New Orleans - My 2 Cents

People usually have pretty strong opinions about New Orleans.  From what I've heard, you either love it or hate it.  Well, I LOVE it!  Yes, it is a little dirty.  Yes, at night there are some questionable things that go on right there on the street, in front of my sweet little eyes.  But, I think it is such a neat place with such a unique quality to it.  I just LOVE the courtyards and the beautiful architecture. 

I travel there for business about once a quarter, and am lucky enough to have a boss that is so fun and very knowledgeable about the city.  He takes me to the best places!  I thought I would share a few of them with you, in case you are planning on traveling there sometime.

Now, I don't have any pictures, and I apologize for that.  But, I think it would have been a little weird to be taking a million pics wandering around with my boss - I didn't want him to think I was weird - haha!

For our nice dinner Monday night, we went to GW Fins.  AMAZING.  I had the halibut.  The service is wonderful, the food is wonderful, I don't have enough great things to say about this place.  It's a little pricey, but totally worth it.

Tuesday night, we had sushi at Rock-n-Sake.  My boss had heard about it, but couldn't remember where it was.  We drove around on those one way streets for what seemed like forever, but finally found it!  AMAZING.  I had the best sushi roll I have ever had.  Really and truly.  We tried lots of rolls, but we both decided that the California Sunset was the best ever.  The middle was spicy crab meat, wrapped with rice, rolled in salmon and mango, and served with a spicy mayo sauce on the side.  If you are a sushi person, you must try this place!  The atmosphere is fun too.

Our favorite bar there is the Erin Rose.  It is a typical Bourbon Street area bar.  Dirty, smoky, with an interesting mix of characters.  But we love it, and it's usually our first stop for our pre dinner drink.  Molly works there Sundays through Tuesdays until 11, and she's our buddy.  There is never, ever a dull moment in this little old bar.  I couldn't imagine a trip to New Orleans without visiting Molly at the Erin Rose.

We went to Fritzel's, which is a great little jazz bar.  When you approach the door, there is a beautiful woman dressed kind of like a flapper, but kind of French (I know, I know, I'm terrible at describing) that walks you in and shows you where you can sit.  It's just too fun!  They have an amazing jazz band - like nothing I have ever enjoyed before!  They were founded in 1969, and house in a building that was built in 1831 - I just love the history!

We also went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop.  Well, it's really a bar, but it used to be a blacksmith shop.  It was built sometime before 1772.  If you love history, you will love this place.  It is in the "alternative lifestyle" (I don't know the PC term for this...) block of the French Quarter.  We got a couple of bud lights, pulled our chairs out front, and watched the world go by.  It was only around midnight on a Tuesday night, but wow, we saw some very interesting individuals.  Don't you just love people watching?  It was the most interesting I've seen in a long time, perhaps ever!

So, there you have it - my 2 cents.  I really do adore this city.  Hubby is not a fan at all, and I am trying to convince him to go with me sometime time.  I would love to show him just a few of the treasurers I have been introduced to.  I don't think he knows all the fun history that this city has to offer!  Are you a fan of New Orleans?  What places there do you love?  I would like to try them out on our next trip!