New Orleans
I'm back again for a conference. Flew out on United Airlines and was able to snag a first class seat on the way out. Luckily, the Hilton New Orleans St. Charles Avenue was able to accommodate an early check-in. The room was just the same as last time. They are renovating the executive lounge which made the perk inaccessible. I was given breakfast coupons for Luke in exchange. I tried the Southern Breakfast sans meat. I found the biscuit slightly salty but I'm prone to being salt sensitive. Not a good thing when it comes to Southern cooking.
For lunch, went out to Ruby Slipper Café and ordered the Catfish St. Peter and a double Bellini. The meal was tasty and the service was quick and friendly. Did some antique and second hand clothing shopping before getting dessert at Sucre. The dessert shop sells gelato, baked goods, and chocolate. The gelato was ok but the smore's skillet was super tasty.
I didn't have dinner but I did order from Luke to hold over for the next day. I remembered enjoying the oyster salad and figured it would keep. Also ordered the gateau basque. I opted to order to avoid the service delivery charge but I lost 15 minutes of my life just waiting for the hostess to acknowledge the people in front of me and then me. The wait staff seems to be the only attentive folks on the floor.
The next day, I was back at Luke for breakfast. This morning, the hostess was on point but the wait staff was a bit slow. I can't seem to catch a break. I did enjoy my day old oyster salad for lunch from Luke. The gateau was ok, it reminded me of a heavy butter cake.
For dinner, I went to Bei Tempi and ordered the penne a la vodka. The entrée came with soup and I chose the pasta fagioli soup which was tasty. They didn't have tiramisu so I opted for the zeppolis. Do not order this without having at least four people as the dish comes out with over a dozen fried dough balls covered in powder sugar. Since I still had some money in my per diem, I went to Jimmy J's for an order of catfish poboy and a free slice of butter cake. They were a little skimpy with the slice in comparison to the yelp photos I see. I didn't have any but I was told the cake was good.
The next day, I returned to Luke for breakfast. This time I added the pancakes to my breakfast of eggs and grits and paid for the entrée. Although I like eggs and grits or yogurt, I don't know if I want it every day by itself. The pancakes were tasty but I couldn't finish it all.
For lunch, I wandered over to Cochon and was able to snag a table at the restaurant despite the number of conventioneers at the restaurant and the bar next door. Since I wasn't planning on eating much for dinner, I went all out and ordered the crawfish pie, oyster and bacon sandwich, side of macaroni and cheese, and the pineapple upside down cake. I'm generally not a fan of pineapple upside down cake but it felt the best option for dessert and it turned out pretty tasty. Overall, I enjoyed my meal but could have down without the mac and cheese side.
The next day, I opted for the pain perdu at Luke with my yogurt. In the stack, bacon is placed in between and I enjoyed it. I did feel that the pain perdu was a little underdone for my taste. Headed out to the airport after breakfast and suffered a slight snafu with the cab. The cab broke down on the way but I was still able to arrive at the airport on time. Since I opted to leave earlier than originally planned, my flight laid over at Houston Intercontinental Airport. My second flight was delayed and gave me the opportunity to eat at Urban Crave for lunch inside the airport. I enjoyed my gourmet burger and grabbed a candy apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to take on the plane.
After landing, I realized that I had left my sunglasses and clothing back at the Hilton. After several attempts to get through, I was able to get my clothes sent back but the sunglasses were not found. Hopefully, they figured out how to send the clothes back via FedEx. I was a little bummed about the sunglasses but it is my fault for forgetting it. My only other complaint was the lack of housekeeping during my stay. My room was only cleaned once in the time I stayed. When I told the front desk folks how I needed toiletries because it wasn't cleaned, they were able to give me the toiletries but it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement that the room should have been cleaned.
It's been a week later and I'm still waiting for my clothing to be returned.
For lunch, went out to Ruby Slipper Café and ordered the Catfish St. Peter and a double Bellini. The meal was tasty and the service was quick and friendly. Did some antique and second hand clothing shopping before getting dessert at Sucre. The dessert shop sells gelato, baked goods, and chocolate. The gelato was ok but the smore's skillet was super tasty.
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| Ruby Slipper Café Catfish St. Peter |
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| Sucre S'mores skillet and a bananas foster macaron |
I didn't have dinner but I did order from Luke to hold over for the next day. I remembered enjoying the oyster salad and figured it would keep. Also ordered the gateau basque. I opted to order to avoid the service delivery charge but I lost 15 minutes of my life just waiting for the hostess to acknowledge the people in front of me and then me. The wait staff seems to be the only attentive folks on the floor.
The next day, I was back at Luke for breakfast. This morning, the hostess was on point but the wait staff was a bit slow. I can't seem to catch a break. I did enjoy my day old oyster salad for lunch from Luke. The gateau was ok, it reminded me of a heavy butter cake.
For dinner, I went to Bei Tempi and ordered the penne a la vodka. The entrée came with soup and I chose the pasta fagioli soup which was tasty. They didn't have tiramisu so I opted for the zeppolis. Do not order this without having at least four people as the dish comes out with over a dozen fried dough balls covered in powder sugar. Since I still had some money in my per diem, I went to Jimmy J's for an order of catfish poboy and a free slice of butter cake. They were a little skimpy with the slice in comparison to the yelp photos I see. I didn't have any but I was told the cake was good.
The next day, I returned to Luke for breakfast. This time I added the pancakes to my breakfast of eggs and grits and paid for the entrée. Although I like eggs and grits or yogurt, I don't know if I want it every day by itself. The pancakes were tasty but I couldn't finish it all.
For lunch, I wandered over to Cochon and was able to snag a table at the restaurant despite the number of conventioneers at the restaurant and the bar next door. Since I wasn't planning on eating much for dinner, I went all out and ordered the crawfish pie, oyster and bacon sandwich, side of macaroni and cheese, and the pineapple upside down cake. I'm generally not a fan of pineapple upside down cake but it felt the best option for dessert and it turned out pretty tasty. Overall, I enjoyed my meal but could have down without the mac and cheese side.
The next day, I opted for the pain perdu at Luke with my yogurt. In the stack, bacon is placed in between and I enjoyed it. I did feel that the pain perdu was a little underdone for my taste. Headed out to the airport after breakfast and suffered a slight snafu with the cab. The cab broke down on the way but I was still able to arrive at the airport on time. Since I opted to leave earlier than originally planned, my flight laid over at Houston Intercontinental Airport. My second flight was delayed and gave me the opportunity to eat at Urban Crave for lunch inside the airport. I enjoyed my gourmet burger and grabbed a candy apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to take on the plane.
After landing, I realized that I had left my sunglasses and clothing back at the Hilton. After several attempts to get through, I was able to get my clothes sent back but the sunglasses were not found. Hopefully, they figured out how to send the clothes back via FedEx. I was a little bummed about the sunglasses but it is my fault for forgetting it. My only other complaint was the lack of housekeeping during my stay. My room was only cleaned once in the time I stayed. When I told the front desk folks how I needed toiletries because it wasn't cleaned, they were able to give me the toiletries but it would have been nice to have some acknowledgement that the room should have been cleaned.
It's been a week later and I'm still waiting for my clothing to be returned.
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