By Darlene C. Donloe
No one thinks twice
about having a meeting in New Orleans.
It’s a popular
destination for many reasons. There is lots of history and culture in New Orleans. And, then there’s the food.
Poboys,
jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish Étouffée, Beignets, red beans and rice, bananas
foster, king cakes and more. You hungry yet? Take your pick or take it all, you won’t be disappointed.
Of course, the
French Quarter, which has self-guided walking tour); Bourbon Street, Café Du
Monde, Preservation Hall, the Garden District, Louis Armstrong Park, are just
some of the must sees! If you can
have your meeting during Mardi Gras – you’ll be the envy of every one you know
and don’t know.
If New Orleans
is your next destination, here are just a few suggestions of places to see as
well as places to consume some of the Crescent City’s finest cuisine.
SLEEPYTIME
New Orleans is
probably the second city that never sleeps. However, at some point you’re going
to have to lay your head down. The
Roosevelt Hotel, a member of the Waldorf Astoria properties, is a great choice.
The Roosevelt
Hotel (www.therooseveltneworleans.com)
is steeped in history and even has a presidential and Hollywood connection.
This place was
hot during the Roosevelt Administration. It also boasted the likes of Louis
Armstrong, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Elvis Presley, Bob Hope as guests.
The hotel’s website
says: ‘From our legendary past – where the famous and infamous, the royal and
revered, the celebrity and the Sazerac have all starred – to our modern-day
luxury and extraordinary accommodations and meeting spaces, The Roosevelt is
the destination where memories begin.’
The rooms are
elegant. There are 504 of them and
135 luxury suites.
Every room has
state-of-the-art technology, luxurious décor and white glove service.
Other highlights
include: a 12,000 sq. ft. Guerlain Spa and Fitness Center, The Sazerac Bar, Sazerac
Restaurant, John Besh’s Domenica, Italian-inspired cuisine, a heated outdoor
pool and hot tub, poolside bar (open seasonally) and a
garden terrace.
MEETING
There is 60,000
sq. ft. of flexible meeting and banquet space and 20,000 sq. ft. of Roosevelt
Ballroom divisible into five sections. There are 23 distinctive meeting rooms,
a Huey P. Long Executive Boardroom and a full-service business center.
There are a
number of rooms on various levels of the behemoth hotel (and in various sizes)
in which to have events.
The New Orleans
Convention Center is only a short three-minute cab ride from the hotel.
The ride from
the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to the Roosevelt Hotel is
about 30 minutes!
SIGHTS &
SOUNDS
The New Orleans
African American Museum (www.noaam.org), is
chock full of historical information on the cultural heritage of New
Orleans.
NOAAM’s mission is
to preserve, interpret and promote the African American cultural heritage of
New Orleans, with a particular emphasis on the Tremé community, the oldest
surviving African American neighborhood in the country.
New Orleans African American Museum
The Museum is
housed in the Tremé Villa, considered by some to be one of the finest examples
of a Creole villa in the city. Built in 1828-29, the home retains many of its
original decorative details. There are five restored buildings to visit. NOAAM
is the only institution in the New Orleans region that is dedicated to
preserving and presenting the history of Tremé and the African American people
of New Orleans.
Plan to spend as
much time as you wish in the serene gardens surrounding the villa. Located on
the site of a former plantation, the beautifully landscaped grounds cover one
city block. There are three main courtyards on the front, rear, and side, which
also features a gazebo in the center of the yard. Wear comfortable shoes, as
many of the courtyards are made of original handmade bricks. The villa is
available for weddings, bridal teas, and small meetings and receptions.
BACKSTREET
CULTURAL MUSEUM
For something a
little different, check out the Backstreet Cultural Museum. It’s a hoot!
Located in the Tremé
community, The Backstreet Cultural Museum (www.backstreetmuseum.org) was
incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1999. Today, the museum,
reportedly, holds the world’s most comprehensive collection related to New
Orleans’ African American community-based masking and processional traditions,
including Mardi Gras Indians, jazz funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs,
Baby Dolls, and Skull and Bone gangs. The museum’s filmed records of more than 500 events,
constitute the most cohesive archive documenting these cultural
traditions. The museum hosts
public performances of music and dance, provides outreach programs, and creates
an annual book, Keeping Jazz Funerals Alive, that chronicles the year’s jazz
funerals.
YUM, YUM
New Orleans is
known for its cuisine. There are any number of restaurants with a mouth-watering
menu that is sure to satisfy your taste buds.
(photo by Darlene Donloe)
If you want to
start the day off the right way in New Orleans, have breakfast at
Brennan’s. This is indulgence at
its best. Known for their Bananas Foster, a Brennan creation, executive chef
Lazonne Randolph takes care to make every meal a succulent delight. Banana’s Foster, prepared right at the
table, consists of rum, butter, brown sugar, and, of course, bananas. Breakfast was topped off with a HUGE
piece of CHOCOLATE CAKE! It’s so decadent, but so good! Of course, you can get
more than just breakfast there. You can also have some the New Orleans
standards: gumbo, Po-boys, red beans and rice, jambalaya, beignets, pralines
and etoufee. If you want to recreate any of the recipes, be sure to buy the
restaurant’s Breakfast at Brennan’s and
Dinner, Too cookbook. www.brennansneworleans.com
DOOKY CHASE'S…is
clearly one of the most popular soul food/Creole restaurants in New Orleans.
When you walk through the door you’re greeted with a large picture of then
presidential candidate Barack Obama, seated at a table with a look that clearly
shows he is satisfied with his meal. If you’re lucky, you’ll see or even meet
chef Leah Chase, who is known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine.
The restaurant
suffered some water damage after Hurricane Katrina, but has since bounced back.
Chase, whose father-in-law opened Dooky Chase's in 1941, lived in a FEMA trailer
while the family struggled to renovate and reopen the building.
During the Civil
Rights Movement the eatery was a hub for notables like Ray Charles, Thurgood
Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Duke Ellington and Jesse Jackson.
Why they were
there was no secret! They wanted some of the best soul food around, which
includes fried catfish fillet, gumbo, red beans and rice, yellow squash with
shrimp topped off with some smack-your-mama peach cobbler.
The menu also
includes crunchy, dry-battered fried chicken, shrimp stuffed with more crab
than filler, hot sausage and salt pork mustard greens. Whoo Hoo! That’s some good eatin’!
Olivier's Peach Cobbler (photo by Darlene Donloe)
OLIVIER’S CREOLE
RESTAURANT….”The Art of Dining, the science of cooking.” Authentic Creole cuisine
is the specialty. A fifth-generation, family-owned restaurant located in the
French Quarter, Olivier’s serves up mouth-watering food. The Gumbo Sampler is incredible. Order it and you’ll get three different kinds of gumbo (rile,
okra and roux). There is also a Taster’s Platter that features shrimp, fish,
oysters, salmon cake and crab. There’s also Creole rabbit, Shrimp Scampi, pork
medallions, roast breast of duck and more. It’s all out-of-this-world
good. Several of the Olivier
brothers walk around the restaurant visiting various tables and making sure all
of their guests are happy. The ambiance is classy and pleasant. For the last
two decades, the Olivier family has preserved the old and perfected the new
Creole cooking traditions. Recipes presented by the Olivier family reflect the
finest of old Creole culture still in place. Be sure to you’re your Olivier’s Restaurant Creole Cuisine
Cookbooklet.
www.olivierscreole.com
The Grill Room
THE GRILL ROOM….is
an alternative to the traditional New Orleans cuisine. It’s an upscale eatery located in the five-star
Windsor Court Hotel. The eatery,
which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, is the only 4-star/4-diamond restaurant
in New Orleans. Menu items
include: Blue Crab Salad, Seared American Red Snapper, Maple Leaf Farms Duck
Breast, Bronzed Diver Scallops, Roasted Local Grouper, Grilled Dry Aged Strip Loin,
Farro Risotto, Duck Fat Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and more. Any one of the
entrees will leave you more than satisfied. Enjoy nightly live entertainment. www.windsorcourthotel.com
THE HOUSE OF
BLUES…has a fabulous Gospel Jazz Brunch that highlights inspiring gospel
performances.
The buffet
includes some scrumptious chicken jambalaya, bakes chicken, pancakes, cheddar
grits and omelets, roasted garlic potatoes, bacon & sausage links,
scrambled eggs,
assorted muffins,
bagels, mini croissants, biscuits with country gravy, omelets stations, fruit,
peel & eat boiled shrimp, cole slaw and
potato salad, carving top of round of beef, country ham, or Turkey. The
champagne is flowing and the white chocolate bread pudding with Bourbon sauce
is fabulous.
WHERE TO EAT - HONORABLE
MENTIONS
FOOD: Check out
Loretta’s New Orleans Authentic Pralines (www.lorettaspralines.com), Mother’s
Restaurant (www.mothersrestaurant.net),
Boswell’s Jamaican Grill and Old Gentilly Spicy Kitchen.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse.
Not sure where
to eat in New Orleans? There is a
simple solution. Check out the “Where To Eat In New Orleans Tour,” (WTEINO) helmed
by Nadra T. DeMagnus. It’s a two-hour,
riding tour of off the beaten path restaurants. The food is exceptional. During
the tour participants sample items from several restaurants. A tour favorite is the New Orleans
Original Daiquiri Drive-Thru. Be warned that the drinks can be strong. Proceed
with caution! No tour is the same.
The goal of WTEINO is to face every aspect of world hunger one meal at a
time. www.wheretoeatinneworleans.com
Who dat?
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