Cock"taling" it in New Orleans

Trips back home mean connecting with my family and clients, making it all mesh in a timely fashion. They typically start with visits with my long term, good friends, who happen to be members of the media (and I adore!) and then with family. I “fly” out of my brother’s house in the morning and arrive back late at night.

This particular weekend I was entertaining a “virgin visitor” to New Orleans, Polly Weidmaier, and catching up with famed D.C. chefs, Robert Weidmaier (her husband) and Michel Richard. To be an escort in my own city is something I truly love, being able to give the behind-the-scenes tour of such a soulful place. What makes it special are the local peeps: everyone has a story…a really good story of what New Orleans means to them.

Polly and I popped in to my brother’s to see where I usually lay my head when in town. His is a beautiful, French-style house in Old Metairie. Hugged my niece Aimee, who is now about 2 inches taller than me, and my nephew, Max, who is catching up in height. Assured Aimee I would attend her summer camp play (I did and she will definitely end up on stage—an incredible natural).

Then we were Uptown bound, to where Polly and I were staying—with my friend of over thirty years, Karen Gundlach, to change and hit the city, just us girls. We dined at Coquette, a new restaurant on Magazine and Washington Streets. Adorable place, very good food, but this trip was to become all about the cocktails. I missed ‘Tales of the Cocktail’ the weekend before, so Polly and I planned to make our own version of one of the best events for the city (created by Ann Tuennerman.)

In the spirit of our miniature event, four cocktails were brought to the table. After one sip, we all looked at one another wide-eyed and simultaneously said, WOW! Yes, we knew cocktails originated in New Orleans, and that the town would not let us down, but these were the best I had ever tasted. We had the Belle Fleur, orange-infused vodka and a healthy twist of lemon; and the Blueberry Crush; but the pièce de resistance was the Kahlo that rocked our taste-buds with jalapeño-infused tequila, orange zest, palm sugar and kaffir lime.

The night was not complete until we went to “The Cure!” A new bar in a neighborhood where in the past I would barely stop at a red light. While not exactly the “hood,” it bordered on being a rough area of town, enough to subconsciously check that the doors were locked. It’s great that someone’s investing in a part of the city that has such potential.

We owned the bar that Thursday night. I was hooked! Polly and Karen loved it. We had the undivided attention of a true mixologist. We all became part of the game. We would tell him flavors we liked and he would put a splash here and a pinch there, and a drop, a drop and another drop. Potion bottles lined up along the bar looked fresh out of a scene from Bewitched! His concoction honored my request for something citrusy and tart. It was presented in an elegant little glass, and I, for the first time, understood why famed restaurant writer and critic John Mariani loves a traditional straight-up daiquiri. He always carries the recipe on the back of his business card. There is no going back to any other cocktail. The Cure makes for pure entertainment with all the excitement coming from the magical mixologists!

Plenty more tales to tell about dining with Michel Richard and Robert Weidmaier in New Orleans – stay tuned!