A Final Night on the Town

Friday, November 19^th (Evening)

We showered, changed and briefly sat down for some wine (Diet Coke for me)  and relaxation.  Since Colleen and I planned on going into the city for dinner, we offered to drop Sister Mary Ellen off at the home of another CSJ, a friend of hers who lives in New Orleans.  (She was going to spend the night, prior to departing for St. Paul on Saturday.) 

We stopped by the main house so that Sister could say her goodbyes to Sisters Frances and Jan.  And then we left for New Orleans.  After a few wrong turns (thank goodness for GPS) we safely dropped off Sister Mary Ellen and said our goodbyes. 

The GPS was reprogrammed and the car was soon on its way to the Garden
District and our destination, Commander’s Palace, one of the most famous restaurants in the city.  http://www.commanderspalace.com/

Lady Luck was with us:  we found free parking down the block (a big deal for anyone from Chicago), we scored a table without reservations and we weren’t turned away for my not wearing a jacket.

We had last visited the Palace in 1989 when Colleen was in town for a Blood Bank convention.  The Palace was not spared Katrina’s wrath – one of the many servers told us that the restaurant was closed for 13 months for repairs and renovation.

We were led to table in a second floor dining room.  When our drinks came we toasted the end of a great trip and gave thanks for our life waiting for us back at home.

For our meal, we selected:

Corn and crab soup for Colleen & Turtle Soup for Paul

Spotted trout with lobster pieces and a citrus sauce for Colleen

Roast pheasant with a dried cherry and pumpkin sauce for Paul

And we split an order of Creole Bread Pudding Souffle with Whiskey Cream Sauce

Colleen thought her meal was the best of the trip.  (Although she thought that all our meals were exceptional.)  I really enjoyed my meal also, but truth be told, the Big Easy Dinner at the K of C Hall was my favorite.

Then it was back to the cottage to pack for our return trip.