May

It rained most of the weekend and I kind of enjoyed it. Christian and I took advantage of the opportunity to do a little spring cleaning and organizing. I guess the idea of calling it spring cleaning is a bit of a stretch. What I was doing was, unquestionably, serious scrubbing and de-germing - the results of some incredibly poor housekeeping around here. By the end of the weekend we both agreed that we need to figure out how to make room in our budget for some help with basic cleaning.

The rain didn't really start until mid-day Saturday. In fact, it was shining on Friday morning for May Crowning at ASH. May Crowning is a beautiful tradition, something I remember well from my days as a student and something that Luz treasures already. There are few things as beautiful as the sound of children's voices in the chapel, watching girls in white dresses run around the fountain in the courtyard, and enjoying pink lemonade and gouter as an adult.

Luz, in her May Crowning dress:


On Friday night Christian and I listened to Isabelle Allende read from her new book, Island Beneath the Sea, and talk about her writing process. She is an interesting lady and a compelling speaker (and writer). I am looking forward to reading the book after listening to her explain how the story evolved. We ended the night at Cochon, something we have been trying to do for a year or so and just never had the opportunity. It was great, not quite in my top 5 NOLA restaurants but it is tough to unseat those already in the ranks.


Pros - I love the design and vibe of the place even the tight, European-style seating around the edge where we were located; I had the best salad I have eaten in a while (thinly sliced squash, goat cheese and pecan - seriously divine) and Xian's cochon entree was spot on; the price was totally reasonable for dinner/drinks.

Cons - The menu is limited if you don't love pork; the crowd was sort of odd (granted, we had a 9:30 reservation and by that point in the night a crowd just about anywhere is going to be raucous - but there was one couple that was literally falling down drunk, and that sort of kills the mood), the bread (I am a huge fan and critic of bread and when it is just sort of 'meh' I get bummed), the boucherie plate (I think the one next-door at Cochon Butcher kills the one at Cochon).

I will go back - primarily because I want to try the bacon and oyster sandwich which I mistakenly passed on because I figured it wouldn't be a great idea to eat something so heavy at 10 p.m. When the people sitting next to us got one I had a serious case of buyer's remorse.