My tour was led by a Cajun named Joe. It consisted of a home cooked lunch right on a bayou, accompanied by beer from an adjacent tavern, and a boat ride on the bayou. Joe brought a huge vat of chicken gumbo stew with lots of vegetables and sat it on one of a group of four picnic tables. I was prepared for a spicy stew, but the gumbo tasted like ordinary tomato sauce. I had club soda with the lunch as the beer that they served would not get along with my stomach and there was no wine.
One night I ate in an expensive restaurant with a long history that served the menu staples of seafood and chicken and also steaks and veal. I ordered the Creole Calamari which was fried and in a seasoned breading, topped with a tangy sauce. This was the only time I ate calamari which is squid. It tasted greasy and salty and I would never eat it again. The restaurant was very famous. The final battle of the War of 1812 – 1815 between the U.S. and the British was the Battle of New Orleans. The restaurant contained a basement in which the pirate Jean Lafitte sat with the British general who was stationed in New Orleans when they both planned that final battle. This was the Jean Lafitte Bistro at 240 Bourbon St.
Another famous restaurant that I ate at was the Court of Two Sisters located at 613 Rue Royal. I enjoyed the most sumptuous Sunday brunch that I had ever eaten. All sorts of exotic egg, cheese, and meat dishes were offered on a special menu. I decided to try a New Orleans favourite, a veal dish with delicious home-made gravy. With the veal I received a basket of cornbread and butter and a side order of spinach pasta.
The Court of Two Sisters was originally built in 1726 as the residence of the French governor of colonial Louisiana. It is named after two subsequent owners, the sisters Bertha Baldemero and Emma Camors, who were wealthy Creoles. The sisters turned the residence into an exclusive ladies’ shop in 1886. In 1963 Joe Fein bought the shop and turned it into an exquisite restaurant. The Fein family still owns and runs the restaurant today. It is an enclosed building surrounded by an outdoor courtyard which served as the location for an enormous hot and cold buffet.
Breakfasts and lunches in the French Quarter tended to be the standard fares that are served all over the United States. I ate a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs every day. For lunch, I tended to eat egg sandwiches, because tuna and salmon were not available. The only time I saw tuna was in a cafeteria in downtown New Orleans. That was when I took half a day to see what New Orleans looked like outside the French Quarter. My tuna sandwich tasted funny and I tried to return it. The cafeteria staff were surprised. Lunch menus contained an abundance of shrimp, crab, and ham salads.
