Let the Good Times Roll

So I spent the back half of last week and the weekend in The Big Easy (New Orleans) for Mardi Gras. I was down there for work, or "work" if you will, and decided to stay for the weekend to enjoy the craziness that is Mardi Gras celebrations and the carry-over from the Saints victory that was still rocking and rolling a week later. I was fortunate enough to do the same thing last year for work and play, and the fiance, who at that time was just "the boy," came down to hang out too. He came down again this year as well and we had the best time. If you haven't ever been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I highly recommend it...with one catch. I recommend going the weekend before Fat Tuesday - I can't even imagine what the city would be like Monday and Tuesday. We go out Friday and Saturday nights and that's enough to tire you out for a week. The crowds are unbelievable on Bourbon Street, and only get more irritating the more time you spend around them.

The first time you go is great, watching the parades, getting into catching beads and the other stuff they throw from the floats, pushing people out of the way to catch the beads from the balconies on Bourbon, stumbling through the trash in the streets, avoiding the religious zealots protesting the celebration and handing out literature detailing your heathen ways, and the fiery ways you'll be punished in the afterlife.

Since this was our second time at Mardi Gras, we didn't deal so much with the Bourbon Street mess, but instead found some great dive bars and, most importantly, explored the restaurant scene, which is what New Orleans is also known for.

If you go, here are a few MUSTS you should eat at...disclaimer, we ate at a number of these through my work, so we didn't have to pay full price for most of the meals, allowing us to become incredibly spoiled over the week, as these places can definitely add up. However, it's completely worth it to splurge on a few of these:

- Restaurant August: Owned by Chef John Besh, who you may know from Top Chef Masters, The Next Iron Chef (runner up) and his new cookbook that is everywhere, this restaurant features some delicious dishes that are pleasing to even the most picky eater (me.) I don't eat seafood, so you can imagine how hard it is to find a good meal in a city on the water. However, I highly recommend the yard egg raviolo with brown butter and sage for an appetizer to share and the filet of beef for the meal (OMG). They will change your life. I was also told that the Redfish and the crab-stuffed gnocchi were a religious experience.

- Commander's Palace: Executive Chef Tory McPhail knows how to keep his customers happy, namely by visiting certain tables during the meal to chat you up and make recommendations on desserts, wine pairings, and just make you feel cool. We were treated to his personal recommendations on the menu, which were all amazing - antelope, rabbit, lamb and veal chop for the entree were all melt in your mouth, and the ice cream (I think it was buttermilk) and strawberry shortcake desserts made me want to bathe in them.

- Bacco: The fiance and I celebrated our anniversary with a wonderful dinner out on the town the last night we were in town. The fiance had done some research and this was a restaurant that kept coming up as a fantastic place to eat. It had a great atmosphere - very classy and elegant, white table cloths, marble bar, waiters in crisp shirts and long aprons, the works. We started with an appetizer of Calamari Creole (I was feeling brave and tried the dreaded seafood) and it was amazing. The calamari wasn't chewy or tough, like I've had before, but was light and flavorful and the sauce had a spice that really complimented the flavor. There were a few things on the menu for dinner that looked very appetizing so you really couldn't go wrong here.

- Finally, our last day in town, we went out for lunch at The Ugly Dog Saloon, which is known for its BBQ and it delivered! We both got the sliders on special, which featured chicken, beef and pork, along with their homemade BBQ sauce that had just enough kick to give it flavor without being too hot for my taste.

Any way you slice it, you'll have a blast in New Orleans. I'm looking forward to going again, maybe not during Mardi Gras, to check out more of the city - its architecture, the haunted tours, more restaurants :)

Where do you recommend going for a taste of The Crescent City, so I can start my list for next time?