What's for Breakfast in New Orleans?

Good New Orleans ice cream

The first thing you learn on your first day in New Orleans is that the rules that apply everywhere else in America carry very little weight here.  You can eat whatever you want for breakfast.

Angelo Bracato is an ice cream parlor on North Carrolton Avenue.  

I asked Frau Schmitt what we are serving tomorrow at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.  She reminded me that we serve fresh biscuits, an assortment of pickles, some meats, cheeses, and local jellies, fresh satsumas from Plaquemines Parish, and that I am scheduled to head over to the Buttermilk Drop Cafe and Bakery to pick up, what else but buttermilk drops?

The pickles we serve are made by Josie in St. Bernard Parish, right over the New Orleans border.  We serve pickled green beans, pickled mirliton, pickled eggplants, and, of course, Josie's famous pickled quail eggs.  Frau Schmitt mentioned that we also serve boudin balls with remoulade sauce on Sundays.  How could I have forgotten?

"That menu is tilted in favor of the savory side of things," I observed.  "Why don't we head over to Bracato to pick up a little palate cleanser for our guests?"  Frau Schmitt agreed that this was a good idea.  She is usually right about these things, so we headed over to Angelo Bracato.

If you find yourself on Canal Street, take the City Park branch of the streetcar line and it runs right past Angelo Bracato, established in 1905 and still doing a brisk business in spumoni and cassata.  We picked up a pint of blood orange ice to share with our guests over breakfast.  In New Orleans, you can eat ice cream for breakfast.

La Belle Esplanade's dining room

We'll be serving a little blood orange ice tomorrow, made by a family that has learned over the generations how to satisfy a sweet tooth.  They don't overdo the sugar, letting the other ingredients determine the top notes of their confections.

One couple, who hail from Chicago by way of Memphis, said they chose La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast for two reasons:  1). the location, and 2). what people have been saying about our breakfasts.  

We can't do much to improve the ideal location, but we try to do what we can to introduce guests to our fair city to many of the local specialties that they may not be able to taste if they just stay in the French Quarter.  We are close to the French Quarter, but we embrace the spirit of all of New Orleans.

How will we top serving locally made, historic ice cream for breakfast?  On Monday, I am heading over to Blue Dot Donuts at 6:00AM to pick up some maple and bacon Long Johns.  Some other recent guests, a film crew from Roxbury, Mass. sampled the maple and bacon donuts and declared them sinfully divine.  Blue Dot is a bit far away from our neighborhood, but the 6:00AM opening time allows me to take the motor scooter up Canal Street and be back in time for breakfast.  Everything fresh, every day.

Back to our location.  The City Park streetcar line ends at the head of Esplanade Avenue.  It is about a twenty minute picturesque stroll back to our inn.  Just enough of a constitutional stroll to burn off the calories and just enough details to make you forget you have just walked three quarters of a mile.  Taking the streetcar and walking back to your vacation headquarters is the best way to experience the New Orleans that isn't described in tourist brochures.  

Tonight is the first major parade of the Mardi Gras season since it began on January 6th.  The Krewe du Vieux marches tonight and they cross Esplanade Avenue at Royal Street, and then later at Decatur.  We have a full house this weekend and everyone is walking down to catch the parade, Frau Schmitt and I included.  The Krewe Delusion follows the Krewe du Vieux.  It is going to be a very interesting and entertaining night for everyone involved.  We'll have plenty to discuss over breakfast tomorrow.  

If you are thinking of staying in New Orleans, consider staying at La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.  You never know what you'll have for breakfast, but you can bet it will be a meal you will remember.

A votre sante.