New Orleans

New Orleans

Life Goes on....

A special thanks to the insightful words of Big B. He obviously took time to spellchekc and grammar check his post and that is NOT what this blog is all about. I’ll tell you this though; it does make for a nicer read! The trip down to New Orleans was one for the books, from Kegs to Beers, Absinthe to Slushies, Hand Grenades to Atomic Wedgies, I was quite happy. Even though he booked my bachelor party on the GAYEST weekend in New Orleans, it was still a blast. The teams were picked and we stayed shirts and everyone else went skins. From a guy getting off the elevator peeling an orange stopping and saying, “oooooo you’re cute…” to a 5am shirtless passerby asking Jason Brad and I if, “Ya’ll Queer,” we simply replied “no thank you.” A bum exclaimed to me at one point that, “My Cat Had Puppies!” I told him congratulations of course (didn’t want to be rude) and moved on and he chuckled to himself as he smiled a 2 tooth smile and took a sip of his Colt 45 40oz.….classic. I will say this I had so much fun, and would go back in a second. Having an upstairs balcony bar to ourselves our own music and a personal bartender a nice touch. I will tell you it is quite a sight to see 9 guys drool over one chick that they all knew they had no chance with. Although this “Allison” is the love of all of your lives you must press on to greater women who don’t have 2 kids and are divorced and live in New Orleans. My voice was shot by day two from smoking so many cigs which I vow to never touch again. “Give it all you got!” “Give it all you got!” Here are a few more food critiques that I experienced below….enjoy….thanks for the ride boys on the bigger and better things…Who is next...?

In addition to the crawfish pie and soft-shell crab po-boy I enjoyed a few different items that were quite good. 1. Crawfish po-boy: what could be better than a sub style baguette, with fried crawfish with peppers onions an cheese, man that was good. 2. Fried Gator po-boy: Man was this good, taste like chicken with a zing of Cajun spices. The kicker was that in the basket of fries were hidden gems (gator bites that fell out into the fries). 3. Dirty water Hot Dogs: who could pass up a hard working street vender for an 8 inch hotdog with chili cheese and relish? NOT ME. I had about 3-4 that I can remember. Food at its best. Now I’m not a relish eater, but I thought I’d give it a whirl since that’s how he prepared it and I had no choice! I was pleasantly surprised at the explosion of taste that took place. What could be better to wash it all down than a nice Hurricane or the ever dangerous Hand Grenade?

Gentleman,

We must go onward to the Rehearsal, the Rehearsal Dinner, the Wedding, Pictures, and Reception. An I’ll be thinking of you all when I am laying on the beach in the Dominican eating pounds of Pineapple drinking ridiculously fruity drinks, and you can use your imagination…

Much Love All

The best man's view...

Dear Blog Readers,

Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be featured as a guest writer in Tony’s blog. I think I might be the first one? I know you all come here for Tony’s unique brand of humor, insight, and storytelling. But guess what….today you’re stuck with me.

Despite the different types of observations & tales that are told here, this blog was founded largely as a forum for food critique. Countless times we have read intently as Tony regaled us with stories of his latest pasta dish or meatball sub. And while I don’t purport to come close his mastery of eating, I am here today to try my hand at my own little food review.

As most of you know, some of us recently got back from Tony’s bachelor party in the Great City of New Orleans. And while the city is famous for many of its different attractions (read: drinking establishments), one cannot truly say they have experienced the Big Easy without sampling the traditional Cajun cuisine. For those of you who have never had the privilege, I will attempt to convey to you the highs and lows.

I was only able to have 2 truly “Cajun” meals on this trip. Mostly this was because I quickly went broke and Krystal burgers were all I could afford by the end. But the first morning the entire group went to a little place near Bourbon St. for lunch. First of all, I should qualify everything I’m about to tell you by saying I was pretty hung over from the night before so my perceptions might have been a little altered. But I remember the atmosphere being just so-so; there was a miniature bowling alley inside which was pretty strange to me. I decided that the only cure for what ailed me was a little “hair of the dog” so I ordered myself a Screwdriver to start. This was not a wise choice. After throwing up in the bathroom for several minutes, I returned with a completely empty stomach that I intended to fill with bayou cuisine. Pat Dolan and I both ordered “crawfish pie” as an appetizer which was simply delightful. This was a small morsel, in a pot-pie like pouch filled with spicy crawfish & rice. Pat and I agreed it was delicious. For an entrée I got a soft-shell crab Po’boy which was not nearly as good, however. It was basically an entire crab, deep fried with the shell and everything, served on a bun with fries. The fries were okay, but chewing crab shell was not my idea of good hangover food so I only ate about half. Overall score: 4 Mardi Gras beads (out of a possible 10).

I ate my second Cajun meal at lunch the following day, also with a pretty impressive hangover. This was a little place near our downtown hotel, and the atmosphere was much more authentic: Dim lighting, old wood tables, local decorations on the walls, a menu written in chalk and a wall full of dollar bills to the left (explained below). Pat and I were greeted upon arrival by the owner, an elderly gentleman who had lived in N.O. all his life. We were just about the only people in the place. He sat us with a bit of a condescending and sarcastic attitude, but I think it was just part of this guy’s act so it was all good. Shortly after, Tony arrived and this guy gave him the same attitude. At first I thought Tony was going to 1) walk right back out of the restaurant or 2) punch this guy in the face, but I calmed him down and we ordered our food. I got the gumbo, of course. This was unlike any gumbo I have had at home: Very dark rue, extremely salty, large chunks of beef (no seafood in this one). While I was thrilled to be eating gumbo in the land of its birth, I hate to say I prefer the stuff at Jazz in Columbia, MO (great place!). It was just too salty for me. We had some French bread to dip in the rue, which is apparently the way the locals eat it, but I was still not a big fan. Before leaving, I wrote on a dollar bill and Tony got to staple it on the wall – a tradition started by sailors at this place many years ago. If I ever return I will look to see if it is still there. Overall score: 5.5 Pat O’Brien’s Hurricanes (again out of 10).

So that’s it for my one (and probably only) blog post. Thanks for taking the time to enjoy this long read. Next time you are in New Orleans, be sure to try the Cajun food for yourself. I’m sure you will have more luck than I did. And stop in at the second floor of Beerfest on Bourbon St. and get 3 beers (has to be 3) from Allison. And tell her Brandon says hi.

Peace & Love,
BH

Blogs to come...

Everyone stay tuned for my New Orleans Blogs....i'm waiting for Brandon to give me his thoughts, and will be posting something for him soon.

Much Love to all, and woe betide all who are against us....