New Orleans at Christmas

Christmas morning in Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans

9am mass...

Christmas Day - for which I sadly don't have any pictures - was spent north of the lake at Robbie's sister Christine's house where we cooked lunch for their family - deep fried turkey of course!

The view from (our) room

Lunch on Boxing Day was the legendary (yes, another one!) Po-Boy (sandwich) shop called Domilises in Uptown NO...the kids were a bit late getting up so it was close to 12 by the time we got there - which meant, as usual, the lines had started to take form.

So you walk in, take a little numbered card and wait for them to call your number before you can order. I didn't know any of this til later, and stood at the counter like a stupid idiot for all of 2-3 minutes while the ancient black bakelite phone on the counter rang non-stop and went unanswered, and while the women serving totally ignored me, while I waited to be served.

There are a grand total of about 6 tables in the restaurant - that hasn't changed in the past 50 years - including the staff who now include one of the original sisters who set it up, and what looks like her husband working the bar, and daughter and grandson and daughter making sandwiches non stop.

There are no fries, no salads - not even any tomatoes (apparently because they were off the menu a few years back during a particularly pricey tomato season - and never got around to putting them back in the sandwiches!)...they're just sliced meats, cheese, and their speciality - the crispy, salty fried oysters or shrimp - or preferably half and half (like we had) onLeidenheimer french bread with hot sauce, mayo, and lettuce.

So you wait while your number gets closer to the top of the pile, and pray that a table comes free when your orders comes up - which is just about always on cue - except for this time when a woman baggsed a table before her number was up "because I have a nun coming to join me"...I thought "yeah right - Tui" - but in she walked!Ray the bartender...Barq's local New Orleans root beer or creaming soda is a must...Behind the bar...complete with Peyton and Eli Manning shots (local football heros who grew up nearby and who ate there all the time when growing up) - and Ray's till that he still presses the amount for every transaction, but I can't imagine any reconciliation gets done at the end of the day!The Leidenheimer bread truck even pulled up for a lunchtime delivery while we were there - the second delivery of the day...
Later that afternoon we took the kids on a Katrina tour to show them some of the devastation from the storm. Incredibly whole neighborhoods still only have a smattering of houses rebuilt - but incredibly one of the badly destroyed restaurants that stood at the West End Marina - Lawrys Seafood - is back up in and in business.

shots from 2005 - 2 months after Katrina (double click to enlarge them)

Friday night we had dinner with Robbie's uncle David and wife Kathleen at Arnaud's - one of a handful of longstanding family-run restaurants that form the backbone of much of the restaurant tradition in New Orleans (including the likes of Broussard's, and Galatoires).

The Christmas lights were very pretty in the formal dining room and while it was expensive and rather old school - complete with the table side theater of desserts and flaming coffees - it was rather special.

David and Kathleen had just been to the opening day of Brad Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which was mostly filmed in New Orleans and told us that a scene was filmed with Cate Blanchett in Arnaud's - and according to the Maitre d' who overhead him - we were sitting at the actual table...mmm, we'll see when we go to the movie...!