It was a busy day of partying but mostly driving yesterday, and it was all solo activity. My niece had a baby shower in Slidell, and we were invited to the opening of Kevin Kelly’s new museum out at The Houmas House near Baton Rouge. Kevin has been talking about The Great River Road Museum for years, and I was happy to see it come to fruition for him. For me, it was a good party. He entertains well.
So first I went east from 2-4, and then I went west and south to Darrow near Baton Rouge. Going to the Houmas House is intimidating for me, or it had been, because it seems to be a maze of little roads. The idea of driving them at night with a phone that I forget to charge and the prospect of no GPS causes me to pause.
Naturally, I left the shower with less phone battery than ideal but it wasn’t dark yet so I could at least see where I was going. And I was very glad I left Tom home. Because of this battery thing, I actually had to pay attention the old-fashioned way and not rely on our electronic crutch. And you, know what? Darrow isn’t all that hard to get to after all. On the way back I didn’t rely on it at all.
Because of the shower and the distance between the two, I arrived at Houmas House well into the party. I had already missed the cocktails and passed hors d’eouvres, and I walked past the bar set up at the entrance.
The museum is a maze of rooms so full of information it is overwhelming. I couldn’t imagine the research necessary to put all of that out there. In the back of the large room, the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra played for a grateful audience seated in what looked like church pews.
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There was a lot of noise and some clatter coming from another direction. The museum cafe is where the buffet was set up. I have been to a number of Kevin’s parties, all of which are beautifully set up using lovely buffet servers and the distinctive blue-rimmed Houmas House plates. The food is prepared by Jeremy Langlois, Kevin’s longtime chef. We have watched him grow from practically a kid to a grown man with a family, and we love his food.
This buffet was much smaller than usual, because of the size and nature of the guest list “Come and bring friends.” Some of the regular dishes were there: thinly sliced Prime Rib Au Jus, properly cooked (in my view) Roasted Duck Breast with Praline Sauce, Herb Crusted Salmon in a Saffron Cream Sauce, and Crawfish Etoufee over rice. All of this was much better than it photographed. Not Instagrammable.
I got back into the car armed with my new information simply gained by paying attention and made it all the way home through the backroads without needing my crutch. It’s not so daunting at all. Suddenly it came to me that Tom was directing me, using his complicated backroads way that he loves to use because that was his route to Manresa, which is just a few miles down River Road. For the rest of us, it’s simple: exit 182 off I-10, south on Hwy 22, then follow the road signs to Houmas House. Hwy 44 for a mile or two, then west on River Road for a mile.
So glad I finally realized that. I will go back without any trepidation now. I love this place.
