Friday - From courtyard cafe to four course meal

JAMIE: Ahh...the Big Easy.

JAC: The Crescent City.

JAMIE: The City that Care Forgot.

JAC: La Nouvelle Orleans.



JAMIE: Home to my favorite woman.

JAC: Aww, shucks. That's sweet, love.

JAMIE: Oh...right...of course...the home of Jacquelyn Cole!

JAC: Were you thinking of someone else?

JAMIE: Honestly, I was thinking of Chris Owens. But you're right up there with her, Jac!

JAC: Wow. Thanks, Jamie.

JAMIE: Anyway...New Orleans!!!

JAC: New Orleans!!!

JAMIE: Important note to our viewers/readers - New Orleans makes up only half of the Creole Fusion Trail. The other half emcompasses Jac's hometown of Madisonville and the other communities on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

JAC: We decided there was no way to cover both areas in one weekend. So we split the trail in two. This weekend, we're on the Creole Fusion Trail Part I - New Orleans. And our next weekend trip will be on the Creole Fusion Trail  Part II - Northshore. Does everyone understand?

JAMIE: I have a question.

JAC: Yes, Jamie?

JAMIE: Does this mean I get an extra weekend to eat the world's best food and spend time with you?

JAC: It does. (Nice save.)

JAMIE: Hooray! Okay, back to the food.

JAC: Right! We started off the trail with Friday lunch at a little cafe just a couple of blocks from my old apartment in the French Quarter - Cafe Amelie, at 912 Royal Street.



JAMIE: Scroll down and check out our photos to see how beautiful this place is. Think white umbrellas, cafe tables and chairs, a private-garden-like courtyard. Add in some of the best casual, cafe cuisine you'll find in New Orleans. That's Cafe Amelie.

JAC: Jamie and I recommend Cafe Amelie for brunch, lunch, or dinner to everyone we know who visits the French Quarter. Who wouldn't want to choose from curry pumpkin soup, baked gulf oysters topped with creamed spinach and artichoke, or oven roasted pork chop with corn macque choux?

JAMIE: Jac and I were planning on a four-course dinner later in the evening at Restaurant August, so we decided to split a small salad and a sandwich.



JAC: Let's not make it sound all dainty, Jamie. When Jamie says "split a salad," he means a gourmet beet salad with mounds of walnuts and creamy goat cheese. And when he says "split a sandwich," he means piles of perfect cochon de lait (that's fall-off-the-bone-melt-in-your-mouth pork) with homemade mayonnaise on crusty French-baguette-like bread.

JAMIE: When Jac lived in the Quarter, Cafe Amelie was the kind of place she and I regularly met out-of-towners AND ran into Jac's neighbors.

JAC: What we're saying is, like any place in Louisiana, if the locals love it, you know you can trust it, and locals, especially Quarterites (that's code for French Quarter residents), love this place.



JAMIE: After taking in the scenery at Cafe Amelie's 150-year-old Princess of Monaco Courtyard and enjoying our perfect lunch, Jac and I decided to take the afternoon to explore the Quarter.

JAC:  We started with a stroll on the Moonwalk (named for New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu) and watched the barges traveling up and down the Mississippi River. We stopped to look at the Natchez and Creole Queen riverboats, both taking in passengers for a ride up the Mississippi. We made some quick stops in the Riverwalk and Canal Place for shopping and then explored the Vieux Carre.

JAMIE: Walking down Decatur, Jac made me stop every block or so to listen (and dance a little) to the sounds of the bands playing in the outdoor restaurants. We walked down Chartres and Royal Streets, stopping in shops here and there.



JAC: Jamie loves the art galleries.

JAMIE: Jac prefers the antique shops.

JAC: We both love to hear the street performers on Royal Street. On this day, a gypsy jazz band attracted a large circle of listeners, so Jamie and I pulled up a seat (on the curb) and listened for a while.

JAMIE: It was a warm and beautiful afternoon, and after a couple hours of exploring we headed over to the Napoleon House, at 500 Chartres Street, to sit down, cool off, and have a drink.

JAC: We love the inside of this place with its European pub feel. But on this afternoon, the weather was too perfect to pass up a courtyard table.

JAMIE: Napoleon House has a full bar, lots of great beer, but we ordered what we always order here (and what YOU should order, too): the Pimm's Cup.



JAC: Ahh, the Pimm's Cup, a Napoleon House speciality. It's light and refreshing, the perfect drink for a warm afternoon. 

JAMIE: We finished our drinks (after having a nice chat with a couple seated next to us who'd just moved to New Orleans), did a bit more window shopping in the Quarter, and got ready for our night on the town and big dinner at Chef John Besh's signature Restaurant August.

JAC: Warning everyone - Jamie has a little obsession with John Besh's cooking. Please forgive the way he goes on and on in the video above about just how wonderful Chef Besh is.

JAMIE: I can't help it. When John Besh beat Mario Batali on Iron Chef, it was like watching the Saints win the Superbowl. 

JAC: Really, Jamie?

JAMIE: Come on, Jac...how good was the food?



JAC: I know! Restaurant August is one of the very best restaurants in the city, the state, and, we think, the country. A meal here is a true gourmet experience.

JAMIE: Right. By the end of our meal, Jac was the one annoyingly asking our waiter if John Besh was in the restaurant that night so we could get his autograph.

JAC: Well, the food was amazing!



JAMIE: We decided to do the tasting menu, four delicious courses with wine pairings. There was even a little lagniappe "pre dessert" course for Jac.

JAC: You can trust everything on the menu here. It changes often to reflect seasonal ingredients, so if you're not sure what to order, ask the super skilled waitstaff for a recommendation. 

JAMIE: We finished our meal (it took us a slow and savory three hours) and walked back into the French Quarter to Hermes Bar, at 725 St. Louis Street.



JAC: Hermes is a fairly new addition to the famous Antoine's restaurant, a truly cool desitnation in itself.  This place is upscale, but don't confuse that with stuffy. Hermes is anything but.

JAMIE: Abolsutely. People pack into this place for the live jazz, the lively atmosphere, and the bar menu full of favorites from Antoine's.

JAC: Including those souffle potatoes you love so much.

JAMIE: I could eat a million of those.

JAC: I think I saw you come close to that once.

JAMIE: Once.

JAC: After drinking and dancing, we moved on to the Davenport Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton for a little late night swing music.



JAC: Jeremy Davenport has the talent and stage presence of Harry Connick, Jr., or a young Frank Sinatra.  And getting to dance to his ballads or just relax and listen in this beautiful, intimate setting is one of our favorite ways to finish off a night in the French Quarter.

JAMIE: A night with my favorite New Orleans lady.

JAC: Chris Owens?

JAMIE: No, you, Jac.  Always you.

JAC: Aww.