NOLA Burlesque Festival: Friday Night Mondo Show

We had tickets to both the Strut and to the Mondo Burlesque Shows. On "Mondo Night" it was back to the girls... The costumes, jokes, and dancing is always a blast to be a part of. There were dancers from Australia, England, New York, Chicago, and even New Orleans. One of the oldest living Burlesque dancers (72 years old now) Tammi True performed a quick number. She was a burlesque dancer in the 1960's at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club In Dallas- a bit of living burlesque history you could say. Matt was even picked out of the crowd to be a recipient of one of "Sapphire Snow's" cupcakes. Too Funny!!!!! We dressed up for the show. I had my corset and boa and Matt was in his favorite pin-stripped suits and fedora. It was a very New Orleans kinda of night :)

NOLA Burlesque Fetival: Thursday Night Strut

I don't exactly know how to truly capture the experience of the Burlesque Strut. When I bought the tickets, the only info I had to go on was that there would be male burlesque dancers and I assumed (wrongly) that this was going to be one hell of a drag show. Wrong. I don't really know what it was. It was not a male strip show, although it resembled one. It was not a drag show, it did not resemble one. It was not a musical or a play. There were men, announced as winners of various dancing awards performing to a range of somewhat-burlesque-y music and during most acts, most of their clothes did come off. However, one was dressed as a unicorn, another a butterfly, Liberace, and various other strange unexpected get-ups. Some of it was funny- the usual campy burlesque humor. Some of it made me sad I didn't just hit up Drag Bingo somewhere for a few dollars. Regardless, it was surely a new experience and isn't that why we're in New Orleans to begin with?

Below we are at Harrah's Casino waiting for the show to start!

Happy National Cheeseburger Day!

Not that anyone needs an excuse to eat a juicy cheesy burger, but if you did need a reason, today you'd have one. We joined our friends for dinner at The Company Burger, where they butcher, grind, and cook all their own burgers. Pretty cool, huh? The burgers were delicious (and so was the Mae Mae's Fruit Punch Tea)!



Camping on the Beach!

The beach seems to be a weekly thing for us these days. Isn't that just wonderful? It is so nice living close enough to the ocean that you can literally drive there on a weekday afternoon for dinner and sunset and drive back home. This time we ventured to a new beach destination: Grand Isle, LA. Grand Isle is 2 hours south of New Orleans. Everyone thinks New Orleans is at the bottom, but really there are several swamps and waterway cities between NOLA and the ocean. We camped in Grand Isle State Park on the beach...on the sand...literally our front yard was the ocean! It was awesome. Although it was a bit hot, it cooled off in the evening and the breezes were perfect. All night we could hear the waves crashing right outside the tent. For dinner we cooked steaks on the grill and enjoyed a beach campfire too. We will definitely be doing this again!

Sundays are Better on the Beach

After lunch and catching part of the Saints vs. Falcons game, we let the top down and headed to Biloxi beach... nothing like driving down the beach road with the wind in your hair! What a beautiful way to spend the day.

Who Dat Beat the Falcons!?!

Everyone in New Orleans is a Saints Fan. It's just a requirement- for your safety, if nothing else!! Today, the Saints played their first game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. We won 23-17! Who Dat?!?

Po'Boys: A Way of Life

The dictionary says that the po'boy is "a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-like Louisiana French bread." However, a po'boy is much more than a sandwich. Some would say it's a way of life.

When writing about this history of the New Orleans po'boy, Michael Mizell-Nelson said "Poor boy sandwiches represent bedrock New Orleans. The shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine, Po-boys are familiar but satisfying. The sandwich is as diverse as the city it symbolizes. The crisp loaves have served as a culinary crossroads, encasing the most pedestrian and exotic of foods: shrimp, oyster, catfish, soft-shell crabs as well as French fries and ham and cheese. Comfort food in other cities seldom reaches such heights."

In New Orleans, po'boy shops are at every corner, on every street, and taste totally different than any sub sandwich you'll get in another city. There are the popular spots like Mid City Po'Boys, Avery's Po'boys, Mahoney's, Magazine Po'Boys, Parkway Po'Boys, Yang's Po'Boys, and Johnny's Po'Boys in the French Quarter; then there are lesser known but just as tasty joints scattered throughout the city- many times in residential neighborhoods.

So far, we've tried fried shrimp, buffalo shrimp, fried green tomato, buffalo alligator, soft shell crab, crawfish tail, hot sausage, and Abita Root Beer Ham Po'boys. Obviously we've got many left to try. No worries, there is even a Po'Boy Festival here in New Orleans. We're marking our calendars for November 24! Today, we ate at Parkway. The po'boys were delicious!

It's Halloween Time!

So every year I ask (about mid-August) "is it too early to decorate for Halloween?" I just love love love Halloween! This year, I did not have to ask. Several houses are already spooked up for the season! I think it's just wonderful! There was a house near our favorite sno ball stand yesterday that had a yard packed with Halloween inflatables. Today, we saw this cute house on St. Ann. No worries, my witch hats are already unpacked and I am decorating this week! You could say that it's too hot for Halloween, but, you know, I could just about celebrate it year round! Happy Haunting!!!

Jazz in the Park

Tonight was so much fun! As soon as we got home from work we headed to Armstrong Park on the edge of the French Quarter for some free jazz. Jazz in the Park is a fall concert series in Congo Square that happens every Thursday night during September and October. While it is still a little warm to be using the word "fall", it is never the wrong time to use the word "free". We had fun and of course had to take a stroll through the French Quarter before the streetcar ride home. Ah, New Orleans, this is why we moved here :)