Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sneak Peek: The Weekend Gourmet's Food Lover's Weekend in New Orleans

For the past couple of weeks, a lot of strategic planning has been going on behind the scenes for our food-lover's adventure in New Orleans this weekend! I've been e-mailing and talking on the phone with Christine DeCuir, the amazing Media Services Coordinator at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. Thanks to her efforts on our behalf, we have a food lover's itinerary planned that you will NOT believe. Seriously...our upcoming New Orleans weekend is "break out the stretch pants" good, y'all!!! We leave in two days, and I'm so excited about our final itinerary that I'm about to bust. So? I'm going to give y'all a sneak peek to whet your appetite. Then? You can come back here next week to read all the details!

While we're in New Orleans, we will be staying in a lovely two-bedroom Creole cottage at The Audubon Cottages, courtesy of the very nice folks at the New Orleans Hotel Collection. The cottages are all newly remodeled, but they originally date back to the 1800's. In fact, Cottage 1 was John James Audubon's home while he completed his Birds of America series in the 1820s. This place has TONS of history, but it has all the latest modern amenities too: WiFi, iPod docking stations, etc. This quiet oasis in the middle of the French Quarter will be such a nice place to unwind after a busy day of eating!

Speaking of eating...New Orleans is a food lover's dream come true!! There are lots of cities around the world with amazing food. But, for my money, nobody loves their local food as much as the people of New Orleans! They're known for gumbo, po'boys, jambalaya, and crawfish. We love our food spicy, so it's a city close to our hearts. Of course, getting engaged and spending our wedding night there also probably has something to do with it!! We will be visiting restaurants and food shops all over the city, from the French Quarter to the Garden District...and everywhere in between. It's a hard job, my friends...but I think we're up to the task! Check out this great list of restaurants who are hosting our meals during the trip.
  • Palace Cafe
  • Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse
  • Stella! (dessert)
  • K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen
  • The Irish House
  • Jacques-Imo
  • Commander's Palace
In addition to eating meals at some of the best restaurants in New Orleans, we'll also be visiting several food-related venues in between meals. From bakeries to beignets...and gelato to pralines...The Weekend Gourmet has got you covered. Between meals, we'll be visiting the following places:
  • Sucre Bakery
  • Cafe du Monde
  • Aunt Sally's Pralines
  • Angelo Brocato
I'll even be partnering with Aunt Sally's to bring back a taste of New Orleans to one of you! They've agreed to give one of you a deluxe assortment of their amazing pralines, so be on the lookout for that giveaway when I return next week.

After reading this post so far, you may be wondering if we'll be doing anything besides eat on this trip. Truthfully? Since food is the focus of the article that I'm going to be writing, we'll be eating. A lot. However, not even The Weekend Gourmet can eat 24x7. In between meals and snacks, we'll visit legendary New Orleans locations like Bourbon Street, St. Louis Cathedral, the St. Charles Streetcar...and who knows what else! We'll be on the lookout for some live music on at least one evening, I'm sure. My only hope is that I make it back to Texas next Monday still able to button my pants. Wish me luck! I'll be back with a recipe to share on Thursday before we leave...so come back for that!!


6 comments:

  1. Nice! I can't wait to read all about it! Color me jealous ...

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  2. Nice! I can't wait to read all about it! Color me jealous ...

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  3. I am soooo jealous! You are going to have a ball. That sounds like a foodies dream weekend. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. Enjoy!

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  4. I am envious (to say the least). I can't wait to read all about it! Have a great time!

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  5. Oh wow! You are going to have so much fun, Wendy. I can't wait to read all about it!

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  6. Looks like a blast Wendy, have fun!

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