Culinary and Historic

Wednesday, 15 December 2004 - Culinary and Historic

It is still cold - Bob says only 39 degs F. We left about 11 after I got finished catching up writing about the trip. The maids had put a note under the door at 9:30 because we had the Privacy sign out. So Bob figured that was it and it would be OK to take it down. I knew they would be back. They empty the trash which is OK, but I don't want the bed remade. When the top sheet is tucked in along the side, I can't stick my foot out. And they always take the towels from the bathroom even though they are still clean, and put clean ones on the table in the living room. That means that when you are in the bathroom, you don't have any. We've left the sign on the door except for Monday.

Bob wanted to stop at McDonalds to have lunch. I did not. I thought it would be a waste of being in New Orleans, but he thought it would be something that wouldn't upset his stomach. (His stomach is much more easily upset than mine.)

It WAS warmer than yesterday, so I said it would be a really good time to go to Uglesich's for lunch. I saw Uglesich's (pronounced YU-gul-sitch) profiled on Rachael Ray's $40/day TV show when it was in New Orleans. The restaurant is open only for lunch Monday through Friday, from 10:30 until four, and has a fan base that includes high-profile restaurateurs Emeril Lagasse, Susan Spicer and Frank Brigtsen. Each year, people fear he may close for his annual summer vacation and never reopen. [And I don't think it reopened after Katrina] Bob wasn't thrilled with standing in line in the cold. This place takes no reservations, and no credit cards - there are only about 10 tables.

I promised Bob that if we went on the streetcar to Uglesich's (and didn't take a cab) that we could go to McDonalds for dinner and wouldn't have to go to some expensive fancy place.

We walked down Canal Street

to where we could get the historic St. Charles line streetcar which has been in operation since 1835. New Orleans first and last streetcar route, the St. Charles Avenue line, is the world's oldest operating streetcar line.

St. Charles Line Street Car

Charles Street streetcar

Fare Box

Inside the streetcar

From the streetcar

Uglesich's is at 1200 Baronne St. about two blocks north of where the streetcar goes.

House opposite Uglesich - Garden District

Uglesich's door

We stood in line outside Uglesich's for only about 15 minutes,

Uglesich's waiting line

and then we gave our order, paid ($33.12),

At the register paying

and waited for a table to be free.

Inside of the restaurant while waiting for a table

Anthony Uglesich

Another Table at Uglesich's

While we were waiting, we talked to the champion oyster shucker - with the awards he had won back of him on the wall and told him he should come and compete in Leonardtown at our Oyster Festival for the World Championship.

Champion Oyster Shucker

I had fried green tomatoes with shrimp remolade appetizer, which was one of their specialties,

Fried green tomatoes with shrimp remolade

and then I had Mama's shrimp pasta.. Mama's pasta proved to have shrimp, artichokes and dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese on spaghetti.

Uglesich's Mama's shrimp pasta

Bob had a shrimp remolade salad.

Shrimp remolade salad

Everything was delicious. We got there about noon, and were finished about 1:15. We walked back to the streetcar.

Garden District back street

Milk plant silos

We rode to the end of the line through the Garden District, and I tried to take photos of many of the mansions along the streetcar line. I was having a lot of trouble with the reflections in the streetcar window, and it was too cold to open the window.

Flash reflected off the window

The French Quarter is what many people think of when they think of New Orleans. But the Garden District is where the upstart rich Americans built their opulent homes between 1832 to 1900. It may be one of the best preserved collection of historic southern mansions in the United States.

The Episcopal Cathedral

Watch for streetcars sign

Picture of Loyola sign from the St. Charles line

Audubon Park from the St. Charles streetcar

You can go to the zoo by riding the John James Audubon up the river 7 miles from the Aquarium. But you can also take the St. Charles streetcar. The zoo is in Audubon Park. This park is privately owned - it is not a national, state or city park. The entrance on St. Charles Avenue designed by John Charles Olmsted was built by the Audubon Commission over three quarters of a century ago. In 1884 this park was the site of the World’s Fair including a building covering 30 acres.

Audubon Park

Audubon Place gatehouse

We also saw other restaurants from the streetcar ranging from

Wendy's

Delmonico

Popeye's which started in New Orleans

Rally's

Saltwater Grill at the end of the line

street sweeper from the street car

Beads in the trees 10 months after Mardi Gras

Beads in the trees 10 months later

We rode back to Lee Circle.

Lee Statue

Lee Circle

St. Charles line historic plaque on Lee Circle

and got off and went to the D-Day Museum

Memorial Hall Confederate Museum

On the way we went past the Confederate Museum which contains the second largest collection of Confederate memorabilia in the world in the oldest continually operating museum in Louisiana. It was founded in 1891 by Confederate veterans who have donated most of the materials such as uniforms, battle flags, guns, and pictures. They also have an online store.

Confederate Museum

Parking outside the museums. Showing why you shouldn't rent a car for New Orleans

Rocket Taxi outside D-Day museum

D-Day Museum

Displays in the museum shop

I did not expect to enjoy this but it was VERY well done.

Landing Craft design by a local Louisianian

Armada

Enigma Machine

There were two terrific movies - one about the D-Day invasion and the other about the war in the Pacific, including talking about the A-bomb. They had personal stories from participants on both sides, and exhibits of things like war bonds,

War Bond

Savings bond and stamps

Stamps for Savings Bonds

Zinc pennies

and various uniforms.

Uniforms

Airplane

We got there about 2:40 and they had to kick us out at 5:00.

Lee Circle

I had made Bob get a transfer when we took the streetcar the last time, although he complained that he didn't know where we would use it because you can't use a transfer to get back on the same line. But, as I had planned, we got on the Magazine Street bus, using part of the transfer,

Bus stop sign

and then when we got back to Canal Street, we used the rest of the transfer to get back to our stop. I'd seen people do that - Bob thought we'd have to pay another 40 cents each. He's getting so deaf (or else he doesn't listen to what I'm saying half the time) that it is too hard to explain to him what I intend to do.

Bike rider on Canal Street at dusk

Bob tried to get some Krispy Kreme donuts at the Walgrens, but there was nothing to put them in. I went into the Great Wall restaurant and got General Tso's chicken

and Bob went into McDonalds, and then we went back to the hotel to eat.

The maids had been there and moved all the towels back to the living room table. I haven't eaten the leftovers from Deanies, and I'm afraid to now, so I threw them out.