NOLA Archives - The Slow Roasted Italian

Food, Cocktails and Tours in New Orleans

Donna Elick — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 10:00:00 +0000

New Orleans boasts fabulous food, cocktails and tours, from Lake Ponchatrain to the Mississippi River and every where around and in between.

It must come as no surprise that we found the best burger in N’awlins, as well as our favorite cocktail. We are so thrilled to have been invited to New Orleans for a family vacation, and so happy to share it with you.

New Orleans Food

We feasted like kings while we were in New Orleans. Hungry kings! Because y’all have crowned me the ‘Queen of Burgers’, we took it upon ourselves to eat as many gourmet burgers as we could find. Only so we could report back to you with our favorite New Orleans burger, of course. We also sampled a few cocktails so we could bring you our favorite picks.

I know, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. At the end of the day, when the park, zoo and other fabulous family attractions start to shut down, we would go back to the hotel and freshen up and go to dinner.

One evening, we decided to take a stroll up Royal Street to check out Port of Call. We had heard that they had the best burgers, and we were determined to find out.

Port of Call Restaurant

We stepped into the smallest restaurant that I have ever been in. At most, there are 12 tables on the restaurant side, and a lovely dark wood bar that makes up the other half of this New Orleans hidden gem.

The burgers come with a baked potato on the side. Legend says that they were unable to get a license for a deep fryer, so rather than let that deter them, they decided to serve baked potatoes. After sitting down to a half-pound burger and fully loaded baked potato at Port of Call, I can stay this much. Not only do they
have the best burgers, but insanely delicious baked potatoes too. We can’t wait to go back. Do you think they might deliver to Arizona?

Entertainment in New Orleans

New Orleans is home to the most amazing music and the most fascinating people. They are sprawled out over the French Quarter during the day as I shared with you in our last 2 articles about our trip.

But at night, you will find live music up and down Bourbon Street, and most of the clubs feature live music almost every night too.

We enjoyed a fantastic brass band, some break dances, the Transformer dude, Homer Simpson, and so many more characters. You really need to experience it yourself to fully appreciate it.

Cocktails in New Orleans

So almost every night after dinner we would head over to Bourbon Street to
catch some entertainment and sample some local favorite cocktails. Our first cocktail on our list was the
classic favorite; a Hurricane from Pat O’Brien’s. The next night, we discovered Mango Mango, serving frozen daiquiris; a Bourbon Street favorite. We sampled a few flavors over the duration of our trip and our favorite was a combination of mango and vampire’s blood.

Tropical Isle is another favorite destination on Bourbon Street. Their most famous drink is the frozen hand grenade; a melon based cocktail served in a grenade shaped specialty cup. It is a truly scrumptious cocktail.

We also stepped off Bourbon Street to visit the fabulous Sazerac Bar in the grand
Roosevelt Hotel. We sampled the worlds first mixed drink; the famous New Orleans Sazerac cocktail. What an experience that is!! I would call this classic whiskey cocktail a sippin’ drink. So kick back in the Sazerac and enjoy.

Honestly we were divided on the favorite choice. I loved the Frozen Hand Grenade from Tropical Isle, and Chad was more partial to the Frozen Daiquiri from Mango Mango. But, we couldn’t leave out Munchkin. Being mommy and daddy were enjoying frozen treats, we stopped into PJ’s Coffee, which some
locals say has the best coffee in town. We were in search of their frozen strawberry lemonade. We picked one of those up each night for Munchkin, and she loved it. It was also a great way to cool her down.

We were so inspired by all of the frozen cocktails in New Orleans that we
decided to share our favorite frozen daiquiri recipe with you. Made with 2 kinds of rum for fabulous tropical flavor, our Summer Strawberry Daiquiri is packed with fresh strawberries, triple sec and lime juice to create our favorite frozen daiquiri ever. You are going to love it!! Make a pitcher for your next party – it will be the star of the party!

New Orleans Tours

Being the rum lovers that we are, we knew we wanted to visit Old New Orleans Rum. It is outside of the French Quarter in an inconspicuous old cotton warehouse. They offer a spectacular tour and sampling of their delicious rums.

Old New Orleans Rum

For an incredibly reasonable price, you can get the inside scoop on the rum distillation, and a 45-minute tour. We sampled all 4 of their rums, as well as
their gingeroo. I would have to say my favorite is Cajun Spice. Quite a spectacular flavor, with cayenne, cinnamon and hints of nutmeg, ginger and
clove. I entirely regret not purchasing some to take home, but luckily they have an online store.

The Steamboat Natchez

Stepping outside cocktail time, we have one more spectacular tour to tell you about. The Steamboat Natchez riverboat tour is fantastic. Step aboard after being serenaded by a calliope concert!!

A few minutes later, you’ll be on the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River. The tour takes you down the Mississippi on a narrated tour, filled with history and fun facts about the area. It is a great perspective that you just can’t
get on land.

They offer a fabulous Creole lunch that is optional, but as we are both picky and frugal, we stopped inside the shops at Jax Brewery. Chad and Munchkin chose pizza, and I bought a muffaletta sandwich. We ate onboard the boat, and everyone was happy. Kids 6 and under ride free, so that made this an extremely economical tour for us to enjoy, and I highly recommend it. Next time though, I am getting the lunch. We sat inside to escape the heat for a few minutes, and the food smelled sensational.

We are thrilled to share our family vacation in New Orleans with you! Make sure you check back tomorrow to read about the rest of this fantastic adventure in New Orleans.

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Disclosure: We are working in partnership with the New Orleans Board
of Tourism, and we have been compensated with a family vacation to New Orleans.

Disclosure: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link your price will remain the same and The Slow Roasted Italian will automatically receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting us, it helps us keep creating new recipes.

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Southwestern Beer Brat Recipe and a Family Vacation in New Orleans Continues

Donna Elick — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Southwestern Beer Brat recipe makes a scrumptious BBQ dish for summer! With smoky beans, jalapenos and cheese, this recipe is a must make!

The next few days of vacation were fantastic. New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo is truly worth dedicating a full day to it or you can combine it with Magazine Street shopping and tasting, like we did to make the most of a day of vacation. We are so grateful to have been invited to enjoy a family vacation in New Orleans.

Spending a day at the zoo in New Orleans may very well change your mind about zoos altogether. After purchasing the Audubon Experience Package we were so excited to visit the zoo, aquarium, insectarium/butterfly garden and IMAX theatre. We dedicated most of the day to the zoo and Magazine Street (we will share our visits to the other Audubon attractions on Friday – so make sure you check back).

Public transportation is absolutely fabulous in New Orleans, between walking, and the air conditioned streetcars, buses and taxis you are completely covered. We decided to take the bus straight to the zoo from Canal Street. It picks up within a stone’s throw of the JW Marriott.

The Audubon Zoo is truly spectacular. It is set up like a theme park with the exhibits spread along the incredibly vast property. Luckily, they have a fabulous train that you can take around most of the zoo and get off and back on at specific stops. Visiting during the summer I recommend the train to take a break. The Cool Zoo is a fantastic way to beat the heat and the kids LOVE it!

Munchkin had so much fun. Everything from the Asian Domain and African Savana to the Louisiana Swamp can be found at this magnificent zoo. After a fun ride on the train, playing on the playground and some shaved ice we ducked into the café for a little refreshment and called it a day.

There is so much to do. You really need at least 3 hours or more to enjoy the zoo. We definitely need another trip to New Orleans and the zoo is on our list for another visit.

TRAVELER TIP: During the summer months be sure to visit the zoo in the early part of the day. It gets hot and the animals will be sleeping in the afternoon.

Dat Dog

After a fantastic time at the zoo we jumped on the bus and headed back up Magazine Street. We hopped off at Dat Dog to grab something to eat. It is amazing how hungry you get in New Orleans. We were greeted by a menu board filled with more sausage and hot dog options than you can imagine. After you choose your ‘dog’ you still have a plethora of toppings to consider. Honestly I really never considered dressed up ‘dogs’ before. But the prospect of gourmet dogs had my mind reeling with possibilities. We ordered our food and discussed this inspiration.

Once we got home I got to work on these ideas. Our very first Dat Dog inspired gourmet dog is the Cheesy Southwestern Jalapeno Beer Brat Dog. I have to tell you it is truly spectacular! We ate them for lunch and dinner and wished we had more. The combination of southwestern flavors and the perfectly grilled brat is enough to make your head spin.

Southwestern Beer Brat Recipe

After an awesome Dat Dog experience we headed over to Sucre for dessert. Truly a must on your to do list in New Orleans. The confections were absolutely works of art and so tasty you will wish you could move in. I will tell you all about it on Friday, so make sure you check back.

Completely and totally filled up we jumped on the bus and rode a few blocks to the shopping areas. We stopped at Orient Expressed and visited their fabulous kids boutique and picked out the most charming dress for Munchkin. She was having a “I missed my nap again” toddler meltdown so we graciously checked out and decided to walk for a bit. Thankfully the rhythm of the stroller on the sidewalk puts her to sleep like magic.

We strolled Magazine Street and did some shopping. Fleurty Girl is a great stop with nearly every possible NOLA souvenir you could want, not to mention free fans. If I have one important tip this is it.

TRAVELER TIP: Stop into Fleurty Girl to do your souvenir shopping early in your trip. While you are there pick up a free fan. You will thank me.

We dedicated an entire day to Decatur Street and Jackson Square. The people are fascinating; fabulous food, great music and fun entertainers everywhere. Heading up Decatur Street you will run smack dab into Central Grocery on your way to The French Market. Honestly Canal Street to Esplanade is merely a mile, so walking is perfect and there is so much to see along the way. Every time we walked past Southern Candymakers they were outside giving out samples! SCORE. So we grabbed a sample and kept walking. I do regret not buying pralines to take home. Thankfully, they have an online store.

Café Du Monde is 8 blocks up and you can hit the ‘carry out’ window to grab a quick Frozen Café Au Lait along the way. Just across the street is The Pepper Palace; filled with row after row of spectacular salsas, hot sauces, seasonings and more. With a tasting station like nothing you have experienced before it is must during your NOLA trip.

After snacking on salsas and chips head over to Central Grocery. It is an experience unto itself. Aside from the most delicious muffaletta I have ever eaten the store itself looks like it stepped out of the 1950’s. Grab the muffaletta and eat it on the way, and expect to eat a ‘half’ by yourself. It is so good!

Next keep an eye out for The Little Toy Shop. It is absolutely adorable, we picked up a souvenir for Munchkin and kept walking. There are shops for everything you can imagine and Aunt Sally’s Praline’s will certainly draw you in with the scent of fresh praline’s wafting down the sidewalk. We visited home décor shops, a Harley shop, and everything in between.

At long last you will come upon The French Market. It is comprised of a farmers market and flea market all in one. Fresh produce, scrumptious food stands and table after table of fabulous NOLA finds. The food, the shops and produce all make it a great stop on your trip.

Well after a full day we went back to our hotel to freshen up and then headed out to stroll around Royal and Bourbon Streets. The people of New Orleans are fabulous and contrary to popular belief… Bourbon Street can be fabulous with a toddler (if you follow the tips I will give you) and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Tomorrow. Make sure you check back. You are going to love it!

Southwestern Beer Brat Recipe

Southwestern Beer Brat recipe makes a scrumptious BBQ dish for summer! With smoky beans, jalapenos and cheese, this recipe is a must make!

Course Main

Cuisine American

Method Grill

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 664cal

Author Donna Elick

Equipment

Ingredients

4 large beer brat sausages
4 hoagie buns a little smaller than your brats
15.5 ounce can S&W Chili Beans or ranch style beans
4.5 ounce can fire roasted green chiles chopped
4 ounces Colby Jack cheese 1 cup, shredded
4 ounce can diced jalapenos

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium.
Place brats on grill. Cook until internal temperature reaches 170°F, about 25 minutes. Brats should be cooked through without charring the outside. If the casing starts to burn, lower the heat or transfer brats to indirect heat. You can leave your burners on and move brats to an area where there is no flame and lower the lid.
Meanwhile, combine beans and chiles in a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce to simmer until brats are done.
When brats are almost done cooking, place buns on grill (inside down) for about 1 minute, until they are golden brown. Remove buns, place brat on bun, add a scoop of beans, top with 1/4 cup of cheese and a spoonful of jalapenos.
Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Originally published July 2013.

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Café Du Monde and Frozen Café Au Lait Copycat

Donna Elick — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Frozen Cafe au Lait is a cool and refreshing drink, made popular at Café Du Monde New Orleans. Use this frozen drink recipe to make one at home!

Being invited to New Orleans for a family vacation could very well be the highlight of our summer travels. After thoroughly researching the Nola tourism site we knew we wanted at least a week to see everything on our list.

We started our journey on an evening Southwest flight with no stops. We checked our stroller at the gate, which helped contain our daughter until we got on the flight. We packed several activities, healthy snacks and travel surprises to keep our energetic 3 year old busy. She did very well. Southwest was a joy as always.

TRAVELER TIP: I highly recommend night time flights for parents traveling with young children. A sleepy child is more likely to fall asleep on a dark plane at night and that makes for an awesome flight for the parents.

We arrived late and checked into the luxurious JW Marriott New Orleans and called it a night. The JW is absolutely lovely. Classic decor with old world charm. Our rooms were spectacular! The rooms are incredibly spacious.. Being we were staying a week this was really important. Not a detail is missed at this hotel. From the highly attentive and friendly staff to the nighttime turn down service and everything in between. We truly felt like royalty during our trip. Their concierge service never missed a beat, suggestions on where to find the best barbecue shrimp, suggestions for rainy day kids activities and even where we could find a last minute piece of luggage (because we bought so much). Munchkin still talks about the hotel.

After a fabulous night of sleep in our gorgeous hotel we headed out to start our day. We strolled up Decatur Street and took in the sights. Outstanding architecture surrounds you as you walk the streets of New Orleans. Before we knew it, we could see the Mississippi River and we were at Jackson Square, staring at The St Louis Cathedral. It is quite a sight.

We decided to start the day off with at the original French Market coffee stand; Café Du Monde. What to order but, frozen café au lait and perfectly fried beignets that are sinfully coated in powdered sugar?

That is exactly what we started with. Pure heaven and a spectacular start to the day! New Orleans is known for its chicory and Café Du Monde makes an incredible blend of French coffee and chicory. We loved it so much, we visited several times during our trip and bought some to take home.

We sat inside the cafe the first day and then decided the outdoor covered patio was perfect for people watching. Once we were home I began working on a recipe for my own Frozen Café Au Lait and we are so thrilled with what I came up with. The recipe below is spectacularly reminiscent of the fabulously refreshing frozen drinks we enjoyed in New Orleans and I highly recommend you try it!

Back to Jackson Square to take in the city. The streets were filled with the upbeat music of a brass band that totally drew us in. We stopped in the square and popped a squat on the steps to take a moment and enjoy it. What a fascinating city.

We stepped into the St. Louis Cathedral and it is certainly a sight to behold. You really need to walk inside and enjoy the grandeur of this holy landmark. It is the oldest operating cathedral in the United States. The entire building is a work of art. Breathtaking paintings, statutes and architecture is absolutely stunning. It is something you have to experience.

Just about time for our tour, we walked over to Johnny Po’Boys and grabbed a scrumptious hot roast beef and cheese po’boy to take with us. It was so big we decided one po’boy and a bag of chips would feed us. There were so many choices, I would love to try more next time we are in NOLA.

Next we boarded a 50 passenger motor coach for our Super City Tour with Gray Lines.

TRAVELER TIP: If have to tell you that is always my favorite (i.e., most important) part of every trip. Touring the city you are visiting gives you a great perspective, inside tips from a local and a lot of history. After you have taken the tour you can adjust your itinerary to go back and see things that are intriguing and cross some off your list.

Gray Lines Super City tour was absolutely fabulous. It takes you through New Orleans on a narrated tour of this history rich city with several photo stops. We even had a chance to get out at one of the cemeteries and look around. The history lesson is amazing and engaging enough to keep my 3 year entertained for most of the trip.

Did I mention there is a bathroom on board? Our tour guide was Sylvester. I recommend you try and catch one of his tours. From Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River and everything in between we marveled at the sights and stories that our driver shared. Did you know that back in the day they could tell if you were Creole by the color of your house? Do you know what Creole means?

After our tour we headed up Bourbon Street (which we will tell you all about on Thursday, so make sure you check back) to Bayou Burger. We order 3 ginormous burgers. My favorite part was this little dish of crab traps that we got as a free appetizer for checking in on Foursquare. Crab with cheese and jalapenos… Deep fried. Hello!

Back to our hotel room to collapse into our bed after a very fun filled day, we discovered a post card on the pillow and our beds turned down. What a welcome ‘home’.

Wednesday I will share more of our fantastic vacation with you including our trip to the magnificent city park and more! Make sure you check back.

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Frozen Café Au Lait Copycat

Frozen Cafe au Lait is a cool and refreshing drink, made popular at Café Du Monde. Use this frozen drink recipe to make one at home!

Course Drink

Cuisine American

Method Blender

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings

Calories 158cal

Author Donna Elick

Equipment

blender

Ingredients

2 cups strong brewed Cafe Du Monde chicory coffee or your favorite, frozen into ice cubes
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar or your favorite sweetener

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a blender and chop until icy, then blend on high until you have your perfect consistency. I like mine pretty smooth, so I blend for a while.
If needed, turn the blender off to scrape down the sides a few times and then turn the blender back on. If you have a high powered blender, you may have to use your tamper to push the mixture around a little.
Pour into 2 glasses, serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Disclosure: We are working in partnership with the New Orleans Board
of Tourism and we have been compensated with a family vacation to New
Orleans.

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Family Vacation in New Orleans – Itinerary

Donna Elick — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I have to tell you when we were contacted by The New Orleans Board of Tourism and asked to take a family vacation in New Orleans I was over the moon excited! I have wanted to go to New Orleans since I read the book Ruby by VC Andrews. The Landry series takes place in the bayou and spills into the streets of the French Quarter. Ever since I read that series I have really wanted to visit. Keep reading for our full family itinerary to New Orleans…

Disclosure: We are working in partnership with the New Orleans Board of Tourism and we have been compensated with a family vacation to New Orleans.Honestly, N’awlins (as the locals call it) never jumped out at me as a family destination, but after checking out the Follow Your Nola site I was pleasantly surprised by how many family activities there really are. I also received great suggestions from an article on New Orleans Moms Blog and then we got to planning. The first things I figured out is that we definitely needed a full week and these are essential packages to purchase:

City Park Family Fun Pass – includes entrance once to Storyland, New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Putt (play one course), unlimited rides at Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and a discount at Morning Call.

Audubon Experience Package – includes admission to Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Entergy IMAX® Theatre and Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium.

Jazzy Passes for the Streetcars and Buses are also a must!

Also a great hotel is absolutely essential and we will be staying at the fabulous JW Marriott in New Orleans. I am sooo excited.

We have so many things on our itinerary that we want to check out. With
us, an itinerary is more of a suggestion. We will see how it all plays
out. All I know is we are going to have a fabulous time and you get to
come along for the ride. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get real time updates during our vacation in N’awlins follow hashtag #FollowYourNOLA.

Did we miss anything? What sounds good to you? Tweet your NOLA vacation suggestions to @Slow_Roasted #MyNola to be entered to win a fabulous prize pack!

Day 1

First things first. Breakfast beignets and “rocket fuel” as a friend calls it, are the perfect way to start off your day. Stop in at Cafe Du Monde in the French Market grab your goodies to go and head over to Woldenberg Park to enjoy the morning. I can’t think of a better way to start a vacation than to take a tour of the city. Gray Lines Super City Tour takes you all over the French Quarter, through a historic cemetery and shares stories of voodoo and piracy on the Bayou on a 2 hour narrated motor coach tour. Spend the rest of the day exploring your favorite spots from the tour. Make sure you stop at Johnny Po’Boy’s for lunch and no trip to N’awlins would be complete without stopping in to Pat O’Briens to drink a Hurricane.

Day 2

Late breakfast at the well known Camellia Grill and then walk over to the highly recommended Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. The backstage penguin pass is said to be spectacular!! After a few hours of aquarium time head out to meet your tour guide for your culinary tour of NOLA. TasteBud Tours has fantastic reviews and we are so excited to be tasting the city with them. A 3 hour walking tour will take you through the streets of the New Orleans stopping at some of the best food spots in the city. Top off a fabulous day with a spectacular view of the city while aboard the Steamboat Natchez with a Creole dinner and the sounds of the Dukes of Dixieland.

Day 3

Catch a ride on the Canal St Streetcar line to City Park. Once at City Park you can get breakfast at Morning Call (bring cash) then head off to check out the Botanical Gardens and Besthoff Sculpture Gardens. Walk through the gorgeous park to Big Lake where you can rent pedal boats, bikes and ever enjoy a gondola ride. You’re not done yet! Don’t forget to check out Carousel Gardens which features 15 rides for kids of all ages, Storyland where fairytales come to life and City Putt a 36 hole mini golf complex (which just opened). After a fun filled day you can stop off at the famous Angelo Brocato’s Italian Ice Cream Parlor for some gelato. Is it Thursday in the Spring or Fall? Ride the Canal Street Streetcar to Rampart and relax in Louis Armstrong Park to the soothing sounds of jazz and enjoy dinner.

Day 4

Start your day off with an energizing breakfast from Ruby Slipper Cafe; which was named one of New Orleans best breakfast spots. They serve a full breakfast menu, have fabulous prices and have a fantastic kids menu. Triple point score! After breakfast head out to the Audubon Zoo. You can catch the St Charles Streetcar right to Audubon Park and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the spectacular oak trees to the zoo. The Audubon Zoo is one of the top 5 zoos in the US! 58 stunning acres of animals. There is so much information on this fantastic zoo I will just let you read about it here and here. Make sure you don’t miss Cool Zoo (a splash park right in the zoo) and Audubon’s Dinosaur Adventure!

Day 5

Your last day in The Big Easy should start with breakfast beignets and “rocket fuel”. Stop in at Cafe Du Monde in the French Market. Take a stroll through the market and check out the shops and stores. Make sure to pickup some pralines at the confection shops! Then walk over to Jackson Square to see the St. Louis Cathedral and take a carriage ride through the park. After a fantastic morning enjoying the sights head over to the Entergy IMAX and catch a spectacular show. Don’t forget the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. Dinner the last night has to be fabulous, so GW Fins it is! With seafood so fresh they have to print their menus daily, this is the perfect place to eat.

We are going to have a fabulous time and you get to
come along for the ride. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get real time updates during our vacation in N’awlins follow hashtag #FollowYourNOLA.

Did we miss anything? What sounds good to you? Tweet your NOLA vacation suggestions to @Slow_Roasted #MyNola to be entered to win a fabulous prize pack!

The post Family Vacation in New Orleans – Itinerary appeared first on The Slow Roasted Italian.