BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP DECEMBER 1 - DECEMBER 7, 2017 35
A quick visit to New Orleans, Part 2
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPS-
YUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
tweet me @vschneps
As I wrote last week, I had won
a trip for two to New Orleans
when I supported my sisterin
law, B.J. Adler’s, nonprofit arts
group. I didn’t realize at the time just
how lucky I was to get a chance to
visit such a unique city with a charm
all its own.
Part of the “package” was dinner
at the Commander’s Palace restaurant,
where we were greeted by
waiters in polka dot vests and black
ties. One after the other, they greeted
us with "Welcome, Welcome!”
Their friendly greeting put big
smiles on our faces as we were seated
in a large room with crystal chandeliers
and well-spaced, white linen
covered tables.
Our meal was as good as the surroundings.
The cuisine featuring
Cajun and creole food excited
our palates, and their
jazz brunch is a real New
Orleans treat. After dinner,
we discovered that the
restaurant also has a table
in the kitchen, a large outdoor
patio and a glass-enclosed
dining room facing
the garden patio.
On our half-day guided
tour of the city, we got
a taste of the charm of the
other neighborhoods surrounding
the unique
French Quarter with its
wrought iron patios overlooking
the street scene
and its many historic buildings.
Fortunately, most restaurants
survived Katrina
but had to close, some for
years, because they couldn't
get staff and there were no
customers, and the tourist
trade had come to a stop! But
they have come back and
one restaurateur reported
to me sales are up over
last year. Arnaud’s Restaurant was
my favorite because it's where the
“Brooklyn” cocktail was created.
Here’s the recipe for the drink:
½ ounce rye, ½ ounce vermouth,
½ ounce cardamaro and 1/3 oz of
Luxardo maraschino liqueur stirred
with ice and garnished with a
Luxardo cherry! It was unique and
worth repeating.
If you can’t get to New Orleans, try
making the cocktail yourself. You
will love it too!
Our next must-see stop was the
Preservation Hall Jazz Band. We
had priority seating on a bench but
to my surprise most of the visitors
had to stand in what was a
surprisingly small space
accommodating maybe 100
people.
The night I was there for
the 45-minute session, they
offered $5 per request. I asked
them to sing my favorite
Louis Armstrong song,
“What a Wonderful World.”
The piano player, drummer,
bass clarinet and sax and
trombone group thrilled me
and the audience cheered the
performers. They ended the
session with the appropriate
favorite “St Louis Blues!”
The space was established in 1961
by Alan and Sandra Jaffe. They had
stopped in New
Orleans on their
honeymoon and
fell in love
with what
they heard
at Preservation
Hall. They decided
to stay and became
proprietors of the
Hall. Their vision
helped to build both the
reputation and business of
the New Orleans site.
Powerfully, they ran the
racially integrated jazz
institution through the
mayhem that accompanied
the civil rights movement
in the south and never bent
to angry segregationists.
The Jaffes were also a force
in helping bring the city
back after Katrina, forming
outreach programs to
help the jazz artists survive
and assure the revival
of the jazz scene in New
Orleans.
Today their son Ben runs
the business and keeps it
alive and flourishing with
lines still winding up the street
with people waiting to enjoy
the show that runs four times
a night.
For more great jazz,
Friendship Street offers club
after club.
Being a lover of flea markets
-- after all, my family runs the
Long Island City Flea Market
every weekend -- I was delighted
to find that there
are several in New
Orleans. We visited
the French
Market where
there is an
extraordinary
coffee shop
Cafe du Monde
that serves outrageously
mouthwatering
beignets,
which are French
doughnuts smothered
in powdered
sugar. One bite and
you are in heaven!
Down the block is the flea market
offering food and drink stands, fresh
produce and a hundred vendors selling
trinkets, souvenirs, clothes, jewelry
and of course tourist tee shirts.
I talked with a friendly, savvy man
who’s been selling women's apparel
there for over 20 years and he
shared with me his fear that Amazon
will put him out if business.
Not so fast! He's got location, location,
location -- and charm.
As you might surmise, I found New
Orleans a place like no other I've visited
before. It combines great food,
great music and survivors who love
their city - also an easy one to traverse
and fall in love with. I will most
definitely return! After all, it’s just a
two hour and five minute plane ride!
Linda DeSabato and I
enjoying a “Brooklyn” at
Arnaud’s
Beignets at Cafe
du Monde
Fleur de Paris on Royal Street
Preservation Hall Jazz Band is not to be missed!