JeffAndJanice.com

Monday, February 18, 2002

What a great weekend!

We spent three days in New Orleans. As I told you recently, we bought tickets to see A Prairie Home Companion live in a non-broadcast show. That was Sunday, but we got there a bit early... Friday afternoon.

New Orleans is a great city. We really need to go there more often. It's only a two hour drive. On the first night, we ate sushi at a little place Wilda had recommended. It was only my second experience with sushi, and Janice's first, and I still haven't gotten past the notion that it's just a novelty food. I had to have it at least twice before passing judgement. Guess I'm just not the trendy type. Janice felt about the same, though we really did enjoy the experience.

Saturday my father and his wife joined us for the day. We milled around the French Quarter, which was surprisingly crowded for the weekend after Mardi Gras. They probably had more street performers than I've ever seen there at one time. The wives shopped while my father and I watched the parade of humanity. New Orleans is a great place for people watching and girl watching. It's also a great place for food, but only if you get off the beaten path. The French Quarter restaurants are better known for second-rate cuisine doled out to tourists who lack the taste buds to know what they're missing. We dined at a very nice new restaurant called The Sun Ray Grill, in the warehouse district. It's a Zagat rated restaurant which came highly recommended by Wilda and Al. If Wilda, Al, and Zagat recommend it, you can't go wrong. I had bouillabaisse, which was incredible. My father ordered tuna. He didn't know that tuna is served nearly raw, and was apprehensive about it at first, but was won over by the time he was halfway through. Tuna actually loses all of it's appeal if it's fully cooked (my opinion). There was some tuna in the bouillabaisse which was fully cooked, and it was not as good as a nice rare tuna steak.

NOTE: People who criticize bloggers most often complain about people who blog about food. But when it's worth mentioning, I mention it.

Sunday was the highlight of the trip. The whole reason we went to New Orleans was to see A Prairie Home Companion live at the Saenger Theatre. Firstly, I had never been to the Saenger, but had heard Janice's description of it. No description can suffice, though. It was the most beautiful indoor space I think I've ever seen. In any other city, it would be considered gaudily extravagant. But in New Orleans, it is the crown jewel of an already gaudily extravagant city. But that was just the building.

The purpose for the trip was to see Garrison Keillor and his troupe. We were not disappointed. The musicians were incredibly talented and the humor is so much funnier when you're actually there. What a great pool of talent. Garrison Keillor seemed to sing more than he usually does. He's not a singer at all, but there's something so wonderful about his voice that you could listen to him sing all day. I can't remember hearing a trained singer who has been so easy on the bones. Janice and I were both completely delighted. I had been enjoying the show so much that I completely forgot about the News from Lake Wobegon. When he started the monologue, a smile passed over our faces and we sat rapt in his story, and delighted that we were actually there live after 18 years of listening to the radio program. They even did a Powdermilk Biscuits commercial. Those are our favorites. 15 years ago we named a kitten Powdermilk because she was so shy. Today, she's the old queen of the house and as shy as ever.

How do you go back to work after such a great weekend? I'll be humming those tunes all week.

another hasty insight by Jeff on 2/18/2002

Monday, February 18, 2002

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