Cafe Du Monde, Jackson Square, French Quarter
November 4, 2024
Our first day in New Orleans saw me hitting the town and checking a handful of boxes off my bucket list.
After our arrival on November 3, we unpacked, settled in and I prepared for what I knew was going to be a massive day out on the 4th.
To The French Quarter
I left the AirBnB just after 8:00 on Monday morning. I made my way southwest toward the French Quarter finding myself a parking spot right near the Basin St Station. I paid for parking and started making my way down St Louis St into the heart of the French Quarter.
I made my way through the narrow one-way streets where there was plenty of construction going on. Streets and sidewalks were blocked off forcing twists and turns through the maze of streets.
The architecture was familiar and fascinating at the same time. It was exactly what I was hoping to see after years of getting an idea at Disneyland’s New Orleans Square.
I saw plenty of wrought iron railings on the balconies overlooking the streets and narrow passageways leading to wonderful gated courtyards.
I meandered through until I found myself at St Louis Cathedral just off of Jackson Square. This is where my camera really came to life.
Jackson Square
Jackson Square, originally called Place d’Armes in French, or Plaza de Armas in Spanish, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is the site where Louisiana was entered into statehood in 1803. A bronze statue of Andrew Jackson, who was a hero of the Battle of New Orleans, is placed in the center of the square. This statue is a recasting of the statue found in Lafayette Park in Washington D.C.
To the north of the square sits St. Louis Cathedral, which has been at this site since the French colonization of the area in 1718. The original wooden church was replaced with a larger, more stable structure in the 1720s but was lost in the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788. The cornerstone for the current cathedral was laid in 1789 and the building was completed in 1794 when Louisiana was a colony of Spain.
The cathedral is flanked by twin buildings.
The Cabildo, which stood as city hall and was where the Louisiana Purchase was officially signed, is now part of the Louisiana State Museum.
On the other side is the Presbytère. Originally intended to house clergy, it was never used for that purpose. Instead, it was a commercial building for the first 20 years until it was used by the Louisiana Supreme Court. After changing ownership, from the church, to the city, then to the state, all in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is now a continuation of the museum.
Beignets!
After browsing around the square for a bit, I crossed Decatur St, making my way to the world famous Cafe Du Monde.
Cafe Du Monde is a renowned open-air coffee shop that has an extremely limited menu: Coffee, cafe au lait, milk, orange juice and beignets. I had been dying to try these famous puffs of fried dough covered in powdered sugar since I learned of their existence.
The coffee shop has a large, covered patio with plenty of seating. As you enter the patio, servers are stationed just inside waiting for people to sit. As soon as a customer sits, a server will take your order, then brings it out to you. There is no counter service here.
I took my cue and sat at a table right next to the short wall separating the patio from Decatur St and was immediately approached by a server who took my order: large cafe au lait and an order of beignets. He returned quickly and informed me then that they are cash only. Luckily I had just enough cash to pay for my order but not much more. I felt bad for not having the cash to leave a tip, but c’est la vie.
The fried dough was completely covered in powdered sugar. I mean, absolutely knuckle-deep in the stuff. I took my first bite and was in heaven.
As I sat, enjoying my order, a fairly large street band just outside the patio was playing street jazz just adding to the atmosphere. It was bliss.
I polished off the beignets and sat, soaking in the atmosphere for a bit before heading out over the nearby levee to the Mississippi River.
I spent a little time looking out over the water, spying the nearby Shops at Jax Brewery and a distant bridge over the river.
From here, I did a little digging into what I needed to do to hop on a streetcar and take a little trolley tour of the city. I wound up downloading the Le Pass app and purchasing a 3 day rider’s pass for $8. It would later turn out to be a bit of overkill, but that’s OK.
I did my best to use their not-user-friendly-at-all map within the app to find the nearest station, which was a couple of blocks away on Canal Street. I finished my coffee and started heading that way.
New Orleans Streetcars
The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority runs five streetcar lines. Two head toward the Mid-City district, one hooks off and goes to City Park, the other continuing on to a cluster of cemeteries on the north side of town.
Another goes south through the Garden District and to Audubon Park.
The other two primarily stay in the downtown/French Quarter area.
Without any clear direction, I hopped on to the first car that came to the stop where I wound up. This one happened to be the 49, headed to the nearby Union Station terminal.
I boarded the car, thankful to be off of my already aching feet for a bit. The car stuttered and sped through the streets finally finding its way to the destination. I disembarked and headed into the station to try to find a bottle of water and a bathroom. Once that mission was accomplished, I headed back out to the station where the same car was parked in the spot. I asked the operator how I would go about getting to the cemeteries and he replied with “you can’t, from here.”
I said, “At all?”
“Well,” he replied, “you’d have to go back to Canal St.”
So I boarded and that’s exactly what I did. I took the 49 back to Canal St then got off and waited for the next 47 to arrive at the station. I boarded that one then headed north until I reached the St. Anthony stop where I disembarked among a huge cluster of cemeteries and began to explore.
St. Patrick Cemetery No. 1
I crossed Canal St. and found myself in front of the Jewish Cemetery, a gated and locked cemetery which required a phone call to access. I elected to forego that option and took some pictures from outside the fence.
I wandered a little further up Canal St. and soon found myself within the walls of St. Patrick Cemetery No. 1. St. Patrick No 1 is one of 13 Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans. Others include the other St. Patrick Cemeteries, the St. Louis Cemeteries, the St. Joseph Cemeteries, and more.
Indeed, I found myself walking amongst the above-ground tombs of the departed residents of New Orleans. The cemetery was established in 1841 and the time-worn tombs answer to that. Many of the tombs and markers are covered in mold, mildew or algae. A good portion of the older headstones are cracked or broken. In fact, I came across several that appear to have toppled and were subsequently embedded in the surrounding concrete. I’m not sure if this is the case, but that’s where my imagination took me when I saw this.
As this particular marker was last updated in 2002, there’s no telling (from my uninformed vantage) why this marker is the way it is.
I wandered around the cemetery for a bit, not nearly as impressed as I thought I would be. There were plenty of photo ops and I still thought it was pretty cool, but, I don’t know, I guess I was expecting something different.
I took a bunch of pictures and after I’d had my fill, decided it was time to find some lunch. As I made my way back toward the streetcar stop, light drops of rain began falling from the sky.
Return to Downtown and Lunch
I crossed Canal St. back to the median and waited for the next 47 car headed south. While there, I looked through my list of recommendations given by a co-worker and decided I was going to head to Drago’s for lunch. This would see me taking the 47 almost to its southern terminus at the Harrah’s casino on the riverfront.
Once I disembarked at that stop, it was a quick 5 minute walk to the nearby Hilton where the seafood restaurant is housed. The skies promised more rain, which frankly, would have been welcome in the oppressive heat and humidity I was in the midst of.
As I walked into the eatery, I was immediately worried that I would be woefully underdressed, in shorts, a t-shirt and a hat. Thankfully, I saw others already seated and eating that were dressed similarly, putting my worries at ease.
After a bit-too-long of a wait, my server approached and asked what I’d like. I asked for water, water and more water; I was parched and felt I could drink a gallon at the sitting. He brought me a small glass with too much ice. It was gone in seconds. He refilled it quickly and again, it was gone very, very quickly. On his third refill, he left a carafe that he allowed me to make my own refills with. I ultimately came very close to finishing that in my time there.
For my lunch, I elected to go with the fried alligator bites to start and Mama Ruth’s Seafood Gumbo for my entree. Both dishes came out simultaneously and sadly, the presentation, especially on the gumbo, left a lot to be desired. Instead of a neat mound of rice in the middle of the bowl, it looked like the rice had been stirred into the stew, and there was no effort to keep clean edges on the bowl. It looked like it was just kind of slopped into the bowl and thrown out the window. While presentation does not typically impact flavor, I was still slightly disappointed in the lack of effort.
Despite the lack of care shown in how the dishes were presented to me, I was still thrilled with the flavor experience I enjoyed. The alligator bites were tender and incredibly juicy and served alongside a wonderful tartar sauce. The gumbo had a deep, rich flavor and was infused with the flavors of the seafood but alas, there wasn’t much in the way of actual seafood. I think there may have been four small-to-medium shrimp clearly evident in the bowl. Any other seafood that may have been present had either fallen apart or were avoided altogether.
All told, it was a slightly better than mediocre experience. Maybe it was because I came alone, didn’t order alcohol, during lunch on a Monday but I was less than blown away. If pressed, I think I would give it a 3.5 star out of five star review. Still no regrets though.
Back “Home”
As I was finishing up at the restaurant, I looked up the easiest way to get back to the van. It seemed that finding a streetcar that would get me closer, combined with the added walk that would be necessary from the streetcar stop, would only be marginally faster than just hoofing it the whole way. That’s what I elected to do then.
I made my way back into the French Quarter, through the familiar streets I’d walked through earlier that morning, Google Maps becoming confused as to where I was at each turn.
I eventually found my way back to St Louis Street, then up to Jackson Square, then to the lot that held the van. As I was getting ready to cross in front of Basin St. Station, it began to rain in earnest. Without any protective elements, such as a raincoat or umbrella, I was bound to get soaked, and soaked I got. By the time I got back to the van, I was hot, sweaty and soaked with rain. I immediately cranked the AC down, plugged my dying phone in and brought up directions back to the AirBnB where Brandy had been working all day.
Conclusion
So, what are my first impressions of New Orleans?
Well, it’s different than what I was expecting, for sure. It was dirtier than I thought it would be and there was not music pouring out of every alleyway and street corner, though that may be more of an evening thing. I still marveled at the architecture and enjoyed some good food, walked through a cemetery and saw some wonderful sights, but still walked away somewhat disillusioned.
Am I having regrets? No, not at all. I’m glad I’m able to experience it and look forward to the other things on my agenda; hopefully those things will improve my outlook on the Crescent City.
Pictures from Day One are over on my Photo Diary. Coming up will be my write-up on Day Two. Stay Tuned for that!
-Phil
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