TAPrice

I recently had a steak at a restaurant that was described as cold smoked and then pan seared. I'm a little confused, since I think of cold smoking as a slow process that fully cooks the meat. And instead of meat, I think of fish. Never having had the equipment or the space (oh, the joys of apartment dwelling) to cold smoke anything myself, I might just be hazy on the process and the outcome.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've been eating lots of corn dogs. You can eat one between floats. Brooks, you come down to Felicity and St. Charles and I'll sell cans of beer for a $1 I might even give you a few cans free.

My guess is that restaurant owner misunderstand the purpose of a web site. They approach it with the mindset that they need to create an atmosphere reminiscent of the restaurant itself. For this reason you end up with music and animations that attempt to evoke the place. As a customer, I want quick access to the hours, the phone number, and the menu with prices. I like reprints of full reviews and history on the building or establishment. Hey, I even enjoy bells and whistles sometimes (ok, I never like music on web sites). A virtual tour of dining room? That could be cool. The problem with most restaurant website from a design standpoint is that they force the gimmicks down your throat. My advice to a restaurant would be build a quick loading page with clear access to basic information. If you want some gimmicks, allow the user to explore these if they choose.

What really bothers me is the downsizing of canned ingredients. Often it's a little less than what you need, so you're forced to purchase two cans.

What makes restaurants think that music and animated movies are cool on their web site? I've got my own music, thank you very much. Why not just add flashing text and pop-up windows and become truly unbearable? Having just double checked 100 sites for a local food guide, I'm amazed how prevalent this is among higher end places. I surf around the web way more than I should, and I don't often encounter animated movies. I almost NEVER run into websites with music, except when I look up restaurants. Any ideas on why this happens? Herd mentality? All restaurants use the same web developers? I'd be curious to hear from restaurant owners on why they added music to their sites.

Hey, what's wrong with Macs? As a freelancer, though, I've got nothing to do with the technology used at the Gambit office. And Kevin, I'm deeply hurt by your abuse. When we finally meet in person I'm going to demand that you buy me a beer. [i would add one of these smilies if I could figure out how to do it in the "fast reply" box.]

Glad everybody liked the article. The background of the photo looks suspiciously like the Gambit offices, so I'm assuming that the editor convinced you to come out to their mid-city location.

In New Orleans, Copeland's Cheescake Bistro, a copy of the Cheesecake Factory by the founder of the Popeye's chain, combines cheesecake with another regional favorite: cheesecake Banana's Foster. It's like two desserts in one. My wife and I split a piece once and felt sick for the rest of the evening. I believe they also have a cheesecake with a praline perched on top.

I've been told that those little bags of dried shrimp you see next to register at New Orleans grocery stores as intended as a snack to go with beer. Is this true? How widespread is this practice? Do bars ever put out little bowls of dried shrimp, or is this something people eat in the privacy of their homes?