Charm Offensive
Thanksgiving in New Orleans
Thanksgiving is an amazing time to travel internationally. It’s only Thanksgiving in America. Previous years, Tiffany and I have found our way to Con Dao, Saigon, Sevilla, and London.
With a new travel companion clocking in at 8 months, 18 pounds and roughly 20 inches, a trip to Asia was out of the question. Lucky for us, our dear friends Michael & Sarah invited us to their new home in New Orleans, one of the most charming cities in America.
Both Michael & Sarah are from New Orleans and both sets of their parents still call it home. So not only were we easily lured down to the Bayou with delicious food and friendship, but offers of parental (babysitting. Like the cocktails, babysitting in New York runs at a premium, so the offer of free childcare while we could go out to eat was a dream scenario. Michael and Sarah have an aggressively adorable 1 year old Henry and his birthday happened to be on Thanksgiving so we got to join the celebration.
There doesn’t need to be much said about the flight down other than that 3 hours with a wriggly baby hits different.
Our first day Michael & I snuck out for lunch at Domilise's and that fried shrimp po-boy never fails to deliver. I still contend that if you get the small, it is a light lunch. Hear me out. The bread is light and airy, the shrimp is perfectly fried and never greasy, and the dressing delivers a zingy chaser of acid. Pair this with one of the coldest beers in New Orleans and you are in business
Our first dinner out was at Dakar NOLA, an auspicious start given that this is considered the best restaurant in the South. It’s a Senegalese tasting menu, the spices as energizing as dear friends reunited for a child free evening. It was one of the more unique fine dining menus I’ve experienced and included a beautiful speech by the Chef Serigne Mbaye, who spent some time at our table telling us more of his story.
The waiter also had a lot to share about his garden in-progress and he kept making us chuckle with his extremely ambitious reference photos.
Wednesday was largely dedicated to Thanksgiving prep, but we still were able to sneak in a a classic New Orleans lunch at Pascal’s Manale: Sazeracs, babies, oysters, and remoulade all gracing the table.
That evening Michael & Sarah took us to a party at the New Orleans home of friends who lived in a charming and aggressively estate straight out of AD tours. They had rolled out the red carpet with a martini bar, whole serrano ham, and a spread of crab fingers, fried chicken, fish dip with roe & more.
We availed ourselves of everything and the hosts plied us with leftovers on the way out.
Thanksgiving Day we rolled out a spread that was equal parts Southern and Roman (Alison). The menu included: brioche chestnut dressing, acorn squash with homemade chile crisp, 48 hour buttermilk brined turkey, and green beans with lemony labne.
Sarah put together a table scape for the ages, complemented further by the tasteful designs of their exquisite Uptown home.
Michael was a saint for doing hours of dishes, and also curated a wine program that paired beautifully. Sarah’s Dad George brought a magnum of 2018 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir which took the turkey for a Cousins walk and then some.
Per tradition, we were passing out in short order as endless football games washed over us like a tryptophan blanket.
We took it despacito the following day, but made our way to the lovely Saint Claire restaurant for a send off dinner. Saint Claire sits in an old house and seems to be doing something right as The New York Times has already named them one of the 50 Best Restaurants in America, despite only being open since June 2025.
It presents like a Southern Stissing House (high complement). Martinis for two were served in frosty old soda bottle, chasing down crab salad with green goddess dressing, persimmon panzanella, and rabbit rillettes. You are too good to me New Orleans. This was followed by duck confit with country ham, grouper, and a proceeding midcourse of a lights out gumbo. I wish I had more pictures, but I was being present!
Being present rewards you with deeper depths of conversation such as learning that our pal Michael was something of a middle school football phenom. So much in fact that 20 some odd years later, people still feel the need to share this with Sarah and practically stop her on the street to tell her.
Our final day took us on a long stroll through a world class sculpture garden filled with Noguchis, George Segal and many more. We walked to Parkway for a final po-boy of the trip. I was last at Parkway with a bunch of Michael’s friends on his wedding day so it was happy memories to return. Michael & I went half & half with shrimp and roast beef. Bellies and hearts to the brim, it was time to head home.
Charm is earned, not given. Michael and Sarah aren’t new to this, they are true to this. As they led us through delightful spaces, embarking on delicious meals, I thought of the wise words of LSU alumni, Shaquille O’Neal: “You can’t fake the funk on a nasty dunk.” Til next time!
