Mardi Gras 2015 Part 2: King Cakes, Causeways, and Coconuts.

Anything that Tom Hanks does related to World War II is sure to make people cry.  I remember the ten somber minutes of silence in the movie theater after watching Saving Private Ryan on opening night in 1998.  To this day, Band of Brothers is the only war-related show that The Wife will watch even though it will bring her to tears.  And The Pacific was just so violent and sad, even if you already knew what would happen to John Basilone.  Since we were planning to go to the National World War II Museum on our trip to New Orleans, I wanted The Boy to understand what happened during that conflict.  It's one thing reading some dry facts about the war.  By having him watch those aforementioned programs, I hoped that it would better help him understand the sacrifices that so many individual Americans made in the name of democracy and freedom.

We met up with Big Brother's family for breakfast again at the Ruby Slipper Cafe.  The place was already full at 8:30 AM, so we had to sit outside.  The morning air was a bit nippy, but the restaurant turned on their outdoor heaters to warm us up.

The shrimp and grits were disappointingly bland.

The slipper salad contains fried panko-encrusted goat cheese.

After breakfast, we walked several blocks to get to the World War II Museum.  We went there when it first opened in 2000 as the D-Day Museum.  Back then it was focused solely on the events of June 6, 1944.

This small, one-person watchtower was used
by the Germans along the coast of France.

This steel-reinforced tank barrier was part of the Atlantic Wall on Utah beach.

Nowadays, the museum has switched its focus to the entire war.  At the entrance, there is a small gallery dedicated to the homefront and America's industrial might during the war. 

The family is ready to storm the museum from the landing craft.

The Boy poses for a war time propaganda poster.

The Supermarine Spitfire held off the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. 

A 37 mm anti-tank gun is displayed alongside a couple of mortars.

The popularity of the Harley-Davidson WLA army motorcycles
contributed to the growth of post-war biker gangs.

The museum "tour" begins by getting a credit-card sized "dog-tag" where you can pick one of several veterans to follow during the course of the war.  Throughout the museum, there are stations where you can swipe your card and hear narratives from these people as they describe their war-time experience.  They have men and women from all service branches.  I wound up with an artilleryman; The Girl got a tanker; and The Wife picked a Red Cross nurse.  The selections are limited so you really can't pick a Japanese-American internment camp guard or a Pentagon-based supply clerk.  Sadly, many of those veterans have since passed on after donating their stories for the museum's archives.

One of the main exhibits is called The Road to Berlin.  It documents America's involvement in the European theater.  Plans are also being made to document the war on Japan.  But construction of that exhibit hasn't begun yet.   

The museum has a wide arsenal of weapons from the U.S...

...and Germany.

The Girl poses in front of a 105 mm howitzer.

Kilroy wasn't the only one there.

A couple of lids from the African campaign are on display.

The museum has some obscure weapons including this obsolete MG 15 machine gun...

...and this MP 3008, a cheap submachine gun made by a desperate Germany at the war's end.

Inside another building called the Freedom Pavillion are several American bombers, fighters, and army vehicles used during World War II.  In the interest of time, we skipped an extra interactive exhibit called The Last Mission, about a submarine that was sunk in 1944 while operating in the Pacific theater.  

The M3 Stuart light tank was practically obsolete at the start of World War II.

The M4 Sherman tank was the workhorse of the U.S. armored divisions.  Brad Pitt is not included. 

Jeeps and military ambulances provided tremendous support during the war.

This water-cooled M1917 30 cal. machine gun has its roots in the first World War.

This B17 bomber ("My Gal Sal") crash-landed in Greenland in 1942.  It was finally recovered in 1995. 

The F4U Corsair helped Navy and Marine pilots obtain air superiority over the Japanese.

A similar Avenger bomber was flown by President George H.W. Bush when he was shot down in 1944.

The P-51 was considered to be the best fighter aircraft during World War II.

The Dauntless dive bomber played an important role in early Pacific battles such as Midway.

We had also purchased tickets for the showing of Beyond All Boundaries located inside the Victory Theater.  It's a 4D movie that gives visitors an overview of the United State's involvement in both the European and Pacific theaters of World War II.  As soon as the film started, the image cut to Tom Hanks who was the narrator.  I got misty-eyed already.  The show had a very nice production value, but some parts were a bit graphic for the younger kids in our group.  It really hit home the point that the war took the lives of 60 million people.

We had a quick bite at the museum's Soda Shop.  The food offerings were very limited and relatively pricey ($7 for a hotdog with chips).  They do offer ice cream and milkshakes, but it was way too cold for that.

The Soda Shop has 1940's-era decor.  Too bad they didn't have 1940's prices.

After lunch, we said our goodbyes to Big Brother and his family as they were flying back home that afternoon.  The Wife and The Girl were headed over to The Shops At Canal Place, a nearby mall that includes high end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue.  I was torn between going with her to make sure that she didn't spend too much or not going so that I wouldn't have to face extreme boredom.  Eventually, I decided against going as The Boy wanted to watch the parades that afternoon.  We stayed near our hotel to see the floats from the krewes of Okeanos, Mid-City, and Thoth.  By this time, we were really tired of watching parades.

The Boy and I did go out later that night to see the Bacchus extravaganza that was passing directly in front of our hotel.  They are another one of the "super krewes" that marches the Sunday night before Fat Tuesday.  We stayed for the first four floats, long enough to see this year's king, John C. Reilly, and the actors from Hot Tub Time Machine 2.  Once again, it was too crowded for The Boy to get a good view.

Bacchus king, "Reed Rothchild," gives a salute to the lowly peasants in the crowd.    

*****

Monday, February 16, 2015

Since there was going to be no parades until later that evening, The Wife and I decided to take The Kids out to see some other areas of New Orleans.  We first walked over to Cafe Beignet on Royal Street for a quick breakfast.

Besides beignets, the restaurant serves other sorts of delectable baked goods.

The Kids fought over this chocolate croissant.

We liked these beignets better than those at Cafe du Monde.  These were lighter and puffier.

We then drove over to the Tulane School of Medicine to show The Kids our alma mater.  Unfortunately, most of the school was closed for the Mardi Gras holiday so we couldn't show them around the classrooms.

Our visit to the medical center brought back some good memories...

...and some bad memories (i.e. the now-closed Charity Hospital).

We then drove up St. Charles Avenue so that The Kids could see all of the historic mansions with their grand architecture.  They couldn't have cared less.

Tall ladder seats are used by children to watch the parades go by on  St. Charles Avenue.

Several trees along the parade routes were completely covered in beads.

We were also on a mission to get some king cakes, the quintessential dessert of Mardi Gras.  They originated 300 years ago as sugar-coated bread.  They have since undergone a metamorphosis into danish or brioche pastries seasoned with cinnamon and glazed with icing.  In the last fifty years, cream cheese and fruit jam fillings have been added.  It was also tradition to hide a bean inside the king cake.  Over the last century, little plastic babies have now been used.  Whoever gets the slice with a baby is supposed to have good luck for the year (if they don't choke to death on it first).  They also have to buy the next king cake.  Sadly, many places no longer hide the baby for legal reasons.  This horrible, unethical practice has led to monstrosities like this.

King cakes are so popular during Mardi Gras, that every restaurant or bakery does their own version whether traditional, ultra fancy, or just plain weird.  In the past several years the website for the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper has given a rundown of all of the king cakes being sold in the city.

We stopped off at Sucre on Magazine Street.  This highly-regarded sweets shop tops many of the lists for best king cake.  At $20 for a size that is much smaller than traditional king cakes, it is also fairly expensive.  Despite the cold, The Kids also bought some ice cream and sherbet. 

The Sucre branch on Magazine Street.

It may be the best king cake in town, but it's surely not the biggest.

Sucre can also satisfy any cravings for fancy chocolates or French macarons. 

We also wanted some more traditional king cakes.  We headed up to Metairie to buy some from a hugely popular store, Manny Randazzo's.  Unfortunately, they completely ran out while we were waiting in the long line.  We were able to buy some cream cheese and apple-filled ones nearby at a small outpost for Antoine's Famous Cakes, a West Bank bakery.  They turned out to be really good.

The line to buy a Randazzo's king cake snaked out past the parking lot.

To continue our nostalgic voyage, we stopped by our old apartments in River Ridge, where we had lived for three years.  It hadn't changed at all.

While convenient and inexpensive, these apartments
lacked the charm of a house in Uptown New Orleans.

We also stopped by the Metairie branch of the Acme Oyster House.  The twenty minute wait was much more reasonable than it was downtown.  The food was very good, but it didn't blow us away.

The guys at the oyster bar worked incessantly shucking oysters.

Plump, juicy oysters on the half shell.

Seafood gumbo.

Crawfish etoufee.

Jambalaya 

Sad but true anecdote:

In 1996, my family had visited relatives back in the old country of Vietnam.  My cousins who grew up in communist-controlled Hanoi pointed out to me some rinky-dink bridge that couldn't have been more than a 200-300 yards long.  They proudly boasted that it was the longest bridge in the world.  They were more than just a little brain-washed from all of the communist propaganda.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that the largest bridge in the world (at that time) was the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.  Built in 1969, the 24 mile span connects New Orleans with the North Shore communities.  In the last fifteen years, five bridges have been constructed in Asia, but the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is still the longest one spanning a continuous body of water.

We drove The Kids back and forth across the bridge so that they could see the bridge and the lake.  I don't think they were very impressed with the monotonous scenery.

The side trip took 45 minutes and costs $3 to pay the toll booth on the way back into the city.

After a short nap back at the hotel, we got dressed up for our dinner reservations at Restaurant August, John Besh’s flagship eatery.  I was a bit wary that it would be inappropriate to take The Kids to such a high-end restaurant.  However, the wait staff were very accommodating, and The Kids were very well-behaved.  They have two five course tasting menus--one with meat and the other vegetarian.  However, we didn't try those as they would be too much for The Kids to eat.

Egg custard with roasted cauliflower served in an eggshell.

Handmade potato gnocchi with blue crab and black truffles.

Foie gras three ways: mousse with pickled chanterelle and pear, cured inside a baumchuken
(sponge cake) with a champagne gelee, and a terrine with a sweet, fruity marmalade.

Wagyu hanger steak with kimchi and a cured yard egg.

Breaded flounder with shrimp, fennel, and citrus fruit.

Roasted duckling with sweet potato, swiss chard, and foie gras.

Scallops and oxtail on a bed of risotto.

Meyer lemon souffle tart.

Cornbread pudding with strawberries.

The egg custard amuse bouche and both the foie gras and gnocchi appetizers were great.  The oxtail and scallops was the best entree we tried with the roasted duckling second.  The garnishes on the hanger steak dish were way too salty (and I love salt!) whereas the flounder seemed to be under-seasoned.  Both desserts were pretty good, but I enjoyed the tart more than the cornbread pudding.  Although there were a few misses, the food was very good overall.  It wasn't cheap though, as it came out to about $300 for the four of us without alcohol.

We were finishing off our desserts when we were so rudely interrupted by the start of the Orpheus parade passing right in front of the restaurant.  The crowds were fairly light as it had been raining pretty hard for the past hour.  The Kids donned their ponchos and I took them right outside the restaurant to watch the parade.  There were no barricades erected on Tchoupitoulas Street, so The Kids could just walk right up to the floats.  They had a blast as they were getting so many beads and trinkets thrown towards them.  The floats zoomed by us quickly as I’m sure that the Orpheus riders were very cold and wet from all of the rain.

This masked midget had an enjoyable time at the Orpheus parade.

*****

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

In the four years that we lived in New Orleans, our favorite Mardi Gras parade was the one thrown by the Zulu Pleasure and Social Club.  The most coveted “throws” of all the Mardi Gras parades are the decorated coconuts given out by the Zulu riders.  Back in the day, The Wife and I would watch the parade near its end around Louis Armstrong Park.  In that area, the lack of barricades allowed us to just walk right up to the floats.  Plus, we could still sleep in that day and catch the parade around noon.  The Wife was always able to clean up on coconuts, getting two or three each time we went.  Unfortunately, those coconuts eventually rotted over the years and had to be thrown away.

We debated whether we wanted to see the Zulu Parade this year.  On one hand, it would be awesome to see if The Kids could get some coconuts.  On the other hand, it was going to be really cold and we couldn’t stay very long as we still had a long drive back home through inclement weather.  In the end, we decided to stick around for the parade.

We got up extra early that morning and checked out of the hotel.  We didn’t have time to wait for the parade at its end, so we drove Uptown to see it near the start.

Tents and chairs were set up hours in advance along the St. Charles parade routes.

Portable porta-potties are a solution to the
lack of public restrooms during Mardi Gras.

In South Louisiana, Mardi Gras day is a full-day family-friendly festival.

By the time we arrived where the parade would make the turn from Jackson Avenue to St. Charles Avenue, the sidewalks were already fully-lined with people.  Luckily, we were still able to find a front row spot for The Kids.  However, we were disappointed that we were in an area where there were barricades erected.  For legal reasons, Zulu riders are no longer allowed to throw coconuts into the crowds—they can only be handed off to people.  Those barricades would prevent us from getting within reaching distance of the floats.  Another alternative is for the riders to have some of the nearby police officers give them to specific people in the crowd.  However, there weren’t any cops in our general vicinity.  Our chances of getting one of those coveted coconuts were looking pretty slim.

But the worse part of it all was that we were freezing our butts off.  Despite the several layers of clothes we were wearing, we really hadn't packed for 37 degree Fahrenheit temperatures.  The Kids whined incessantly, but at least they had long underwear and hoodies to cover their bodies.  The Wife didn't even bring any gloves along for the trip.

Our light fleece coats were no match for the near freezing temperatures.

While we waited for the Krewe of Zulu to get moving, an unofficial "parade" ...

...with some home-made floats marched down St. Charles Avenue.

After what seemed like forever, the parade appeared in our sights.

I have never understood why the African-American Zulu paraders wear black-face.

Fortune smiled on us that day.  Before the first float even arrived, some of the parade members dressed in Zulu warrior costumes walked by and handed a coconut to both The Boy and The Girl.  We thanked them profusely.  The coconuts were much lighter and less decorated than the ones we had gotten 13 years ago.  Hopefully the insides had been fully emptied so that they wouldn’t rot this time around.  We stuck around to see a couple of the floats.  But we were just too cold in our light jackets, so we left after seeing less than 25% of the parade.

They may not look like much, but these coconuts are the ultimate trophies of the Mardi Gras parades.

From there on, we started our five hour journey back home.  For breakfast, we enjoyed the king cake that we bought from Sucre the day before.  I thought it was really good, but The Wife couldn't believe that it was ranked as “the best king cake” from several websites.

Failure to hide the baby should disqualify an entrant from being the best king cake in New Orleans.

Because we couldn't get enough of the Mardi Gras flavor, we stopped at a PJ's Coffee and ordered some king-cake flavored lattes and a king cake muffin.

In addition to the muffins, PJ's also sells full-sized king cakes.

Altogether, we enjoyed coming back to New Orleans and reminiscing about some of the cuisine and locations special to us.  We also came back much heavier too, with 76 pounds of beads to go along with several more pounds around the waist.  Oh well.  New Orleans food is worth it.