A few weeks back, in one of my homilies I referred to a wonderful trip I made in February to New Orleans, Louisiana. I promised when I posted that homily that once comps were finished I'd get around to writing a full-length post on all the sites, sounds, and tastes that I experienced in the Big Easy. Well, I'm happy to say that I've passed comprehensive exams and now have the time to make good on my promise ...
I'd been hoping to visit New Orleans for years, going back at least to my senior year at Notre Dame when I wrote my thesis on Archbishop Joseph Rummel who integrated the Catholic schools of the archdiocese in the early 1960s. But this year I finally had a great excuse to visit because my friend Scott has been living in New Orleans for a work assignment.
Just blocks from where I was staying, I began my visit to New Orleans with a visit to the National World War II Museum. Founded as the National D-Day Museum, it was located in New Orleans because it was there that Andrew Higgins designed and built the famous landing crafts that were used in Operation Overlord.
Although the Museum now covers the entirety of the Second World War, and is massively expanding, its explication of the conflict is accomplished primarily through the numerous "D-Day" landings that marked both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of operation. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have also produced an excellent movie for the Museum which I though handled the moral issues of the war in particularly subtle and impressive fashion.
While Scott worked during the day, I explored different sections of the city under crystal clear skies. First up was the heart of the French Quarter and Jackson Square with the iconic Cathedral of St. Louis -where I was also pleased to concelebrate Mass on Sunday morning.
I also spent nearly a whole day riding the St. Charles streetcars and walking the Uptown and Garden District neighborhoods, including the campuses of Tulane and Loyola Universities.
I spent hours just looking at the amazing architecture of the homes and their beautifully maintained lawns and gardens. I also took dozens of photos, but I'll spare you by offering just this example of a Garden District home all decked out for the start of Mardi Gras...:
... and this picture of the boyhood home of Eli Manning (who had just won his second Super Bowl MVP with my beloved New York Football Giants!!!):
The Garden District also offered the perfect opportunity to pop into one of New Orleans' classic above-ground cemeteries.
Throughout my visit I ate amazing food at all sorts of different restaurants. I worked my way through a checklist that included all the classic New Orleans' dishes: gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish pie, poboys, muffaletta, and the like.
Jambalaya and Abita Beer
Soft-shell Crab Poboy at Mother's. I also really enjoyed the traditional roast beef poboy at Mahony's
but somehow didn't get a picture of all that deliciousness.
Crawfish Pie at Franky & Johnny's
Raw Oysters at Luke
I'll just highlight a few of the best meals I enjoyed during my stay, starting with a North Portland-esque neighborhood restaurant called Cochon.
The place really did feel like it belonged to the Portland food scene in so many ways - but then there were the creole touches that reminded you where you were. With our delightful cocktails we sampled the house-cured meats, macaroni and cheese, fried alligator, and the grits. I'm fairly certain this was my first experience of alligator, and it really does just taste like chicken!
Another culinary highlight was the James Beard Award-winning Willie Mae's Scotch House in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. The crowds line up long before lunch to sample the house speciality: fried chicken, corn bread, and the ubiquitous red beans and rice.
It was seriously some of the best fried chicken I have ever had in my life. I could have sat there all day gorging myself on that crispy goodness. But you have to save room for dessert! Which means you head back to Jackson Square, to the world-famous Cafe Du Monde - if not for coffee with chicory ....
... then for the fabulous beignets with powdered sugar and for the people watching. Throughout the week I found my path inexplicably winding its way just close enough to the Cafe that it seemed a shame not to stop by for just a few more beignets!
One of the real highlights of the trip was the chance to see some of the most important sites in the history of Holy Cross in the United States. We have been in New Orleans since 1849 and outside of the University of Notre Dame, its hard to conceive of a more iconic apostolate in the U.S.
Unfortunately, since Hurricane Katrina Holy Cross our priests have withdrawn from the city and closed Sacred Heart parish:
And the hurricane did tremendous damage to the Brothers' Holy Cross School, an all boys academy for grades 5 through 12. The original campus was right along the levees in the Lower Ninth Ward, and I had the chance to see the now condemned buildings and the FEMA trailers where classes were first held when the school reopened after the storm.
But I was also able to tour the miraculous new campus that the school has built on the site of a former parish church, grade school, and high school.
The new buildings were designed by a Holy Cross and Notre Dame alumnus and were modeled on the original main building of the school.
The chapel and dining hall are yet to be built, but the academic and athletic facilities have been completed and they rival anything you'd fine on the nicest college campuses in the country. There are currently no brothers on the faculty, unfortunately, but the headmaster warmly welcomed us and I enjoyed speaking with some of the faculty and students. I very much hope to make return visits to this wonderful apostolate!
I was also lucky enough to be in New Orleans at the very beginning of the Mardi Gras season so I was able to attend three different parades. Happily, one of the parades included the Holy Cross Tiger Band:
I most enjoyed the evening parades we saw, but unfortunately those photos didn't come out quite as well. I also had a hard time juggling my adult beverage, my camera, and all the beads I needed to catch!
Despite their reputation, these Uptown Mardi Gras parades are really very family oriented. There were lots of little ones with their parents along the parade route - sometimes perched atop step ladders so as to better catch more beads! I also made a couple of trips down into the French Quarter's notorious Bourbon Street.
Although it was undoubtedly a bit cliched, I still very much enjoyed sitting out on the patio behind Pat O'Brien's soaking in the sun and the refreshing Hurricanes they serve!
I should also note that I enjoyed several of the city's official cocktail, the Sazerac, including while sitting on the front porch of the Columns Hotel, while HBO set up for a shoot of Treme inside.
At night, Bourbon Street takes on an entirely different feel - and like Times Square, you really want to experience it at night. Towards the end of my stay, when we made our evening trip to the Quarter, it had gotten quite a bit cooler - which I think helped tame some of the less inspiring traditions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. So I was able to soak in the atmosphere without encountering too much vice!
Whatever its reputation as a sin-city, I think New Orleans does have one highly civilized civil code that trumps those in so many other American cities: responsibly enjoying a frozen adult beverage while walking the city streets is perfectly legal, and I can attest, quite enjoyable.
My trip also included a tour of the Chalmette Battle site from the War of 1812, and several wonderful visits to live music venues on Frenchman Street. Unfortunately, my pictures in those darkened venues didn't come out so well - and without sound they wouldn't capture the experience anyway. So, you'll just have to make a visit for yourself!
I'm grateful to Scott for hosting me, and happy to report that I will be making a return visit to New Orleans in January 2013 to present a paper at the annual American Catholic Historical Association meetings. I already can't wait! Laissez les bons temps roullez!!
