QB8 Weekend Escapes-New Orleans
Samantha and I love going to concerts as one of our favorite date night things to experience together. This past November we pulled together a destination concert getaway with our youngest son Ben. This was all of our first experience to New Orleans and this was to be his first concert experience ever!
We are HUGE Keith Urban fans and have literally seen at least a dozen of his concerts, locally and in other parts of the states. One of our bucket list trips is to see him play in his native Australia…one day!
When I heard he was playing in New Orleans I knew we had to jump on that! This was ultimately a surprise gift for my wife for I think it was Valentines Day. I told her we were going to see Keith that year but didn’t tell her where or when. When it got closer I finally revealed and let Ben know he was coming too! One of Ben and my favorite movies is Chef because we are huge foodies and both of us drool every time we watch the beignet scene! We could not go to Cafe du Monde without Ben!
NOLA here we come!
We were going to NOLA at the beginning of November which I later learned is an awesome time to go. We miss all the Mardi Gras and Halloween craziness plus the weather is so much cooler which makes it great for walking around.
Ritz Carlton New Orleans November 2018
We chose to stay at the Ritz Carlton because it was in a great location as a home base for what we wanted to do…and because I had some great reward points-lol! When we checked in we were in love with the architecture and charm of the hotel. The Ritz never disappoints! When checking in they offered us some of their homemade gumbo and even gave us the recipe (which I will happily share with you below!)…Ben and Samantha couldn’t stop talking about it the whole trip! I had booked a jr suite so we could all stay in the same room. The suite was absolutely gorgeous and the Ritz had a nice welcome package waiting for us including champagne and a delicious smelling candle to take home! Did I mention I used mostly points to book this?? I was not expecting a welcome package, but was very grateful! We loved it there!
Ritz Carlton Seafood and Andouille Gumbo
Serves 10-12
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup canola oil
1 lb diced andouille or smoked sausage
2 cups diced onion
½ cup diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp file powder
1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tbsp Tabasco
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
3 bay leaves
8 cups seafood or shrimp stock
1 lb crawfish tails
1 lb medium peeled shrimp
1 lb jumbo lump crab
3 cups cooked rice
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 bunch sliced green onion
Make a roux by heating oil in a heavy bottomed cast iron pot over high heat. Whisk flour in to the hot oil. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking until the roux turns deep brown, about 15 minutes.
Add onions to the roux and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and continue until the roux is a dark brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the smoked sausage and stir for 1 minute.
Add the celery, bell peppers, onion, garlic, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder. Cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, seafood stock and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim off the fat.
Add Worcestershire, file powder and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat off the top Add seafood and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice, garnish with parsley and green onions.
While we had a lot of recommendations of restaurants to go to (my good friend Amy hooked me up with all the best “to do" things to do and see, and eat and drink in NOLA), none were available for last minute dinner reservations that night and we were stahvin! After learning we love Italian, the concierge recommended the Italian Barrel (www.theitalianbarrel.com). We took a Lyft to get there and loved how lively the city streets were as we zipped through the different neighborhoods. New Orleans feels very hedonistic, the land of overindulgence in all things! All different types of live music was coming from the doors and windows of every club and restaurant along the way! When the driver said “we’re here” at first I questioned our choice because it did not seem like there was much around in terms of a nice place to enjoy a good meal. As soon as we walked through the door we were transported into a lovely, inviting, small venue with intoxicating aromas and low lit candles on every table….heaven! Then as we were reviewing the menu the waitress told us the specials of “Chef Samantha” which was another good sign. The final slam dunk was that they offered Brunello on their wine menu which always makes me happy! The meal was absolutely fantastic from start to finish! We started with some salads and prosciutto e melone (one of my favorite things to order just because I love to say it!), I got the filet with parmesan, lemon and arugula and Samantha and Ben got some amazing homemade pasta dishes. While the gelato for dessert was delicious, we were bummed they sold out of the chef’s Grandmother’s homemade tiramisu…just makes an excuse for us to go back! The service was amazing as was everything honestly about this place. Highly recommend!!
The next morning we had to start the day off with beignets and chicory coffee at the Cafe Dumonde (http://www.cafedumonde.com). They are the original coffee stand and were established in 1862! They are located right in the French Quarter which is a super fun area! The line was monstrous when we got there but they are super efficient and the line moves pretty well. There is indoor and outdoor seating and usually a live band and/or singers serenading you outside as you wait. Make note that they do not accept debit or credit cards so you must take cash. The wait was certainly worth it as I think you can tell from our faces! We had all had beignets before but none come close to these originals! While they are light and pillow like, what sets these apart is the “chew” factor of the dough! It is perfect and then it is blanketed in a powdered sugar snow storm! Perfect complement to the delicious chicory coffee which cuts right through the sweetness of it all! Droooooool!!!!
After breakfast we walked the city and honestly had to have walked a 10k! It was a stunningly beautiful day! We loved looking at all the cool buildings and culture, voodoo shops, bars, awesome sculptures in the park and the people watching was beyond compare! We also stopped on the city steps to watch these incredible street performers that were hysterical and incredible! There is plenty of shopping all throughout the city if that is what you are looking for including a whole mall of outlets. The walk along the water line was beautiful! As we headed our way back to the French Market area, we stopped for lunch at the Gazebo Cafe (www.gazebocafenola.com). Again, they had some great live music playing and plenty of outdoor seating. I got a delicious citrus bloody mary and we all had different NOLA specialties…gumbo, red beans and rice and some absolutely incredible jumbalaya, or what I was calling YUMbalaya!
After that little nibble we did more walking and shopping in the French Market which was a lot of fun! While they had plenty of tshirts and chachki’s for sale, it was not your typical souvenir markets. They had lots of artists crafts as well as alligator heads, voodoo items and culinary spices…very unique and interesting!
After a day of walking and site seeing, we went back to the hotel for a quick rest and to change before the concert that night. Before heading downtown for the concert, we made a quick stop to the Roosevelt Hotel (www.therooseveltneworleans.com). This place was stunning! In fact, next time we visit the city I will probably book here because I want to take more of it in! The building itself is absolutely gorgeous in terms of the detail and architecture! They have some amazing restaurants as well. We had tried to make it into Domenica Restaurant (pizzas looked amazing!) but it was packed and the wait was ridiculous! Instead, we stepped into one of the gorgeous lounges and had an amazing burger while being serenaded by a Michael Buble-esque singer the whole night! If we weren’t on our way to go see Keith I could have spent hours there listening to this guy!
Next was the AMAZING Keith Urban show! He was playing at the Smoothie King Center in NOLA. For us die hard Keith Urban fans, it was truly incredible! After the opening number, Kelsea Ballerini, Keith came on early and ended up playing about 2 1/2 hours straight! It was the longest we had ever seen him play! He said NOLA holds a special place in his heart. When he was first starting out, the first club venue he played at where it was sold out was in NOLA! Lucky us! He is the ultimate performer! I will not go into too much detail here because I will write a separate review of his concert later in the music section of my site but if you have never seen him play live before book your tickets the next time he is in your hometown, you will not be disappointed! The highlight of the concert was he walked right in front of us and Samantha and him even touched hands!
To finish the night, we decided to head back to the hotel and have a nightcap and listen to some live jazz in the hotel bar and club. We had some amazing espresso martinis and of course one more dose of beignets! The band was awesome and it was a great way to end the night and an amazing quick trip to this cool city! In the morning we took our time getting up and enjoying every last drop of this gorgeous hotel before heading back to California. New Orleans, we loved you and will definitely be back for more fun!
