The Old, The Swamp, and The New (in that order)

Today has been about the food. (I know, which day hasn't been about the food.) We started the day with the old guard...Brennan's. Depending on who you ask, breakfast at Brennan's is either a complete tourist trap, rip-off, or a must experience, New Orleans (Naw-lens) institution. Really, it's both. The food was not out of this world, but it's something to be experienced. I had the three course prix fixe menu--turtle soup (I had to try it), Eggs Hussarde--Brennan's original consisting of poached eggs atop Holland rusks, Canadian bacon and Marchand de Vin sauce and topped with Hollandaise sauce, and banana's Foster, which also originated at Brennan's. The soup and eggs were both good. The banana's Foster were really good (if you like bananas). The presentation of the bananas Foster was impressive. Tim had grillades and grits, which were quite good.

 turtle soup

 eggs Hussarde

 grillardes and grits

 bananas Foster before...

 and...

 and...

 and...

 and...

 and...

after, served over ice cream--yum!

After breakfast, we headed to our swamp tour. It must be Tim's (okay, and my) intrigue with the History Channel show Swamp People. We got a great tour from Captain Bishop. Some of the alligators we saw had been conditioned to come to the boat to eat from a stick. Pictures work better than words.

We also got a look at a couple basking on logs.

There was also other assorted wildlife.

 Blue Heron eating an eel

 turtle

 egret

wild pigs (that have been conditioned to eat marshmallows)

snakes

 And then the swamp itself was pretty cool.

It was a good tour. After the tour, since we were already out in the car, we headed to the Central Business District to eat a muffaletta at Cochon Butcher. If I'd had my way, we would have been going to eat at Cochon, a restaurant that is consistently listed as top five in New Orleans, but I knew we couldn't get reservations. We walked into Cochon Butcher, checked things out, then Tim said, "Let's just go see if we can get a table at Cochon," which was right next door. When I asked if we would be able to get a table, she said they were booked for the night, paused, then said, "Unless you want to sit at the 'chef's table.'" Did she know to whom she was speaking? Of course, I would love to sit at the chef's table. The chef's table was a bar that looked directly into the kitchen. Not only did we get a seat, we got to watch them cook. Very cool. We got four tasting plates and a little "gift" from the chef. Here's the menu:

 fried alligator bites with chili garlic aoli and crawfish pie

 This one we did not order--headcheese

 pork cheek terrine with charred tomatoes and spring onions

fried boudin with pickled peppers

So glad we got in--it was all outstanding! What you'll notice, however, is that we did not order dessert. Guess where we ended the evening? You already know what they look like...