Rachel Perlow

Contributing to our impatience was the lack of air conditioning.

You can discuss the food festivals after the event. To let people know that an event is happening, you can request that it be listed on the eGS calendar. I'm working on making a summary of NJ eGS listed Calendar events in a new thread to be posted soon. Meanwhile, if you want to discuss the Belmar Seafood Festival that occured this past weekend, I suggest you do so on the pre-existing thread, link. ("Deleted in its entirety"? It was two posts long.) You're right about the Crawfish Fest thread, it probably should have been deleted. But since it is over now, we're trying to figure out what to do with it. More... re: the Crawfish Fest thread - Yes, it should have come down. We missed it, we're human. You can help by using the report this post feature if you see something that doesn't conform with policy. In the meantime, all talk about outside events are welcome on eG once the event has been completed.

Note: I changed the topic slightly, to what to grow in NJ. I've planted Early Girl, Roma, some type of Cherry, and some type of Beefsteak. Total of 16 plants. I bought them late for the season in my area, the first week of June, so I had to take what I could get. Some plants were bigger, bought staked and now already need the cage, some are still mere seedlings. A couple already have small green fruit. Question: For plants that are still pretty small, 12-14", but are already producing fruit, should that early fruit be culled? I'm thinking the plant may need to devote its energy to developing as a plant, rather than to produce fruit, at this stage. Opinions? Let's all take pictures of our tomato plants and fruit this year.

Shall we discuss the dessert options? I sampled the strawberry-rhubarb crumble and a chocolate cupcake on Sunday. As well as the previously discussed strawberry shortcake concrete from Shake Shack, on Saturday. The cupcake was nice and chocolatey, but the frosting was quite melty from the heat. The bar cookie was good, but I wanted more fruit and less crumble. I think the hot dog vendors at the corners of the park were doing more business in ice cream. And there was a Mr. Softee truck parked on the southeast corner of Madison and 26th, that had a line about 30 people long when we left at 3:30. Next year, I hope they import a shave ice vendor. I good snow-ball or snow cone would have really it the spot!

We left around 3:30 on Sunday, and I felt I did my karmic duty by giving our spent Bubba card to someone at the end of Salt Lick's line. I determined who to give it to by shouting "Who knows what a Bubba pass is?" I gave it to the couple who first raised their hand. I told them there was no cash left on it, but that one of them should go try to put some more money on it while the other stayed on line (since I didn't know if the refill station was still open). I hope they were able to put some dough on it and bypass the line. They were only selling 50 passes on Sunday, so most anyone who wanted to buy one couldn't. But you were able to add cash to a card you already had if you wanted to.

I guess it's too late to point this out now, but you could use the cards at the merchandise tent. We bought some bottles of sauce and a hat with our leftover money. I didn't check to see if you could buy the books with them too.

Pasta Pot closed in 2005. New owners, new name: Donn Pomodoro, same address & phone number. Closing this topic, click on the link to discuss the new place.

Dinosaur Butt You just can't tell from this picture how delectible that butt was. We were there early on Sunday and I watched one of the guys wrapping individual cooked butts in plastic wrap. They were jiggly like Jello. The Dinosaur pulled butt was my favorite pulled meat of the day. I just don't care for whole hog as much, especially when chopped too finely. Salt Lick had my favorite sausage of the day, as well as my favorite brisket and cole slaw. I liked everybody's ribs. Mike Mill's baby backs were crisp and tender at the same time, with a very generous rub and a scant drizzle of sauce at the end. Mmm. Their beans were the best too. Whole Hog Cafe and Blue Smoke's ribs both had a lot more sauce on their spare ribs, but they were great too. I just can't play favorite when it comes to ribs, come one come all!

Ah, that's what I loved about Salt Lick's sausage as well. That crisped casing and juiciness. Yum. I noted that we got two slices of first cut and one of deckel on our Salt Lick plate. That seems an excellent proportion. Are you sure that all the pitt masters were using the Smithfield products? I was under the impression that most of them drove up their local piggies. What about the beef? Yes, my first sip was mostly lemonade, then I did stir it and shake the ice around. It was still too sweet. Oh well, there are worse things in life to worry about, I suppose if I'd been eating the salty & smoky barbecue with the AP, it would have tasted better. Instead it was our last drink in the park before going home on Saturday.

(reading above) They close for a street fair a block away, but are open during the BABBP? Well, I'm glad they were, since I hadn't been there before. It was a really good burger. Later in the afternoon I wanted some ice cream. First I checked out the Blue Smoke dessert tent, but they only had bar cookies and cupcakes. "You have to go to the Shake Shack for ice cream," said the worker. (Last year they had really good ice cream at the stand.) The only concrete they were offering was a "Strawberry Shortcake" (strawberries & shortbread cookies blended into vanilla ice cream, topped with real whipped cream) which was fine with me because I originally wanted a strawberry milkshake and they were only offering vanilla, chocolate, coffee, caramel and black & whites (for those who don't know a B&W is a vanilla milkshake with chocolate syrup, as opposed to a chocolate milkshake which is made with chocolate ice cream. Hmm, maybe later today I'll order both (if I can find someone to share with me) and compare). We also had an Arnold Palmer, it was too sweet. Too much lemonade not enough unsweetened iced tea. Or, perhaps they're using sweetened iced tea? So far the only other place I've ever been to that knows what an Arnold Palmer is, is my parents golf club. I order it all the time, but I usually have to let the server or bartender know what it is. Anyway, I don't think Jason had to wait on a line too long (at 11:45) and our burgers were delish. At 3:30 when I was going for the ice cream, the line was way longer, but just then someone directed the "shake and drink" (and concrete) customers to a second line, so that cut the wait considerably.

After they debited you, did they give you a ticket or something to hand over to each vendor?

This picture is a special order Ed Mitchel personally prepared for Jason to photograph. Obviously, he added some big hunks of unchopped pork to the plate: This is a tray of plates ready to go out on the line, exactly as they were going to the people, at just after noon today: The crackling was served on the side instead of chopped into the meat, which I appreciate (if you have a tooth issue, you don't want to bite into crackling unprepared). What time did you get your plate? Perhaps they weren't so pristine a few hours into the day.

This year's festival is June 2-5. Today is the last day, it is open until 9 PM. We went last night, but didn't take any pictures, the food is pretty much the same as last year. And it is good. Reminder: Park next door at the JCC and take the shuttle van or the path in back. I can't believe how far down Clinton Ave people were parking.

OK, let me rephrase, Willie Mae's chicken is more seasoned than Pampy's. Oh yeah, Dunbar's was really good too. There just aren't enough meals in the week to get back to all the places you like and try new ones too.

So, the fried chicken at Jacques-Imo's has gone down hill since Austin Leslie left, huh? For chicken fried under Austin's supervision (he's out in the dining room too much to be frying everything himself), you now have to go to Pampy's (2005 N. Broad), it's a more upscale place. Make sure they sprinkle the garlic and parsley on your chicken, if they don't, send it back. Jason will be posting a lot more about Pampy's in the next day or so. I also recommend the corn & crab bisque and the stuffed speckled trout (if they have it as a special that day). However, we found even better fried chicken (don't mention this to Austin ) at Willie Mae's (link). Go there tomorrow for lunch and get there early, I want you to go tomorrow so you can have the Monday only Butter Beans.

Just a few logistical notes... You can get the gel packs at a shipping supply or Walmart, but they don't come frozen. If you have access to a freezer, I suggest buying your meat and gel packs at least 48 hours before your trip home. That way you can freeze everything good and hard before you pack it (in case you don't buy frozen product, we didn't). If you don't have access to a freezer, then pick up a cheap plastic cooler with a handle, don't bother freezing your sausage while in LA, pack it with plastic bags of ice, and carry it on the plane. If you are doing it this way, I suggest buying your meat no earlier than the day before (or the day of) your flight, depending on the time of day of your flight. You cannot check boxes/coolers with water ice. Security will insist on opening your boxes, so don't obsess with the packing tape, as I did. Bring some extra packing tape to the airport (in your carry-on), so after security opens everything up, you can seal it up again.

The guy at the sno-bliz machine in Judge Gerry, the young'n in the background is the granddaughter, Ashley, who mostly runs the shop these days. It's a family run business. If you want to work there, "you have to marry Ashley," says the Judge.

They did it that way for a while, but then they were just starting to do the brunch in April 2004. After six months or so that menu started appearing on the table.

OK, here's my journal of our New Orleans Trip, May 21-28, 2005. In the early days of this journal post, I just list what we ate, we’ve already talked about most of it in other posts. Later on, I get more chatty. I’ve numbered the “book experiences” in bold, including page number references for restaurants and experiences, I also included address/phone for the places that aren’t “in the book.” The book being, Eating New Orleans by Pableaux Johnson. A note about water: Any time of year, it’s going to be hot in New Orleans. To us northerners at least. The locals may think it’s cool, but it’s probably 20 degrees warmer and more humid than where you live. So stock up on water and always carry some with you. We bought a case of Abita Springs Water in liter bottles at the local Robert’s Supermarket before we even got to our room. At home we get Poland Spring delivered, I wish they offered Abita Springs, it’s even better. And, yes, it’s that Abita Springs, home of our beloved Mayhaw Man, as Brooks said, “the water that goes through my (plumbing) sells for $1 a gallon at the store!” Saturday, May 21, 2005 – Arrived in New Orleans around 11 AM. Lunch (1) Bozo’s (p 153) Chicken, Sauasage and Okra Gumbo Salad Raw Oysters (p 131, Sauce Yourself) Butter drenched Toasted French Bread Fried Seafood Platter (p 153) Iced Tea Afternoon cooler of (2) iced café au lait (p 188) at Café du Monde (p 184, but at the Lakeside Mall location, we went shopping for sandals while waiting for our check in time). Dinner (3) Drago’s (p 130) for appetizers Charbroiled Oysters (4) Sid-Mar’s (p 158) Marinated crab fingers Corn & Crab Soup Hushpuppies Salad with Grilled Shrimp & Remoulade Crawfish Boil (it wasn’t good, but at least it was cheap, market price=$6.25/2 lbs) (p 233) Iced Tea, Jason had a Sazerac (p 49) Dessert (5) Angelo Brocato’s Gelato (p 192) Baci and Statchiatella gelato Sunday, May 22 Brunch (6) Ye Olde College Inn (p 69), Zydaco Brunch Oyster Loaf Grillades & Grits (p 174) Onion Rings Iced Tea, Bloody Mary (p 95) Snack We tried to go to Hansen’s, but not open for season yet, so (7) Creole Creamery (p 195) Apricot Sorbet Nectar Soda Dinner (8) Upperline (p 79) Most of the menu, but we ordered: Cane River Shrimp Field Greens Salad Roast Duck with both sauces (Peach and Port/Garlic) Spice Shrimp with Jalapeno Cornbread Water, Iced Tea Monday, May 23 Lunch (9) Willie Mae’s (p 177) Fried Chicken (see p 171) Fried Pork Chop Smothered Veal Red and Butter Beans & Rice Lemonade, no iced tea (with TAPrice and friend) Dessert – back to Brocato’s Spumoni, Praline Gelato After dessert, we picked up some (10) boiled shrimp (p 66) from K-Jean, a seafood take-away shop, which is conveniently located about two doors down from Brocato. We had the shrimp for Tuesday’s breakfast. Dinner (11) Parkway Bakery and Tavern (p 139) Po-Boys: Roast Beef, Hot Sausage, Shrimp Garden Salad (surprisingly good) Iced Tea, Barq’s Root Beer in the Blue Bottle (12) Hubig Blueberry Pie (pp 167, 244) Dessert (13) William’s Plum Street Snowballs (p 203) Mango with Condensed Milk (can’t recall what Jason got) Tuesday, May 24 Breakfast – Shrimp Boil (see above) (14) Crescent City Farmer’s Market (p 204) We bought: Tomatoes: Creole, Louisiana, Heirloom Berries: Strawberries (last of the season), Blueberries, Blackberries Granola Creole Cream Cheese, Yogurt, Hard Ricotta Cheese Tamales, Tortilla Chips, Salsa Verde Spinach and Artichoke Bread Peach Iced Tea These became snacks and breakfast foods for the rest of the week. Lunch (15) Crabby Jack’s (p 154) Po-Boys: Un-Fergie (ham and roast beef), Slow Cooked Duck, Paneed Rabbit with Mustard Sauce Oyster Platter with Jambalaya and salad Cole Slaw, heavy on the red cabbage, excellent with the duck po-boy Iced Tea I went shopping while Jason fiddled with pictures. Dinner Pre-dinner snack at Pampy’s, but more about that later (see Friday lunch, and p 171) (16) Brigtsen’s (p 71) Amuse: Smoked Salmon with Potato Cake and Red Pepper Sour Cream Appetizers: Oyster gratin, Fried Soft Shell Crab (p 106 with (heavily) Worcestershire spiked meuniere sauce with pecans, Baby Spinach Caesar Salad with Oysters & Applewood Bacon en Brochette & Roasted Peppers Mains: Pork Tenderloin with debris sauce, sweet potato dirty rice, jalapeno coleslaw, sautéed veggies; Seafood Platter: small portions of various crab, shrimp, crawfish, oyster and fish preparations; Beef Tournedos with Pecan and Blue Cheese quenelles, mashed potatoes, veggies, coleslaw (we felt the coleslaw made sense on the pork dish, but not on the beef) Dessert: Pecan Pie with Caramel Sauce, Tres Leches cake (special), Trio of Homemade Sorbets with Honeydew Melon Puree (this was everyone’s favorite after that big meal) Wednesday, May 25 Breakfast – granola, yogurt and berries; tomatoes & creole cream cheese on toast (from yesterday’s visit to the farmer’s market Lunch (17) Vietnamese in Gretna (p 181) Tan Dinh (not in the book, but many others are, so I’m counting it, as there’s a blurb about Vietnamese immigration to the area). Tan Dinh was recommended to us by TAPrice), 1705 Lafayette St, Gretna, LA 70053, 504-361-8008 After the past few day’s indulgences, we needed some cleansing pho soup, accompanied by Spring Rolls (what I call summer rolls, the cold kind), and some grilled lemongrass chicken, etc. Lemonade Soda Shopping: (18) Martin’s Wine Cellar (p 204) – the book emphasizes the deli counter lunch options (a good choice for a mid-week leafy green fix), but it is also a gourmet shop and excellent wine and liquor merchant. Jason bought some hard to find bourbon to bring home for himself and jhlurie (the dogsitter). I got some luscious locally produced drained yogurt at the cheese counter. We were looking for andouille, but they didn’t have any and neither did Langenstein’s (1330 Arabella, NO, 504-899-9283), which is a great local grocery recommended to us on a previous trip by JoAnn Clevenger and Mayhaw Man. Snack (19) Sophie's Ice Cream We had an assortment of mini-scoops. Favorite flavors included the lemon ice, carrot cake, peanut butter, chocolate and strawberry. Dinner – (20) Barbecue Shrimp (p 149) Comparison First: (21) Liuzza’s by the Track (p 164) Oyster Rockafeller Soup – oysters and spinach in a creamy broth. Good, but not worth finishing when there were better things to come, so we didn’t. Barbecue Shrimp PoBoy – to quote Pableaux, their “hollowed-out section of soft French bread filled with tiny sautéed shrimp and a gooshy overdose of thick, garlicky gravy. If you’re a fan of lemon pepper and want to perfect your elbow-licking technique, here’s your chance.” The bread is only opened on one end, not sliced open, so you eat from the top down. I swear it actually got hotter towards the bottom of the loaf. Really, really good. I would have been happy to order another or something else and stay at this cute neighborhood spot for dinner. But eGullet must be served… Second: (22) Deanies (Metairie) (p 155) – the French Quarter Deanie’s has drawn the majority of tourists away from the Bucktown original, so that’s where we went, since we had a car and a GPS. We originally went to Deanies on our first trip to New Orleans (pre-eGullet), and it definitely had fewer tourists, heck, there was no wait! Barbecue Shrimp – as we remember it, shell and head on, plenty of huge shrimp among some smaller, but still big ones. Nice peppery sauce. Fried Seafood Platter (half, still too much, the bellman at our hotel are getting fat from our leftovers! See p 153) Iced tea (should I bother adding this line anymore? Just assume it, OK?) Thursday, May 26 Breakfast/Lunch: Stayed in the room to relax for a while. Jason was kind of ill from the previous nights buttery shrimp fest. (Advice: Bring immodium, alka seltzer, pepto bismal, whatever keeps you going, or plan on a late night stop at Walgreens). Granola, Fruit, Tomato on Toast, leftover Vietnamese (pho, grilled chicken sandwich) Afternoon Snack First: Croissant D'Or Patisserie (617 Ursulines Av, NO (French Quarter), 504-524-4663) Not in the book, but we passed it while going to a gallery we were checking out on Royal. Pretty store, OK filled croissants. More interesting because it was the original location of Angelo Brocato’s Gelato, the tiled entry spelled that out, I think Jason got a picture of it. Second: (23) Tee-Eva’s (p 175) Lemonade Snowball (more like a snowcone this time, more crunchy than snowy ice) – I asked her to go easy on the syrup and it was the perfect amount for me. We ordered some bite sized pralines for Saturday pickup. Her regular pralines are $2 each, and you can get them by the box (dozen for $24) as well. However, you can also get a 2 lb gift basket of bite-sized pralines (individually wrapped) for $18, but you have to pre-order them. These impeccably fresh pralines are a perfect gift for the guy watching your dogs or picking up your mail back home. Dinner (24) Bayona (p 82) JoAnn Clevenger made a comment earlier in the week about which of Susan Spicer’s restaurants to go to, she said that we should “go to Herb Saint, as Bayona doesn’t really have New Orleans food, and Herb Saint does.” By Thursday we were ready for some non-New Orleans food, so we decided to go to Bayona, and we were glad we did. The food has a fabulous Southern flair without being too heavy, and perfectly attentive service. Appetizers: Crispy Smoked Quail Salad with Bourbon Molasses Vinaigrette, Seared Scallops with Corn, Poblano, Crawfish and Tomatillo sauce. Mains: Buttermilk Fried Rabbit Leg and Tenderloin with Creole Mustard Tasso Sauce and Stoneground Grits, Double-cut Niman Ranch Pork Chop with Cheddar Spoonbread. Dessert: Chocolate Mousse and gelato with cinnamon churros and lemon tart. They were both great, but I think I should have ordered the fruit special dessert (rhubarb and blueberry pannacotta), it looked really good at our neighbors table. Jason also ordered a dessert wine that went very well with the rich chocolate mousse. I actually ordered a cocktail! Tropical Splash (mostly pineapple juice and rum), Jason got a Negroni Cooler. Then we stuck to water. Friday, May 27 Breakfast – we aren’t getting tired of those fab tomatoes yet Lunch – (25) Pampy’s (OK, it’s not in the book (address: 2005 N. Broad Ave, NO), but Austin Leslie is mentioned within in the context of his previous kitchen (Jacques-Imo’s Café, p 65) for his “renowned fried chicken.” He’s been making his fried chicken since October 2004 at Pampy’s, which opened in July 2000. We stopped in on Tuesday night to sample the chicken, it was good, but not as good as Willie Mae’s. We learned later that it was supposed to have a garnish of chopped raw garlic and parsley, and ours definitely did not have that. Apparently, when the hostess gave Austin our card (he wasn’t in when were there on Tuesday), he recalled us from when we went to Jacques-Imo’s in 2003, and he and Pampy invited us back to sample more of the menu and, of course, photograph the food for eGullet. Disclosure, yes, this meal was complementary. We knew there’s be too much food for just the two of us, so we made sure that Brooks Hamaker, aka Mayhaw Man, joined us for the tasting. Some highlights: The properly garnished fried chicken (make sure yours has the parsley & garlic on top), Stuffed Speckled Trout Meuniere (special), Barbecued Shrimp, Crab & Corn Bisque, Stuffed Bell Pepper, Deep-fried Cornish Hen (perfectly moist and served with terrific and meaty collard greens, and yams). I didn’t care as much for the Buffalo Shrimp, it was way hot and seems out of place in NO, or the okra gumbo, but Brooks loved it! On a Mission: We needed to get some andouille (p 119) to restock our freezer back home. We were heading to “Jacob’s” in LaPlace “Andouille Capital of the World” Louisiana. Our GPS directed us to Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse and Restaurant (769 W 5th St, La Place, 985-652-9990), which is not in the book. Jason took a boatload of pictures, while I headed over to Walmart (my first time in a Walmart, BTW) to by a Styrofoam cooler. We picked up andouille, smoked sausage, tasso, jerky, and some bones for the dogs. They produce a fabulous, artisinal product, but it is not USDA inspected, so they can’t ship out of state. It’s less than an hour drive out of NO, so it’s worth the trip when you’re here. When heading back to the highway, we saw a sign for the place that apparently was supposed to be our original destination, (26) Jacob’s World Famous Andouille (p 246). They are able to ship out of state and have a website. We’d already bought a full cooler’s worth at WJ’s, so we just got one pork and one chicken andouille so we could compare. We used a piece of the pork andouille this week when cooking up some greens. It was quite good, but a little drier and had smaller pieces of meat than WJ’s. Snack (27) Hansen’s Sno-Bliz (p 196) We were lucky enough to be there on their opening day for the season (about a month late due to a death in the family). Orangeade with condensed milk for me (easy on the syrup, but still pretty drenched), Nectar and Chocolate combo for Jason (as per Judge Gerry’s recommendation). What a great summer treat. Dinner Intended: The Greek Festival (28) “Nearly every community celebrates . . . during an annual free-for-all festival. Any time of year, you’re never too far from a celebration, cultural fair, street dance or world championship cookoff of some local specialty--all you need to do is wait for the next weekend.” Pableaux Johnson (p 242). So we dutifully went to the current local festival, in this case, Greek Fest 2005, at the Greek Orthodox Community of Holy Trinity Cathedral, website (checking the website, I see why there were so many people in togas, it was the “Friday Night Toga Contest: Wear a Toga, Get in Free.”) We arrived around 7:30 PM on opening day, and I haven’t seen such a sea of humanity since the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta. It was crazy. We paid our entrance fee ($5 each), did a quick walkthrough, bought some baklava at the “Pastry Express” booth (the only line that wasn’t at least 100 people long) and high-tailed it out of there. On the way back to the car, the shuttle driver (same one that got us there) said, “what are you doing back so soon?!” A nice lady in the van with us suggested an alternative place with a similar cuisine, since we were in the mood for middle-eastern food at that point, hence: Actual: Lebanon’s Café, 1506 S. Carrolton, 504-862-6200 Chef’s Special Appetizer, what we’d call a mezze platter, spinach pie, roasted vegetable filo (excellent), Chicken Shawarma, Grilled Chicken Salad. Plenty of warm pita bread, iced tea, very nice waitress. What more can Greek Fest refugees ask for? Saturday, May 28 Breakfast: Finished off the tomatoes with some leftover hummus and pita from Lebanon’s. Mmm, mmm. Lunch (28 redux, as it is another local festival not specifically mentioned in The Book (as we came to refer to it) Plaquemines Parrish Heritage Festival. For a county fair it didn’t seem that big to us, but the food sure was good. We had some grilled oysters, then some boiled seafood (crawfish and shrimp), both served with spicy sausage and corn on the cob, with some remoullade sauce for the shrimp, finished off with a strawberry milkshake (thankfully there was softserve ice cream vendor in the 95 degree heat!) and some kettle corn for dessert. That was the best crawfish of the week, btw, probably the best we’d ever had. Thanks Plaquemines Parrish! We stopped back at Tee Eva’s to pick up our praline order and grab a couple more SnowBalls, lemonade again for me, which Jason got the (very very green) lime. He looked like he was freezing when we went to the pool afterwards, because his lips were so blue/green. Lunch at the festival was actually in the mid-afternoon (we slept pretty late Saturday morning), so thinking we wouldn’t want much dinner, we picked up some Summer Rolls to eat in the room at Tan Dinh, since we were passing by. Although Jason did go out for a take out burger at Igor’s Laundromat & Bar, next to our hotel, later on. Sorry there was no big last night/Saturday night blowout to report, but we had to get up at 4 AM Sunday morning to get to the airport for early morning flight. Oh yeah, we stopped at a Denny’s by the car rental return for a quick breakfast. The eggs were OK, but the hash browns suck. Good waiter though, quite cheery and quick for 5 AM. Epilogue So, last week we had at least 28 of Pableaux Johnson’s 100+ recommended eating experiences, and we’ve been to more than a dozen other places he recommends on our previous trips (Tujague’s, Camellia Grill, Elizabeth’s, Jacques-Imo’s Café, Mother’s, Uglesich’s, Emeril’s, Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, Mr. B’s, Palace Café (he conveniently groups all the Brennan’s into one chapter), Mosca’s, Pascal’s Manale, Dunbar’s, Café du Monde, Aunt Sally’s, French Market, Zara’s Lil Giant, Poche’s, and New Iberia), so I think we did pretty good for a spontaneous, no weeks in advance reservations, trip to the Big Easy, oops, I mean the Crescent City (p 10). Please note: if you'd like to reply to this post, please do not quote the entire post. Edit your quote down to just this relevant bits, as this is a pretty long post. Thanks.

Is that a real thing? I guess we did bring the hot weather with us.

Not commenting on pending legislation, but I did notice a lack of smokiness in most of the restaurants we went to last week. We even sat at the bar at Drago's and I didn't smell any (cigarette) smoke -- charbroiling oyster smoke, yes, but no ciggies.

That sounds great, otherRachel Brooks, believe me, I know what you mean about cleaning the bones, but the four of us ordered three orders of chicken with rice & beans (the butter beans are a Monday special, and we all thought they were slightly better than the red beans, not that the red beans aren't perfectly good to order on days other than Monday), plus a "side order" of a pork chop and a smothered veal. EVERYTHING was fabulous, save the overly sweet lemonade, and the slow service. But everything is made in its own time and when it gets to the table, you're grateful and thankful and being hungry and waiting makes everything taste better, doesn't it? And, of all the fried chicken we ate last week, Willie Mae's was hands down the best, most flavorful and juiciest. Get there now, while she's still at the stove! For a while, as we passed on our way to the restroom, her son, Slim, was manning the stove. He's 72. We imagined that he was finally taught the secret of the fried chicken on his 70th birthday... His 90 year old mother saying, "Son, you know I won't be around forever, I figure you're old enough to do it right and keep the secret." I doubt the young waitress (Willie Mae's great-granddaugher?) will be mature enough to handle the fry pot herself until she's a grandmother too.

FYI, Sophies had a Strawberry and a Strawberry Shortcake flavors, the regular strawberry was best. Excellent chocolate, nicely tart lemon sorbet, great special of Carrot Cake flavor. Of the three we visited, Brocato's was probably our favorite, but it gets incredibly crowded in there at night. However, they are remodeling, and should therefore have more seating soon. I really liked Sophie's as well, Creole Creamery was good, but the ice cream was better fresh at the store than the to go pints we brought back to the room.

That corn and crab soup was good, and I felt the best part of our meal there. I had a salad topped with grilled shrimp and remoulade sauce. The grilled shrimp were cold and dry, the salad part was OK. Jason wouldn't take a picture of it because it was a salad. The marinated crab fingers were obviously previously frozen and defrosted and they weren't marinated. Instead they came with italian salad dressing on the side. We didn't order them that way. Really, feh.

Wait, we didn't order that shrimp po-boy. That's Jason bugging neighboring tables for pictures of their food for your enjoyment! There were three of us there that day, JoAnn Clevenger of The Upperline restaurant joined us on her day off for lunch and dinner. JoAnn and I shared the duck and paneed rabbit, while Jason ordered the Un-Fergie, and oysters for the table. There were hands down the best fried oysters of the week. One I had was positively pornographic, in more ways than one! (You can just see it there in the center/lower half of the picture, now look at it sideways...) I think that was the only jambalaya we had last week, it was quite good, worth ordering among a long list of sides. The duck reminded me of pulled pork, it was rich and moist, and a light topping of coleslaw made it perfect. The paneed rabbit was nice and crunchy, but really tasted like veal or chicken more than rabbit. And it's not like I've never had rabbit before. I guess the lack of rabbit shaped pieces threw me off. Good self-service iced tea, work man's lunch counter and shared tables. Totally worth the drive or cab ride, if necessary. Ye Olde College Inn's Grillades and Grits was the first Grillades and Grits I'd ever tried. It was a really thick stew, there were chunks of meat in there, but it was a little salty to my taste. I did really like the grits though. Later on, I sampled the Grillades and Grits as made at Upperline, way more better.That oyster loaf had about 2 dozen oysters on it. It was only my second day, but already I'm starting to get over my oyster cravings! Really, for sharing between the two of us, we should have just gotten a regular sized oyster poboy (or as they say, "on french"). As for the Parkway, it was highly recommended by eGullet's TAPrice as well as in the book, and I was in the mood for a roast beef po-boy that night. I had a salad too. It was big and quite good. Nice crisp greens. Jason wondered why I kept ordering salads (he'd refuse to photograph them!), but with all the rich food, sometimes you just need a salad, if you know what I mean.