Food, food, food, food, food, and uninterrupted sleep; what a great way to spend an anniversary. We ate, ate, ate and ate our way through New Orleans. First stop on our anniversary night was to Jacques Imo's for alligator cheesecake (notice none is left on the blue plate), BBQ shrimp and creme brûlée. It got high ratings on yelp and the menu sounded great. Loved all of it, four out of five stars. Afterwards we went to the French Quarter and walked around, had a couple of drinks and then a really great night sleep at our hotel, the International House.
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Breakfast consisted of granola bars and fruit from the hotel lobby and a stop in their gym and then lunch at our favorite spot we discovered, Cochon Butcher. Oh my gosh, the best sandwiches ever. Ben had his fantasy meal of muffalata and I had turkey with arugula and a basil aioli. We actually switched sandwiches b/c we liked what we each other ordered better. Five star rating. We walked off lunch (or a portion anyways) around the French Quarter some more, and took the trolleys into the garden district. Return to the hotel to get ready for night out #2. Dinner was a fail at the Acme Oyster House. Two stars for the tourist trap. We had char-grilled oysters which could have been cooked over a volcano they were so overcooked, oyster po-boy and étouffée. Poor service, poor food. But dessert was Cafe Du Monde for hot chocolate and beignets. Ahhh, just as I remember. Happiness covered in powdered sugar. Then to walk around the French quarter again, this time we ventured into a couple of clubs to hear live music. Ok, we heard music, but it was all cover bands, not exactly what we had in mind. We stayed out really late and did not make it up in time to run the Reindeer Romp on Canal Street that I had planned.
Skipped breakfast on Saturday morning and woke in time for lunch at Parasol's. I had been dreaming about this meal since we were in NOLA four years ago. But, it was a little disappointing from what I remember. I don't know maybe it was just the other food we had was absolutely amazing. When we got up to leave and venture further into the garden district it had started raining, a heavy rain that lasted the rest of the day. We took a taxi back to the trolley lines and got a ride back to our hotel. But, quickly discovered the trolley lines don't always run in the rain. We rode the rain out in the hotel and decided to search for the best pralines in NOLA. Using yelp, we walked from candy shoppe (with an umbrella this time) to the next (six in all). We discovered Laura's Candies were our favorite. For dinner we headed back to Cochon's Butcher b/c it was that good. This time I had the Gambino and Ben had the "Le Pig Mac". Was even better day #2.
For breakfast on Sunday morning, we took the advice of our concierge and ate at the Red Ruby Slipper. We had a 35 minute wait, outside in the cold and the rain. I almost gave up about 20 minutes in, but I am so glad we didn't. This place was amazing. We both had specials, Ben was the Eggs Cubion with fried catfish filets (white plate) and I had the caramel creme stuffed french toast. Wow, we both picked well on this one. I am happy to say I did not gain any weight on this trip, which makes me want to go back and do it all over again next month. The best food I have ever had on a trip; which is exactly what we were going for. Great memories to honor our fifteen years of becoming self-proclaimed food snobs. 
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