where i was: a new orleans restaurant.

i'm in new orleans at a conference at the most incredible and lovely hotel i've ever been in ... the roosevelt (it's a waldorf astoria). it's the second time we've had this conference here, and i always love new orleans.

the sad part is that the conference has me so worn out, i'm probably not going to make it to cafe du monde in the french quarter, which is one of my favorite places in nola. c'est la vie. or rather, c'est la conference. or, c'est la work trip.

attached to the glorious roosevelt is a restaurant called domenica. i ate there when we had the conference last year, and so tonight, when i was trying to get up the nerve to not just call room service, i decided to eat there again. it's a really interesting place, decor-wise, so i thought i'd share a photo with you...

two neat features are the chainmail curtains and the light fixtures. the restaurant is organized with these large pillars that form a square in the middle of the floor, and against those pillars are heavy curtains made of chainmail. i actually brushed up against one with my bag, and it moved a little. i wonder how much they weigh.

the light fixtures are neat too. there are two types of chandelier, one with naked bulbs hung in a row, interspersed with lots of crystals, and a second where bulbs are surrounded by a mound of some kind of clear circular substance. it's almost as if someone grabbed a whole bunch of those plastic six-pack holders and bunched them together around the light. (in reality, whatever they're made out of has a bit more mass than a plastic six-pack ring thingy, but it's the best explanation i have.)

also, i had the tortellini, and it was wonderful. as was the apple spice cake :)