USA Road trip 5: More Music

On Monday 16 May we drove from Dallas to Hot Springs, Arkansas. In Texarkana,where the state line runs through the middle of town, we had one of the best all round BBQs so far. Naaman's (BBQ 10) started out as a food truck but now they are housed in an old gas station just off the highway. They still have the pit going in the truck parked outside. Hot Springs,which still has Victorian style bathhouses, hotels and salons lining the main street is rather down at heel these days. We probably would have enjoyed it a little more during the gangster days of prohibition. We did find a bar with live music on a Monday evening, at least. The next day it was on to Little Rock, a quiet, generic US city with a small nightlife area developed next to the river. We had lunch the next day at The Whole Hog (BBQ 11) The owners here like to enter BBQ competitions so the place is full of trophys; and the food was good!  That night we saw Dave Mathews in concert.

Naaman's BBQ

Dave Mathews

Thursday 19th May was another "drive all day" trip back down to New Orleans. This time we were able to spend the days roaming around the streets of the French Quarter and the evenings bar hopping on Bourbon St. We enjoyed the historic restaurants Napoleons and Antiones. On Saturday, Stephen and Vivienne flew in for the weekend. Bourbon street is very busy on weekend nights but there are so many bars and bands to choose from. Just buy a drink and pull up a stool or hit the dance floor."Don't Stop Believing" by Journey is the ultimate cover band anthem and the favourite drunken patron sing-along song of all time. I bet you are now humming it, right! We enjoyed a Sunday brunch of Loaded Bloody Marys and swing music at Bamboula's on Frenchmen St, followed by walking in the Garden District and more fun at the Rock N Bowl. It's been years since any of us played 10 pin bowling and it's all the more fun with a live band and dance floor too!

The Wailers

Blue Dog Window, Marriot Hotel

French Quarter

Brunch on Frenchmen St

With Stephen and Vivienne at Duelling Pianos

On Tuesday 24 May we drove to Tupelo MS, birthplace of Elvis Presley. We stopped for lunch at Squealers (BBQ 12) in Meridian,MS. That night the only live music in Tupelo was at Steele's Dive Bar. By 10pm we were the only customers left enjoying the music of Michael Thomas.This was the 33rd night in a row we had seen live music and would go on to 41 consecutive nights of live music before a 2 night break to visit family.There are so many talented musicians out there and most we have seen so far are just eeking out a living playing for tips in bars and restaurants. We really enjoy these encounters with all sorts of local people and in the South everyone is so friendly.
From Tupelo we drove the Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville via Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Florence and Tuscumbria - "The Shoals" where so much amazing music has been recorded over the last 50 or 60 years. In 1969 the Rolling Stones famously holed up here for a few days and recorded "Wild Horses" It is not very touristy but you can drive by some old landmarks like Fame Studios.

the tough life of a muso, working for love not money

Fame Studios, The Shoals

USA Road Trip Part 4: More Texas

Next Stop: San Antonio, Tx. San Antonio is a surprisingly pleasant city. The San Antonio river wends it's way through the city and they have built a below street level "Riverwalk" lined with restaurants, apartments and hotels. It's a beautiful green space and a great place to walk. We had a brunch of Huevos Rancheros ( Mexican style omelette ) at the famous Mi Tierra Restaurant. We toured "The Alamo" and enjoyed evening cocktails at historic "Esquires Bar", the longest bar in Texas. We ate "the best burger of the trip so far" as voted by Neil at Sam's Burger Joint, which is also a live music venue. We enjoyed being a part of the Latino "Accordion Wars 2016 " competition. We enjoy being "more than tourists" and it's evenings like this, mixing with locals, that confirm for us why we love to travel as we do.

Riverwalk

The Alamo

Mi Tierra

We drove to Bandera TX, the so called "Cowboy Capital of the World"and ate Chicken Fried Steak which is like a large beef schnitzel at the OST Restaurant. There were no cowboys or horses to be seen; everybody rides a pick-up these days!
We spent the afternoon in Kerrville at a local farmers market listening to a live country music band.
Freidericksburg is a very pretty "western" town and centre of the Texan Wine Country. There are over 300 Texan wineries and a few that are rated in the Top 100 wineries in America. We visited Bekker and Pedernales vineyards and toured the LB Johnson State Park for the wild flowers. We had ribs and live music for dinner at Hondo's. ( BBQ 7 )
The next day we were on the road driving north through Texas. We ate lunch at the Underwood Cafeteria  in Brownwood, TX ( BBQ 8 )  and headed on to Bridgeport for a night of Rodeo! Ooh! Cowboys! And Horses...Finally..
Saturday in Denton was busy due to the local college graduation and we enjoyed a new twist on the "BBB"(Ballads, Burgers and Beer) night out.

Horse Power in Bandera

Kerrville Farmers' Market

Chicken Fried Steak

Becker Vineyards

It was a short hop to Dallas and after a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art we spent an afternoon of music at Truck Yard, a big courtyard created out of recycled stuff where the food trucks change each week and people hang out all afternoon with their dogs, kids and friends listening to local live music. ( BBQ 9 )
We have been surprised by the gentrification of downtown neighbourhoods and the warehouse conversions in many US cities. It's trendy to downsize, cycle to work, support local businesses and Uber around. In 2016, not all Texans are like JR Ewing! We met Ashley at the Eight Bells Ale House for Jazz, NZ Sav Blanc and cheese platters.

Truckyard, Dallas

USA Road Trip : Part 3 : Mostly Texas

On Monday May 2, we drove through Arkansas down to Louisiana again to spend a few nights in Cajun/ Zydeco country. The French/ Creole influence is still quite strong here.We stayed in Lafayette in the middle of the Bayou and drove around the area and did a swamp tour by boat. We saw lots of alligators and enjoyed some great bird watching. We tried all the Cajun cuisine including Gumbo, Jambalaya, Blackened Catfish and Alligator Bites.Cajun Music, which is not my favourite, is somewhere between Afrikaans "Sakkie- Sakkie" and Irish folk music with a touch of German "Om Pah Pah". Randol's Music Hall has line dancing and live music 7 nights a week. Prejean's is more laid back.
On Wednesday, we drove to Galveston, a Texas Gulf beach city full of retirees and the next day we visited the NASA Space Museum in Houston and spent the night in downtown Houston; not at all a touristy place but we had a good evening at House of Blues and a whiskey bar called Reserve 101. They have 320 different whiskeys and Neil was disappointed he could only taste about 3 or 4. He decided that he far prefers Rye Whiskey to Bourbon, which is too sweet.
On Friday we headed to Lockhart, Texas, the BBQ Capital of the World and chose Black's BBQ. (BBQ 5) We had the best brisket we have ever eaten and also the most amazing pecan dessert - think pecan pie minus the crust - just the gooey part full of nuts! Then it was on to Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World for 3 nights for the Pecan Street Festival. If New Orleans is known for Jazz, Memphis for Blues and Rock and Roll and Nashville for Country, then Austin is known for Rock. Our motel was walking distance from W 6th Street ( where a lot of the music happens) and despite some rain, we had 3 fantastic days/nights of music. We also had very good Tex Mex at Angie's and BBQ at Stubbs ( BBQ 6 ) Stubb's is legendary in Austin for a combination of good BBQ and good bands playing in a massive courtyard area! On Monday we visited the flagship Whole Foods - yes, Whole Foods originated in Texas - for delicious made to order sushi - yes, sushi in Texas! There are about 4 sit-down restaurants within the massive Whole Foods store. Perusing the shelves, we discovered foods "suitable for Flexitarians" which Vivienne later told me are kind of part time vegetarians?? Really?? Tommy's joke comes to mind- " I'm a vegetarian 22 out of every 24 hours!"

Randol's

The Bayou

Reserve 101 Bar

Black's BBQ

W 6th St, Austin

USA Trip part 2 : Blues Highway and Memphis

Monday 25 April 2016 - We were so happy to have a travelling companion with us for a few days. We met up with Clive at the excellent WW11 Museum in New Orleans and after picking up a rental car, we headed north towards the Mississippi Blues Highway. Crossing the 38km long causeway across Lake Pontchartrain, Hurricane Katrina comes to mind as you realise how easy it is for New Orleans to flood.  The Americana Music Triangle includes New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville; and Highway 61 links NO with Memphis via the Blues Highway. We stopped over in Jackson, Mississippi and spent a fabulous evening at Hal and Mal's, listening to authentic Blues music, eating fried chicken and drinking Bourbon with the most talented,generous and friendly group of locals ever.
The next day we headed for Clarksdale via Crystal Springs, Robert Johnson's home town and the BB King Museum in Indianola. All along the Blues Trail you can search for plaques and landmarks that commemorate important people and places and tell the story of the history and development of Blues Music. We ate lunch at The Old Country Store on Route 61 in Lorman MS. It was hands down the best fried chicken we have ever eaten! And we got to meet chef and owner, old Mr. D. After a stop at BB King's Museum in Indianola, MS, we rolled into Clarksdale for the evening. Clarksdale is the home of blues music and after many years of neglect, a handful of music lovers have settled there and are trying to create a local tourist industry around music. We had dinner at the "down home" Ramon's followed by live music at Hambone. Next day, we visited Cathead Record Store and the Rock and Blues Museum before " Going down to the Crossroads " - the intersection of Highway 61 and Route 49, in the rain.
The legend goes that Robert Johnson made a deal with the devil here; guitar skills for his soul...
After lunch at Abe's, ( BBQ 2) we hit the road for Memphis. First stop, Sun Records and a tour of the studio where Rock 'n Roll was born. Sam Philips recorded the so called first Rock n Roll record here; Ike Turner's "Rocket 88", in March 1951. In June 1954, during a recording break Elvis was fooling around in the studio singing "That's all right Mama" when Sam realised he had found the new sound he had been searching for and the rest they say, is Rock 'n Roll history! We all enjoyed an evening of music on Beale St. The next day Clive had to leave but Neil and I spent another 4 nights in Memphis. We ate lunch on Friday at Central ( BBQ 3) ( best ribs I've ever had ) and on Sunday at Neely's Interstate; ( BBQ 4) voted 2nd best BBQ in America by People Magazine.
Despite quite a bit of rain and a great deal of mud, we loved the Beale Street Music Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. We saw, amongst others, Neil Young, Grace Potter, the Arcs, Ana Popovic and Megan Trainor but my favourite by far was Paul Simon. He has a new album out and had an awesome backing group, but he sang so many old hits and had 4 encores!We didn't go to Graceland; we have been before but we did go to the Rock and Soul Museum and to the excellent  National Civil Rights Museum; built around the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.

Hal and Mal's, Jackson MS

Old Counrty Store, Route 61, MS

Mr. D

Hambone, Clarksdale, MS

Abe's, Clarksdale MS

The Crossroads

Beale St, Memphis, TN

Paul Simon

Beale St Festival, Memphis, TN

USA Trip Part 1: "BBB" Begins...NY, NJ, NOLA

16 April 2016!Congratulations to Paul and Elanna! What a wonderful wedding weekend in Troy, NY!
It was special to be a part of it. It was the first time that Neil, his siblings Sandra and Charles, their spouses Gail, Robert and Leonie, all the nephews, Paul, Dylan, James and William and our niece, Lisa have all been together. A fabulous start to our 3 month road trip in America.
We like to give our travels a few different slants to keep things interesting...  This usually involves music, eating and drinking, of course... Neil has done lots of research and The "BBB" - BBQ, Blues and Beer Tour begins with the rehearsal dinner at a Brewery-Brown's Taproom and lunch at Dinosaur BBQ in Troy, NY. (BBQ 1)
Back in New Jersey we went shopping and popped back up to New york to visit Peggy and have dinner at the CIA. ( Culinary Institute of America, that is..)
Uncle Louie's Pizzeria in Franklin Lakes, NJ on Thursday 21st April, marked the official beginning of the live music trip we were about to embark on, with a 7.00am flight to New Orleans the next day. NOLA is probably the live music capital of the world, with hundreds of live bands playing all sorts of music every day of the year; from the touristy, party-central Bourbon Street, to trendy Frenchmen Street and beyond. World- famous cuisine, great architecture and a very walkable French Quarter makes New Orleans our new "best city" in the States. Our hotel is located on St. Charles St, so we have the added pleasure of being able to catch the historical Trolley in and out of town.
We "lunch" at one of Emeril Legasse's restaurants - he put the New in New Orleans' Cajun and Creole cooking - all washed down with a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sav Blanc! Wandering from bar to bar on Bourbon St, sampling whiskey, listening to jazz, blues and rock is Neil's idea of "heaven on earth" and it's hard to get him home. The "BBB" is renamed the BBQ, Bands and Bourbon tour. Daisy Duke's Diner has the best Bloody Mary ever, loaded with pickled green beans, pickled okra and green olives, so I suggest another renaming; "BBBB"only to find out I don't get a vote!
But we are actually in New Orleans for the NOLA Jazz and Heritage Festival and so the next morning we join a queue for a shuttle bus to the Show Grounds. It's very busy and very hot and we are glad to have our folding chairs and hats. Over 2 days we get to see Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs and more.

Paul and Elanna

Bourbon St

NOLA Jazz Fest

Daisy Duke's Bloody Mary

St. Charles Street Trolley