Last week I attended meetings in New Orleans and oh my what an experience. I can say, "been there, somewhat did it, and don't need to go back." Let me explain. I enjoyed the food so I did that of course; however, I could do without the smells and feeling of dirtiness as well as that kind of night life. I literally held my nose and/or breath going down Bourbon Street, it didn't seem to matter if was during the day when everything was closed/boarded up or in the evening when the night life forms were out and about. The sewer drains and garbage cans were the worst to pass by! (imagine smells ranging from vomit to detergent.) Some places were rebuilt and opened though others were boarded up and deteriorated. Our hotel the Roosevelt, has been opened just three months since Hurricane Katrina after a multi-million renovation while two other very tall buildings to either side were vacant; one totally gutted and the other had every window broken and was in general dispair. So enough of that...on to the food!
I have to say the food was an experience. Besides eating raw oysters every night as an appetizer, the group I hung out with challenged ourselves to try something new for every dinner. I tried Gumbo, Etouffee, Jambalaya and BBQ Shrimp. Don't be fooled by the "BBQ" it's nothing like you would imagine. The shrimp were served in big bowls drenched in a very rich sauce/broth...I think it's some sort of Roux?
One of the first nights, we went to Cafe du Monde for beignets. Here's what I found out about Beignet's on the internet. The word beignet (pronounced bey-YAY) comes from the early Celtic word bigne meaning "to raise." It is also French for "fritter." Beignets, a New Orleans specialty, are fried, raised pieces of yeast dough, usually about 2 inches in diameter or 2 inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. It is like a sweet doughnut, but the beignet is square shaped and without a hole. Beignets are the forerunners of the raised doughnut. When you hear people in New Orleans say, "Goin' fo' coffee an' doughnuts," they mean coffee and beignets. In 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.
The French colonists of the 18th century brought the recipe and custom of making beignets to New Orleans. Some historians believe that the Ursuline Nuns of France, who came to Louisiana in 1727, brought this simple pastry to New Orleans, but this is not based on any facts. According to the 1902 Picayune Creole Cook Book, published by "The Picayune," a leading New Orleans newspaper: Beignets were most often enjoyed with café au lait. In New Orleans, café au lait is strong dark roast coffee and chicory, served with equal part hot milk. In the early history of Louisiana, chicory was added to coffee to stretch dwindling supplies. It was found that, in addition to stretching supplies, the chicory also created a smoother, richer brew. The addition of hot milk to strong coffee and chicory created one of the oldest and greatest coffee traditions in the world.
The original Cafe du Monde coffee stand was established in the New Orleans French Market in 1862 and still operates today. The cafe is considered a New Orleans landmark that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In fact, it is traditional to there for dark coasted coffee with chicory and beignets when visiting the city. At Café du Monde, there is only one food item you can order - beignets. The store is called a coffee stand, but it’s very large, with dozens of tables outside under the trademark green-and-white striped canopy, and more inside. On every table are plates of rapidly disappearing beignets. Café du Monde serves beignets in orders of three, and since that’s the only food item on the menu, you don't have to say what it is you’re ordering. You simply say, “I’ll have an order and a café au lait.” Expect a wait in line if you arrive during peak hours (even longer if you want a table).
And here we are eating beignets at Cafe du Monde...........the powdered sugar was piled on so thick, we had it everywhere!
Have you ever been one of those that seems to notice things that no one else notices or cares to notice? I have a thing for LED cross walk signs......why is the background black with a white shaped man, how come it isn't a white background with a black shaped man? Also, who decides how many seconds you have to cross the road? I have been to cities crossing the same road at different intersections where the amount of seconds to cross the road starts at say 30 seconds at one cross walk and 25 at another? and then I have seen the seconds start at odd intervals such as 17 seconds! So at the cross walk closest to our hotel, I found the upside down white man. Interestingly it only showed for maybe 10 seconds if that and then it would black out for a while before giving the red hand. No one else seemed to notice until I showed them. It took me many many tries to get a photo which also involved getting in the middle of the road and having my friends watch for cars.
Here we are at the Red Fish Grill enjoying great food.
Being served the famous double chocolate bread pudding.
A closer look at the double chocolate bread pudding.
Night time on Bourbon street. Sorry my pictures aren't the best. Really enjoyed the band on the left hand side of the photo below.
Venturing farther up Bourbon Street.
An end to an evening in New Orleans.....do you see him?
Megan the 7th in from the left. Due to the wonderful October we had and lack of snow in November, this was first High School race of the season.
Go Megan!
The fox.........
Also, and more importantly Sunday was Megan's 16th Birthday. She chose to have a small quiet family birthday with filet mignon, crab legs, potatoes, and green beans. Oh and also a lot of ice cream!
Sweet sixteen.......
The fox.........
Also, and more importantly Sunday was Megan's 16th Birthday. She chose to have a small quiet family birthday with filet mignon, crab legs, potatoes, and green beans. Oh and also a lot of ice cream!
Sweet sixteen.......
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