift to their sister city, Boulder. It was disassembled, crated up, and sent halfway around the world to be rebuilt in Boulder as a symbol of friendship and cultural exploration. The elaborate and creative teahouse now sits as a reminder to the citizens of Boulder to value cultural diversity, global cooperation, and international friendship." You can read the entire history of how the teahouse came about on this link. The teahouse has become one of the city's most attractive and popular tourist destinations, as well as a place locals enjoy for good food, tea, and atmosphere.

We love the drive north to Boulder for the wide-open views we see of open space and mountain ranges, although the tremendous population growth along the Front Range of Colorado has resulted in more and more roads being widened and express toll roads being installed, and this route is no exception.

The Davidson Mesa Scenic Overlook, along westbound US 36, just east of Boulder, has postcard-worthy views of both the city of Boulder and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

The teahouse was busy the day we visited for lunch, and since we did not have reservations we had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated.

The wait gave me time to go outside to admire the outside eight handmade ceramic tile artwork panels that represented the "Tree of Life," and peruse the menu board. Click on all photos in this post to enlarge them for easier viewing of their details. The menus for breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner are also on the teahouse's website.

As we walked up the walkway we could see the winter dormant rose bushes that the Boulder Valley Rose Society maintains in season.  You can see photos of how the roses look in the teahouse gardens on their website at this link.

Next to the teahouse, ice skaters were enjoying the winter weather on an ice rink.

Time to go in...

One of the first things one notices when entering the teahouse are the twelve intricate hand-carved cedar pillar supports. Each one has different carvings, and they immediately cause you to look up at the equally intricately and colorfully painted ceiling that they support!

It is hard not to be amazed by all the traditional Tajikistan folk artwork that was painted onto the ceiling panels and to admire all the beautiful designs.

The other object you will immediately notice is the "Fountain of the Seven Beauties" in the middle of the teahouse.  There are seven hammered copper sculptures created by the artist Ivan Milosoich. The sculptures are based on a 12th-century poem.

There is also artwork and scrolled screens and tiles throughout the teahouse, and a beautiful bar area that sells all the popular teas that the teahouse serves.  The teahouse offers a large selection of white, green, black, oolong, and herbal teas. You can see information on these teas on this link on their website.

We chose a tangerine cinnamon herbal tea that we both enjoyed very much!

The teahouse's menus feature international cuisine for lunch and dinner, including Moroccan, Indian, Persian, Malaysian, and traditional Tajik dishes that change seasonally.  Everything we had for lunch was very flavorful and delicious!  There is also a traditional afternoon tea service with sweets and savories served in a three-tiered tower.  Reservations are required for afternoon tea.  

By the time we finished our lunch and tea, the winter sun was going down behind Boulder's iconic Flatiron Mountains in the distance.   We really enjoyed the break from pre-Christmas preparations and we have decided to go back again in summer to see the roses in the garden and enjoy one of the formal teas. I'll bring you back with us when we do! 

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Times Square, Broadway Play, and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel

It would be hard to find a more exciting place than Times Square in New York City. There, the bright lights of Broadway have always been a beacon to travelers in the city, drawing them to its entertainment areas. Over 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists. This area is known as the "Crossroads of the World" and has become the New Years Eve capital of the USA since 1907, as millions gather to watch  the ball drop down the pole high above on the top of One Times Square building seen in the middle of the photo above.

(All photos in this post will enlarge if clicked on)

I wrote once before--click here-- about the pedestrian area that was developed in 2009 in Times Square on Broadway, from 42nd Street to 47th Street, that is closed to traffic. There were still some table and chair areas but quite a bit less than you'll see in that blog post. There is also quite a bit more security, as most of Times Square is monitored by the police by video cameras, which is comforting to know.  It is in this area, at 1564 Broadway, where the famous flagship TKTS Discount Booths are located. This is where you can buy same day tickets to see a Broadway or Off Broadway musical, play or dance production which are up to half price off!  Don't be discouraged by the long lines--they move quickly, but it does pay to get there early for the best seat selection.

My husband and I decided we wanted to see a play on this visit to our old hometown, as we often took advantage of the half price tickets opportunity when we lived in New York.  There was a wonderful selection of both musicals and plays, but since we recently saw a musical production of the Lion King with our grandchildren, we decided to try a play this time around.

We chose a matinee production of the 5 Tony Award winning play 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," which is based on the 2003 mystery novel with the same title by the British writer, Mark Haddon.  As you can see in the photo collage above, the staging and lighting for this play was very unusual. Props and characters were creatively presented throughout the play, through doors and openings in the grid. It really made the audience feel as if they were experiencing the sights, sounds and feelings of the 15 year old main character, who was a mathematical genius on the autism spectrum, as he tried to solve a mystery. The story gets quite dramatic and was very enthralling. We really enjoyed seeing this production and had wonderful half price seats, as you can see in the photo above!  

Since we were also celebrating my birthday, my husband surprised me with reservations at a special hotel for that evening--the Waldorf Astoria Hotel!

Earlier that day, as we approached 5th Ave on our way to check into the Waldorf Astoria, we had to stop for awhile, as the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade was in progress. New York City hosts many parades down 5th Avenue and the Puerto Rican Day parade is among one of the longest, and attracts 2 million spectators! It has been held in Manhattan since 1958.

It was really an exciting parade with many floats, bands, music and marchers. There were fireman, police officers, teachers, etc of Puerto Rican heritage marching with their respective groups. We also saw the New York Knicks Basketball player Carmelo Anthony pass by in a red car.  After about 15 minutes the parade was stopped to allow pedestrians to cross 5th Avenue, and we were on our way to the hotel again, after we had dropped off our rental car.

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, located at 310 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, is an iconic New York City landmark with over 100 years of illustrious history.

The hotel combines art deco elegance with luxury..

...and convenient location in the heart of Manhattan, as you can see by the two cross streets in the photo above. 

A view of the beautiful art deco Park Avenue entrance....

...and the magnificent "Wheel of Life" mosaic floor, designed by French artist Louis Rigal.

It is composed of 148,000 hand cut marble tiles!  You can read more about this artwork and see a short video about it on this link.

The nine foot high "World's Fair Clock" in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria was created in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair and designed to commemorate Columbus' discovery of America.  It was acquired by the hotel in 1931. You can read about the bronze bas-reliefs that ring its pedestal on the plaque at its base, as seen in the photo collage above.

When we checked into the hotel we were greeted by the divine aroma of the Waldorf's Peacock Alley Sunday Brunch. If you want to see a video describing the brunch click here.  Did you know that Eggs Benedict, Red Velvet Cake and the Waldorf salad were all invented by the hotel? I snapped a few photos with my cell phone as I walked by.

Our room was quiet and comfortable and I was surprised by its two enormous walk in closets!  I was happy to have had the opportunity to stay overnight at the Waldorf Astoria especially since there are plans by the hotel's new owner to close down the hotel in the spring of 2017 for three years to renovate the hotel for over one billion dollars to convert as many as three quarters of its 1400 rooms into private condominium apartments, while upgrading the 300 to 500 hotel rooms to extreme luxury standards. You can read more about the temporary closing and renovation of the Waldorf Astoria on this Wall Street Journal link.

We had dinner that evening at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Manhattan--I Trulli Enoteca e Ristorante located at 122 East 27th Street in Manhattan.  Their Puglian style home made pastas and entrees and extensive Italian wine list has never disappointed us.  It was truly a happy birthday celebration for me with a wonderful hotel stay, play and dinner! 

It was such a beautiful June evening that we decided to walk back to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel after dinner. As we walked on Park Avenue we saw the Empire State Building on East 34th Street.  An impressive sight in itself but do you notice the golden glow in the lower right corner?

A few more steps and we saw that the glow came from the bright setting sun going down in the west, and high above the moon shining in the sky.  It stopped us in our tracks and we took this cell phone photo. It was the end of the perfect New York City day!

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