Mayhaw Man

For Baja Influence you could also add Fish Tacos (mmmmmm, fish tacos) and Cockateles, the individually brined ceviche type dish that you pretty much only see in the Ensenada Bufadora, Rosarita area. They are wonderful.

Try "Charlie Trotter Superdud" which started with an intial and somewhat (I believe, I could be wrong and I do not want to be responsible for trailing that long and increasingly digressing discussion here). It is very interesting (all 10,000 pages of it) and should be read (once again I am being careful to state that this is my opinion)0 from start to finish, even if it takes a while. It is an example of what is great about interactive media being used by smsrt, opinionated, and sometimes wickedly funny people.

As does a dutch restaurant with lots of dutch patrons. Do Dutch restaurants drop a single check on the table or do they make everyone go Dutch? Ugghh Sorry about that. I should probably use the bad joke key and delete

I am the first to admit that I spend way too much of my work day reading posts on fine site and that there are many times I have something to add to a thread but do not post due to work constraints (both the time to post it and an honest feeling that I really should try to do something to put food on the table other than lurk on eGullet). The funny part of it is that often by the time I get home and turn on the box I have either forgotten what the hell I was going to say or someone has posted a similar thought and another post by me would just be piling on in the "yeah! me too!what he/she said" school of posting. Now. With all of that prefacing and mumbling around I would like to say what a brilliant post Robyn contributed. It is exactly what I had in mind this afternoon when I could not spend 15 minutes typing at work. My stories would have been different (not as interesting or well told) and I would have worded it differently, but I would like to think that the general feel of the post would have been the same. Nice work says I I truly believe that after someone has worked their way up and around some interesting, well cooked and served food that they should be able to march into anywhere and feel confidant that they have the tools they need to take a stab at some seriously fine dining. To me, one of the keys is having enough confidence to say to your server "I have never dined here before but I know it is supposed to be great. What do you reccomend and what kind of wine do you think I should have with the courses? Should I just do a "by the glass thing"? What gives? I really want to enjoy this place. Help me out and we will keep coming back. Please." While that may seem a bit basic, I have found (from both sides of the menu, server and diner) that those people are very pleased to show you what they know and to help you enjoy something that, in most cases anyway, they enjoy as much as you do. Humans sharing knowledge with each other is damn basic to our needs. It makes everybody feel better to both take in and to disseminate information to others. The key, as far as I can see it, to enjoying the fine dining experience is to be open and honest with everyone involved and your experience is going to be 100% better than someone who sits like a lump and does not interact with the servers, sommelliers, etc.. Many times in the last weeks I have read posts (see that whole Adrober debacle)in which diners were unhappy with some facet of the dining experience that annoyed them because they did not understand it. Perhaps their experience would have been completely different had they merely asked a question or requested a slightly different service technique. After all, we are paying them. They need us. The places that behave, in the long run, like they don't need us probably won't have a long run. The customer, in my opinion, is not always right, but neither is the restaurant right all of the time either. I personally love fine dining. It's fun. It's interesting. It beats staying home and eating that San Francisco Treat. I see fine dining as going to the theater and being allowed to sit on the stage during the performance. The best part is that during the performance one of the actors leans over and says "These are your lines. Get Busy. You ARE a part of this production".

Ugghh, sorry, I scrolled down after I typed. My bad on the repeat.

It's working. eeeexcellent. I'm hearing this in very, umm, relishing/exaggerated "Newman" voice (weird description but I think you'll get it) from Seinfeld. That's funny. I heard it as Homer's boss, Mr Burns. As in: " Ahh, the hounds seemed to have chased off the rabble nicely! Eexcellent!

I have never had them. What would one ask the butcher for? I am an interested potential lamb spare rib chef.

I am a huge fan of grilled, homemade pimiento cheese and tomato sandwiches. I like to slightly butter a griddle pan and toast the WHOLE sandwich (made with whole wheat or sourdough_ at once until fairly dark.

Well put, I agree wholeheartedly. I'll take my humor and decent human spirit from whatever source I can extract it from. Very paullitable statement

Is "sammich" a Southern U.S. thing then? No. At least not in my part of the South. We call 'em po boys

Looks to me like you're mainlining the stuff

Dose thes meen that yoo doant wont ani mour possteengs frum Looseanna? Wee hav veri cumplecks pallettes doun hear. Edited to incorrect spelling

Rachel, Monday Lunch-You'll be in the neighborhood- Incidentally, the rum tour is fun. You will enjoy it. I have a couple of James Mich's paintings that we bought years ago. He is an interesting guy. How about Mandina's? It is broadly in the neighborhood. Food's great and some serious New Orleans Atmosphere (not that you won't get enough anyway, you'll be dripping in Funk by the time you leave ) There is also Mandich's and Liuzza's by the Track if you want a good sandwich Wednesday Night-Brigsten's would be my choice (you will need to make a reservation, but should be no trouble for city sophisticates like yourselves). Thursday night- Mosca's is a possibility. It is wonderful. My favorite place to eat in New Orleans. THe down side is that is is over the Huey P Long Bridge and a pain in the ass to get to in a cab. It is also much more enjoyable with a a large group. So maybe not. How about the Praline Connection on Thursday night? The foods great. You can walk through the Quarter to get there, and gorge yourself on dessert to keep your energy up on the way home. Thursday night you could also never leave the Quarter and go to : Redfish Grill GW Fins Mr B's K Pauls Bayona (you might want to think about this one as a last splurge) Mike Anderson's (underated, good, with great soups) NOLA (Emeril's BIG FOOD place. I love it. Alot of people can't get past the Emeril Thing. Small Minds ) Antoines (just in case you don't get enough "old" at Galitoires) And out of the Quarter- Emeril's Paristyle Joey's Delmonico Cuvee The possibilities are pretty endless. Maybe it would be better to sit down and look at what you have eaten before Thursday and decide from there. And depending on the timing of our drive on Wednesday (there is alot of time in the car involved. If you a draw a map of the route from N.O. to BR to LAfayette-New Iberia- Thibodeaux -N.O. you will see roughly the route) we could stop at Mosca's just before we get back to NO and fill all of our garlic and oyster needs. More to Come Incidentally, would you like me to make a reervation for you at Jacquimo's on Monday night? I can if you would like. PM me

I will compile a list of Thanksgiving places for you this afternoon when I get home. I usually end up with my family on Thanksgiving, but two different years we have ended up at Mr B's for Thanksgiving and I give it pretty high marks. It is a table service meal (as in no buffet) and is not outrageously priced. Wine with every course, and most importantly, many alternatives to Turkey. Nothing against your friends sensabilities, but unless you want wings and bleu cheese dressing for your meal, you might want to pass on Kabby's.

Commander's Palace for Brunch. That or just go to Galitoires for plain old lunch. You won't be dissappointed either way. Actually, being Sunday morning after a big Saturday night our, Galitoires would be easier as it is literally around the corner from your hotel.

Jerry Strahan is an interesting guy. He ran (and later purchased) Lucky Dog's Inc. The book mentioned in the article is a good read and while the writing (imho) could use some polish, it was edited along the way by his advisors at UNO....Stephen Ambrose and Doug Brinkley, serious historians in their own right. The depictions of life in the quarter are not only accurate and identifiable to us residents, but really. really funny. I have gifted this book to many visitors as a nice slice of life story about the Quarter and one of it's more identifiable icons. And I don't know about Will Farrell as Ignatius, but who knows, this thing has been floating around so long I will be glad to see anybody get it off the ground. I think the general fear is that it is so "New Orleans Centric" that it will only play to a limited audience.

They haven't killed me yet And trust me, I've given them every opportunity.

Edited because my problem has been solved by Fat Guy. Thank you kind sir.

I live in New Orleans. Coffee is huge here and has been for a very long time. More coffee (in green bean form) passes through the port of New Orleans than any other port in the US. We roast a bunch of Coffee here in a couple of huge, national brand plants plus a myriad of smaller roasters and importation companies exist. People here know coffee and many of these businesses are in their 4th and 5th generation. The Folgers Plant on the Industrial Canal under the High Rise Bridge coming into New Orleans on !-10 from the east can be smelled for miles, especially on still humid nights in the summer. I love that smell. Reminds me I'm getting close to home. My point here is that Starbucks, while not uncommon, has not caught on here like it has in some other areas of the country. We have two chains that are locally owned that serve as a replacement of sorts. PJ's, a locally owned company started in the early eighties has outlets all over New Orleans and many more in the Gulf SOuth. CC's Coffeehouse, which is wholly owned by Community Coffee (the local king of Coffee) also has a number of spots in New Orleans and South Louisiana. Both places have strong local followings and make a good cup of joe. No computer driven espresso here (Thank God, I hate those machines). Both places are similar in that they serve locally made pastries, from a number of sources and are generally more casual and lean pretty heavily towards New Orleans "funkiness", as opposed to the corporate slickness of Starbuck's. I like Starbucks coffee, but given a choice, I will go to a local place. And trust me, finding coffee in New Orleans may not be as easy as Seattle, but it is damn close. But come to think of it, I hae never seen a cart pushing espresso (except at the convention center) so maybe we have a ways to go.

This would be an excellent opportunity for a public testing of the Wine Clip. Plenty of material for fun TV there

One tip that no one seems to have mentioned (or I missed it). Heat the oil to 400 and dunk the bird a couple of times for a couple of minutes (until oil temp drops 25 degrees or so) before immersing for full frying. You will get a much crispier skin. Incidentally, you are better off STARTING with the oil at 375 for final fry, due to the drop in temp you will get when bird is added to the oil. You will be able to time the whole thing much more accurately if you do this. One last safety tip. Get a pair of good quality welding type gloves. Things are much easier than trying to use hot pads, dishcloths, etc. during the inevitable handling of the cooking equipment/bird frying device.

Ok, We're on. My wife said as long as I bring home stuffed chickens from Hebert's and some Mello Joy from Lafayette. I will p.m. you, but Tuesday is probably the day if that works for you. Long day of driving, with many stops. Bring antacid. There is eating to do

Rachel, I will have to check with SO, but if you are really interested in going to see a little of our Rural Environs, I would be willing to spend a day driving you around (avoiding speedtraps and sherriffs like the one in the James Bond movie). BUT, it will have to involve lunch at Joe's Dreyfuss Store in Livonia (google it, you will see ). Outside of that we can drive around and come back to New Orleans the long way (west side of the River down River Road or through New Iberia and Thibodeaux). It is kind of a long day of driving, but very interesting and alot of fun. I haven't been to Joe's in two weeks and that is too long. All of the food can be purchased frozen and shippped or carried on the plane as checked luggage. Hebert's, Poche's, Champagne's, etc. are all set up to do this. You can fill all of your stuffed chicken, sausage, andouille, tasso, boudin, and meat pie needs at any of these places (although Hebert's is the king of the stuffed fowl world).

As an inveterate buyer of travel guides I would like to reccomend the following excellent guide to the world of South Louisiana. Disclosure: both of the authors are friends of mine and I was involved in some of the trips for this book. Inspite of my drunken assistance, the book turned out great. Cajun Country Guide by Macon Frye and Julie Posner Hope we can meet for lunch on Tuesday or Wednesday while you are here. Jaucquimo's, Crabby Jacks, Acme, Liuzza's, Mandina's, Mandich's, Mr. B's, whatever, you pick......we'll eat.

I believe that you will find that salt is the active anti freeze here. The stuff is chock full of it.