LPM

Chapter I - The Cajun Years

I had a Cajun childhood in Terrebonne Parish, South Louisiana, raised on home-made beignets with powdered sugar or Steen's Cane Syrup, jambalaya, boulettes, etoufee, red beans, white beans, blackberry dumplings, Pop Rouge ice cream, gumbo, oysters, duck, and seafood. My uncles hunted, trapped, trawled, and owned a shrimp platform. I assumed everyone watched soft shell crabs molt, fished for speckled trout and red fish, trawled for shrimp, and hunted ducks. I also assumed everyone had copiuos amounts of fresh-off-the-boat seafood year-round. Ah, the naivete of youth.

Chapter II - The College Years

Four years of college at Spring Hill in Mobile, Alabama, flat-out broke and eating and drinking like a college student. Fine dining consisted of a rare trip to a new fancy retaurant called "The Olive Garden."

Chapter III - The New Orleans Years

Law school and then law practice in New Orleans. I had the great fortune to work for two of the finest firms, and some of the most exceptional lawyers, in the city. I also was able to eat my way from the CBD to the Riverbend. Back then, the highest calling a young associate could hope for was to hold the line at Galatoire's on Fridays for the senior partners.

Chapter IV - The North Carolina Years

A beautiful woman took me from New Orleans to North Carolina for six years. It was there I learned that Louisiana was in the South, but in many ways not of the South. I was introduced to the great BBQ partisans. I also started to stretch my gastronomic wings, taking food-focused vacations in California, New York, and elsewhere. I also became addicted to marathon training and racing, ensuring that I would never be a candidate for the Atkins Diet.

Chapter V - Nashville

The present chapter. Nashville may not have its own distinctive cuisine, but if you look hard enough, you can find representative samplings of good southern fare, haute cuisine, and ethnic offerings. And that's how I spend my time -- seeking out good food (high and low) and trying to cook it at home. I'm still obsessed with marathoning, which makes for a daily Manichean struggle between proper nutrition for training and a tasty meal, nutritional value be damned.