Sunday, September 4, 2016
Slept in. Sunday brunch at Brennan's. We waited about 15 minutes past our reservation for our corner table—the best table in the room. Drinks included: hibiscus pimm's, spark watermelon, caribbean milk punch, fawlty lemonade. French bread and salted butter for the table. Paul had a crab and chanterelle mushroom omelet with arugula and lemon butter ($25) and a side of brabant potatoes ($6); Drew had Brennan's Breakfast ($28) with baked apple with oatmeal pecan raisin crumble, brown sugar glaze, sweetened crème fraîche and eggs sardou with crispy artichokes, Parmesan creamed spinach, and choron sauce; Charles had the New Orleans Breakfast ($31) with seafood file gumbo and braised pork grillades (Georgia cheddar grits, egg over easy, Creole spices); Peter had the vieux carré 2-course lunch ($28) with seafood file gumbo (crab, shrimp, andouille, oysters, Basmati rice) and creole-spiced shrimp salad (hearts of palm, avocado, cherry tomatoes, lime dressing); Wayne had the same as Charles: New Orleans Breakfast ($31) with seafood file gumbo and braised pork grillades (Georgia cheddar grits, egg over easy, Creole spices); Phil had turtle soup ($9) with brown butter spinach, grated egg, and aged sherry as well as crab meat lundi gras ($13) with green asparagus, jumbo lump crab meat, cherry tomato, radish, french dressing; Danny had rabbit rushing ($28): fried Mississippi rabbit, creamed collards, eggs over easy, pickled pork jus; I had the same as Peter: vieux carré 2-course lunch ($28) with seafood file gumbo (crab, shrimp, andouille, oysters, Basmati rice) and creole-spiced shrimp salad (hearts of palm, avocado, cherry tomatoes, lime dressing). For dessert we shared one order of two dishes of bananas foster. (Ordering the bananas foster is so confusing.) Before this meal I did not know what brabant potatoes were. To me they are fried potato cubes like a hash but more consistently cubes rather than cuboids and the cubes are slightly larger than the cuboids in a hash. Neither Phil nor Danny thought this meal was special. Everyone else liked the meal and experience. I thought the service was excellent. My favorite part was seeing a family in the waiting room dressed perfectly for Brennan's except out of season in distinctly Easter colors. Later my stomach felt queasy and I had mild digestive issues. I thought it was the Brennan's gumbo but also felt there was no way to be certain. Last night I had a few pieces of leftover sushi; maybe that was it. We had tentative plans to visit The Country Club today, but a torrential thunderstorm began and I just couldn't find the energy to leave the known party activity on Bourbon Street for the unknown activity taking place at The Country Club. Also, I feared that the pool would be closed due to lightning, and the day really wasn't hot enough for me to be in a pool. The thunderstorm hit during the walking parade which passed in front of our house. Most people ran for shelter but still got wet, and the parade and music continued even in the thickest of downpours. Since I was prepared to go to the pool today, I donned my swimsuit and walked out in the storm to watch the parade up close from the sidewalk. Downspouts and gutters turned into rivers while "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls, "YMCA" by The Village People, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston, and other gay-themed and gay-loved classics blared from Lafitte's, peppered with real lightning and thunder. For dinner, I ordered 5 oyster poboys and 2 shrimp poboys from Verdi-Mart. I was surprised that they would deliver even during a parade. The delivery man arrived on bicycle. $120 including a generous tip. Our downstairs neighbors invited some strangers to the house to let them use the restroom—it turned out fine. Hector and Tony stopped by at my invitation. We chatted and I gave them a tour of the house. Later I encountered drug dealers loitering outside our entrance. When I reentered one tried to pretend he was locked out, and I had to slam the gate in his face to prevent him from entering.