So Much Food, So Little Time!

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Amazingly, I was clear-headed this morning but seriously wondering why on earth we agreed to a 9 AM start….I got my day going right with a large glass of iced tea from the Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel, and that turned out to be one smart move!  Sunday morning in N’awlins means Café du Monde for beignets, so off we went.  There was more activity than I expected at this hour, and it was hot, hot, hot already.  But we didn’t have to wait long, and soon we were stuffing our faces with those hot, melt-in-your-mouth, powdered sugar-coated morsels that make me drool just writing about them.  Drool on your own self as you look at http://www.cafedumonde.com.  We sat and savored them for as long as we could, given the people in line waiting for their turn at nirvana.

We strolled around the shops near Jackson Square, buying some pralines and a few little lagniappes for friends back home.  We got a kick out of the street performers and the buggy drivers, and Alex and Kim bought some art from the street vendors.  We took our time getting back to the hotel, and when we got there, we saw Storm Troopers (from Star Wars) in the lobby.  Go figure.  We dropped off our purchases, and everyone got a glass of tea to go this time.  It was HOT!  Even though we had just eaten (a seemingly non-stop activity this weekend), we walked over to Canal Street to catch the St. Charles streetcar so that we could have lunch at the Camellia Grill.

The streetcar ride was lots of fun and something I had not done before.  Kim was really getting her money’s worth for her first trip to the Big Easy!  We rode past the Garden District – great houses –  the Audubon Zoo, and Tulane, Loyola, and Newcomb on our way to the end of the line and the treats that awaited us there.  The Camellia Grill is an institution that almost met its end, but has been resurrected.  You will want to check it out, but you’ll have to just google it for now and see other people’s reviews,  as www.camelliagrill.net is a new website that’s not quite open yet. Then you’ll want to make plans to get there as soon as you can!

Our wait wasn’t too long, and it just gave us time to digest breakfast.  Soon we were at least inside, in the AC, waiting for our turn at the counter.  White-coated, bow-tied waiters and cooks worked with flair and economy of movement as they grilled, fried, and soda-jerked our burgers, onion rings, fries, and shakes.  And they had the most awesome crushed ice!!  My all-time favorite meal – loaded cheeseburger and onion rings – stick a fork in me now ‘cause I am DONE!!!  It was SO GOOD!!!  We absolutely could not eat a piece of pie this time!  Josh, our waiter, even filled up my giant Sonic cup with that wonderful ice, and we were ready for the ride back to the hotel.

This time, our streetcar driver wouldn’t let me on because my cup of precious ice had no lid, so I had to toss it…so sad!!  So I didn’t enjoy that ride back as much as I would have!!  By the time we got back, it was our late checkout time – Kim and I had miles to go and Rex had a plane to catch, but Jim and Alex weren’t leaving until Monday.  I’m not sure I could have eaten or drunk any more rich New Orleans food!  We said our goodbyes to the guys and headed down to the car, and it probably won’t surprise you to know that we had an interesting adventure just trying to get out of New Orleans.  Never a dull moment in the car with us!  But we made it, and soon we were crossing the Huey P. Long bridge (or at least an annex of the bridge!) and were on our way to Houma.

We were going to Houma to see my friends Rod and Beulah, who had befriended Rex and me and fed and housed us four years ago when we were in Houma to built a Volunteer Village to house people who were coming to aid with relief from Hurricane Katrina.  The village is still being used, as relief still continues for a part of the state that was very badly damaged yet receives little notice from the rest of the world.  Camp Good Earth is run by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance – see what I mean at http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/usa/gulfcoast/index-gulfcoast.htm. It was no surprise to me that Beulah is still a force!  My daughter, Kim, and I stopped in to visit Rod and Beulah last summer when we were on our way home from Austin – it is always good to be in their home.

Houma is deep in the heart of Cajun country, and Rod is a bona fide Cajun (and boy, can he cook, too!!)  Back in the day, he used to host a Cajun radio show, in the native tongue, and he plays in Cajun bands.  We headed even deeper into Acadian Louisiana, bound for Lafayette.  We passed bayou after bayou, noting the ‘bear crossing’ signs with interest.  Hmmm – we would have to find out more about that!

It was almost dark by the time we found our hotel in Lafayette, and Lee the Garmin man was hell-bent to send us through the hood to get to the restaurant we were going to.  It’s not easy finding things open on Sunday night (by night, I mean after about 7:30) so we headed to Prejean’s, (www.prejeans.com) which was open.  Good choice, once we got there!  I had corn and crab chowder and crawfish enchiladas, and Kim had a huge bowl of shrimp gumbo.  More good eats! 

We had an easier time getting back to the hotel, and were looking forward to learning about Cajun country over the next few days.

Hearing a zydeco in my sleep,

Jan

Drink, Eat, Drink, Repeat (thanks, Kim!)

Saturday, 19 September 2009

How lovely it was to sleep in this morning!!  We had a date to meet Jim and Alex in the lobby at 11:15, so we were able to take our time.  No breakfast needed, as we were heading for a gastronomic experience at Galatoire’s, a New Orleans institution – and it was just down the street, so no worries!  Alex is a NO planner extraordinaire, and we were along for the ride and loving every minute of it!  Even Jim and I were on time for this fine day, so off we went.  Let the good times roll!

Galatoire’s opens at 11:30 and doesn’t take reservations for the downstairs dining room, so we made sure to be there early.  First stop – the upstairs bar.  Bloody Marys for Jim and me, Mimosas for Rex and Kim, and a brandy milk punch for Alex, and before we had finished them, it was time to get our table.  Jim and Alex are regulars here on their trips to New Orleans, and Bryant is their server of choice – we can see why!  He was great!  Baskets of fresh bread were waiting on us, and our drinks were quickly refilled.  Garlic bread was next, followed closely by shrimp remoulade and oysters en brouchette.  We had a couple of salads, one with shrimp and one with crabmeat, then it was time for the main courses.  Alex and I had two of our favorite things – Eggs Benedict and a filet, Jim had broiled drum, Rex had poisson meuniere amandine, and Kim had a filet.  I think.  We also ordered cauliflower au gratin, onion rings, and asparagus with Hollandaise to share, and there was plenty of Bearnaise sauce for our meat.  Rex, Jim, and I decided to try a Pimm’s Cup, and Kim and Alex stuck to beer. 

One thing I love about New Orleans restaurants, beside the obvious, is that they are lined with mirrors so you can see everything going on around you.  We had fun people watching, and were pretty sure we had spotted a celebrity.  Kim recognized Laurie from Trading Spaces, and sure enough, she and her husband were there celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary.  We sang Happy Birthday about half a dozen times (but not to Rex!), too.  The table behind us looked like the Sopranos had come to town, complete with a little kid who looked like Eddie Munster and who kept falling asleep between courses. 


You may think we’d eaten so much that we couldn’t possibly want more, but there was more!  Alex had arranged for us to have some Café’ Brulot (a brandied coffee drink that Bryant flamed at our table), and I even had two cups of it.  And I HATE coffee!!!  Out came dessert – a couple of chocolate sundaes for Jim, Kim, and Alex and an order of banana bread pudding (not banana bread, but bread pudding with bananas) for Rex and me.  Oh my.  When we looked at the time, it was 3:30 -  we had been there for FOUR HOURS!!!!  What a special treat!!  Thanks, ALEX!!  When you come to New Orleans next time, make sure you save time for Galatoire’s – get a feel for the experience at www.galatoires.com.

We waddled back to the hotel thinking we might spend some time by the pool (don’t ask what we were thinking – I had not brought a maternity bathing suit with me and I’m sure the one I had wouldn’t hold me after that lunch!!) but there were too many young people out there, so we just put on our shorts and t-shirts and went for a walk.  Somehow we ended up at a bar, one that may be the oldest continually operated bar in the country.  It was Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, which we thought was fitting, since Saturday was “Talk Like a Pirate Day”.   Read all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafitte%27s_Blacksmith_Shop.  It is home of the Voodoo, a frozen concoction that tastes like a grape Icee but is full of vodka.  A most dangerous combination!!  We all had to have one, of course, and since Florida was kicking Tennessee’s butt, some of us (Jim, Alex, and I) had a second one for the road.

This time we walked down to Jackson Square, watching street performers and just taking in the sights.  I loved seeing all of the creative hanging signs outside the shops that lined the streets, and the balconies covered with lush green plants and laced with wrought iron were so pretty!  Somehow, we ended up back at the voodoo place, where the three of us had yet another drink.  What were we thinking??  By 8:30 or 9:00, we were thinking we might should eat (what?!?!) so we got a table at Mona Lisa’s pizza, where I am told we enjoyed really good garlic cheese bread and a couple of pizzas.

It was a fun, full day, but it was time to call it a night.  We walked back to the hotel (wasn’t this a cool shadow we saw along the way?) and made plans for the morning, and I’m sure the rest of the gang didn’t think I’d remember enough to write this!  And I know David and Kim enjoyed getting our text messages from the Mona Lisa!!

It would have been the perfect Saturday if the Vols had won…

Jan

PS  Thanks, Jim and Alex!!

Eating Our Way Across the South, part 9...

Friday, 18 September 2009

Although we had very few ideas about what we might be seeing in Natchez today, we were excited to find out what the possibilities were and we were stoked to know we'd be in New Orleans by dinner time.  At least, that was the plan!!  We found a little breakfast place on one of the downtown streets and tried to be a little healthier than usual.  We split a yogurt, granola, and fruit cup, and Kim had a cranberry orange muffin (she said it was like eating cake!) and I had a blueberry scone that was about the size of a softball.  I didn't even eat half of it!!  We asked the nice lady in the coffee shop what we shouldn't leave Natchez without seeing, and she suggested St. Mary's Basilica, just around the corner, and the Longwood Plantation, also not far away.  We already knew we would be driving out of town past Mammy's Cupboard, so that seemed like a good start - we could always come back through this way on the flip side.

We had noticed the basilica on our way to the hotel last night, even commenting on it, but we hadn't known what it was.  There was a lovely park just behind the church - trees festooned with Spanish moss, a gorgeous fountain, a Civil War statue, and benches set in shady spots.  We walked around the corner to the TALL front doors of the building - it was quite an imposing ediface!  After taking a few photos from the outside and noting that mass was at 8:30 AM (it was about 11 AM), we started to go into the sanctuary when we realized there was a service of some sort going on, so we made a note to stop back in on our trip home, because the stained glass windows are supposed to be stunning.

Off we went to Longwood, following the instructions on the Garmin, so we saw neighborhoods that most people would have missed.  We passed several other plantations on the way, so we wondered what made Longwood so special.  We pulled into the drive and were instantly transported to an earlier time, driving down a long drive under an arcade of trees full of Spanish moss.  Our first glimpse of the house was impressive - it was very tall, and it was octagonal!  We couldn't wait to see the inside of it!  We parked and found our way into the gift shop, which was darling and full of funny books about the South, lots of good sounding cookbooks, postcards, and little pretties.  We did a bit of shopping as we waited for our tour to start - reading material for the road!

As is typical on many of these tours, we could not take pictures of the main floor, so I won't be able to share a whole lot with you, but here are a few of the details I remember.  The house was the dream of Dr. Haller Nutt, who wanted a different kind of plantation home, hence the shape and style of the house.  To build the facade, a kiln for making bricks was built on the property and 750,000 bricks were produced here.  At the time the war broke out, the facade was finished, as was the 10,000 square foot basement, consisting of nine rooms.  The house was six stories and would have 30,000 square feet of finished space when it was done, but most of the builders and craftsmen were from Pennsylvania and other states in the northeast, so they left most of their tools and supplies and went home.  At the time, people thought this 'uprising' would be settled quickly, so the workers thought they would soon be back to finish their work.  As you may have guessed, this never happened.

The war lasted four years, Dr. Nutt lost his fortune and then died before the end of the war, and his wife and eight children lived in the finished basement of the house for the duration.  As hard as it is for me to believe, the house NEVER got finished, yet it somehow survived.  It was finally purchased by a Texas man who has stipulated that it never be completed but that it be open for the public to enjoy as it is.  You'll want to be sure to go to http://www.mississippibeautiful.com/capital-river/longwood-plantation.html or www.natchezpilgrimage.com to see more of this fascinating, fantastic home! One thing that adds to it's historical value - since the facade was completed and the flooring put in for the other floors, the top five stories of the house were used for storage.  That means that almost EVERYTHING - packing crates, even for the piano - was stored in the house and many of the original boxes are still there.  Be sure to visit it when you come to Natchez!  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and you can tell that the people caring for and showing this house really love it!

Although we were sure when we started out this morning that we would be on the road before Mammy's Cupboard opened for the day, we were now going to be lucky to get there before it closed!  Only open from 11-2 and closed on Mondays, we were afraid if we missed it today, we might have missed it for good.  The Garmin sent us off in exactly the opposite direction than we should have gone, but common sense, a phone call, and the iphone got us to Mammy's.  And yes, Mammy's could be considered politically incorrect, although she is now painted more of a flesh-tone than I'm sure she used to be, but who could help but want to eat lunch under the skirts of a 28 foot tall woman?  Okay, that didn't sound exactly the way I intended it, but maybe you get the picture.  If not, look at our picture and then go to http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/3344  for the rest of the story.

Even though we were still stuffed from breakfast, we could not resist lunch here!  Homemade bread, delicious sandwiches, and mile high pies - oh my goodness!!!  My roast turkey sandwich came with avocado and blueberry chutney and it was served with homemade vegetable soup and a side of potato salad.  It was SO GOOD!!!  Kim had a ham sandwich that looked equally tasty, but so that we could have some pie, we each only ate half of our sandwiches, then we shared a piece of chocolate icebox pie (we only shared it because it was the last piece...)  We could not wait to come back here when we were really hungry!!

By now we were afraid Rex would arrive in New Orleans before we did, so we skedaddled off down Highway 61 (the Blues Highway) bound for Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  No more stops for us (except for tea!) and we probably passed the airport about the time Rex's plane landed!!  But since we were sure we would have already been in NOLA and drinking by then, we'd had Kim's friends Jim and Alex arrange a ride for Rex!  We found our way into the city, to the hotel, and into the parking garage without incident, and soon we were joining Jim and Alex for drinks at the Old Absinthe House, just across the street from our hotel.  Rex got there not long after we did, so our New Orleans party weekend could officially begin.  I probably forgot to mention that we were celebrating Rex's double-nickel birthday, which is really on the 26th, and ORIGINALLY, the rest of his family (adults, not our kids) were to be partying with us.  We see how well that went over...they won't know what fun they missed and will have to read about it here!!

We met some of Jim and Alex's friends at the bar - thanks for the great hotel rooms, Allison!! - and then went back to the Royal Sonesta to make arrangements for dinner.  Russell, the concierge, set us up with late reservations at Clancy's, on Annunciation in Uptown New Orleans.  We cleaned up a bit, then took a taxi over to St. Joe's Bar for a drink before dinner.  It was a cool bar complete with church pews and other icons.  We sat out on the back porch until it was time to walk over to Clancy's.

Clancy's was a hopping place - packed with people (mostly local, I'd say) having a good time and enjoying great food - and it was loud!  I'm sure I won't remember what everyone else had, but I got some shrimp and crab gumbo, the Clancy's crab salad, and an order of fried green tomatos.  With crabmeat!  Rex and Kim got the gumbo, too, and I think Jim and Alex got salads.  Jim and Alex got veal, Kim got the same crab salad I did, and Rex got the lobster risotto that I was thinking about ordering - saved!  You can read more reviews at http://www.yelp.com/biz/clancys-restaurant-new-orleans if you are thinking about eating here.  We had a pretty long wait for dinner (good thing the bread was good!) but it was worth it - delish!!  We split some desserts - Kim, Jim, and Alex shared a big brownie with ice cream, and Rex and I had a frozen lemon pie.  Oh man, we hit the mother lode!  That pie was fantastic!!

Somehow, we made it back to the French Quarter and walked around a bit.  Kim had never been to Nawlins, so we made the obligatory trip to Pat O'Brien's for a nightcap.  The streets were wild - it's Friday night - so we saw all we needed to see and then went back to rest up for our big lunch date at Galatoire's.  I probably gained five pounds today - it was great!!

Where's the wheelbarrow when I need it?

Jan

From Elvis to Fat Mama

Thursday, 17 September 2009

We got off to a fairly early start, at least for us, in Tupelo.  Not finding any mention of good breakfast places in any of our books, we went looking on our own and arrived at Shockley’s, which looked pretty grim, outside and in, but had decent enough breakfast.  Kim liked her hash browns and said her ham was mighty tasty.  I had a cheese omelet, which was fine.  Since the atmosphere was depressing (think school cafeteria, or worse), we didn’t linger.  Besides, we were off to see where Elvis grew up.

We’ve learned that no matter where we travel, Elvis finds us – hunts us down and pretty much haunts us – and begs us to have something to do with him.  So here we were in his birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi.  Did we have a choice?  It was not difficult to find the two room shotgun shack that Vernon Presley built for his wife and what was to have been twins, but instead was the larger than life Elvis.  Sadly, two tour busloads of people, some from England, had beat us to the punch, so we opted not to pay money to stand in a single file line to go through the house.  We got photos of the actual Assembly of God church where Elvis and his parents attended (it had been moved to the site, complete with an outhouse, which I’m not sure belonged with the church or the house) and where Elvis first discovered gospel music.  We saw a modern chapel with brilliant stained glass windows that was built and dedicated to Elvis’s memory after his death, and then we stood around the Fountain of Life, which marked the years Elvis lived in Tupelo.  I thought the most interesting exhibit was an outdoor wall which was lined with memories about Elvis from the now-grown children that he went to school with and played with as a boy in Tupelo.  They painted a picture of a poor but proud boy who always knew he would be somebody and who had a God-given gift for music.  The house looked much better than it probably ever did when Elvis lived in it, and it was encircled by a sidewalk of squares commemorating every year of Elvis’s life (but only telling things about the Tupelo years).  Did you know Vernon had been imprisoned when Elvis was young?  The family moved to Memphis when Elvis was entering his teen years in hopes of finding a better job for Vernon and a better life for the family.  Check it out at http://elvispresley886.corecommerce.com/cart.html if you have a thing for Elvis.

After a quick Sonic stop for our morning tea, we were back on the Trace, headed for Natchez.  The sky was not promising, and the weather reports were grim – RAIN, and lots of it, was predicted for the whole southeast.  We were not sure we would be able to avoid it today.  The first interesting thing we saw along the parkway was another Indian burial mound site, but we just did a drive-by and didn’t stop to see them.  We did stop at French Camp, which turned out to be most interesting.  French Camp was established by Louis LeFleur as a stand (inn) in 1812, and it became a school for boys in 1822.  It later had a sister school for girls that served as a finishing school, which burned down long ago.  Today French Camp Academy is a private Christian boarding and day school serving area youth.  There was a house that’s been restored, a blacksmith shop, an old school building that now serves as a museum, and several other outbuildings, and they make sorgham here in the fall.  We spent about an hour just poking around and talking to the museum lady (don’t think she gets much business) who showed us her senior picture (class of 1947) from FCA.  The sun was shining brightly and it felt like you would expect a summer day in Mississippi to feel – a little sticky!  While looking at the house, we came across a mother cat and three little kittens – that was about the extent of our excitement.

Our next stop was the town of Kosciusko, which you may have heard of since it is Oprah’s birthplace.  It was named for a Polish general who served with Washington in the Revolutionary War.   He was an amazing engineer who designed many forts all over the eastern US and who fortified West Point.  Learn more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadeusz_Ko%C5%9Bciuszko if you are so inclined.  We had a little picnic at the welcome center here, where the nice folks manning the desk allowed me to charge my laptop while we ate.  We sat our on the slightly damp picnic benches and had the pimiento cheese from Glasgow on our leftover rolls from Nashville, the tomatoes we bought in Danville, and some almonds that Kim had brought.  It was all good!

The crazy weather continued after we got back on the Parkway – it rained on us while the sun was shining.  We were getting so frustrated because we couldn’t find the rainbow that we KNEW had to be there!!  This ended up being a theme for the afternoon, as this action was repeated about six times!  At one point, we pulled off at a turnoff just to try to find the rainbow, and instead we happened upon the most lovely sight – the Pearl River, covered with lily pads and with several beautiful birds wading in the water.  We finally found a couple of rainbows, too!

We pulled into the parking lot of the Cypress Swamp and got out for a little nature hike just as the thunder started in earnest.  We didn’t let it scare us and we had a really nice, albeit wet, walk through the swamp.  Lots of fungi and other cool nature all around us!  It is hard to believe that at one time, ALL of the cypress trees in Louisiana had been harvested.  They are so pretty!

We made one other stop before it got too dark, and that was at the “waterfall” at Owens Creek.  My oh my, worse than the other waterfall we stopped for, but at least this time we didn’t end up hiking down (and back up) 900 feet to see it!  It started raining again, and this time it was getting dark, too, so no rainbows.  We did see lots of deer lining the parkway, so Kim did well to avoid hitting them and to drive in the rain with no streetlights.  By the time we arrived in Natchez, the rain had stopped.

On the way to our hotel, we passed Fat Mama’s Tamales, which I knew to be the home of “Fat Mama’s Knock You Naked Margarita’s”, so we were thrilled to find it was within walking distance of the hotel.  No need to tell you where we ate dinner!!  And boy, were those margaritas good!

Keeping my clothes on despite the margaritas,

Jan