Belloq - Storyville Red

We are doing the robot at my sister's wedding.

My nephews are incredible young people. For about 7 years, they were the only nephews in the family and we got to marvel at their youth, enthusiasm and quirkiness. I could dedicate an entire portion of this blog with my experiences with their bathroom trips!  My nephew Will and I share a lot of things in Razorback fans, Davidson graduates, and Rockbrook girls - all of which share the color red. Will, however, has always been known to go over the moon about the crimson features of any article near his person.
common. We both love the zoo. We both love the feeling of the sun on your shoulders when there is a chill in the air. And we both love the color red! In all fairness, I think my entire family would enjoy a shout out for the color red. We are

At the Hotel Modern on Lee Circle sits a swanky bar filled with living room furniture, curtains, and mixology. Sugar adorned almost every cocktail accompanied by citrus fruits and syrups. I was fairly amazed at the bartender's ability to take my order while he was jostling a cocktail shaker, using a dropper on a drink, and opening a beer. This wonderful bar is called Bellocq - named after a marine photographer who documented pictures of Storyville, New Orleans' red light district. Not only was I intrigued by the bar itself, but also the hotel that houses it's location - the building lights up. After finding my bearings, I make an escape to visit Lou and see how he would be holding up in the hotel lobby.



Well, you could have guessed it - red! I think the technical term for this shade would be called American Rose but if it were a nail polish I would call it something like Salsa candy! The counter appears to be plastic that is coated in the paint with matching walls, doors, ceilings, and fancy chandeliers. I felt a bit entrapped and wondered why Lou would decide to paint his nails this color! I thought that maybe I could find some escape when I snuck into the stall only to find that the entire bathroom was hosed down with electric red! I think that even Will would agree that it is a bit too much. But if you are missing the color red and want to be enveloped in it, Bellocq is your establishment!

Cleanest Place in the Quarter

Six years ago, I was a recent transplant to New Orleans. I was green around the edges for things like the Streetcar, fantastic food, music on the street, and sometimes the Quarter. I often find the Quarter completely overwhelming at night.

I thoroughyl enjoy google images!

My mind shoots into sensory overload as the sound of loud music comes from a trendy tourist shops and the people dance on top of tables at the Goldmine. I love the quarter during the day. It is rare that in any other city a person can find rare antiques, a costume shop, a novelty store, the fanciest restaurant ever, and an Asian massage parlor all in the same block. Needless to say, I have developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Quarter (who hasn't?)

Six years ago, I learned to appreciate one aspect of New Orleans at night and that was Krewe du Vieux. It is my official kick off to Carnival season and a wonderful tradition with two of my closest and dearest friends in New Orleans. What a fabulous way to start off this debaucherous time of year than cheering on floats dedicated to the Vile Things of New Orleans with a highlight on our most recent governor. Best of all, they give out condoms with the Krewe of Spermes!

kreweduvieux.com

This past Saturday as I am prancing through the Marigny from Frenchman to Decatur, my friend Kaycee was rattling off the fun parts and rules of Mardi Gras. 1. Be friendly with the Krewes and they will be friendly back. 2. The key is to find a spot, rally with a group, walk around, try to find your friends and pick up some reunited acquaintances along the way. 3. Be flexible and able to move through crowds of people. 4. Don't be shy! Rule 3: Have a spot where you can go to the bathroom! This is important. The last thing anyone wants is to walk around the French Quarter looking for a place to pee. I was able to hold it down until we ended up at Barracks and Decatur in front of the Mint. The lines for every single place was long and you had to buy coffee at 10:00 at night in order visit with Lou. I figured that I was screwed and was preparing to wake up the next morning with a bladder infection. I would rather be infected than use visit the voodoo Lou's in the quarter. I tried to give this warning to a recent addition to our Mardi Gras tradition, Jeremy. Jeremy was following all of the rules quite well. He kept up with the crowd, was friendly to everyone, and found a place to urinate without going into someone's driveway. I was perplexed when he disappeared for 5 minutes and returned to our spot relieved and holding a really good Bloody Mary. His words, "you were trying to warn me, but the place up the street has an upstairs, no line, and the best damned Bloody Mary I have ever had!" I decided to wait, I didn't quite trust this newly transplanted gentleman from the west coast. And then it hit me, I couldn't wait any longer. (Sigh.) I decided to just bite the bullet and walk up there. The group followed.

Enter into the American Sports Saloon.
It was pretty packed on the first floor, people were fairly nice, and I headed towards the back and attempted to open the one stall bathroom. Locked! I stood and waited and waited and was starting to feel like the combination outcome of sports bar and French Quarter bathrooms was not looking too bright. A girl walked down the stairs and said, "go upstairs." Sweet relief! Upstairs is bright. Upstairs is clean! Upstairs there is an individual sink in your stall.

(I am a huge sucker for the private sink-in-stall creation.) After a long and dirty night, I found myself giddy with the delight at finding a place in the quarter that did not require another tetanus shot. The white tiles and the clean slate on the floor made me feel safe in the madness of the quarter. As I exited, found my crew, I could not take the time to even remember if Lou offered me some foam soap. The bartender, though, did offer a mighty fine Bloody Mary.

Noodle and Pie

I have a confession to make. Sometimes, I write posts because I love the bathroom, I love visiting with Lou and he inspires me. Sometimes, I write posts because I love the restaurant. The sidebar here is that if the restaurant I love does not have a cool bathroom (a la, Juan's Flying Burrito), I will not write about it. If it's boring, there is no need. If the John and the venue are awesome, that deserves a blog post.

A few months ago, I was driving down Magazine Street and passed a sign for "Noodle and Pie."
Oh my goodness, two of my favorite things: noodles and pie. The name made me silly. I was giggling to myself and vowed that I would find myself there some day. Two months later, I finally had the opportunity to go into this fabulous restaurant. The gist here is that you have ramen noodles for dinner and pie for dessert.   My last experience with Ramen was in college. You know, the small packages that you throw in the microwave for 3 minutes with the seasoned packages that are really responsible for the Freshmen 15? I loved them my freshmen year and it was the easiest way to dine while "studying." Needless to say, I was a little hesitant to try ramen again and was hoping for a safer alternative. At noodles and pie there was none, so I went ahead and ordered the vegetarian ramen and was pleasantly surprised. Both the entree and the pie were delicious!

Noodle and Pie has a really great atmosphere. On one wall are giant masks that look like they came from different tribes around the globes. The art work on the wall in front of me was bright and abstract and the kitchen bar was accented with lights. As my friend Jane and I were waiting for our noodles, I became curious. What does Lou have to offer here? The main dining area is fashionably decorated, will there be anything unique waiting for me? "Excuse me," I said, politely. "I must visit the Lou."

I opened the plain, white door and entered into a sweet little restroom. The walls were a soft teal blue that were cut in half by mosaic tiling and plain, box tiles underneath. The sink was atop a cabinet, and, on the side, sat pink soap benignly waiting to be used. As Lou and I were engaged in conversation, I sighed to myself, thinking, "well, it's cute, but there's nothing special about it." I stood up, turned around to wash my hands and was introduced to a birdcage that was holding my towels. I smiled and thought, "well, isn't that clever." I contemplated duplicating this in my own home because it was just adorable. Upon reflection, most places could just paint the walls of their restroom, put in the necessary appliances, and leave the restroom be. It would get rare attention and at times smell horribly of bleach and an old mop. Noodles and pie did not do this. They did not overstate the bathroom, but didn't ignore it either. This welcoming little nook was unassuming and functional with a hint of charm; just like the restaurant where it lived.

Birdcage! How clever :)

So, if you want something refreshing and different in New Orleans with a pleasant place to relief yourself before you eat your dessert, visit Noodles and Pie. It's adorable! I recommend the apple pie.

Have you had your tetanus shot today?

I have to admit that my college years were long enough ago that I feel old talking to some of my colleagues. My parents would roll their eyes at that statement, but there is something about being 10 years out of college and your ability to question the current generation. I am, however, not here to question college students. They continue to work very hard and at the end of a long four days, play very hard as well. What I do want to question are the facilities that house their parties.

When I mention the name “F&M”s to any person who went to a local university in New Orleans, they say, “oh, I spent my fair share of time at F&Ms when at Tulane.” Some local high school graduates might say the same. So, when it was mentioned to me that F&Ms was the spot of the after party to our annual holiday party, I felt compelled to go. (I have ventured to Fat Harry’s, F&M’s was next.) F&M’s surprised me. It starts with a dingy bar in the front with a block for a stage in the middle. (My college self was really excited about the opportunity to dance on a table.) As I venture deeper into the back, I was surprised my the spacious, themed rooms that followed. There is a luau themed space with a back patio that’s playing Classic 70s, 80s, and 90s rock. You can’t even hear the Ke$ha playing in the front room. Up the stairs houses the official “club” atmosphere with flashy lights, its own bar and packed dancers backing it up. All of this was really fun. I can’t lie, I enjoyed myself. That is, until I went to the bathroom.

There should be a sign on the bathroom door that says, “Caution, come in only if you have recently had all of your shots!” Ok, I totally understand. College parties are gross. As former house manager of Turner Eating House at Davidson, I had to clean up my fair share of bathrooms the day afterward. Mixtures of beer, champagne, and moonshine would cake the floor and the aroma of stale beer and cigarettes would stain the house. F&M’s restrooms, however, take all of that dinginess to the next level.

The doors have no locks so I had to squat while holding the door. The door is covered with graffiti and grime to the point that I didn’t really want to hold it with my hands, so I tried to hold the door with my leg while squatting over the porcelain commode. If I was up on my yoga, I am sure I would still struggle with this move. While I was trying to maintain my balance, I look over to my left to find a large blue exposed pipe with a hole in it. What did F&Ms decide to stop up the hole? Toilet paper! I

might have yelped a little bit as my overactive imagination pictured nutria trying to come out of the pipe and join the party. Poor rodent would just be met with stopped up toilet paper. I was not surprised to find regular pink soap sitting on the sink, a dearth of paper towels and college students not even wanting to look into the mirror to
check if their mascara had run.

Please don’t get me wrong; I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this establishment. The staff was friendly, the youngin’s were frolicking and I found myself missing my best friend from college who would pull me up on stage and make me dance like no one was watching. However, here are my words of caution before entering this wicked venue: make sure you are up to date on Tetanus and HepB before you try to go into this place. If you don't want to chance it,  go down the street to Grits to visit with Lou. Stay classy, F&Ms!

America's best bathroom is named! NBC News

Check out this news article from NBC News. It's nice to know that other people have such a fine appreciation for a good Lou!

http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/game-thrones-americas-best-restroom-named-2D11622600

"Case in point: the men's restroom inside the steak house at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has an actual waterfall for a urinal. It's legendary. Somewhere there's a photograph of me in my wedding gown back in, like, 1847, standing by that waterfall. People go there just to see the restroom. That's a marketing tool.

Turns out that very restroom made this year's list of finalists for America's Best Restroom. The annual contest is put on by Cintas, a company that sells restroom supplies, among other products. Besides the men's room at the Madonna Inn, nominees included restrooms at the Tampa Airport (an airport!), the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan and the Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in Portland, Ore.

However, these facilities were all runners up. This year's "King of Thrones," the head ahead of all others, is the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. The ornate and fantastical decor inside the bathrooms at the old vaudeville theater is like Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland on acid. Sinks are operated by foot pedal (an excellent idea, in terms of hygiene), and there's a co-ed hand washing area...which might actually encourage more hand washing, especially among men."

Too bad that I don't live in Minneapolis or else I know I would be on my way now!

Superior

Stolen from Uptown Messenger.com

When I first visited New Orleans, I asked locals for a good place to get some TexMex. Naively, I listened to them as they told me that right along the streetcar is a place called Superior Grill. Now, what they were really steering me towards were the really fantastic margaritas and the cheap food. Superior is well known in New Orleans for its family atmosphere, convenience on St Charles, festive decorations. Uptowners loves this spot and love the establishment. So, people were really excited when the owners decided to open a seafood restaurant. A former Copeland's restaurant that was abandoned after the "weather event," the owners renovated the spot for over 3 years to open it's doors to the neighborhood in January 2012. If I were a food critic or a restaurant reviewer, I would talk about how the renovations and the atmosphere meet the prices, but the food doesn't call for such a high bill. I am, however, not here to talk about the food. I am here to talk about the Lou.

Let's wait a minute, though, and spend some time on the atmosphere because, only then, can you truly appreciate this water closet. Superior went to town on these renovations. The floorplan hosts a combination of four top tables and chairs and booths that are separated by opaque glass dividers. The lights are bright and plentiful and it has the appearance of maybe one of the cleanest restaurants in New Orleans. Outside, there is a closed in patio identical to the one at its sister restaurant where you can sit by twos or fours and have access to at least one sports channel. While I do not appreciate the full meal, my close friend in New Orleans discovered Superior Seafood's oyster happy hour. We were able to share a bottle of wine and dozens of oysters at an affordable price.

Traveling from the patio to the restroom takes a bit of a map. It's hard to make your way to the back of the restaurant without feeling like you are intruding on someone's dinner or about to be mistaken for a waitress.

I must admit, the first visit that I had to this restroom, I did not bring my purse. (lady status = fail.) I was totally devastated because I knew that I wanted to blog about this place, the moment that I  walked up to the doors. Upon arrival, there are two doors with tinted glass matching the rest of the restaurant. The doors to the stalls are floor to ceiling dark wood that could easily be mistaken for mahogany. I feel like I might not belong in such a nice restroom in New Orleans. Am I underdressed? As I am sitting with Lou, I can't help but fall in love with the door handle. It looks like it belongs in a mansion on St Charles Avenue.  Upon completion, I walk to the sink to find large porcelain troughs that look like they could be restored urinals. The water showers from the faucet instead of a drip and there are small containers of Soft Soap for utilization.



I returned to my table a little sad. There I had seen a beautiful restroom worth writing about and no pictures. I was pouring information into my memory bank to see if I could write without pictures. As I was distractedly ignoring my friend who invited me to Superior Seafood, she stated, "excuse me, I will be right back." I handed her my phone and she came back with fantastic pictures. So, thank you Kaycee. Without your help, this post would not be possible because who knows when I would return to Superior Seafood.

Welcome Back...!

"In the heart of the wooded mountain, circled by silvery streams..." These are the opening lines to the song of summer camp where I spent over a decade. Now don't get me wrong, this camp has plenty of songs, plenty. The official camp song is the one where you sing around the camp fire with your arms around a group of women who will make a tremendous impact on your life, whether you know if or not. In the dining hall, girls sing about Canibal Kings and Prunies.

At the end of September, I had the pleasure of returning to this beautiful mountain side to reunite with friends. I could write an entire book on my Rockbrook experience and the love that fills these mountains, but that is not the purpose of this blog. The purpose of this blog is to introduce to you the gigantically productive outhouse...bathroom...latrine... lavatory... wait, none of those are right. (Ahem) to introduce you to the fantastic DEEDUCKY!!!! Yes, you heard me right. At Rockbrook, we hang our close to dry in a dogtrot; we eat our meals in a dining hall; and we brush our teeth in the Deeducky. If you live on lowerline and are at the end of the line, you would brush your teeth in the "BeeBop." Is this strange, yes? but is it incredibly unique and wonderful...even better.

Imagine that you have 100 preteen girls all living in 8 cabins in one row and they all brush their teeth at the same time, they all want to shower at the same time, and they all shave their legs in the same place. We used to listen carefully to our counselors as they went over the rules of Marla the Maxi and Tammy the Tampon. I had to give this talk many times myself! To accomplish these goals, you need a really big wooden structure that will fit a lot of people for the same function - enter the Deeducky.

Stalls haven't changed in probably 50 years.

As you walk down the gravel path along the cabin line, a large barn like structure with cement floors sits in the middle. Upon entering, the stalls are on the right and the troughs are on the left. (yes, troughs!) In the middle is the very coveted counselor section where they get their own mirror and sink! The stalls are white painted wood stalls with latches for locks. While graffiti is prevalent in all of the cabins (in fact, it is encouraged), there is none in the stalls. Everything is open air so you can talk to your best friend while you are visiting Louise (Sorry, Lou, no boys allowed) and she is brushing her teeth. The toilet paper is a little wet from the humidity and there is a little white paper bag for your personal needs.

Where campers brush their teeth!

As you leave the stalls, you come to the trough section. There are long silver troughs with approximately 6 spickets on either side. The water is freezing! If you can imagine washing your face with ice cold water in the morning when it's brisk, imagine that times three! The troughs are also quite handy. They are just the right height for a young lady to prop her legs into the sink to shave her legs and have her friend standing next to her doing the same thing to get ready for the Camp Carolina dance. There is a little shelf above the trough for your toothbrush, but I don't recommend leaving it there over night at the risk of granddaddy long legs and wolf spiders. I am pretty sure that over the last 10 years, updates were made because upon my return, I found soap dispensers among the spickets and inside these containers was a wonderful surprise: foam soap!

It is difficult to put in writing why a "deeducky" would make me so happy. When you are a camper, you spend 3-4 weeks overnight at this place filled with wood cabins, singing, and friendships created beyond your imagination. You are cut off from the real world - away from the bustle, away from the cell phones, the computers, the peer pressure of friends spending idle time during the summer at the pool. You learn to be yourself, apart from other's opinions and you are surrounded by girls who love you no matter what occurs in your life. A lot of these memories form right outside of this silly building. Raccoons come into it in the middle of the night and knock of the trashcans to get at the last of the milk and cookies. Campers are terrified to return to their cabin in the middle of the night because this same raccoon is staring them down just outside the deeducky - hindering her from making it back to her cabin which is just one building over. Even better is when your bunk mate will wake you up at 3:00 in the morning because she doesn't want to walk to the deeducky alone.

Kristin modeling the Deeducky on upper line!

Rockbrook continues to make upgrades like foam soap and new shower stalls. If you talk to any former or current Rockbrook girl, however, she will tell you that the upgrades don't really matter. What matters is that the spirit of Rockbrook is with you always. I do, however, appreciate the new foam soap!

Now if you are a Rockbrook girl, I give you a challenge. Send your favorite deeducky memory. You know that you have one.