On Labor Day weekend, we wanted to take advantage of the extra day off, so we took off work a bit early to make the drive down to New Orleans. All of the podcasts I downloaded really helped the 8 hour drive from Dallas fly by (shout out to NPR!).
We rented an AirBnB in the Treme neighborhood - primarily because it was dog-friendly! It ended up being really perfect for us. We had a backyard for the pup, access to our host (who lived downstairs) and a perfect place to watch college football.
Once we got in, we were STARVED, so we dropped off our stuff and jumped right back in the car to get some po'boys at Parkway Bakery and Tavern. They are dog-friendly on the covered patio and the food was delicious!
The next morning, we drove over to the Garden District for District Donuts. We tried the Pineapple Upside Down pictured below, as well as a sausage roll and a Monte Cristo (donut/ham/jam) sandwich. There was a lovely little area outside for Indy as well.
We walked off the breakfast by wandering around the Garden District for a few hours. The houses are so charming - we had fun picking out our future mansion! For any of you "American Horror Story" fans out there, the Coven House can be found right on Jackson Street. We walked through Lafayette Cemetery and saw Commander's Palace before we jumped in the car to drive over to Audubon Park.
Audobon Park was beautiful and thankfully shaded! We walked around the upper part of the park - making it about a 2 mile path. Indy was begging to jump in the water and play with the birds - sorry dude.
We cruised down Charles Street, where the most ridiculous houses are to be found. Here we got to see the streetcars and pick up lunch at The Grocery. It would have been fun to ride along the streetcars, but they don't allow dogs. Feeling the affects of our sugary breakfast, we grabbed some salads (we made it a Muffaletta version) and headed back to our place.
We watched the Aggies BTHO UCLA before we drove over to St. Roch's Market to grab dinner. While dogs aren't allowed inside, there is a lovely little patio area set up outside. I was able to grab a cocktail from one stall, and Jason and I grabbed dinner from two others. This is a fun place - I wish I could have tried more!
We decided to check out Frenchman Street instead of Bourbon (since we had the pup) and it was fun to hear all of the amazing jazz music everywhere we went without the madness that was just a few streets away. There were some great art markets that we were able to browse as well. Indy got some love from everyone that saw him!
The next morning, we grabbed a casual breakfast at Cafe Envie. We got really lucky with the rain this trip and mostly missed all but some slight drizzling! While we were eating breakfast, it was apparently pouring just a few streets over in the French Quarter. We were able to do a photography walk all around the area. The weekend we were there was also the Southern Decadence festival, so the pride flags were everywhere!
Needing a pick-me-up, we went to a separate District Donuts location to grab some coffee and then the Whole Food across the street to grab lunch.
That evening we left Indy at the house to go have a human night out. We started with a drink at the Carousel Bar (I had a Pimm's cup and Jason went with the NOLA special - Sazerac). We also had reservations for dinner at Brennan's.
The food was honestly incredible. We started with the steak tartare to split, I had the Poisson Blange (fish with crab, oysters and fish on top) and Jason had the Tuna dish, and we finished with the traditional Bananas Foster. Seeing the dessert lit on fire table-side was so ridiculous, but also amazing. You can't go here without trying it! Probably my favorite desert of all time.
The next morning, we strolled around City Park and had some beignets and cafe au laits at Morning Call before we drove back to Dallas.
It was such a fun weekend away with my guys and New Orleans is just SO dog-friendly.
Next up for us: We're hoping to fly to St. Louis here in a few weeks to visit family!
