A Southern AfFAIR

Fair season is nearly over, and Gerald and I decided to make the three hour trip to the Mississippi State Fair (because it was two hours closer than the the Louisiana State Fair). We were super excited for various reasons: free biscuits, beard growing contest, pig races, and how could there not be awesome food at a fair in the south?

As it turns out, this is one sad fair.

First, the biscuits were bland and rubbery. Well I guess you get what you pay for. They looked much better than they tasted.

This is not exactly a busy fair. I guess it is so dull that no one in Mississippi wants to bother going. The people were few and far between and for someone that doesn't like to be caught in a crowd that is great, but at the same time it makes you wonder how the fair makes any money...

They really didn't have any original southern foods either. Sure they had what a lot of fairs have: lemonade, funnel cake, fried crap (oreos, Kool Aid, etc) but they weren't pioneering any crazy new fair foods. I settled on brisket knowing that I could get better anywhere else. Hey, I was hungry.

The highlight of the trip was the pig races. The pigs were amusing and one of them decided mid-race to stop and take a dump on the track. Hey when you gotta go, you gotta go. All in all, it was one lame fair. I mean, the "daiquiris" had rum extract in them because they can't serve them legally. Why bother? Worse yet, I didn't get to do any proper mullet hunting because there weren't many people. And I noticed that the big prize in the game area was giant stuffed bananas. Some pirates, some Rastafarians. Interesting.

Piggies!

We did decide to hit Gretna Fest, a fair outside New Orleans that is more of a music festival than anything else. Crawfish nachos, dacquiris, boudin, giant glasses of wine and Lynyrd Skynyrd? Much better!

Bruno the Magnificent

I am not the type of person that would usually dedicate a page to one of my pets, but I think Bruno deserves a shout out. Bruno is a six year old long haired Persian cat. We bought him from a breeder because we couldn't find a young Persian cat to adopt, and I really loved the Persian cat personality (independent, charming, funny, lazy, and a bit stupid).

                           

So in 2005, shortly after purchasing our house in Oklahoma City, we we brought home this little guy from a breeder. I think it was more of a rescue situation, because the house was disgusting, there were two very angry, huge dogs chained up in the garage, and the cats seemed to be begging silently for rescue. There were two little fluffballs to choose from and Bruno immediately came up to me and rubbed against my leg. Good sign!

He spent the trip to Oklahoma City perched on my shoulder like a tiny furry parrot (because did we think to purchase a carrier...no). He spent the evening hiding under the spare bed. It took him a few days to get used to us. We decided that, given his serious little face, he needed a gangster name. We didn't really want to name him Al Capone, so we decided just to settle on something very obviously Italian: Bruno.

This cat has been with us from Oklahoma to Connecticut to Louisiana. He managed every trip quietly and without complaint (except for the time he decided to bolt out of a hotel room--and I can't blame him. We got the smoking room). He has been through dermatitis, herpes, and severe allergies. He was the one alone with our other cat when she passed away. And he is still the most loving, amusing little cat around. He snores when he sleeps, he sneaks onto the bed in the middle of the night to cuddle up with me, and often sits on my lap when I am on the laptop, forcing me to put the computer down. He paws at me when I walk past him, and sits in the kitchen and begs me for treats until I relent. And last night when I turned on my heating pad, left the bedroom for a minute, and came back to find him cuddled up on it, purring, I thought, I gotta give a shout out to this little guy. =)

Live to Eat!

There is a reason "We Live to Eat" is the motto for the Louisiana New Orleans Restaurant Association; it is the same reason I need to put elastic waistbands in all of my pants. There are just too many delightful, delicious, and unique foods here. In the six weeks since we moved to Slidell, I have already sampled enough local fare to blog about it! Unfortunately I have failed to take pictures of any of the magical food we have had, but I am going to tell you about some of it.

One of the first places we went was Copeland's. Copeland's is known for their cheesecake, among other things. How could we not go for one called "Killed by Chocolate"? Needless to say that evening ended with me wearing stretchy pants and lying around and groaning in misery. But it was worth it.

We also had to try gator. I was pessimistic at best. We actually went to a place in Slidell known for seafood called Vera's. I tried some of their seafood, and honestly I had better when I lived in Connecticut. Meh. BUT, we decided to get an alligator sausage appetizer and OH DEAR GOD it was tasty. Juicy, flavorful, and served with remoulade.

When making the trip to Metairie to check out some local stores, we decided to hit a place that I had been told about by a friend in Connecticut that used to do a lot of business in New Orleans. Dragos's is known for charbroiled oysters. That's right, charbroiled. These bad boys are covered in butter, cheese, and I think garlic, if I remember correctly. They were so good that I would have licked the shells if I didn't think I would get strange looks from the neighboring table. Gerald, who doesn't even like oysters, loved them. I could go for some right now...and it is is 9am. Mmm mm. I did snag a picture of the oysters, although my phone does not do them justice.

A few weeks ago we went to the French Market. Gerald was feeling nostalgic for a place he went to back when he had a friend at Tulane he would visit. There are a lot of friend chicken joints in NOLA, and the one we went to, Fiorella's, is nice because it is laid back and not touristy-y. We each got a couple of pieces and a side. The sides were decent but the chicken...ooooohhhh. Crispy, juicy, and not greasy. In short, heaven on a plate!

Recently, we also tried something called swamp fries at a local restaurant in Slidell. Chesterfield's is known for having a unique menu ( I hear their pb&j burger is good, but I am scared). I selected a small salad as my main course because there was just no way we weren't indulging in swamp fries prior to a our meal. Imagine a pile of salty fries covered in cheese and a meat based gravy. Ok, it sounds kind of gross. It is like southern style poutine (if you have not had poutine, you clearly have not been to Canada). But it was disgustingly addictive.

Last Saturday for Jamie's birthday we ended up at a gay bar in New Orleans, the 700 Club. Not only did they have one of the best Long Island iced teas I have ever had, but they had deep fried mashed potatoes. I was starving and intrigued, so I went for it. They were so good that I think Gerald and I devoured them in one minute flat. I could eat those damn things every day. It is a good thing we joined a gym a few weeks ago! 

And yesterday, I tried a snow ball. Oklahoma friends, don't call them snow cone because they will know you aren't from Louisiana. It is a snow BALL. I tried a nectar cream snow ball. I still am not quite sure what it was, exactly. I can't even describe the flavor. It was sweet and a little fruity, but not really. I don't know. But it was refreshing.

And lastly, last night I had gas station chicken from a place called Krispy Krunchy. It was close midnight and we had just left Midsummer Mardi Gras. We were hot, tired, and hungry (and my friend Jamie was druunk. yes, drunk with two u's!). He suggested we try the place and being open minded and hungry, we did. Now, Jamie doesn't exactly live in the nicest part of town. Not the worst either, but there was some interesting people watching at the gas station near his house. Although, he was equally good to watch after all the beer he drank during the parade! So after picking up more beverages (Gerald selected a fine gas station wine: Night train!) we grabbed some fried chicken and honey butter biscuits. Let me tell you, those biscuits were fabulous. Fabulous! Melt in your mouth delicious. I was shoving that biscuit in my mouth while driving because I couldn't wait. And the chicken was pretty good too. Better than KFC, and you can get gas and booze at the same time. WIN.

Here is Gerald enjoying some delicious Night Train. ;) Enjoy!

An Okie, a Yankee, and now a Cajun?

Hi Ya'll!

Let me tell you a little about me and why I am in Louisiana. I was married in 2006 to this guy:

Funnily enough, this picture was taken when we went to visit a friend of his in NOLA in early 2005.

Anyways, we got married in Negril, Jamaica and a year later, after working for two years at the local air force base and being bored out of his mind, my husband decided to post his resume on Careerbuilder. One day he got a call from a head hunter in Connecticut with an offer that was just too good to pass up: full moving package, sign on bonus, and a free masters degree at RPI. We had never in our wildest dreams thought we would move to Connecticut but in the summer of 2007, we packed up our big, affordable Oklahoma house and moved into a tiny apartment in Connecticut. That place sucked. But, we got to go on a lot of New England adventures, make new friends, and I had a good job where everyone liked me. But then...

Gerald (the husband), hated his job, I hated being so far away from my family, and we both hated the snow. he started looking for jobs near Oklahoma, and in places we thought would be cool to live (like New Mexico! I was really rooting for that one). He applied for a job in Bay St. Louis, MS (he thought it was St. Louis, MO) and not only did he get an interview that went really well, but I was happy it was not St. Louis, MO, because its friggin cold there in the winter, and I had a long time friend that lived in New Orleans, so it was nice to go into it knowing someone.

Long story short, we moved to Slidell, LA, over a month ago. I plan on chronicling our adventures on this blog for the benefit of my friends and family, and any one else interested in life in LA. I will put up posts about foods we try, festivals we visit, and whatever else I come up with.

 In summary, here is a picture of my cat enjoying a daiquiri. Well, this is Louisiana after all!