NEW ORLEANS - LAGNIAPPE*

Here is where we stayed. The long gray area at the center of the lower edge of the map is the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, LA in Plaquemines Parish (a parish is the equivalent of a county). It's a twenty minute drive into New Orleans, longer by ferry.


View Larger Map

Our campsite at NAS JRB Belle Chasse, LA. The campground is barely a year old and was usually only half full.

The Garmin showed us below sea level in the campground. It ranged between 2' and 14'. below. We were very close to the Mississippi River but never saw it - only the levee.

Piggly Wiggly grocery store. There are 600 Piggly Wiggly stores, primarily in the Southeast.

King cake. Carnival or Mardi Gras is the season for king cake in New Orleans. A plastic baby doll is hidden in the cake. The person who finds the baby in their slice is expected to buy the next cake or host the next party.

King cake in Whole Foods in Metairie. King cakes are sold almost everywhere on the Gulf Coast during the season.

One of Sally's two requests during her visit was an Oyster Po'Boy at Acme Oyster House. (The other was to watch the Superbowl).

Oyster shuckers at Acme Oyster House. Your oysters are shucked to order.

The Oyster Po'Boy Linda has dreamed of for years. She likes it without anything on it but mustard. It was as good as she remembered.

On Superbowl Sunday we went to brunch at Crescent Pie & Sausage Company. Their chef had competed on Bravo's Top Chef New Orleans. It was drizzling but warm enough to sit on the porch.

Sally and Linda at brunch on the porch.

Linda's Pork 'Ancholadas' were delicious.

Tree roots across the street from our brunch spot.

Sally, the self-proclaimed 'beer snob' selected some interesting looking local brews to enjoy during the game. We liked some of them so well that we bought more the next day.

At the airport, Sally posed for one more photo with Linda. It wasn't easy to say goodbye.

Graffiti on a fence in the Bywater neighborhood.

House across the street from St. Roch's Cemetery #1. It's not a 'bad' neighborhood, just a mixed one, as is most of the city.

The neutral ground in front of St. Roch's #1.

Detail from above photo shows campaign signs for the current mayor, Mitch Landrieu. When Linda and Sally lived here, his father Moon Landrieu was mayor. Moon's daughter Mary is the U.S. Senator from Louisiana.

Although it didn't feel that way to us, New Orleans has shrunk. In 1970 the population of New Orleans was 593,000. By 2000 it had fallen to 484,668. After the 2005 Katrina evacuation, residents trickled back slowly, if at all. The Census Bureau estimated the city's population six months post-Katrina as 224,700 or 49.4% of the total one year earlier. In 2012 the Census estimate was 343,829, a 29.06% drop from 2000.

In which case, you can honk all you want.

LA 23 BBQ across he street from the base. It was delicious. The paper towels are essential.

Behind the BBQ stand is the levee and the Mississippi River.

We had some truly terrible meals, too. A large community of Vietnamese immigrants settled in coastal Louisiana. Our guide book praised several of the Vietnamese restaurants so we had dinner at one of them. It just wasn't good.

A disappointing meal at Biscuits & Buns on Banks. While we did learn about  Maque Choux, a traditional dish of corn, bell pepper, onion and tomato, what we were served was not the traditional one.

We made many, many trips up and down LA 23 going to and from New Orleans. A lighted sign caught our attention because it said:

LOUISIANA STATE QUILT EXHIBIT 

BELLE CHASSE AUDITORIUM 

8 - 5PM

What an opportunity! Excitedly, we stopped at the auditorium one afternoon. Here is what we found.

The Louisiana State Quilt.

Center square.

Plaquemines is the parish where we were staying.

New Orleans is in Orleans Parish.

The quilt was made to commemorate the state's bicentennial in 2012. Here is more information Louisiana State Bicentennial Quilt.

Maurepas Foods in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. We had one of our best meals here.

The small pastry plate had a Jalapeño Biscuit and Cocoa Nib Coffeecake.

Merguez and Eggs with Orange & Cardamom Aebleskivers and Country Gravy.

La Cocinita at the Mid-city Farmer's Market. The chef is another Top Chef competitor so we ignored the rain and our colds and went to the market. Our lunches were delicious and the arepas the best ever.

* Lagniappe (lan yap) - A little something extra such as the thirteenth doughnut given by merchants. Something extra, for good measure.