The Irish-Italian Parade

A few weeks ago we took a trip to the New Orleans area of Louisiana. We were unable to make it to a Mardi Gras parade back in February so the main reason for making the trip was so that we could take our kids to the Irish-Italian Parade. The Irish-Italian Parade first came to be in 1984 when two men (one Irish and one Italian) decided that it would be nice to celebrate their cultures with a parade. Henry Hoff (Italian) and Eddie Renton (Irish) said “It’s about time we got together!” according to this Experience New Orleans article. If you know anything about the culture in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, you will not be surprised that it did not take long for others to get on board with this reason to celebrate. This parade still holds the 10 original board members and each year there are two Grand Marshalls (one Irish and one Italian) instead of the typical one. Another interesting thing about this parade (I mean, that is if you have found anything interesting so far.) is what is thrown. Similarly to a Mardi Gras parade there are beads, stuffed animals, small footballs, cups, and other random items thrown from the floats to the yelling crowds below. Unlike a Mardi Gras parade, at this parade you can also catch multiple kinds of produce such as cabbage, lemons, onions, potatoes, carrots, cloves of garlic, and more. Why are we catching groceries at this parade you may ask, I actually do not know. I have asked Google. I have asked human people. I’m still not sure. There are other parades in the area that do the same around this time of year, but ultimately I am not quite sure how this became a thing. Even still, we participated! I was hit in the head with a clove of garlic and in the gut by some cabbage. At this parade, you must be on your guard or take your lawn chair 15 feet behind the crowd while your baby is napping. We did catch some food, divide it among our group, bring it home, and cook it up! So, that was the Irish-Italian parade. It was long. It was fun. It gave us free dinner for a week, so no complaints here. If you want more information on this and other parades like it visit here at St. Patrick’s Day New Orleans.

Where We Chose to Eat: Spudly’s Super Spuds

If I remember correctly, I don’t think there has ever been a visit to Louisiana where we have not eaten at Spudly’s! Spudly’s Super Spuds, best known for offering “a meal in a baked potato” for the past 40 years, is a locally owned restaurant in Metairie, Louisiana. The restaurant was originally opened in 1980 by a brother/sister duo, according to their website spudleys.com. It is now owned by someone named Laurie Aiklen, who expanded the menu beyond the potato options to also include salads, soups, burgers, and more. Some of the potatoes are made up of pretty basic ingredients, such as the Traditional Spud or the Wisconsin. Other potatoes have quite a different mix of ingredients for a baked potato, like the Pizza Spud or the Super Duper MKT which has crabmeat, shrimp, and crawfish on it. You can click here to get a look at their menu. I have always ordered the Mushroom Mania in the past. A pretty basic potato, they just add some sautéed mushrooms on top. This time I tried the Nab-A-Crab! Also, a pretty basic potato until they add the crab meat on top. You can not go wrong with either one of these options in my humble opinion. Ultimately, Spudly’s has a casual and cozy atmosphere. It has been great for quick dine-in lunches as well as little family reunions. It is somewhere you never feel out of place.

Where We Chose to Eat: Liuzza’s Restaurant & Bar

My highest priority for this trip was to get the kids to Storyland in City Park. This is something you can read more about further into this blog, I only tell you now because it is relevant to the random nature in which we found Liuzza’s. A private event at Storyland had us waiting among the beautiful oaks of City Park for just under an hour to get in. We were understanding of this, and if you have to wait, New Orleans City Park is an easy place to do so. That being said, it did put us a tad behind schedule which resulted in us being hungry upon leaving Storyland. My mother and father in-law Googled places to eat between our current location and Jackson Square. They landed on Liuzza’s, and I am so happy they did! The creation of Liuzza’s goes back to 1947 beginning with Mr. Vincent Liuzza, but it’s history has been curated by many hands through the years as detailed in the About Us section the restaurant’s website. Theresa Galbo purchased the establishment in 1957, partnered with her daughter Shanette Edler. In the year 2000, when his mother was ready for retirement, Michael Bordelon came on as a partner to replace her. It was only 5 years after that in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina flooded the city of New Orleans. This included Liuzza’s as you can see in the third photo below. Fortunately, the owners at the time felt it was their obligation to bring hope to the community by persevering through this difficult time and reopening their doors. They did exactly that in May of 2006. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina was not the only tragedy this family would see in such a short amount of time. Mr. Bordelon’s ability to work was taken from him by a drunk driver and Mrs. Edler’s life was claimed by cancer that same year. Raymond, Mrs. Edler’s husband, sustained the business as long as he could before selling it to another one of Theresa Galbo’s sons, Frank. Frank Bordelon retained ownership until just recently in 2022 when, with careful consideration, he handed the reigns over to Erin Clark and George DeCastro. We have a saying in Alabama, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” They might say it Louisiana too. It may just be a southern phrase in general, but the point is that this is how I would sum up the business mentality of the new owners. They did not change the menu and did not look to cheapen the richness of so much history by reforming it with some new, modern flare. The beauty of it is that it respects and in some ways preserves that time and culture from which it came. It is not an exaggeration in the slightest to say that this is one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at. Possibly even the best, I am struggling to think of one that could beat it. Kyle worked on ordering for us while I was walking a very tired toddler around the lovely seating area outside. We had agreed to split a plate, seeing as we were meeting with his extended family for dinner in a relatively short time from then. As our youngest was laughing with joy at the sight of all the puppies outside, my husband began to notice an unusual amount of eggplants on the menu. He assumed it was a specialty for the establishment and narrowed our choices down to a couple of eggplant dishes. He came out to convince a slightly skeptical me of this eggplant theory. I previously had never enjoyed a meal that included eggplant, but I figured with dinner only three and half hours away, it was worth a shot. We decided on Eggplant Napoleon, 3 layers of eggplant medallions with fried shrimp and artichoke sauce over pasta drizzled with pesto, pictured in the second photo below. Y’all… it was amazing. I am someone who takes the meaning of words very seriously as well as often times, quite literally. The point is that the dictionary definition of amazing, is causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing, and that is exactly what I mean when I use the word. I am unable to recommend this place enough. Every layer of this meal was SO good, but If you would like to check out other items on their menu, click here. Please, do yourself a favor and go see them if you are ever in the area!

Where We Chose to Eat: Cafe Du Monde

BEIGNETS!!! If you are from Louisiana, plug your ears. If you have never had a beignet, have you ever had a funnel cake? Beignets are similar, but better. It’s a square cut out of dough that has been fried and covered in powdered sugar, originally brought to Louisiana by the Acadians according to Cafe De Monde’s website. Information that can also be found on Cafe Du Monde’s website, Cafe Du Monde began as a coffee stand in 1862 in The French Market of New Orleans. According to history Fred Koeniger owned the coffee stand in May of 1942 when Hubert Fernandez purchased it. Today the original French Market location is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (Christmas and severe hurricane threats being the only exceptions.) There are also multiple locations now, but still mostly in the greater New Orleans area. We ate breakfast at one of the greater area locations on our final morning in town. There is a window where you can watch the beignets being made at this particular location. This was the biggest hit with our oldest child, while this was our youngest child’s very first beignet! This is something we make a big deal of in this family. There’s a full on photoshoot while staring in anticipation, waiting for a reaction, a little bit of clapping. It is probably a little ridiculous, but we try to keep the kids connected to their culture. We celebrate the half of their roots that stretch all the way to New Orleans, LA just as much as the roots that are planted in this beautiful state we call home.

Walking Into a Fairytale

Storyland is a beautiful section of New Orleans City Park that truly is like walking into a fairytale. It has various colorful displays of childhood literature tucked beneath the mesmorizing beauty and shade of old oak trees with draping Spanish moss. I have found it difficult to come by a detailed history of this magical place, which could be due to the City Park losing all of its records in the floods of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. According to Website New Orleans as well as New Orleans Past, a popular float maker named Blaine Kern (also known as Mr. Mardi Gras) was the original designer of all the exhibits back when Children’s Storyland (the original name) first opened in 1956. More exhibits were added in the 1980’s and the most recent renovation took place in 2019. Almost all of the exhibits within Storyland are inspired by some kind of fairytale or nursery rhyme you are more than likely familiar with. The rocket ship you see upon entering is a welcomed exception, although it is accompanied by the cow who jumped over the moon. (Pictured below) Old King Cole’s castle stairway leads to a bird’s eye view of everything below. Captain Hook’s Jolly Roger floats above a real pool of water as he and Peter Pan fight it out in the sky above. The alligator playing the accordion is surrounded by an interactive musical experience, great for even the smallest of babies! Snow White, Rapunzel, and Cinderella’s horse and pumpkin carriage can be found within the park as well. You can find Pinocchio sitting atop the humongous whale from which he was sneezed out, and your little one is welcome to climb right in! One exhibit you may not recognize is the one dedicated to Mrs. Coleen Salley (also known as Queen Coleen) and the characters she created in a series of four children’s books. A retired children’s literature professor who taught at the University of New Orleans for thirty years, Mrs. Coleen Salley earned her place among the imaginative creations of Storyland with her children’s books Epossumondas, Epossumondas Plays Dead, Epossumondas Saves the Day, and Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail. This series follows a diaper clad opossum trying to heed the advice of his Mama and Auntie, while unfortunately taking things all too literally. I have only now learned of Queen Coleen, as well as her books, through my research for this blog. I do plan to both learn and share more about her in the future. She seemed to be a grocery cart full of fun! Other fun things scattered throughout the park are a life sized game of Candy Land, the opportunity to walk under the home of The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, a dragon whose flames are a slide plummeting toward earth rather quickly, and a little fall down the rabbit hole with Alice in Wonderland! All I can say is that this place is fantastic. I love it! If we lived in the New Orleans area, we would have a season pass. Whether you have children or not, I highly recommend you go see it if you are ever in town down there. It is simply a gem, as well as the final thing you could possibly want to know about our trip to New Orleans as of March 2024! Thank you to those who made it all the way through, I hope you enjoyed this look into our little adventures!