TBK and I are back at the house, gearing up for more meetings with contractors and a session with the HDLC tomorrow to find out what can and can’t be done with the restaurant construction. In other words, back to Real Life after a couple of days seeing this city from a different angle.

We kept to things we could walk to, since that’s largely what our visitors do. This limited us (particularly in the heat) to the lower CBD, the French Quarter and a little of the Warehouse District. We had a (grossly overpriced) breakfast at the Windsor Court, then dinner last night at NOLA on St. Louis St (pretty reasonably priced, considering). There were various stops along the way (Cafe Pontallba, on a corner of Jackson Square, does a pretty damn good sazerac. This surprised me, for some reason).

Along the way, TBK was able to nail down a hell of a deal on a couple of sundresses in the French Market (2 for $25). I sucumbed as well, getting one of them crawfish polo shirts at the Perlis location in the Jax Brewery. The woman who worked there (I think her name was Ginny) said it has been a pretty good summer businesswise, far better than last, of course, and, in a lot of ways, better than it was before Katrina. Now I can at least look Uptown if I feel I need to — which is almost never.

Small items: check out the sink/faucet combo in the bathrooms at El Gato Negro, the new Mexican place across from the French Market (near Fiorella’s and the old US Mint). Highly cool. Avoid the crochety old bag at an art store nearby. And that liquor store a door or two away from Central Grocery on Decatur isn’t going to gouge you like some places in the FQ do.

Observation: someone is going to make a killing if they can sell a reasonably priced American breakfast in this part of town. I mean anything for less than $8. I know there are places that do (Clover Grill, for one), but they’re tough enough for the locals to find and impossible for tourists. I’m all for making a buck, but I don’t think there’s any breakfast in the world worth $20 unless it involves large quantities of alcohol and possibly a sex act.

A good couple of days — and we spent a lot less than if we’d gone over to, say, Destin. I love the beach — but not when it’s this freaking hot. We’ll be doing this again.

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