After a few days of getting up early, walking all day, and staying up
late, it was finally the day I had been waiting for: free day! It could be cliché
to say that I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep, but that was not the case.
I got a blog post completed then passed out. I had an alarm set for 8:45 in the
morning to get up for breakfast. I figured that I would be up before then
anyway, but I set an alarm just in case. I was having a dream where the sound
of my alarm was in it. I finally did realize that I was supposed to be waking
up and it turns out that my alarm was going off for 2 whole minutes. I almost
always wake up at the drop of a dime when my alarm goes off, but the exhaustion
from hustling around the city all morning and afternoon for a few days really
wore me out. Luckily, I was able to pop right out of bed like a rabbit out of
their hole when they smell a carrot. However, my mouth was watering for something
else: a breakfast that I didn’t have to rush to eat to be able to get out of
the door on time. I made a plate of scrambled eggs that you could see the steam
rising from, since they were just placed in the dish straight from the kitchen.
I added a piece of whole wheat bread, which is normally a brown color, but I toasted
it to the point that you could tell it was a much darker brown. I made a small
bowl of Frosted Flakes, filled a small cup that was the size of my hand nearly
to the rim with ice cold water, and sat down to enjoy my continental feast.
The group and I jumped onto the streetcar and headed into the Quarter.
We exited the streetcar and walked maybe 15 steps and entered The Gumbo Pot for
brunch. The inside had many Louisiana staples hanging on the wall, such as
lobster figures and instruments. The table was covered in paper. I wondered if
we had a child in the group if the hostess would just hand over a few crayons
and allow to draw on the tabletop. I guess it is because it is easy clean up on
the restaurant’s side, but I just noticed and had a giggle about it in my head.
The menu was loaded with so many options. It was so hard to pick just one, so
instead I chose two! I picked the jambalaya and the chicken and andouille gumbo.
Though rather simple, as I have said before I enjoy having different areas’
takes on these one-pot dishes. The jambalaya was rather simple but delicious. I
was stopped in my tracks when I had a piece of sausage that was inside the pile
of rice. It was actually rather spicy! Though I was surprised, I was also quite
satisfied. I actually enjoy a little spice with my Cajun and creole meals. At
that point I ate my sausage sparingly to last through the whole dish because I
had to savor it as much as I could. Up next was the gumbo. This meal also had a
kick to it, and I loved it even more. I had woken up with a runny nose as the
previous day was cold and rainy so it took its toll on me today. Having the
gumbo helped clear my sinuses and I could truly smell all of the herbs and
spices within the dish. It was pleasing to be able to have that happen because I
could actually enjoy the rest of the day with all of my senses, though my
hearing is not at its best. Any of my friends can attest to that. My eyesight
could also be better, but enough about tearing apart my senses; let’s get to
what else went on today.After brunch, we went in front of the St. Louis Cathedral on Decatur where we saw street performers getting ready to show off some skill. They had a large platform set out, designed like 80’s style black and white checkerboard floors. The members of the crew were all matching in their jogging sets that were navy blue with two white stripes going down the sleeves and the sides of the pants. They started by poking fun at pedestrians that were strolling by, which really pleased all of us in the crowd. Laughter roared all through the Quarter. It was attracting attention from those walking across the street and drew them over, almost as though they were hypnotized. Once they gained a large enough crowd, they showed their crazy breakdancing skills for their age. They mentioned that they had been doing this show for 30 plus years and that the oldest member was 58. I hope at that age I can still have the agility that this group has. I was entertained from start to finish.
To
end the day, we attended our reservation at Emeril’s five-star restaurant
located on Tchoupitoulas, just a few blocks from the hotel. I will admit that I
severely underdressed for what I was about to experience. The dark and calming
ambiance was opposite of my personality, but once in the zone I knew to respect
the restaurant (well, until later that is). There were three servers waiting on
our table of six. My seat was pulled out for me. I took my seat and the waiter
pushed my seat in. He also laid a white cloth napkin in my lap. The cocktail
menu was passed around, the water was passed, and the hors d’oeuvres of three
kinds of specialty bread with pads of butter were going around the table. I
should mention that this bread was mouth watering. They all had their own
unique tastes, yet it was so easy to go from one to the next because there was
a craving for the next one. My salad entrée was so sweet and refreshing the way
all of the leafy veggies complimented the vinaigrette. For dessert was a sorbet
trio. This was also light and refreshing. The bright red was what I assumed to
be raspberry, and the orange tasted like orange or peach. When it was mixed
with the white sorbet it created another worldly dreamsicle flavor. This five
star dining experience was one for the books, but I have to stay my favorite
part was the water guy. His sole job was to make sure our water glasses never
went empty. I was purposely chugging my water just to see how quickly he would
get back to the table to refill my drink. I told him at the end of my day he was
my dude because I was never left thirsty. Certainly this will never happen when
I go to a Chili’s, so I will definitely make more times to go to famous
restaurants like Emeril’s again. I certainly hope my water glass always stays
full!
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