karohemd | Updates - Friday 4/3

Started the day with a guided tour of Lafayette Cemetery, which was very interesting. The day started out grey and cold but then during the tour the sun come out and all the clouds went away. I spent the glorious, warm (ca. 20C) day wandering around the Garden District, having lunch at a small local corner diner on Magazine, walked back home on Magazine, changed into something more suitable for dinner at a nice restaurant, took the streetcar to Audobon Park, walked, sat around and read a bit (not enough time for the zoo, alas) and then walked to Riverbend to find Brigtsen's. Someone on

food_porn had raved about it so I had to try it. I had a table reserved for 5:30 which was a bit early but considering I wanted to go out later in the evening, a wise choice. The choice was varied but I wanted to stay with the seafood and fish, so I decided on the Butternut Shrimp Bisque as starter and the Broiled Gulf Fish (Black Drumfish in my case) in a parmesan shrimp crust with vegetables and other stuff and finally Fresh Strawberries with a Champagne Sabayon. As accompaniment I had a large glass of a very nice Pinot Grigio and a dram of 12 year old Macallan to finish it all off. The final bill came to $62 excluding tip but it was worth every penny. The flavour, the texture, the way all the parts harmonised with each other, the presentation, everything was spot on and delicious. Clearly one of if not the best dinners I've ever had. Just when the waitress asked me if I wanted the whisky neat (as if there's any other way), my high esteem of the place or at least the waitress dropped a bit. Americans...

Took the streetcar home, relaxed a bit, changed again and hit town. Started at the Blues Club where Brian Lee and his band played the finest electric Blues from B.B. King to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bourbon St. on a Friday night was just too much for me, so I went down three blocks and walked up Decatur without seeing many people at all. After the evening's expenses, I didn't fancy paying cover at any of the larger clubs so I hit the Spotted Cat again, where a duo just played their last track. After a short changeover, the New Orleans Jazz Vipers started, a quintet featuring trumpet, sax, clarinet, guitar, upright bass and violin. Very cool stuff and loads of people at the small bar made for a great atmosphere. Obviously, I had to finish the night at the Apple Barrel where I almost feel at home already. You could tell it's mostly local people but nobody minded me at all and I felt really welcome there. This time, there was a quarted playing Dr John style Blues and R&B. Mr Purple Suit was there again but this time only in leather jacket and a black fedora.
Took cab home and collapsed.