By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I blame French Bread for my 5-pound weight gain on a 5-day trip to New Orleans.
Yes. We enjoyed enormous buffet breakfasts at two of the big hotels, as well as lavish restaurant meals, but we also walked many miles, marveling at the architecture in the Big Easy's historic Central Business District (see photos below).
New Orleans is a magnet for seafood lovers like me, offering incomparable Gulf Oysters, fresh (not previously frozen) Gulf Shrimp, Crawfish, Crab and a large variety of fish.
But New Orleanians also love French Bread, a doughy, carb-filled loaf used for the local Po Boy and Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches, and served in many restaurants, usually in a bag or wrapped in paper.
It bears little resemblance to the original Baguette, a slim, crusty loaf you could eat all by itself or dipped in extra-virgin olive oil.
French Bread has gained a lot of weight, is doughier and usually doesn't have much of a crust.
For hunger pangs
Still, the bread comes in handy to quiet your hunger pangs after you've ordered a meal in a restaurant.
For example, at the Red Fish Grill on Bourbon Street, I forget to ask the waiter to bring a dozen Gulf Oysters before that huge fried Redfish with vegetables we ordered, and everything came at once, but not until 15 or 20 minutes after we sat down.
While my wife and I and our friend Dwight waited, we downed big pieces of bread -- no butter needed.
A couple of nights later, we also welcomed a loaf of French Bread at the Bon Ton Cafe, the oldest Cajun restaurant in New Orleans, to dip into the dressing of a seafood salad.
Since we've returned home on April 15, I've managed to lose all but one of the 5 pounds I put on, but this bread lover is still haunted by the memory of a crispy loaf of French Bread used to make a terrific shrimp-and-oyster Po Boy from Banh Mi Boys, which dressed my sandwich Vietnamese-style.
BEST SALAD: My wife and I shared Debbie's Salad, made with lump crabmeat and fresh shrimp ($19 for small), at the Bon Ton Cafe, said to be the oldest Cajun restaurant in New Orleans.
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OLD NEW ORLEANS: The Bon Ton Cafe at 401 Magazine St. is housed in a building dating to the 1840s, and gaslights flank the entrance. The restaurant is closed on weekends.
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MADE TO ORDER: One morning, we tackled the $22.95 all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, where we stayed in 2017. Using a form I gave to the server, I placed an order for an omelet with vegetables, fresh shrimp and a sinful Goat Cheese center, above.
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SMOKED SALMON: The breakfast buffet in the Hyatt Regency's 8 Block Kitchen & Bar also includes two kinds of smoked salmon with capers and other garnishes.
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BEST BREAKFAST: My wife declared the a la carte morning meal we had at Couvant on the day we left for home the best breakfast she had in New Orleans, and I agree, though it wasn't the best value. I loved the salad served with our entrees, Oeufs a la Royale ($14) and Omelette Fines ($16), above and below. I asked for sides of smoked salmon ($7) and hash browns ($4).
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FULL POT: When you order hot tea at Couvant ($4), you get a full pot of brewed tea, above, a nice change from having to ask for more hot water.
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NO POCKET BREAD: My eyes also were bigger than my stomach at Little Fig, one of the vendors in Pythian Market, a New Orleans "food hall for all" with more than a dozen food stands and a craft bar. Unfortunately, neither the delicious Falafel Platter ($11) or the side of Baba Ghanouj ($5) came with Middle Eastern pocket bread, which would have had less carbs than the focaccia or French Bread.
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FIRST WOMAN PUBLISHER OF A MAJOR PAPER: The Eliza Jane Hotel on Magazine Street, named for the former publisher of The Picayune daily newspaper in the late 1800s, was built within 9 historic warehouses, which housed the newspaper and other businesses.
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WWII MUSEUM: Don't miss the hour-long documentary film on World War II, including sound effects, vibrating seats and more, in the theater of The National WWII Museum.
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NO A.C.: The historic cars used on the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line have no air conditioning, unlike the newer trolleys, which are painted red.
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