New Orleans notes: food and lodging 6/24/04

This trip, we discovered the Magazine Street area and had dinner at Frankie and Johnny's on Tchoupitoulas Street (from the current Nissan commercial... "Go past the smokin' dawg... to the best darn crawfish in l'weez-i-ana"). Their folding sign out front said "last day for crawfish" and we went late, so they were out of crawfish, but I had some pretty amazing fried shrimp and some of the freshest fish I've ever eaten. I'm not even sure what kind of fish it was, as my son's generous friend didn't want the fish on his seafood platter, but it was a light white fish, thicker than catfish but thinner than grouper (maybe flounder or tilapia?). Their homemade salad dressings were incredible and I found myself dipping the fish (and the onion rings) in the bleu cheese dressing for an extraordinary treat. We also ordered and shared the alligator soup and it was *lively* and delicious. Don’t expect any frills. It's a dive but wonderful. I have one (fairly significant) note regarding Frankie & Johnny's: I left my camera hanging from the back of my chair and called them immediately upon arriving back at my hotel. By the time we left, there were more staff than patrons in the restaurant, and our table had been near the very back. They said they didn't find it, but I feel certain that a member of their staff ended up with my camera. I'll go back, but it will always have this ding in my opinion. We've stayed in two different hotels on our two trips. Our most recent stay was at the Pontchartrain Hotel (http://www.pontchartrainhotel.com/), and I doubt I'll try that again. It is old and crumbling, and it's former splendor, architectural beauty and interesting antiques were cold comfort when both ice machines appeared to have been long broken, judging by the condition of their "out of order" signs, and my bed was essentially collapsed into itself. There was no coffee service in my room, no complimentary coffee anywhere in the hotel, and the Cafe (which appears to be affiliated in some way with Starbucks) didn't open until 7:00, with my poor caffeine-deprived head on Eastern Time. Fortunately, there was plenty of coffee close by and I somehow managed to put myself together enough to stumble out into the street and find an adequate dose, before coming back to shower and get ready for the day. I really want my coffee as soon as I awaken, before I have to dress. We didn't have much free time, so by the end of day two, I was still trying to get my G4 PowerBook online, and, frustrated, I called the Front Desk. He said it was virtually impossible, because the historic wiring was not capable of handling even a dial-up connection, and that although I might briefly establish one, it's not likely I could maintain it. I very nicely said, "Well, darn, I'll never be able to stay here again." We both laughed. The staff at the Pontchartrain was fabulous. Everyone at the front desk, the housekeeping staff (whom I pestered), the bartenders and, most particularly, the valet parkers were accommodating, very pleasant, and welcoming. Calvin has been parking cars at the hotel for sixteen years and was a complete, heavily accented delight of New Orleans flavor as he let me ride along while he parked a car so that I could get something out of mine, and we walked back together. When I remarked that the hotel was falling apart, he, without any apparent judgment, agreed, "Yes, I s'pose they needs to fix one thing at a time, but there's lots o' things broken." I asked him about the new management, as we had heard from a local that it had been a better hotel before being recently taken over, and he tried to be a good *company man* without lying. It was a commendable effort. The only member of the staff with whom I had contact that wasn't entirely pleasant was the property’s manager. I happened by the open door of the Executive Office, which was between the elevator and my room (on the second floor). I literally poked my head in, not seeing anyone there, just to get an idea of the layout of the front suites that must lie above it in the higher floors of the hotel. A very attractive, although overly self-conscious, young man stopped me, and I had an uncomfortable feeling that I had done something *wrong* and excused myself hurriedly. Calvin was very careful not to say anything bad about the Hotel's new management, but as a customer, my one little contact with the new manager was markedly unpleasant, and lacked any of the grace and welcome I've found everywhere else in New Orleans. In retrospect, with everything in such a stage of disrepair, I would think it would have been better for him to be out in the property seeing that things were being handled. The Pontchartrain's location is perfect, close enough to the school, but we won't be going back. Our first trip, we stayed at Le Cirque (http://www.hotellecirqueneworleans.com/). Le Cirque is bit farther "down" St. Charles Avenue, towards the French Quarter (maybe not quite half way from Loyola and Tulane to the FQ). Both hotels are right on the streetcar line, and the hotel sits on the curb of Lee Circle with the monument to Robert E. Lee, quite literally, in the middle of the intersection directly in front of the hotel, a hill of a park in the center of the traffic circle, providing a place to sleep for the night (or day) to numerous "residents". Le Cirque was the complete opposite of the Pontchartrain, and although there were aspects of it that I did not like during our stay, it looked better by comparison. It's also an older hotel, although it's been fairly extensively remodeled. Its overall design is modern and the very small lobby is dominated by its open restaurant, which is highly regarded. Our room was very small but well placed on the second floor with a window that opened onto a lovely outdoor terrace that we could easily reach from the hall just outside our door. Good mattresses. Good sheets. The bathroom was interesting, although I felt it particularly exampled what was evident in the whole building: "form for form's sake" without enough regard for function. The bathroom was tile and marble with a big open built-in shower and a showerhead that blasted a knockdown volume of water upon the occupant. It was glorious, although the shower curtain couldn't really handle it and was prone to blowing all over the place in the water-driven wind. It was a heavenly shower, but a little too much of a liquid event, and I would have liked to be able to secure the curtain. The bathroom door was etched glass. It was interesting, but not particularly practical when sharing a room with one's son, as I was. On the first trip we were splitting our time between the scheduled events at Loyola's President's Open House (odd name, considering they were without a President at the moment, but that's what they call their accepted student visitation), and sightseeing in an effort to get to know the city. We didn't spend much time in the room. After a long day in the French Quarter, we stumbled into Irene's hoping for an early dinner before heading back to the hotel to catch our local college team's advance in March Madness on television. Irene's, which had been highly recommended, appeared mostly empty, but we were told we couldn't get a table for two for an hour. When I turned to rush out after saying we couldn't wait that long, not rude but just hurried, the maitre d' said, "Whoa now darlin', this is N'awlin's, it's time to slow down," so I playfully humored him while he gave us careful directions to another restaurant, walking us all the way to the corner to do so. We found a beer to go (yes, they have beer to go in New Orleans) and easily hailed a cab back to Le Cirque where we splurged on a room service from its Lee Circle Restaurant, while watching NCAA basketball. We had steak and shrimp and a very wonderful bisque, thick with cream and just the right hint of tomato, and topped with an ample portion of delicious fresh local crabmeat. It was heavenly. At both hotels, parking is a pain, to the tune of $18/night for automobile "storage" off-site, but I think that's common in New Orleans. Both had convenience shopping close by and streetcar stops right outside the front door. The staff at Le Cirque was every bit as delightful as that at the Pontchartrain, but Le Cirque is an Internet hot spot. They charge each guest $4 per night for wireless Internet and $4 per night for unlimited long distance, whether or not either is used. It was glorious. All I had to do was open my wireless-enabled laptop and I was connected. It was great. It was fast. I'll go back.