NOLA

My good friend Erik and I just spent a few days down in the Crescent City. New Orleans is one of my favorite American cities, largely for the genuine southern hospitality and outstanding regional cuisine.

Oh, and the whole celebration of vice and turpitude doesn't hurt either.

Some random thoughts about the trip,

1. Beignets are very special. You would think that fried dough is just, well, fried dough. I have eaten plenty of zeppoli and funnel cake in my life, but a beignet from Cafe Du Monde is truly a fritter sui generis. Hey, maybe it's the heady gulf air clouding my judgment, but I still stand by this.

2. Everything that we had, from the pan-fried trout to the roast duck, at Brigtsen's was, not unexpectedly, amazing. However, the standout was a whale of a softshell crab prepared with pecans and a lemon bordelaise sauce. Simply wonderful.

3. Strippers can be very catty.

4. The service and hospitality offered in New Orleans is a welcome relief from some of the shit that we have to put up with in NYC.

5. Coop's Place still makes great, inexpensive gumbo and jambalaya.

6. I can't believe the doorman at that club willfully took and ate our leftover food.

6. Bourbon Street is still a dirty, tourist-laden mess.

7. You know lady, I don't think the girls dancing across the street appreciate being accused of having HIV (see #3).

8. Audubon Park is always worth the charmingly slow streetcar ride down St. Charles.

9. Jacques-Imo's closes during parts of August. Call ahead lest you suffer sore disappointment.

10. Permissive open container laws are a good thing.

11. I dig the bars and vibe in the Faubourg Marigny section of the city, just past the eastern edge of the Quarter.

12. Any band fronted by 5 trombone players that covers Black Sabbath and The Egdar Winter Group gets 'nuff respect.