Old Dog New Trick for lunch. Again, the glazed strawberry layer cake = die for. Visited Dauphine Street Books, which is amazingly cluttered and close. It has a cat, too. Most of the used bookstores in NOLA seem to have them as guardians or security officers.

Miscellaneous Photos - Click a Thumbnail to Enlarge

We had an excellent dinner in the evening at The Storyville District, enjoying an upper-class meal with a jazz quartet. I tried the Storyville Slinger, which is big fruity, and deviously subtle, the Louisiana sausage appetizer (alligator and andouille), and the Chicken Pontalba. Bianca had a nice Chardonnay, her first-ever plate of oysters on the half shell, and the Gulf Fish Storyville. We finished up with the red velvet cake, chocolate pecan pie, and a glass of Fonseca 20-year tawny Port. Good Lord, I really wanted a cigar after that.

Bianca: Of all the lickety-snotty Brennan's restaurants, this one is the best.
Bianca: Yes, Dad, I had the oysters. They are very very good.

After this, of course, it's time to go clubbing. Since everything doesn't open until 10, we hang out in Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which is the oldest operating bar in the United States, in one of the oldest buildings in the city. Legend has it that it was used as a blacksmith shop by Jean and Pierre Lafitte to cover up their more lucrative pursuits. The interior is lit only by candlelight, and the patio is a wonderfully gothy place to hang out. The noisy piano player detracts from the atmosphere a bit, but it's not bad. Lafitte's is far enough down the street to escape the more obnoxious aspects of Bourbon. While there we happened to run into yesterday's tour guide, Bloody Mary, so it must be a local favorite.

Our first stop was the 735 Nightclub and Bar, but it happened to be very slow that night. We sat and chatted with Traci, our friendly tattooed bartender, and watched the antics of a few drag queens, but it remained slow, so we sauntered out to waste some time. We ended up in Big Daddy's Topless/Bottomless club. One thing I've noticed: New Orleans strippers don't dance nearly as well or as athletically as Los Angeles strippers... We checked back into 735, but it hadn't filled up yet, so we bade farewell to Traci. While it was slow on this Wednesday night, I still recommend trying the 735 if you go; it has a good setup for a dance club.

So, being dressed all dark and deadly, we trooped all the way down to Decatur Street to the Crow Bar, which is Fallout on Wednesdays (Mausoleum on Saturdays). A wonderful place, the kind of place where the music they play is goth-as-FUCK and you only recognize about one every five songs. Very übergoth clubbers there that rival the L.A. scene. And, oh!! dear friends, remember this: in New Orleans dance clubs, you can smoke on the dance floor....

Dave: Damn, but I have to get my dose of culture every now and then...
Bianca: Dave danced more than I did, which is unusual.

A brisk walk home, dripping and exhausted (but you keep moving, because the streets are dark and it's late).

DAMAGE REPORT: Blisters under Dave's pointy boots, Bianca taking an unfortunately nasty spill in the morning on an uneven sidewalk, much like the woman in that Diet Coke commercial but without laughing.

• Dauphine Street Books: 410 Dauphine Street - 504-529-2333
• The Storyville District: 125 Bourbon Street - 504-410-1000
• Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop: 941 Bourbon Street - 504-523-0066
• 735 Nightclub & Bar: 735 Bourbon Street - 504-581-6740 (Tue-Sun at 10pm)
• The Crow Bar (Mausoleum/Fallout): 1135 Decatur Street (10pm-4am)