Friday, June 26  #SHRM09-BoB

8:00AM
Headed down to N'awlins this morning. First time in nearly a year. This has been the longest time between trips to my favorite city since 2004, a year before Katrina.

10:45AM
The plane included a few HR consultants (MJ Sinclair among them) and Academics (Mark Hueslid) whose company I enjoy. All of us have full agendas at the conference but in totally different spaces. In between the special expertise panels, vendor meetings, and presenting on candidate experience at a concurrent session Tuesday there's  food, drink and the sheer pleasure of N'awlins- a city totally without peer.

Conversations the past few weeks have led half a dozen folks to agree to tweet under #SHRM-BoB (Band of Bloggers) and the group will likely grow as more of the community pour into the city on Sunday. A Tweetup is planned for Tuesday but BoB may find a way to check out all the Monday night parties as well.

Good conversation on the plane with MH around the standards initiative SHRM is supporting under ANSI/ISO protocols. Discussion helped me to articualte responses to some concerns expressed by the academic community.

1:00PM
Arrive at Montoleone in the French Quarter and, after settling in I take a 2-hour walk-about taking stock of the recovery by first winding through the French Quarter, American and Warehouse districts and ending at the Convention Center (stopping at a brewery for a local ale and a [small] taste of gumbo).

You can feel the difference. There are lots more people in the streets and our convention hasn't yet arrived. If you know what to look for there are still gaps. Later next week I'll tour the outer rings where I know the problems are still major but downtown you can see the hotels are back in business, new construction and especially the change along Tchopitoulas just opposite the Convention Center is significant- where btw a wine store offering 190 different wines by the ounce and glass is definitely calling to me.

It's hot here. There is a reason for wearing straw hats and loose clothes and walking very, very slowly.

The Convention Center in N'awlins is 1 mile long. The SHRM areas are quickly being built. Several 4 and 8 hour workshop sessions will be conducted tomorrow. The speaker's room wasn't open. Returned to the hotel via the stores strung out along River Walk. Cooler and pleasing to see the crowds there as well. A year ago it was half the size and many stores were still closed.

6:00 PM
Stopped by the Westin to see if NW needed any additional members to network with the large contingent of HR students from around the country attending the conference. Fortunately, not needed and quickly head out to my newest food adventure with Scott Elliott, a fellow foodie from NJ, and a couple of his friends from Pensacola who have raved about a restaurant...Uptown.

This is really Uptown. We reached Jacque-IMOs after an hour on the Charles St Trolley, well past the Garden District and very near the end of the line. Incredibly the restaurant can best described as a beach shack. The street in front is totally demolished. Walking into the bar in the front of the "no reservations" restaurant reminded me of rush hour trains in Tokyo. To say the place was packed was an understatement and, amidst the chaos, shoving and shuffling the [very casually dressed] GenY maitre de offered us, after a moment of mental calculation, a potential time for being seated as "maybe in an hour". I thought "maybe" I had opted into the wrong choice but we retired to a bar nearby with far fewer patrons and an unusual ceiling fan. The fabulous local brew and stimulating conversation helped the time pass quickly. The restaurant staff came and found us and soon we discovered why this place was worth all the wait and much more.

To say the food was moaning good doesn't do it justice. And who could describe an appetizer like Alligator cheesecake anyway let alone help someone taste it like I did. Everything was sauced, subtle but complex and intensely flavored. Even a cornbread dipped in honey and seasoned with garlic and tyme was extraordinary in its details. We shared several appetizers but a stuffed eggplant was so good I begged them for the recipe. The blackened redfish was even better than promised. I've eaten in nearly 100 restaurants in N'awlins. For local color, down to earth good eats and a truly different experience, Jacque-IMOs is a great adventure.

11:45
Returned to the downtown, checked to see if EO was at the Casino as she intimated she might be. Yup, she was there and we played some 3-6 holdem but nothing happening with my hands so time to call it a night.