Plate Licking Temptation & Inspriation in the French Quarter

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Hotel Montelone in New Orleans. The French Quarter area is a bit magical to me. Since this year marks the Tricentennial, the streets were crowded with visitors, more than usual it seems compared to my previous visits. On previous visits I visited all of the major attractions and tried foods and various alcoholic beverages that satisfied both my palate and curiosity. To be honest, I primarily ate fried catfish and red beans and rice during this visit due to my dislike of shrimp, crab, and crawfish. As a native of the Georgia coast, this can be somewhat surprising or even appalling to some. Consumption of oysters, shrimp, crab and other shellfish were frequent occurrences during my childhood. I became sick of these delicacies as a result.

One of the most magnificently delicious dishes I had during this visit was the Wednesday breakfast special at the hotel. Eggs Benedict with Cajun sausage on top of a grit cake. The dish was topped with chipotle hollandaise sauce. Licking one’s plate is not acceptable in a social setting, so I had to really control myself. I could have drank this sauce straight from the tap-if there was one. The grit cake contained caramelized onions and some sort of cheese. The grit cake was soft and easily combined with the yolk from the perfectly poached egg. The sausage was freshly made. I don’t consume pork, but the sausage seemed to be a nice cut of some sort of smoked beef, maybe chicken. I consumed my dish slowly in order to savor each bite, in the vain hope that the experience would not end. Alas, I consumed the entire meal, feeling a bit sad afterwards that I wasn’t physically able to consume anymore. It was in that moment I wished for an extra stomach!

Eggs Benedict with Cajun Sausage and Chipotle Hollandaise Sausage. To say it was delicious is an understatement!

Hotel Montelone, Historical Hotel in the French Quarter

The famous Carousel Bar in the Hotel Montelone. It spins! Sadly it was always full and I didn’t get a chance to experience it this visit.

During my visit, I had the opportunity to visit several small art galleries that were set up in small shops converted from old buildings or historical houses. Entering the shops provided refuge from the thick, humid air that seemed to envelop you like a swaddling blanket. Viewing various pieces of artwork allowed for tantalizing stimulation of the visual senses. Photography was not allowed in 99% of the galleries I visited, however I did get a chance to capture available artistic expressions of one shop in particular, the name which now escapes my memory.

For some, visiting the French Quarter brings to mind the drunken madness of Bourbon Street. Since I have experienced this myself a few times over, I find the French Quarter brings out one’s creativity. The architecture, the slightly salty breeze front the nearby Mississippi, and the deep historical significance of the area can make you want to write, paint, cook or even sing. There is a bit of an artist in us all.