Beignets, Coffee and Creole

I went to New Orleans for the first time this weekend. We packed a whole lotta eating and touristing into 24 hours. We stayed at the W, which was obviously understaffed. Their efforts at five star service fell so short that it ended up being a huge inconvenience. Fortunately, we weren't in New Orleans for the hotel and spent very little time there. Although, it really would have been nice to have a bar of soap.

We arrived Saturday afternoon and went on a four hour walking tour of the French Quarter while we waited for our room to be prepared. For dinner we went to the Commander's Palace Restaurant. It was delicious and the service was excellent.
After a night of bar-hopping in the French Quarter we woke up early and enjoyed beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde.
Of course I bought a box of Cafe du Monde beignet mix and a can of coffee and chicory at their company store. I also picked up a local cookbook "Recipes and Reminiscences of New Orleans," which was a cookbook of the month selection in 1978 and is in Southern Living's hall of fame.After a few more hours of shopping and browsing, including a stop at the local yarn shop The Quarter Stitch, we ended our tour at Mother's for lunch. I had crawfish etouffee and the boy had a po-boy with debris on top.Thank goodness for 24 hour vacations. Our weekend of eating probably took 10 years off our life expectancies, but it was taaaasty!