N'awlins Part 2

Jacques-imo's- a New Orlean's famous restaurant serving up traditional Southern food left me and all of my dining companions far more than satisfied. Laurie, an old college friend of mine saved us a table for eight early. Besides the excellent service, Laurie's boyfriend, Jared was the bartender so we were treated perhaps a tad bit better than the average tourist. The evening began with a full table of complimentary appetizers from Fried Green Tomatoes, Spicy Gulf Shrimp, Alligator Cheesecake, Fried Oysters and Garlic Cornbread. Next came entrees! I quickly learned what the Paneed Rabbit I ordered was- pounded, breaded and fried! And check this out- it came on a bed of pasta with a cream sauce and oysters and tasso pork (similar to prosciutto but thick and chewy). It also came with a side dish! Sweet potatoes and sauteed buttered greens. This was all just my portion mind you. Some other mentionables at the table: Foie Gras Stuffed Quail Wrapped in Bacon, Crispy Potato Coated Fish and more Spicy Shrimp. Sadly- and I mean it, most of us couldn't dent our plates. Everything was so delicious but it was just too much. If all this wasn't enough, we were given blue berry cheesecake, a strawberry and ice cream parfait and a classic creme brulee for dessert. Many many thanks Jacques-imo's!

Paneed Rabbit Over Pasta with Oysters

Even in the wee hours of morning, one can order seafood gumbo. The Charles St. Tavern is open 24 hours a day. After an amazing Eric Lindell concert in the French Quarter, we were starving so we stopped by the Charles St. Tavern for burgers and gumbo. I tried several attempts to grab the rubber crawfish with a metal claw out of the kiddie machine in the corner, for a Charles St. Tavern memory, but no luck. The memories of happy exhaustion and the sweetest Southern waitress ever, is a far greater souvenir.

Ah crawfish! The Louisianna lobster. At one time I worked at a Cajun food restaurant where we served big plates of boiled crawfish. I loved them dipped in clarified butter. I don't know what it is about my love of shellfish. Perhaps these mud bugs should have a page all their own. We ordered a huge plate of crawfish on our first day at Jazzfest almost immediately and then, a couple hours later- had to come back for more! Sure it's a lot of work to get the little meat out of the tail, but it's so sweet and perfectly seasoned. Plus, you have to suck the head- which does not give you a mouthful of crawfish brains, just sweet and salty, delicious juices with flavors of allspice, bay, crawfish shell and cayanne.

And there is more to come...

New Orleans Part 1- A Foodie Mecca

Let's talk a moment about tradition. When you think about rites of passage, culture, holidays and even religious events, almost guaranteed you are going to think of some sort of food or drink which accompanies it. In New Orleans, the town celebrates food traditions on a daily basis. Perhaps it's just me being a foodie tourist, but when it comes to food pride, New Orleans has it. Jess, my NOLA tour guide along with my hubby Mark and two friends, Tyler and Evangeline, we were able to experience New Orleans, including Jazzfest for 5 days.
To begin, we went to a "must" stop in the French Quarter that we had to experience, the 24-hour cafe called Cafe Du Monde for a cup of coffee and the famous beignets covered in powdered sugar. Not just a little bit either- we're talking buried in powdered sugar! The busy waitresses' black skirts don't stand a chance on staying black as white hand prints and streaks of white powdered sugar accent each waitress like flare on a uniform. So much powdered sugar in fact, apparently sources say very early in the morning as they spray down the outside dining area, powdered sugar rises up in plumes. The chicory coffee, the airy beignets (think of the softest donut ever and not overly sweet) and the outdoor dining area, complete with pigeons and clip clopping horse drawn carriages and you have Cafe Du Monde.



The weather was wonderfully warm, high 70's and 8o's and not yet crazy humid. The colorful buildings in the French Quarter were ornately decorated in lovely iron work and many of them showered in flowers. Another local spot we had to stop at was called Coop's. They serve traditional N'awlins food from Jambalaya to Po'boys. We ordered a shrimp and an oyster Po'boy on French rolls- "dressed." (meaning- the works!) As you can see from the photos, the portions were not small. Huge crispy gulf shrimp and fried oysters on soft rolls, a bit of mayo, sliced tomato, splash of hot sauce and iceberg lettuce. We washed it down with a “Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale” by New Orlean's own Abita Brewery. For each restoration beer purchased, $1 goes to restoration post-Katrina efforts. Refreshing, not too heavy and the perfect compliment to the delicious Po'boys. Keep your eyes peeled for the Northwest Oyster Po'boy in Eat and Drink in the Northwest book 2!