Friday, May 20, 2011

New Orleans Part II {Crawfest, Stein's Deli & Shopping on Magazine Street}

Crawfish at the Festival.  Suck da head!
There are a lot of festivals in New Orleans that involve music and food - Jazz Fest comes to mind - but this one was even better in a way. The Crawfest at Tulane might not have involved headliners like Sting and Bon Jovi (?) but it was easy to get in and out of, the music was good and the crawfish even better. To get some, you have to get a wrist band, which entitles you to two (or maybe three) trips to the crawfish trough.
Behind the scenes of the crawfish operation...
They were boiling up the buggers in the back and dumping them into what looked like a boat on the table, along with corn and potatoes. We brought our own beer (one of the advantages of New Orleans, you can pretty much take it anywhere) and had a lovely picnic on the grass listening to the Baby Boyz Brass Band - featuring high school students (hence the name.) Very good stuff.
Crawfish!
The crowd was pretty sparse when we got there around 11. It's a good idea to go early. They run out of crawfish by 1 or so.
Crawfest on the Tulane Campus
These kids had the right idea. Crawfish and a gallon of daiquiris.
These kids had the right idea - crawfish and daiquiris.
In the afternoon, the girls split from the boys, and while they went to the WWII museum, we headed to Magazine Street for some browsing. Mid-afternoon, we we were walking down the street when I spotted some folks eating a fine looking sandwich at a table outside this deli, called Stein's.
Stein's Deli on Magazine.
We walked inside and I was smitten - with the rough floor, the chalkboard menu, the refrigerators full of delicious ice cold beverages, the works.
Stein's Deli
Of course we had to order something. This was the "Sam" - hot pastrami with cole slaw, swiss cheese and Russian dressing, on toasted rye. It was every bit as good as it looks. Maybe even better.
Yes!  THAT is what a sandwich should look like!
I didn't buy anything on Magazine Street - I was sort of tapped out from the Rose Bowl Flea Market (which I still haven't told you about) but we saw some pretty cool stuff. This shop called Neophobia had a nice selection of mid-century modern items at good prices.
Neophobia on Magazine St.
Margie and I also fell in love with this art deco solid brass chandelier. I would have seriously considered it if: a) I had any place at all to put it, or b) it wasn't $995.00.
Margie and I both fell hard for this brass art deco chandelier.  $925.
We also saw a lot of rustic garden wares. This one shop had about a thousand of these rusty red chairs sitting around - perfect for your overgrown "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" courtyard.
Just the thing for a rustic garden...
This is the kind of stuff you expect to find in New Orleans antiques shop - gold, white, French, looking like something out of Interview With The Vampire.
More Antiques on Magazine
Magazine Street is full of great little boutiques, cafes, bars and gelato shops, so be sure to give it a stroll if you are in the area. You can get there fairly easily from the French Quarter on the St. Charles streetcar - just walk south through the Garden District - which is worth a walk around in itself just to peek through the gates of the mansions!

Coming up next - Cochon and Cochon butcher shop - our main dining out adventure in NOLA!


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