A party, a Cemetery and a Jazz Brunch!

All three were jammed into less than 24 hours....

I'll go in order, Friday night I had to work darn...but, my sister got to join me at Emeril Lagasse's thank-you party for his foundation.  Since the company I work for is a huge sponsor, I was invited.  So you see my New Orleans weekend is even better, because I was a guest some of the time.

There were chef's from all over New Orleans and wines from all over the country.  It would have been rude if we didn't try everything!  Flowers were gorgeous too, and our parting gift was a fabulous bottle of wine.

The Roosevelt Hotel for a Sazernac, New Orleans must have cocktail. I just couldn't take my eyes of the chandeliers!

Then onto the sponsor event.

Sorry about the fuzzy group shot.  Should have used the flash, but it was late and lot's of wine and food makes you forget those things, damn, I mean BAM! Thanks Mr. Lagasse for  a fun time.

Friday night over and onto Saturday morning.  Jill and I had an hour to kill and wandered up and down Royal in the French Quarter.  In and out of extremeley beautiful shops, all with extrememly beautiful prices too!  But a girl can dream right?

Then we headed to the Garden District for our reservations at the Jazz Brunch at Commander's Palace.  We were a bit early, so we wondered through the cemetary directly across the street.  Neither she nor I had ever walked into a New Orleans Cemetery.  Something quiet, old and beautiful.  1860 was the earliest date we found and the most recent 2008.  Jill read some information that the cemetery was filled in the first twenty years, mainly from yellow fever deaths.  So, I guess if you family had a vault by that time, that was the only way you could, ahem.... get in.

Bordered on four sides by the garden district homes.

Now that I have gotten the unusual part out of the way.  Commander's Palace was everything I had heard.  Beautiful, absolutely amazing service and food beyond compare.  

As a three piece jazz band wondered in an out of the restaurant, (we asked to be seated outside on the patio, the weather was made for that), we enjoyed our four courses.

Chef Tory's Jazz Brunch

Commander’s Palace Bloody Mary Finished tableside with “ice block” vodka Gumbo YaYa Whiskey barrel chicken simmered in a rich poultry stock with toasted garlic, Tabasco hot sauce and house made andouille Eggs Couchon De Lait Smoky braised pork debris over black pepper and rosemary biscuits with soft poached eggs, winter mushrooms & bourbon-bacon fat hollandaise Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé “The Queen of Creole Desserts” ~ Finished Tableside with Whiskey Cream Sauce

The stick holding the pickled okra and pepper was a piece of sugar cane.

Vodka in block of ice, the whole block came out of the bucket when he topped of our Bloody Mary.

Sorry, I must have sucked down the gumbo YaYa way to fast for a picture.

If you ever have 24 hours to spend in New Orleans... follow our itinerery for a perfect weekend.  Just substitute the party for any location in New Orleans, there WILL be a party going on, trust me.