Last night, Juannie and I joined my family at Bacco in the French Quarter to celebrate my brother's birthday. It was a fun night. The appetizers and entrees were all delicious but the best thing I had all night was Mr. Ralph’s Ice Cream Sandwich. "Layers of rich chocolate cake filled with chocolate malt ice cream, drizzled with espresso chocolate and caramel sauces, and dusted with powdered sugar." Oh my!

New Orleans may be a third-world country masquerading as a city in the United States but it definitely has its charms. On the way home last night, we were waiting at a stop light at the corner of Canal and Dauphine. A group of brass band musicians were standing at a bus stop and started playing to pass the time. By the time we drove off, the rest of the people waiting for the bus were dancing and the pedestrians walking by were caught up in the music, too. We opened up all the car windows so we could hear the joyful noise for as long as possible as we drove up Canal Street.