Last weekend I went to New Orleans. It is my third time to head through the city. Several years back....when I was running, I had added the New Orleans Rock N Roll half marathon to my wish list. It was the last one left sitting on that list. Unfortunately, I haven't been running much in the last year. I kept telling myself I would start, but life has been a little hectic lately. Running takes time. And more than the time to get physically ready, I just haven't been there mentally. It was such a good thing for me for several years, but now I'm sort of floundering. I ran a race in December and I trained a LITTLE. My body mostly relied on adrenaline and muscle memory. Since that time, I have not done a single thing. I had already signed up for this race as 'motivation' to get my butt in gear, but all I wanted to do the last few months has been huddle under blankets and read. So....heading down to New Orleans with a very short time scheduled I wasn't sure if I would even do the race. I decided last minute to walk it. It took forever. Side note, if you DO like to run, this was a really easy course. I'm not sure there is a single hill. The only challenge is the significant number of pot holes in the road. It was a course filled with jazz bands and it took us through some of the French Quarter, which was fun. In the end, it's finished. I'm not signing up for any races any day soon and I'm going to go relearn what it is that gets me motivated.
As for the rest of the stay....it was all about the food. There were some not so great meals, but the highlights were....Atchafalaya. The plus is there was a great jazz band and the food was really good (chicken and biscuits for me, but apparently the shrimp and grits is what brings all the people). It was hopping with locals and we ended up waiting 2 hours for a table, but the band and the weather saved that from being a miserable wait!
After the race I grabbed these things that were very much like Beneits, but they had rice inside and this strange lemon honey water, but they were strangely good. The best part was the atmosphere at the restaurant, Cane Table. It was a quite little nook behind a thriving sidewalk along the French Quarter. It's no Café Du Monde, but it was a neat atmosphere with (well deserved) good reviews.
I also grabbed dinner with my pal Maurine's little sister, Joy who lives near by and I got to meat her baby boy. We headed to Mother's. Again, the line out this door was outrageous, but the food really was good! It's an old deli. I got the ham b/c my uber driver assured me it was the best ham around (which the sign says), but they had a ton of great looking deli sandwiches. It was a nice break from all the traditional grits/chicken/jambalaya etc. I would definitely go again.
...and as if I didn't eat enough. I also snagged a biscuit at Copeland's at the airport. Normally, I wouldn't post about a biscuit, but, by George, this was one might-tee fine biscuit.
This is a bit of a hodge podge of a post, but the truth is, I need it to live here. Should I find myself in New Orleans a 4th time, these are some of the experiences I don't want to forget!
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