Welcome To My Adventures @ St. Vincent's Guesthouse, 1507 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA, in the eclectic "Lower Garden District", close to everything!
Well... I'm just doing a quick post, as I'm supposed to be working, but I just got done checking in a small group from Canada and one of the guests was a musician, Ivette Meow, and she gave me a sticker for her latest album, "Girl With A Squirrel". http://www.ivettemeow.com/
I went and checked her out on YouTube and this song/video jumped out at me since it's called "Blue Moon" and performed in a graveyard and New Orleans is known for it's Blues and graveyards.
The group of four was lots of fun to chat with and we all chatted and joked for about a half hour before I had to shut myself up so they could get into their room and then head down to the French Quarter. I told Ivette to check out N'Awlins biggest Karaoke bar, the Cat's Meow, since it shares her family name. ;-)
There are dozens, if not hundreds of nearby bars and restaurants so I'm just going to cover the ones that are really close by, within a few blocks... Google Local and Yelp.com can cover the rest. ;-) I'll cover the food and drinks first, then move on to the nearby groceries and laundromats. On a future post, I'll cover a lot of the nearby touristy things to do... and believe me, there are plenty!!!
If I left out your favorite nearby place, leave me a comment below and I'll update this post!
BARS, PUBS & GRILLS -
Besides the on-site restaurant, Pizza Gusto, at St. Vincent's Guesthouse (see my May, 2013 post about that), which also plans to be a bar once their liquor license is approve, one of the guest's/employee's favorite nearby neighborhood bar and grill is "Down The Hatch Bar & Grill" or Google Local Page for included reviews It's just 3-1/2 blocks heading uptown (away from the French Quarter) on Magazine Street, just off Magazine Street, to the right of the Sophie Mae Wright Park. Just walk the 3-1/2 blocks and when you see the little park on the right, take the sidewalk through the park which brings you to the front of Down The Hatch at 1921 Sophie Mae Wright Place, which connects Magazine Street to Camp Street. I think the basic rule for smoking down here in N'Awlins is that if a bar/restaurant sells more food than drink, then it's non-smoking but if it sells more drink than food, then it's OK to smoke. Down The Hatch apparently sells more food than drink so it's non-smoking in the main part of the bar/restaurant but there is a back patio bar and tables and the sidewalk cafe tables where you can smoke. They serve food and deliver until 2 a.m. for those late night munchies attacks! I should add that their patio and sidewalk tables are dog friendly!
And when all of the above slow down or close, there's always the late-night area favorite, "The Saint Bar & Lounge" at 961 St. Mary Street, just off Magazine Street (still in that same one-block area). Nothing but a home page picture on their website so check out the Google Local page for more info and reviews... https://plus.google.com/112534001500097861238/about
According to at least one reliable source, heading a little further downtown (under the bridge and right on John Churchill Chase St.), you'll find "The Rusty Nail" at 1100 Constance Street (which runs parallel with Magazine Street one block towards the river) and then one block towards the French Quarter. My source tells me that the Disco Lemonade (Sake & Lemonade) is great... of course, my source is a chick so that might be a good chick-drink. Give me my shot of Sambuca or Tequila and a beer! LOL They have an outside patio bar and are also dog friendly. They also have an open mic night for all those aspiring performers out there. Hmmmmm... maybe I can debut the live stage performance of my "St. Vincent's Asylum" song there. LOL http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-rusty-nail-new-orleans
Not that I'm much of a vegetarian/vegan, many of our guests are so here's a few nearby places.
Surrey's, which is also listed below in the Breakfast Places section, is open for breakfast and brunch, 7 days a week. They are 1-1/2 blocks towards the French Quarter (downtown) on the river side at 1418 Magazine St. http://www.yelp.com/biz/surreys-caf%C3%A9-and-juice-bar-new-orleans-2
Lilly's Cafe - Vietnamese Cuisine (mostly) for lunch and dinner is a few blocks uptown on the same side at 1813 Magazine St. Their Yelp page says they are closed on Sundays and open 11am - 9pm, Monday thru Saturday. http://www.yelp.com/biz/lillys-caf%C3%A9-new-orleans-5
Once again, besides the on-site restaurant at St. Vincent's Guesthouse, right across the street at the corner of Magazine Street and Race Street, is the locals favorite coffee house,Mojo Coffee House. I don't see their own website so here's the Google Local page... https://plus.google.com/112801441946880098655/about?gl=us&hl=en and Yelp Page... http://www.yelp.com/biz/mojo-coffee-house-new-orleans They are open from 6 a.m. till midnight (12 a.m.), 7 days a week and have free wi-fi. No credit cards but they do have an ATM on site. Look for TV star, John Goodman (a "new" native New Orleanian!), who frequents Mojo's many mornings. St. Vincent's also has free wi-fi for guests and visitors to the restaurant so come on over across the street after Mojo's closes down for the night!
St. Charles Tavern, 1433 St. Charles Avenue, NOLA 70130. Head north on either Race St. or Orange St. four blocks to St. Charles Avenue. Both Race and Orange merge into Felicity Street just before Prytania Avenue. When you go past Prytania one more block, you'll be at St. Charles Avenue and Felicity St. Turn right towards the CBD/French Quarter and it's three blocks down on the left side at the intersection of St. Charles Avenue and Melpomene / MLK, Jr. Avenue. http://www.yelp.com/biz/st-charles-tavern-new-orleans
Igor's Lounge And Game Room and/or Lucky's Bar - these are both owned by the same people and also have washaterias / laundromats inside them so you can eat, drink and do laundry 24 hours a day!!! Take the same route as above, four blocks north on either Race St. or Orange St. to St. Charles Avenue. You can turn left and go three blocks to get to Igor's or go right two blocks to get to Lucky's. They are both on the north side of St. Charles Avenue so you'll have to cross over the neutral ground (median) and street car tracks (watch out for the Street Cars!). http://www.yelp.com/biz/igors-lounge-and-game-room-new-orleans http://www.yelp.com/biz/luckys-bar-new-orleans
Trolley Stop, 1923 St. Charles Avenue, NOLA - Same walking directions as above but Trolley Stop is a block closer than Igor's on the same side of St. Charles Avenue.
Orphanages built (SNIP from Wikipedia article)
Some of the New Orleans orphanages Margaret the “Mother of Orphans”
built were St. Elizabeth Orphan Asylum on Napoleon Ave., the Louise Home
on Clio Street for girls, St. Vincent Infant Orphan Asylum (at Race and
Magazine Streets), and an asylum and church on Erato Street that became
St. Teresa of Avila Church. She donated to the Protestant Episcopal Home
as well and gave to Jewish charities in New Orleans. In her will she
gave to the Seventh Street Protestant Orphan Asylum, the German
Protestant Orphan Asylum, the German Orphan Catholic Asylum, the Widows
and Orphans of Jews Asylum, and to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and many others.
Margaret Gaffney was born in 1813, the fifth child of William and
Margaret Gaffney. Her siblings, starting with th eldest, were Annie
(probable), Mary (Mamie), Thomas, Kevin (probable) and Kathleen, who was
reputedly named after her father's grandmother. William and Margaret
were from Tully South, in the parish of Carrigallen. William was a small
farmer and possibly a tailor; however, Nellie Smith, Clooncorick,
Carrigallen (originally O'Rourke from Tully), stated in 1937, that the
Gaffneys owned a shop, but there is no other evidence to corroborate
this. His wife's maiden name was O'Rourke and she was a direct
descendant of the O'Rourkes of Breiffne.
1861
is the first year that I see any mention of orphans being placed at St.
Vincent's Orphan Asylum OR St. Vincent's Infant Orphan Asylum,
depending on how the paperwork was filled out by the placing agency. http://nutrias.org/inv/orphans%201861.htm
Also see my blog post about Thomas Randolph "Randy" Morrison and this HoumaToday.com take on the above article with an even better picture of the "Clock Tower Gargoyle" that resides at St. Vincent's.
St. Vincent's Guest House: The first New Orleans-set
scene in the film was shot at this Magazine Street hotel, which serves
as a nursing home where Willis' character catches up with his old friend
Joe, played by Morgan Freeman.
Louisiana
The 1891 Castle Inn of New Orleans, New Orleans (3 GHOSTS)
The Dauphine House, New Orleans (2 GHOSTS)
Hotel Maison De Ville, New Orleans (3 GHOSTS)
Le Pavillon Hotel, New Orleans (1 GHOST)
Olde Victorian Inn, New Orleans (3 GHOSTS)
St. Vincent's Guest House, New Orleans (4 GHOSTS)
Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville (5 GHOSTS)
Oak Alley Plantation, Restaurant & Inn, Vacherie (3 GHOSTS)
First off, the front desk staffer, Lenny, deserves a raise. Despite
constant complaints from guests, he remains super accomodating and
cheerful. He bent over backwards to right the countless wrongs after we
checked in... inadequate linens/towels, no wastebasket, missing
fridge/microwave/TV that was promised...
DESPERADO'S IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED FOR A MAINTENANCE ISSUE. CHECK BACK HERE FOR UPDATED INFO AS SOON AS SOMETHING CHANGES.
Well, the much heralded (at least on Yelp) Delta Angel has moved on... not sure if they actually moved on to Heaven but they've moved on from St. Vincent's Guesthouse.
In it's place, fledgling New Orleans restauranteur, Bobby Shriner, has opened his new restaurant, Desperado's, overlooking the scenic courtyard at St. Vincent's Guesthouse, 1507 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. I'm not sure of his new phone number yet, but you can always call the front desk at St. Vincent's @ 504-302-9606 for the latest update about Desperado's! (Say hi to me if I happen to answer) I was working late the first Friday night and sent a few late night (but hungry) guests and they all said the hamburger and fries were GREAT!!! And the price can't be beat for opening week... only $5.00 for a nice hamburger & fries!!!
More to come later as I talk to Bobby for more info, menu, hours, etc.
Update Added December 01 thru 20, 2012 -
Desperado's has been open 24/7 for the past several weeks and I've heard nothing but good reviews for the food and GREAT reviews for the prices. Bobby S. has a $5.00 breakfast (2 Eggs & Sausage or Ham and Toast) and a $5.00 lunch or dinner or late night meal (of Hamburger & Fries) plus several other side items including Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, Creole Beans & Cornbread (which I've had and they were yummy!) and a large plate sized pancake with butter and syrup/powdered sugar or both for only $1.00 per pancake (which I've also had and it was yummy as well!). Bobby has also been doing Prime Rib dinners for $15.00 once a week or so and other specials. I've also seen breakfast sandwiches, omelets, various lunch and dinner sandwiches, etc.
I gave Bobby a pound of my own Rouse's Brand Coffee & Chicory for him to try out. I have to have coffee & chicory since my momma always referred to pure coffee as "roach piss" in our home... and I use to get Coffee & Chicory in my baby bottle so I know I'm addicted to it! LOL Coffee & chicory is just so much stronger (AND BETTER!!!) than pure coffee. I told him that coffee & chicory is "Naturally N'Awlins!" Here's a little history on coffee & chicory from the famous Cafe Du Monde - http://www.cafedumonde.com/coffee I didn't know that Chicory was the Endive Lettuce plant root, roasted and ground up. It's always a good day when I learn something new! I should also add that Cafe Du Monde's website shows them as being opened since 1862 so they started up just a year or so after St. Vincent's! Bobby has been getting the Rouse's Coffee & Chicory on a regular basis now so I hope that means all his guests are enjoying it as much as I do.
I hear they are working hard on getting the bar open so it's BYOL for now if you want an adult beverage with your food.
As many folks already know, I'm a prankster and joker and writing funny songs and parodies are just one of my many ways of being a prankster... so I'm working on a remake of the old song, Desperado, and it's starting off something like the following. Of course, in my 8+ months working part-time at St. Vincent's, this is the third restaurant to occupy this really GREAT location in the lower Garden District... thus the parody song name, "Desperation" instead of "Desperado".
"Desperation"
Desperation... another restaurant at St. Vincent's.
Inside asylum fences, for such a short time.
Oh Bobby Shriner, I know that you have your dream!
But like so many others, one day you'll feel reamed!
LOL
More to come on Desperado's and "Desperation", the song parody!
Lenny Vasbinder
Original Lyrics below this Youtube of The Eagles...
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're losin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late
Slideshow of some of Randy's works around St. Vincent's Guesthouse...
This will be a little surprise for Randy since I never mentioned that I would be doing this little blog about him but I was looking for something else on the internet a little while ago and came across the "Festival Of Fins" fan website, which chronicles all of the "fish" statues that are located all over the metropolitan New Orleans area. While browsing through the listing, http://www.amberle.com/FestivalOfFins/WebFishList.htm, Randy's name caught my eye and then, after doing a quick page search, I found his name associated with three different "fish" statues around town:
As his own website mentions, he has a permanent collection of his bronze scuptures located in the main hallway of St. Vincent's Guesthouse. http://www.morrisonsculpture.com/artist.html The link to Press articles about Randy also leads to this NOLA.com article, http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2010/01/post_99.html which also has some really good photos of his attic apartment and studio at St. Vincent's Guesthouse as well as a close-up of the Gargoyle that currently resides climbing the clock tower on the back building of St. Vincent's. This HoumaToday.com article has a really good close-up of the Gargoyle still unfinished.
One day, I'm going to get permission to explore the attic of that building and the clock tower. It's a shame the clock doesn't work so it's always 8:40 at St. Vincent's... but even a broken clock is right twice a day! ;-)
Ignore his FB pages personal photo... he's not really that scary looking. I think that might be him after a few too many cups of Mojo's coffee. lol
Lenny Vasbinder
UPDATE - December 01-05, 2012 -
I took several photos of Randy's sculptures on display in the first floor hallway at St. Vincent's and a couple of the Gargoyle on the Clock Tower at sunset and have them as a slideshow near the top of this post.
Well, there was supposed to be a Halloween Party and we were going to decorate the front and lobby for Halloween, in an Animal House theme but things got cancelled. When we first talked about it back in September, I decided to work up a mash up CD of songs related to St. Vincent's Guesthouse, Animal House and Halloween and the "St. Vincent's Asylum" song is a remake that I wrote based on the music to "House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals, Bob Dylan and others.
I should add that a long time resident of St. Vincent's (and a friend for the past few months), Arthur B., came up with the idea of using "House Of The Rising Sun" as one of the mash-up songs for the CD. He also came up with using "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover", "Hit The Road Jack" and "Heartbreak Hotel". I already wrote a couple of stanzas for "50 Ways To Leave St. Vincent's" so look for it and many other parody songs on a future blog post. I forgot to include this attribution in the original post. If I ever make millions off of the song, I'll have to buy Arthur a cup of coffee or something. LOL
Now, the reason I named my song, "St. Vincent's Asylum", is that the St. Vincent's Guesthouse is located in the original 1861 St. Vincent's Orphan Infant Asylum, also referred to as St. Vincent's Infant Asylum in this Wikipedia page about the "Angel Of The Delta", Margaret Haughery, who donated the funds to build St. Vincent's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Haughery I figured the "Asylum" part would go well with the Halloween theme and party where I was going to debut this new song. Besides, the full name was too long. LOL
I hope you like it and keep on reading this blog for some of the other remakes and original songs about St. Vincent's!
Lenny Vasbinder
"St. Vincent's Asylum" Song
There is a guesthouse in New Orleans
The St. Vincent's Asylum
It's been the home of many a poor boys & girls
And God I know I'm one____
The manager, she's a Princess.. ha ha!
Her boss... holds all the green___
Now me... I am a singing man__ at
Fifteen-0-7 Magazine___
Now the only thing this singer needs
Never unpacked my boxes or trunk
Head__ing on up... to Down The Hatch
For a one dollar PBR drunk!
[Organ Solo]
Moms & Dads.... tell your children
Not to do what we've all done
Spending our lives in sin and misery
At St. Vincent's Asylum___
I'm trying to get to the Amtrak
Catch the next train or bus out of here
Get out of St. Vincent's Asylum___
To have a Happy New Year!!!
There is a guest house in New Orleans
The St. Vincent's Asylum
It's been the home of many poor boys & girls
And God, I know I'm one_____
Lenny Vasbinder 10/23/2012 1:25am
The lyrics to the original song:
"House Of The Rising Sun"
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
[Organ Solo]
Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun
Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one
