Tag Archives: oyster

Gladstones of Pacific Palisades

We had the chance on our drive up the coast to visit an iconic restaurant, Gladstones, situated on the ocean front on the Pacific Coast Highway (Pacific Palisades) and in business since 1972. The view is spectacular and the surfers were out in large numbers – all competing to catch the best waves on a bright and sunny spring afternoon.

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We had a great waiter, Andreas, whose mother was Jamaican and his father, a chef, German Swiss. As a chef himself, he pointed us to some delicious dishes, both on and off the menu. We started with six Kumamoto oysters, small, sweet and delectable, served with a glass of unoaked William Hill Chardonnay from the California Central Coast (Ron) and a Starborough Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand (me). Kumamoto oysters originally came from Japan but are now grown along the western coast of North America. Andreas then suggested that we try his favorite oyster from the British Columbia coastline (from Baynes Sound on the east coast of Vancouver Island), Fanny Bay, which are smooth, firm and flavorful because of the cold water they are harvested from. We enjoyed both varieties immensely.

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Another of Andreas’ favorites that we tried were the steamed white clams cooked in an amazing sauce of garlic, shallots, Fresno chile and white wine. The garlic ciabatta crostini they served with it was perfect to soak up and savor the leftover sauce.

Ron and I shared their market catch of basil pesto crusted halibut, served with roasted Brussels sprouts and finished with a bacon jalapeño jam sauce – delicious! With the halibut, we shared a glass of Cakebread Chardonnay from California’s Napa Valley.

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We’d had a decadent lunch that lasted several glorious hours and decided to finish with a cup of coffee and a shared dessert we couldn’t resist: Banana Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce. This was a truly fabulous end to a memorable meal on an absolutely perfect day. Thank you, Gladstones – your well-deserved legend lives on!

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New Orleans, Louisiana

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We left Savannah, Georgia and drove Highway 10 and saw parts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi on our way to New Orleans, Louisiana.  We arrived at our hotel, the Prince Conti, in early evening and were delighted with our accommodation.  An historic, privately owned hotel situated just a block off Bourbon Street, the Prince Conti was perfectly situated, authentically furnished, clean and close to everything we wanted to visit.IMG_3411

After checking in, we took a stroll around the French Quarter and stopped for dinner at a restaurant overlooking Bourbon Street and all the action.  We shared a salad and we tasted our first crawfish etoufee with a lovely salad and glass of sauvignon blanc – delicious!

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Ron visited New Orleans about fifteen years ago as his Dad, Jake, was born there, but this was my first visit.  I had wanted to celebrate my fortieth birthday in New Orleans, but that didn’t happen and I hadn’t made it any other time since.  I am so glad that my first visit here was with Ron – I absolutely believe that I was meant to wait to share it with him.

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Our bellman at the hotel, Chad, recommended that we leave our car the next day and, instead, take the cablecars to explore.  It was a great suggestion – for $3 each, we were able to travel all over the city (until 4:00 the next morning!), get on and off with no restrictions, and explore the city with total freedom.  We had a fabulous day!  Our first stop was the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) where we took in the Sculpture Gardens and then the actual museum itself.  NOMA has a wonderful collection of art and we were able to view pieces from some great contemporary artists as well as some of the masters such as Degas, Renoire, Picasso, etc.

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The restaurant at the NOMA is rated one of the top ten museums restaurants in America, so we decided to have lunch there (we shared some delicious gazpacho, salad and a Cubano sandwich with a glass of red wine) before heading out on our next streetcar adventure.

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Our next stop was the Garden District, where we jumped off the streetcar and explored Audubon Park, then walked for miles back towards the center of the city to fully appreciate the beautiful homes and magnificent architecture.  Our final streetcar adventure was the River District, from where we walked back through the French Quarter to our hotel, after getting foot reflexology at a little establishment en route.  That foot rub felt SO good after so much walking!

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After a quick shower at the hotel, we headed to Deanie’s for dinner and enjoyed a feast of charbroiled oysters, salad and crab stuffed flounder with a glass of sauvignon blanc.  We grabbed a cab and headed to the Maple Leaf Bar to listen to some live jazz.  Ron had been to this club on his last visit and it is ALL about the music – seven nights per week.  The band that was playing that Tuesday night was the Rebirth Brass Band that is comprised of three trumpets, two trombones, one tuba, two saxophones, bass and snare drums and other percussion (including congas).   The music was phenomenal!  We picked up their CD entitled “Rebirth of New Orleans” to keep their music with us and remind of an evening of music that literally blew the roof off.

Our cab drivers both to and from the Maple Leaf Bar were a delight.  On the way to the club we rode with Manuel, an author who wrote of his escape from Ethiopia over a decade ago.  He wrote his book in his native language, which we should try to find for our beautiful Ethiopian friends, Liya Kebede and Winnie Schulman.  Our cab driver for the return trip was Oscar, a New Orleans native who we hope will come to see us in Cabo with his wife and daughter.

One of the highlights of our trip to the Maple Leaf Bar was driving through the area that Tulane and Loyola Universities are situated in.  The campuses of both universities are spectacular!

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Just before we left the city, we walked around the corner of our hotel to Thomas Edison Square, where live jazz is playing all day and night long, to sample a traditional New Orleans beignet and it was absolutely delicious.  Beignet – done that – and we can’t wait to return to New Orleans for more fabulous adventures and great memories.

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