A few months ago, I wrote about my grandmother and her sisters taking their husbands along on progressive dinners in the French Quarter when they were all in town together, and Paul and I haven't stopped thinking about making our own progressive dinner routes ever since. It's fun, it's easy due to the high number of eateries in the Quarter, and it gives you a little something extra to do while you're down there. Because once you get to the French Quarter, you might want to have a plan. Maybe some of the time you'd like to ramble and follow your nose to the next fun thing, but sometimes you'll want to not make many decisions, and you'll want to know that a particular place is open and particularly worth it.  Yesterday, we devised a short progressive lunch for a drizzly Sunday afternoon: Felix's for oysters of any variety, then Stanley for gumbo (or a po-boy or even breakfast, but definitely the gumbo).

Felix's is our favorite French Quarter spot for raw oysters for nostalgic reasons, but also because they always taste good there. Also, Felix's is not a pretentious place; it's not trying to look cute or slick or full of Cajun artifacts. It's just a good place to eat.  I'd eat oysters there any old day.

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I've had dozens of cherishable moments living in New Orleans.  They happen all the time...how can they not in a place where a parade or a song can spring up at any time, for any reason at all?  This summer is a precious and tense time, because we're losing animals, coastline, food, and traditions.  We're celebrating everything and keeping one eye on the weather channel.

The past few weeks have been filled with marvels for me.  Truly, it's way too hot to do anything outside or even go anywhere, but we keep doing and going, and we keep getting rewarded for it.  For instance, the New Orleans Oyster Festival, which was held June 5-6 in the French Quarter.  We went on Sunday afternoon, after the rain cooled the air down.  And it was actually pleasant--so pleasant that we decided to find something fun to do in the Quarter after the festival shut down at 6:00 p.m.  More on that in a minute.  First, the food:

Turtle soup from the Court of Two Sisters.  Turtle soup is delicious.  I know it sounds bizarre to some folks, but trust me--it tastes like really really rich chili.

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