Sherlocking in New Orleans
By Don Hobbs

As luck would have it, I found myself in New Orleans over the weekend. I arrived on Friday afternoon amid driving thunderstorms. I picked up my rental car and headed downtown to hotel. After I checked in and settled down, the weather improved enough for me to take a stroll down to the French Quarter.

It had been more than twenty-five years since I last visited the Big Easy. I was very unsure of what to expect after the Katrina Disaster. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. The first thing that caught my eye was a rather large African American gentleman with a ‘Who Dat?’ t-shirt and he was supporting a Deerstalker cap. Both articles of apparel looked as though they had never seen the inside of a washing machine. He was tap-dancing in double-time to the sounds of Jazz wafting out of one of the numerous bars along Bourbon Street. I decided against asking him of the Sherlockian significance of the head gear.

After turning onto on of the narrow side street, I happened on a Vampire/Voodoo shop. I ventured inside only to be greeted by a plethora of signs that adamantly warned against any kind of photography. This was not a concern for me because for some strange reason, I forgot to bring along my camera (which is OK because the Louisiana State Highway 4 was too far away to get a picture of). I wandered around looking at the odd item when a young vampire-wannabe who worked there asked if she help me find anything. I politely asked her if she had any Sussex Vampires, only to receive totally blank stare back from him. As you can see from my choices of pronouns, I was not sure of the person’s gender, so I refer to them in both.

I left there and continued my stroll. I kept expecting to come across Anne Rice but all I found was dirty-rice accompanied by red beans and Andouille sausage. This is a sausage of course grained smoked meat made using pork, chittlings, pepper, onion, wine, and seasoning. It is a key ingredient of Cajun Cooking. I stumbled onto a restaurant called the Swamp Adder that specializes in Cajun cuisine and the big-fat snake on their logo reminded me a Speckled-Band on steroids. The place was no Stoke Moran but the maître d' could have been related to Dr. Grimesby Roylott. I had an appetizer of blackened alligator tail, followed by shrimp gumbo, and for dinner, I had the already mentioned red beans and rice, both dirty and steamed, and Andouille sausage. It would have made Justin Wilson proud but I am not sure what Jabez would have thought about it. This was washed down with a Hurricane.

I waddled back to my hotel, which I had a corner room overlooking the River on one side and the rest of downtown out the other one. I was soon in La-La land dreaming the Vampire Lestrade or was it Inspector Lestat?  I can never keep those guys straight.

Saturday dawned clear and sunny but unfortunately, I had to work. I met my clients at 8:30 and was finished training them by 2:00. I headed to Mother Restaurant, located on Poydras Street. This is a famous place for Po Boy sandwiches that has been open since 1938. My roast beef sandwich had about a half of cow on it along the pan drippings that the call the Debris. I may not have to eat again until next week.

What I love about New Orleans is they need no reason whatsoever to have a parade. I got to my hotel in time to hear a Grambling Tech Marching Band knock-off going up the street with more than two-thousand revilers right behind them. It might have been for a funeral or a wedding or just because it was 4:00 Saturday afternoon. It did not matter the reason. It was just another reason to celebrate. It is a shame what Katrina did to this great city but as my whirlwind tour of the city showed, the spirit is alive and well. New Orleans is certainly an American original- our own Mazarin Stone and Blue Carbuncle rolled into one. It should be required travel for Sherlockians and non-Sherlockians alike.

As someone before me once said, “I love this place!”

Happy Collecting!!