Monday in the "Crescent City"

We had another great day. We were still full from our late dinner last night. So, we decided to have a "light' breakfast at Cafe Du Monde. I figure, you've already seen two pictures of Beignets and Cafe Au Lait - so I won't bore you with those again.

We walked down to the RiverWalk, which is a huge mall on the opposite end of the French Quarter. It is by the Convention Center. We also wandered through Jax Brewery, which has been turned into a fun indoor mall full of shops and a food court. Unfortunately, we notice that there are a lot of vacancies, and not nearly as many patrons as we are used to. I suppose these are indications that New Orleans is still recovering post Katrina.

Here is a pic of Richard and JJ in the Spanish Plaza outside the entrance to the Riverwalk.

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum has opened in the Riverwalk Mall. It was VERY interesting. A lot of great information on Southern Food. Click HERE to find out more about this unusual collection!

The museum also displays information about dinners at the White House. The collage below is of Thomas Jefferson's place settings.

The Museum of the American Cocktail is also housed here. Very interesting collection of cocktail history! Click HERE to find out more about it.

Here are a couple of displays that we found interesting. Check out the information on the Tantalus and Jamaican Ginger. We had never heard of "jake leg" before! Thank goodness we don't have to drink "bathtub gin" any more!

Original newspapers discussing prohibition and the repeal of the amendment.

Cindy particularly enjoyed the information about Absinthe. Very appropriate collection for New Orleans. Also, we quite liked the "tiki" collection and martini grouping from the '60's!

And, what day in New Orleans with the Mulligan's would be complete without a description of the overwhelmingly fantastic meal we ate?? We dined at Emeril Lagasse's restaurant NOLA in the French Quarter. Emeril has three restaurants in New Orleans. One, Delmonico's, is still closed since Katrina. NOLA and Emeril's in the Warehouse District just reopened in September.

We had the most delicious bottle of Cabernet from the Fog Alley vineyard. (JJ didn't have his ID with him, so he wasn't allowed to enjoy the wine with us. But, he drank his weight in Sprite!)

Cindy started with the daily gumbo special. It contained just the right amount of spice, ham hocks, black eyed peas, and andouille sausage. It was fantastic beyond words.

Richard and Cindy both had the Grilled Rib Eye with German Style Fingerling Potatoes, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Coarse Grain Mustard Cream and Roasted Leeks.

JJ had the Filet Mignon with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Worcestershire Sauce and Walnut-Blue Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. Well, he didn't actually eat his Portobello Mushroom - but Cindy thoroughly enjoyed it!

I will end as I began this blog... it was another wonderful day in the Crescent City! Tomorrow will be our last full day here. Cindy is already sad to be thinking about leaving. We have a full day planned - filled more sites to see, fabulous dining, and meeting up with some new friends in the evening. Can't wait!