Back from New Orleans Bachelor Party - Wow!

[ChanceSchmerr]

Hey All,

In the continuing saga that is the leadup to my wedding - In less than a week I will embark on a much-needed fun aspect of the wedding - the Bachelor Party!

For this, I'm heading down to New Orleans for 4 night stay with 6 good buddies, most of whom were classmates at Military College, and the other who is a boyhood friend. We are all insanely stoked for this event!!!! Especially because we discovered after booking that Jazzfest is going on while we're there!!

Generally speaking, here is our rough plan of what we're doing.

Sun Apr 29th - I leave Victoria for Seattle, stay overnight with relatives

Mon Apr 30th - Rent car, shop in Seattle for booze/NC Cigars to bring with/new Jeans/whatever else

Tue May 1st - Fly SEA-New Orleans. Land at 2 pm. Check into Hotel, commence Drinking Stations, as other friends arrive throughout the afternoon/evening

Wed May 2nd - Explore New Orleans

Thu May 3rd - Day trip either to Baton Rouge/Lafayette or Mobile Alabama/Biloxi Mississippi.

Fri May 4th - Jazz Fest and general Drinking and debauchery in New Orleans

Sat May 5th - Sober up, Fly back to Victoria.

I'm a seafood fan, so I'll be eating as many oysters/crawfish as I can find! Thanks to some good friends on the shoutbox today, I have some good spots to hit up, including

Martin's in Metarie for Bourbon/booze

Willie Mae's Scotch House

Dooky Chase

Drago's for Oysters

The Maple Leaf for music

GW Fins - seafood

Any other recommendations from those that have been?

Anyone on FOH going to Jazzfest and want to meet up for a smoke?

Where are there good cigar shops in New Orleans?

Any good Cigar smoking lounges or spots?

Lastly - for the daytrip - anywhere in Lafayette, Baton Rouge or Mississippi/Alabama that anybody can suggest?

Any other last suggestions LOL?

This is gonna be an awesome time!!!!!

[riazp]

well like they say over there. Laissez les bon temps roulez. Go play at some casinos if thats your thing as well

[PuffDaddie]

There is a dragos seafood rest in Metarie, around the corner is Don Juan,s cigar shop and lounge.

[brazoseagle]

I've given you my 2 cents already: but here is a re-cap:

Dragos

GW Fins

Dooky Chase's

Willie Mae's Scotch House

Brennan's

Martin's

Don Juan's

Penthouse Club

Rick's Cabaret

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club

Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival

What not to do:

Go to Jail

Take a Katrina Education Tour

Get Serviced by a Tranny

Get a table dance by a girl that smells like the oysters you just ate

Do anything to earn beads

Drink Absinthe from a bottle with no label

Finish your morning off in the casinos

Decide to extend the party and head to Mexico

Take part in a Voodoo Funeral Ceremony

Follow anybody to the swamps, no matter what they promise you

Eat anything that contains Chitlens

Punch the Police Horses

Have fun!

[KarlJ]

What I probably wouldn't do is declare what I'm going to do. Then I would take those thoughts and not express them in a public setting.

Or you could just lay it all out and even follow up with a play by play

- Karl

[kevinfj]

Don't go to New Orleans. Evil place. Long story. Trust me.

Your welcome

FJ

[AverageJoe83]

I've given you my 2 cents already: but here is a re-cap:

Dragos

GW Fins

Dooky Chase's

Willie Mae's Scotch House

Brennan's

Martin's

Don Juan's

Penthouse Club

Rick's Cabaret

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club

Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival

What not to do:

Go to Jail

Take a Katrina Education Tour

Get Serviced by a Tranny

Get a table dance by a girl that smells like the oysters you just ate

Do anything to earn beads

Drink Absinthe from a bottle with no label

Finish your morning off in the casinos

Decide to extend the party and head to Mexico

Take part in a Voodoo Funeral Ceremony

Follow anybody to the swamps, no matter what they promise you

Eat anything that contains Chitlens

Punch the Police Horses

Have fun!

My memory is still hazy from when I was down there pre-Katrina for mardi gras, but I know I did at least a few of the DO NOT list LOL

[Ghabanos]

Boobs. That is all.

Eloquent.... lol

[BENN]

Make sure you do a proper motorboat

/ Ben Bockbrännarbolmers

[thecrowder]

If you're coming to Seattle via the Clipper I would recommend buying a bottle onboard and taking it as duty free (or stop at duty free before the border if you're not on the clipper). I seem to remember that a liter of gray goose, makers mark, etc. were about $35, which is much cheaper than you'd pay in the liquor stores in Seattle. J&J cigars in downtown Seattle, which is a little bit past the stadiums, has a pretty good selection of NCs, as does rain city cigars, which is further outside of the city.

[ckay]

Cigar related:

Crescent City Cigars - Armando is a great brother and will show you a great time in his shop

Cigar Factory - Not on Bourbon but on Decateur where they roll everything in house. I am sure you would appreciate that stop as well. The Tres Hermanos are their signature blend and a powerhouse at that.

Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee in the morning, ACME Oyster for the raw bar, and from there just bounce around in the Quarter.

No need for a real schedule as the people of New Orleans are very friendly and welcoming. You will have a great time.

There is also a Harrah's casino a short walk away if you are up for it.

[khomeinist]

I will get you some more recs but right off the bat, skip those day trips. Been to all those spots. Biloxi is ok. Rest are not up to much.

[thechenman]

I remember getting arrested at the Harrah's Casino in New Orleans during Mardi Gras years and years back when I was visiting an old friend who was attending law school at Tulane. Much if that day/night is really just a blur to me. I do recall getting banned from all Harrah's properties for a number of years though.

[ChanceSchmerr]

Well fellas, I'm back on the forum - I returned from New Orleans almost a week ago but I had to turn around right away and go to sea for a few week's sail......which is where I am right now.

In all - what an amazing time that was. New Orleans is WHERE IT'S AT! Best of all - I didn't end up doing any of the things on Brazo's Do Not Do list.....though I got really close on a few of them (Those police Horses mean business!)

A rundown of the debauche......

Took the Clipper over on Sunday, Had a good dinner with Aunt and Uncle, and spent the night with them in Kirkland.

Monday, I got a rental car, and spent the day with my Aunt doing some shopping and catching up. Been a while since I've seen her! Afterward, I visited my favorite cigar shop in the area, Rain City Cigar. Picked up a few non Cubans to try (Some Liga Privada, tatuaje, etc) but was stymied in what I was really looking for - Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970 Lanceros. Does anyone know where I can find a decently-priced box of these babies? I could not find them anywhere. Rain City really does have an exceptional selection, aside from that. I also checked out some of the local liquor stores in town - but was stonewalled in my other pursuit, a tequila I have spent a long time trying to find again - The Orgullo Pueblo Viejo Anejo. Found one store in the area but they had sold theirs just days prior. Expletive. I picked up a bottle of Willet Pot Still Bourbon for the trip, and a Glenmorangie Artein to take home (AMAZING Whisky, if you get the chance to try it).

Tuesday morning, onto my flight to New Orleans. United is not a bad airline....but I still have to say Canadians get spoiled with Air Canada's service (NOT with their prices) and we don't even realize. 1 free checked bag? Everyone gets their own entertainment screen? Score. United can't come close. Sure is a cheap flight for price though, and I'll pay less for transport if I can. Brief layover in Houston, and on to New Orleans.

First impression - it's F'in HOT!!! Time to lose the Jacket and jeans! I took the city bus from the airport to downtown to save a little cash. Got some free entertainment from folks on the bus too - heh heh sometimes you just can't beat a loudmouth idiot for pure entertainment! I checked into the hotel, and went up to the rooftop pool for a cigar and bourbon. There, a fine Partagas Lonsdale with the Willet Pot Still was just perfect. Some of the boys arrived shortly thereafter from their flights, so after some more bourbon, we headed out to town to eat and gamble. We had Po'boys at Mother's restaurant (delicious) and proceeded to Harrahs, where i played live poker at the casino for the first time. They didn't have a prayer . 500$ in winnings later, we met up with the last arrivals of our group, and returned to the streets to go down Bourbon street. Booze! Temptations! Frozen Concoctions! Cockroaches! We didn't get back till 4 am. Winning

Wednesday. A late morning get up at 11, We stumbled out into the showers and perused a haberdasher (shoulda bought a hat.....dammit) before doing some exploring of the town and the French Quarter in the daytime. A beautiful city, I just love the wrought-iron balconies, everything about the French Quarter in the daytime is just great. I had a Muffaletta for lunch, another awesome dish, and smoked a nice Ramon Allones Mille Fleur while strolling around. After hanging out in the pool on the rooftop, we returned down to the city, and went out in search of some fine dining. Of course, i dressed shabbily, with a Rocky t-shirt and jeans, and we struck out on our intended restaurant, but on the way back downtown, we stumbled upon a Sicilian restaurant and decided to enter. On our way in, a guy smoking outside pointed at me and said "Man, you were just here!" We politely asked for clarification, and he explained that we had just missed Sly Stallone at the restaurant (my Rocky T-shirt). We had a fantastic Sicilian meal at this restaurant (although I choked a little at the price of the good wine I'd picked up in Sicily while I was there last year.....boy did I get a good deal!!), patiently listening to every server tell us excitedly how we has just missed Sly Stallone. After that, more gambling (lost a couple hundred on craps.....d'oh) and more drinking and music. No idea when we went to bed.

Thursday. Got up as early as I could (10 am) and took the bus to the airport to get my rental car. Priceline saved me 60% on my car......but I didn't want the crummy white Chevy Cruze they had for me, so I upgraded to a Silver Mitsubishi Spyder. That's more like it! Of the other guys got a lousy toyota or something, and we went back into town to pick up the late-sleepers and head out of town for the day. Up the river to Baton Rouge, where we stopped in a cafe to have some apparently famous Root Beer (it made an amazing float) and some fried Okra. We then strolled the riverbank with cigars and discussed the civil war and other great topics. Nothing like good times with good friends! Later, we drove on to Lafayette to explore Cajun-land, and on the recommendation of a Pharmacist (I needed some Aloe for my 2nd-degree burned arms.....stupid convertable car, I got fried!!!), we went for dinner at a dive on the edge of town, where they raised Alligators and where random peacocks roam the parking lot. Crazy stuff.......but damn good Mud Bugs and 'Gator! Cutest little waitress too....Gotta love the southern belles Best part was when Bill exclaimed how spicy his "normal" 3 lbs of Crawfish were, and the girl exclaimed how lame he was because "She hated spicy food and she thought that was tame!" On the way back to NOLA, the other car blew a tire, which made us a little late returning to the city, but even though it was 2 am, we suited up anyway and classed up some more of Bourbon street. Yahoo!!!!

Friday - our last full day, we struggled out of bed before checkout time, had a po'boy in the hotel restaurant and changed hotels to the Hilton Airport. On the way over, I checked out Martin's wine shop, and picked up some real finds that I can't get in Canada - Elijah Craig 18yr Bourbon, Thomas H Handy Straight Sazerac Rye, Laphroaig 18 yr for 60$!!!! (180 in Canada) and Springbank 15 for cheap as well. Also bought some Bulleit Rye, which was delicious! That afternoon, we suited up once more for the final go on the town. ACME oyster had a huge lineup, so we ate a place right on the corner up from it on Bourbon street, and had some delicious oysters and other seafood. Probably had at least 2 1/2 dozen oysters. We drunkenly hit the street and plowed through to Crescent City Cigar, to meet Armando as many suggested.

I'll give him his own paragraph - Crescent City Cigars is awesome!!! A great B&M with charactor, an excellent selection in the walk-in Humi (no Joya de Nicaragua though - dammit!) and leather chairs everywhere to relax in! Armando himself is a real pearl - a joy to talk to. I shook hands and gave him a Punch RS 12 as a gift, and we sat down with him to enjoy a great cigar. I lit up a Monte Sublime.....damn fine cigar. We talked right past his closing time, him along with Tom, a Marines officer who also frequents the place. We chatted about lots of things, Armando is just one of those guys you can talk to about anything, and just enjoy the brotherhood with. He liked the Punch RS 12 that I gave him, but was also curious in my Sublime, that he hadn't seen before. I had one more, that I ended up trading to him for an Opus X Double Corona from his personal locker (he was sold out in his store - apparently there is no spring shipment of OpusX this year). I highly recommend any visitor to New Orleans check out his store, and tell him that Chris sent you - he has a 25% discount for locals that he is happy to extend to people who come down to see him!

The rest of that last evening is a blur. Copious amounts of Alcohol, more Temptations and other clubs, Pat O'Briens, Voodoo Store....then we lost one of our boys, he decided he didn't like the strip clubs and went out on his own. We didn't find him again 'till the next morning, saying something about sleeping the night on a hotel lobby couch . We don't believe him.....haha!

The final morning, time to say goodbye....Everyone took their separate flights home, and after one breakfast at the Waffle house, I did too - but only after barely making my flight after the Hertz airport shuttle took it's damn sweet time. One night in a Seattle Airport hotel (Red Lion - very nice for the price!), I took the clipper back the next morning, and got home in time to pack up and go to sea on Monday!

In all - a damn fine time and I enjoyed the hell out of everything we did! I wish we could have gone to Jazz Fest, but the 65$ ticket was too much for the boys and it was vetoed. we still got some great music on and off Bourbon street, though. We had our fill of everything - Total success!

New Orleans - highly recommended for a Bachelor Party. Just stay outta the Crystal Burger on the end of Bourbon street.....worst fast food EVER!

One Pic.....this is us alongside the River in Baton Rouge. Can't remember the name of the ship behind us. Good Times.....that's me in the Blue Jays Cap.

Hope you boys enjoyed the journey! Cheers!

[Onsto]

Sounds like a great time was had Chris, and everyone made it back alive. Good work buddy!!

[CanuckSARTech]

I'll fly over soon enough to arrest you, sir.....

[Bartolomeo]

Top 5 city for me