Excuse me miss, there's a scorpion in my shot

Last weekend, I had my first taste of New Orleans. Don't worry, I forgot to bring my camera, so there's tons of pictures. My flight got in early and I grabbed a cab. Off we go, and the cab driver starts trying to make conversation... but I'm not sure he was speaking my language. I don't know what it was... it wasn't Creole, it wasn't southern, and it sure as hell wasn't English. It was some sort of hick/bayou/I'm-my-own-Grandpa language. So much for conversation.

I get to my hotel in the French Quarter right on Canal Street, zip up to my hotel room (46th floor - I had some amazing views of Lake Ponchartrain) then head out to the first taste of local New Orleans cuisine. Another cab ride later (this one actually spoke my language), and I arrive at Dante's Kitchen to join Susanna, her parents, and her brother Thad and sister-in-law Dierdre. My first time meeting the siblings. This wasn't one of those Bourbon Street or tourist trap attractions - it was a nice local locale. Dinner was fantastic - redfish topped with crab meat. This wouldn't be the last time I battled the redfish or crab meat.

Fire fountain at Pat O'Brien's

After dinner, I got my next taste of New Orleans. This one was a little more touristy though. Off to Bourbon Street to hit Pat O'Brien's for some Hurricanes. As I stepped onto Bourbon, I began thinking of how much of an apology I owe Philadelphia. This is the worst smelling street in the world, no question. Too bad it's like all of Philadelphia that smells just marginally better. The Hurricanes were pretty good, but very sweet and two will knock you on your ass. But the coolest thing was the fire fountains. They're actually water fountains that have fire IN the water. Since I don't have my own picture, here's someone random person from the internet's picture on the right.

Friday's late breakfast brought me to a popular tourist and local spot on the Mississippi - Cafe du Monde. Apparently none of the tourists realize there's no line to be seated and you just walk in and take whatever spot is open. Dumbasses. I mean there is NO way that would've been me if I went on my own. They make these amazing little pastries called beignets. It's like little puffs of fried dough completely covered in powdered sugar. If you make it out of there without the Feds thinking you're running coke or trying to orchestrate the next anthrax scare, I'll be impressed. Good thing I was wearing a dark suit. A dark suit? At breakfast? Well that seems weird. Why am I wearing a suit to breakfast you ask? Oh... you didn't? That's OK, I'll give you a minute to get the question out since I know it's on the tip of your tongue.

Lunch. The answer is lunch. I got to do one of the coolest things ever and really felt like a true New Orleanian. Susanna's father took me and Thad to the Boston Club. It's a private gentleman's club dating back to 1841. This is a traditional gentlemen's club - not the kind with naked ladies. In fact, women aren't even allowed there at all. Suckers. The Sazeracs were the best I've ever had. For lunch itself, I had my first taste of gumbo followed by Pompano topped with crab meat. Fantastic. After our late meal, we stopped by another famous place - the Napolean House - for another couple drinks before meeting back up with the ladies, then prepping for dinner. We had a great dinner at the Ritz. I had the surf and turf, but unfortunately I can't remember what the turf was, besides delicious. Susanna and I got a nightcap at Arnaud's.

Saturday brought on my first non-seafood containing meal. Can you tell much of this trip revolved around food? I had my first Po Boy at Tracey's. I was advised to get the roast beef. It was delicious. Even better, however, was the fried pickles. Holy crap. I'd go back just for those. During lunch Susanna's other brother, Cam, finally made it to town. I had no idea what I was in for. Cam has two little ones at home and managed to get out to New Orleans for one night to celebrate Susanna's birthday with us. I had no idea what I was in for. Our next stop was Lucy's. I was warned ahead of time for what this meant... the McElroy sibling tradition of Lucy's special - triple tequila shot with a worm in it. Of course, I could have only hoped for that. Apparently they have a new thing. A tequila shot with a scorpion in it. Yeah, a scorpion. And yeah, we did two of them. See below. The second shot turned out to be funny though. Susanna's scorpion got stuck on her lip while she did the shot. Tequila = gone, Scorpion = still on Susanna's lip. At least we got t-shirts!

At dinner, I got to experience another New Orleans must-do. Dinner at Galatoire's. This is the type of restaurant where you pick your favorite server and you don't use a menu. The waiter recommends the fish that's the most fresh and you order based off that. I had the redfish again. With crab meat on top. It was delicious. After dinner, we went to the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel for a nightcap. You guessed it - sazeracs.

Susanna's parents and brothers left early Sunday morning, so we had the morning and early afternoon to enjoy and explore New Orleans. We strolled around the French Quarter and Jackson Square. The artists had some REALLY cool works of art there. I just wish I had more time to poke around some of the neat shops (and space to carry anything I wanted to buy). We also took the street car to the Garden District and walked down Magazine Street and I got to see Susanna's absolutely gorgeous neighborhood in which she grew up. There are some beautiful and incredibly historic houses all over, but I was most impressed with the ironwork that adorns most of the houses. It was here in the Garden District that I took my only picture. Of a flower. With my phone. On the right.

This was definitely one of my longer posts, but I think that just shows how much I really enjoyed my weekend. Great company in a pretty cool city. I'm actually excited to go back. Hopefully next time I'll get to explore more of the city. And scorpions won't be a thing.