A great American city on the rebound

I made my first trip to New Orleans this past weekend, and it was inspiring on many levels.

A cab driver told me a story about staying in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit because an elderly relative didn’t want to leave. They were eventually air-lifted out.

It’s hard for him to understand how our federal government can spend hundreds of billions of dollars waging a war and then helping to rebuild Iraq while one of America’s great cities struggled to get back on its feet.

It was not a working weekend for me, but I did catch most of the Saturday card at Fair Grounds. My cab driver added that the return of horse racing has been a major boost to the recovery process.

It was an enjoyable afternoon of racing, and it was easy to go back and forth from the cozy paddock out to the front side to watch the races. (The grandstand was smaller than I imagined.)

Louisiana is one of the best circuits for following the inside money. In race 4, a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for maidens, second-time starter Deputy’s Lariat caught my eye when he opened at a short 2-to-1.

Trained by Patrick Mouton, Deputy’s Lariat was bet to 2.40-to-1 in his debut at Louisiana Downs on October 12 and ran a wide fifth with Patrick Valenzuela aboard. Five works and almost two months later, he was back with a jockey switch to Elvis Perrodin.

I met Mouton at Louisiana Champions Day during the Fair Grounds-at-Louisiana Downs meeting in December 2005 and have a healthy respect for his runners. Deputy Lariat won at 6-to-1 odds.

New Orleans has a deserving reputation as a great food town, and the track was no exception. The daily special of beef stew reminded me of something my grandfather used to make. I declared the green beans the best I’ve ever had, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the absinthe talking. (Previous night in the French Quarter)

I plan to return for red beans & rice or a corn beef po’ boy. From the food perspective, Fair Grounds is one of the best tracks in America.

Other culinary highlights included an incredible ham hock and lima bean soup at Cochon, fried chicken, greens, and candied yams at Praline Connection, and of course, coffee and beignets at Café Du Mond, overlooking Jackson Square.

The other thing about New Orleans that left an imprint on me is the people. They have a zest for life that can’t help but rub off on visitors.

According to my unscientific poll of cab drivers and restaurant workers, tourism has rebounded to 40 or 50% of its pre-Katrina levels. There are great deals on hotels and flights to New Orleans right now, and if you’ve never been, there’s no better time.