What We Ate and Who We Saw in New Orleans

I like to call this photo "Finnegan Arrives in New Orleans." We were crossing Lake Pontchartrain and he seemed to be mesmerized by the sights around him. So were we!! Driving out of Mobile on the elevated highways over the wetlands was a new experience for us. And then the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain...certainly not anything like the high desert we call "home."
We came here to see Ben and Sarah...here are couple of photos we took when they came to the campground to have breakfast with us. Cute, Uh?

Meet Bayla. She's Sarah's Great Dane - and she's a real sweet thing.

Well, she's sweet until she thinks you're going to take her picture. She took one look at the camera and she was gone, complete with her tail down.

The most popular passtime in New Orleans - EATING! And, damn, the food is good. We began with some serious oyster time at Pasqual Manales. (Appetizer before dinner, of course.) Sarah is a master catsup, horseradish, worchester, and lemon mixer. Ed made himself scarse watching tv in the bar after he took this photo. We did this more than once. Y U M !!

Sarah and I took a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking. It was fun, and we picked up a few new recipes and got to eat lunch there: Artichoke Shrimp Soup, Crawfish Etoufee, Bread Pudding, and Pralines. Ben took Ed to Surrey's for a special breakfast while we were in class. (Note: Can you see the eating trend developing??) He was introduced to boudin - a spicy sausage with rice in it.

Ben did a lot of work on his house after Katrina. This incredible paint job really stands out on the block. The house is a "camelback" with rental units. Sarah has great plans for the big back yard. Think: eggs, chickens, raised planters, greenhouse. This place seems to be on track for a makeover by a woman's hand.

Ben took us to Tipitina's. The band has been inducted to the Walk of Fame out front. It sounds like it was a fun evening when they placed this medallion in the sidewalk.

We were in town for the Po Boy Festival. I had seen an item in the tourist papers and then Ben suggested we attend. We hit early in the event to avoid the shoulder to shoulder crowds. What an excellent idea that was! Several blocks were barricaded for the festival.

The idea is to purchase small po boy sandwiches from the restaurant sponsored stands and sample different kinds. It's an eating frenzy, and we fit right in.
Here'a Ben at the Pasqual Manales stand where they hollowed out the rolls and filled them with barbequed shrimp. A little po boy education: The rolls are the secret and these are baked by one bakery in New Orleans. Also, barbequed in New Orleans usually means butter and pepper. For the record, this barbequed shrimp po boy was outstanding!

My runaway favorite was the barbequed oysters. The put the raw oysters on the half shell right on the grill, add a little butter, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Oh..My..God! Our order was six. Ben made sure I got four of them...by telling me he can have then "anytime."

There's a very large Vietnamese community in New Orleans and their restaruants abound. My next favorite was this Vietnamese po boy made of barbequed pork loin. Delicious! Ed loved it too.

We ate fish tacos, roast beef po boy, and I can't even remember what else. A small sandwich, a couple bites, and we moved on.

Sarah was working so we brought her one of the Vietnamese po boys. She was a very happy camper.

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday night at Clancy's, a wonderful neighborhood eatery, as Ben's guests. We all ordered something different and passed food around the table tasting and sharing the meal. It was a wonderful evening.

How Do people stay thin in New Orleans?!?!?