Cafe-au-lait and Beignets at two in the morning

[BOSSHOG]

A great way to top off an evening in the French Quarter. Powdery sugar all over your face while the Pigeons peck for scraps on Decatur Street; Chicory laced coffee piping hot slurped down while viewing an other worldy scene of Jackson Square and Saint Louis Cathedral. Another day of trolling the Big Easy just hours away.

Good Night My Fellow DUers.
I will never let you forget New Orleans.

[Missy Vixen]

1. I will never forget New Orleans

Even though I may be able to stroll her streets again some day, she won't be the same. She will rise again, though, in defiance of those who seek to sanitize her, to bulldoze her, and to make her into Disneyland of the South.

Bosshog, I'll see you at Cafe du Monde. Soon.

Julie

[Elwood P Dowd]

2. How are things on Decatur street

Is Record Ron's still there?

[Lex]

3. Ah yes . . .

That does bring back memories. Mmmmmmm.

[cry baby]

4. OMG, that brings such a powerful image. I can taste that

wonderful cafe-au-lait while I listen to the street musicians in my mind! Shaking off the excess powerdered sugar off the warm beignet and talking with friends about how many bloody maries we have actually had in the past 3 or 4 days. I'm drowsy from lack of sleep until that warm wonderful coffee hits my lips. A cool breeze is blowing, but it's really hot out in the sun. In a few minutes, we are going to shop in the antique shops and probably get another bloody mary.

Oh sweet memories!

[Elwood P Dowd]

7. Is it possible to survive

New Orleans in the daytime without a couple of bloody marys. I never could.

[cry baby]

12. I don't know, I haven't tried that...

[scudrunner]

5. Grayson Capps singing Love Song For Bobby Long at Dos Jefes

on Tchoupitoulas St

New Orleans is always on my mind

[VPStoltz]

6. I've done this more than once...

Just thinking about it makes me very nostalgic. A friend from high school moved there 20+ years ago and I used to go down every spring break. I house sat her cats one summer - never again. But that was another experience all together. The transformer under Bourbon blew up and the FQ was out of electricity all night. Everything was lit with candles - it made it even more historic.

[wellstone_democrat]

8. I look forward to buying you a beignet and coffee

i have a conference their next year (God willing) and you sir are invited for a drink of your choice

Please, *don't* let us forget New Orleans!

[LeighAnn]

9. Breakfast at Corner Grill or sneaking off to Kaldis

Kaldis was a quiet place to escape the Mardi Gras

Peace~!

[jobycom]

10. I hate cafe-au-lait

My memories of New Orleans aren't so typical. I remember standing in line with my first girlfriend to see the King Tut exhibit at City Park. I remember being terrified of watching my grandfather placed in his tomb, and wandering around the graveyard instead. My sister and I found a section of the graveyard that was being repaired, and their were a couple of tombs broken open, and some bones scattered around.

A cousin of mine had a neighbor that had a black bear as a pet. Somewhere there was an old wooden corner store with a wooden floor that echoed like a warehouse where my parents took us to eat po-boys. I remember my Aunt Valerie's house, and circling the block because her old house smelled of cigarettes too much for me to bear.

I remember my great-great aunts Maddie and Evelyn, and their old shotgun duplex, and the little, brick-floored courtyard that was always dank and in shadows. I remember when Evelyn died, and my father searched their house and found a sock full of Kennedy silver dollars on top of a newspaper from the Sunday after Kennedy was shot. I still have that newspaper, I think. There is an article about Oswald, and it gives his address on Magazine Street, about two blocks from where my mother grew up. That surprised my mother. The article ended with a sentence that Oswald was going to be moved from the Dallas courthouse that morning.

I remember my father's shock when he found a picture of Aunt Maddie with an old boyfriend, who was black. We all thought it was cool, but my father was surprised. Aunt Maddie always looked more Creole than Cajun, anyway.

I remember riding to New Orleans on Highway 90 as a little kid, lying on the back dash of the car and watching the city lights flick by over my head. I remember when the I-10 bridge from Slidell was built, and I was so scared to cross it I hid on the back floorboard of the car and prayed that the bridge wouldn't collapse.

I remember meeting a cousin at a funeral parlor, and never seeing her again. Weddings, funerals, suburban streets, canals, ante-bellum mansions under oak trees, memorials to the War of 1812, soccer fields along the levy, the river roads out of the city... There is so much more to New Orleans than the French Quarters, and there is no way it won't all come back. Too many people have too many memories.

[cry baby]

14. I loved reading your memories, thanks for posting. nt

[jobycom]

15. Thanks. I wrote them mostly for me, though I'm glad someone liked them.

Bit of an emotional time, being from Gulfport and having most of my family from New Orleans, and it's even worse because I'm not there now, and I feel like I should be.

[cry baby]

17. I hope your loved ones are ok and can get back on their feet soon.

I can't begin to understand the life-changing effects this must have on those who have gone through this hell. My best to you and yours.

[XOKCowboy]

11. I appreciate the thought...

but I'll never forget New Orleans either. So many good people, good music, good food and good times. Last time I was there I got the flu while working at the Omni on Royal Street. Some of the staff took pity on me and brought me chicken soup other homemade remedies from their homes. These were the same people that probably didn't have the wherewithall to make it out of the path of Katrina. The same people that the Repugs made fun of called welfare leaches.

I'm glad to hear that part of N'awlins still alive and well. Here's to hoping it will stil be the same city next time I visit. Thanks for the memories.

[XOKCowboy]

13. BTW I recommended this thread because...

we can't ever forget New Orleans or let the Bushies make it into another plastic Redneck Riviera like Pascagoula and Biloxi were becoming.

[KamaAina]

16. I only had one problem with the Monde

I am kind of a lone wolf, and would thus often end up down there by myself. They'd make me wait and wait and wait while they served the large parties of tourists first.

I did always get served eventually, though... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[KitchenWitch]

18. I will never forget New Orleans

:cry:

[karlrschneider]

19. And eggs Benedict at Brennans a couple hours later.

:D

[VolcanoJen]

20. I can smell that entire scene.

There's something about it... the scent of beignets and powdered sugar and chicory and tourists and palm readers and music, music everywhere, deep into a steamy night. God, that town is hot.

Good night, BOSSHOG.

[Rowdyboy]

21. I think of a very early morning (5:45am maybe) when we were staying

at the Provincial. I walked down to Cafe Du Monde and bought breakfast while Michael took a shower back in the room...

I could no more forget N'awlins than I could forget my name.

I want a deep-fried, soft shell crab with shoestring sweet potatoes from Irene's on Decatur and I want it now!

[PDittie]

27. Love the Provincial

Great old place. Rooms are small with high ceilings. Bathroom cramped. But you walk down the back stairs into the little bar, 24/7 cocktails, on the right and their own cafe-and-beignets place on the left. Pop straight out the door on Decatur, look right; there's Cafe Du Monde, half a block away. Look directly across the street at the French Market. Down the street a couple blocks to the right is Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

No way we're forgetting N'Awlins.

[CottonBear]

34. Mmm! Deep-fried soft shell crab topped with a cream shrimp sauce

is heaven on a plate. There used to be a restaurant in Slidell called Billy Farrell's that had the best soft shell crab ever.

Mr. CB is from New Orleans and, later, Slidell. We love to go and eat all of our favorite foods when we visit family there. The last time we were there, we went to Cafe de Monde, walked in the Jackson Square Park, toured the cathedral and dined in the French Quarter. It was just lovely.

Too bad the next time I saw the Cathedral wa during *'s creepy speech. :(

[roguevalley]

22. your sadness, I am sorry for it, honey. keep the memories coming

until they become reality again.

[mcscajun]

23. A nice bit of imagery to start my day.

Thanks, Bosshog.

:hug:

[dbt]

24. Thank you, BOSSHOG. I time-traveled for a few minutes!

When I get back to New Orleans, I am going to eat gumbo for every meal!

:loveya:
Remember New Orleans

[Lindsay]

25. If there is a bad place to eat in New Orleans,

I never found it.

And wonderful music everywhere.

I will never forget, and I hope to return.

[RandiFan1290]

26. I Love New Orleans!!

I really can't wait to come back.

:hug:

[spooky3]

28. thank you for a beautiful image and reason to have hope for NO,

[AuntiBush]

29. I'm Speechless...

Bosshog, hang-tight. Everyone wants the Big Easy to come back. Commend you for not letting us forget New Orleans.

Stay safe. Peace be with you.

[elehhhhna]

30. Zydeco Hellraisers. I wanna hear them again.

[sinkingfeeling]

31. Yes, those are great memories of a great place. We will always

remember New Orleans and will help to get her back!

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

32. I made beignets for breakfast yesterday

Of course, it's just not the same. Not even close.

[MuseRider]

33. A perfect memory.

The few times I have been to New Orleans I have insisted on that experience followed by a long walk. I can't wait for the next trip, the next Jazz and Heritage Festival. Last time I was there I swore I would take the Ghost Tour. I hope that is once again available.

[GumboYaYa]

35. BH, they were showing shots from the quarter on TV the other day

and had a shot of Tropical Isle open. That is a good sign.

We are going down on Jan. 1, the last weekend of Mardi Gras, and Jazzfest this year.

I started a charity to promote pre-bookings in hotels during 2006 to help spur recovery of the city. Our website is www.booknolanow.org. Spread the word.

[BOSSHOG]

36. Thanks very much

I hope ya'll have a great time (as if you wouldn't) and your efforts to care about the City that care forgot is appreciated more than can be said. Ya'll help us let the good times roll!

[AuntieM1957]

37. Pascale Monale's (sp?) bbq shrimp and wonderful, wonderful

New Orleans hospitality.

Once ate there (about 20 years ago) with a group of 15 women and 1 man. All the NOLA men kept asking him how he managed to land such a lovely group of dinner companions. He was our boss - and a Mormon. Normally, not a funny man - but he brought down the whole house when he deadpanned - I'm a Mormon.

Took a while to get our dinner, and we were all famished. Other diners insisted on feeding us off their plates.

It was a memorable evening in a lovely, lovely place.

I'll never forget it.

[Pooka Fey]

38. Je n'oublierais jamais La Nouvelle-Orléans.

Ne t'inquietes pas, BossHog. I would NEVAH forget New Orleans. Don't you worry yourself about us Duers. Moi, j'ai environs 330 années d'histoire familiale là-bas. C'est pourquoi je parle français. :-)

[enki23]

39. make it about five, and i'll be there again soon

.

[Hailtothechimp]

40. The corner of Decatur and St. Ann's...

Is possibly my favorite intersection outside of Chicago.


Thanks for the image.

[PDittie]

41. Cafe Du Monde set to reopen

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_re_us/new_orleans_beignets

After the longest break in its 153-year history, Cafe Du Monde will once again fill New Orleans' Jackson Square with the luscious smell of beignets and rich, chicory-laced coffee.

The French Quarter landmark known to tourists the world over for its fried dollops of dough dusted with powdered sugar is getting ready to reopen next week, a month and a half after being shut down by Hurricane Katrina.

* * *

"Blowing powdered sugar on your date's tuxedo was a rite of passage in New Orleans," said Kit Wohl, who grew up in the French Quarter.

Archie Casbarian, who owns Arnaud's Restaurant, another New Orleans institution, moved to the French Quarter in 1966, and used to go carousing back then. "And I always ended up at Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets," he said. "It's a well-known hangover cure."

* * *

On Thursday, workers painted the walls, boiled water in the deep fryers and hauled in new equipment. The tables and chairs that normally fill the patio were still stacked inside the building, and workers cleaned up tree limbs around the area.

"We've found about 50 of our 150 employees, and the cleanup will be finished by Tuesday," general manager Scott Escara said. "We'll turn the fryers on about 5 Wednesday morning and we should have hot beignets pretty quick after that."

[coffeenap]

42. Today my daughter's school gave them a surprise Zydeco concert!

They had worked to fill a semi (only 340 kids in the school) to send to the flood zone and today were treated to a visit, with lots of conversations about what happened to the musicians and their families and friends, by Mojo and the Bayou Gypsies. The joint was jumpin', I hear!

No one is forgetting--and today a whole group of northern Illinois kids began to learn the stories.