Who's your Momma, are you Catholic, and can you make a Roux?

I got in last night to New Orleans around 830 and met my friend Alison at the train station and we promptly made a B-line for the French Quarter and a place to eat! We stopped at Chartres House Cafe one block up from Decatur Street which runs parrallel with the Riverwalk along the Mississippi. The food there was great and I got to taste a number of New Orleans fare all together with their sampler. It included Red Beans & Rice, Gumbo, and Jambalaya served with some crusty french bread. We then proceeded to do the touristy thing and walk down Bourbon Street near where it connects with Canal and see the Bourbon Street Brass band and then I got a Hurricane at Pat O'Brians.

This morning I started off the day with a Cable Car ride down into the Quarter and then a brisk walk to the St. Louis Cathedral which is also off Chartres Street near Jackson Square. The Cathedral was beautiful inside as can be expected and even had a concert happening there later in the day that I dropped back in for. After mass I made my way across Jackson Square to the well known Cafe du Monte and ordered myself the standard cafe au lait and a plateful of beignets and both were delectable (thank you Cindy for the tip). I then proceeded to stroll around and do a little window shopping since the crowd here in New Orleans stays up so late they also don't tend to open their shops till 9,10, or 11 in the morning. I kinda liked the majority of the shops while they were closed at least b/c they didn't put the trashy stuff out in the window that you would come to expect during Marti gras, a lot of the shops bank pretty heavily off the marketing of Marti gras. As I scoured the Quarter for all the Creole culture I could handle I started getting hungry and headed over to the Central Grocery off Decatur and got myself a muffaletta sandwich, which was excellent and a whole lot better then what I was expecting.

Well check out the pictures cause I need to get running out to go on a swamp tour and see some gators!