New Orleans - 3rd Day

We slept in this morning since last night was a late night on Bourbon Street celebrating our 20th. We skipped breakfast and headed to Mother's for lunch.
Mother's is wildly popular with natives and tourists alike. It was one of the first restaurants to reopen after Katrina, housing some of its staff in FEMA trailors in the parking lot since their homes had been wiped out. It's a no-frills, good-eatin' kind of place. Even before noon the line was already out the door and a block down the street.

Baird had chawfish etouffee

I went with the fried shrimp po' boy sandwich

We took a swamp tour after lunch. I'd never seen anything like this before - it's gorgeous!

And yes, there really are alligators that swim right up to the boat.
This one was about 6 feet long.

Dinner was at GW Finns. The concierge made the reservations for us and thought that tonight was our actual anniversary and told the restaurant as much. So, we had our 20th anniversary dinner...again! More Service + 1 - I didn't even have to ask for the menu this time!

The crab and corn chowder soup was absolutely incredible...

...but the smoky taste of the Wood Grilled Gulf Shimp
with Melon Salsa and Chipotle Butter was off the charts!

Baird had Sauteed Mangrove Snapper Meuniere with Jumbo Lump Crab, Yukon Mash Potatoes, Asparagus and Crispy Capers. I ate his asparagus, which was perfectly prepared and had a wonderfully smoky hint to its flavor.

I enjoyed New Beford Sea Scallops with Crawfish and Creole Tomato Risotto and Green Bean Garnish. The scallops were perfect and the risotto was the best I've ever eaten.

We split a side order of Mashed Sweet Potatoes that included vanilla bean and bananas and were loaded with complex, exotic flavors. Our waiter truly loved us, as he slipped me the recipe before the night was over. I'm filing it away for Thanksgiving!

And our evening ended with another personalized dessert!