well i am back. i just spent the past week in new orleans volunteering with
give back beyond. me and my 120 some new best friends were working with
habitat for humanity to build houses. it was a crazy, unforgettable experience which i am still very much in the process of recovering from (i am exhausted, sore, dehydrated, and literally have no voice).
my group on the last day at our site
new orleans is a city that definitely does not take itself too seriously, but damn it do they know how to eat. my one regret is that i did not spend enough time exploring the city's culinary treasures. there were all these group events where the food just kind of ended up being average, and during the day we had to just eat boxed lunches at the work site. so i had a very small window of eating opportunities. i tried to make the best of them. so here we have...
the top 5 things i ate in new orleans:
5. poboys from
mother's. i ordered the ralphie which has ham, roast beef, cheese, and that roast beef bits thing ("debris") on top. this was ok but not amazing. also, i'm sorry but they do not have the world's best baked ham. not even close (hello,
honeybaked?). if you go, get the shrimp poboy. i tasted that and it was a million times better than this. really an awesome sandwich.
4. chargrilled oysters from
acme oyster house. hot, buttery, parmesan-y... yum. they give you bread to soak up the rich delicous juices with. a top notch cooked oyster experience. you will probably crave these in your sleep.
3. beignets from
cafe du monde. now i am really not even a sweets person but these had me at hello. they are only good hot though so be warned. they are the perfect chewiness and not at all greasy. and all the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar so you can modify them to your own taste. if you love fried dough (and let's face it, if you don't then there is something wrong with you), you will love these.
2. shrimp boil at the blue angel lounge (they don't have a website). this was without question the freshest, most delicious shrimp i have ever tasted in my entire life. they literally caught the shrimp and immediately boiled it up. it was seasoned perfectly and cooked just enough. the potatoes, corn, and onions were amazing and the lemon and whole heads of garlic put it over the edge. as for the andouille sausage, i am currently in a state of full on denial over the fact that i do not have access to it in cincinnati... it was ridiculously good. please note that this is just one of four tables full of shrimp prepared for our group. i ate so much that i literally got drunk off of shrimp. i already love shrimp and this was seriously amazing beyond my wildest dreams.
1. raw oysters, again from acme oyster house. ok so i did not like raw oysters before this trip. i had tried them before in new york and thought they were chewy and seaish. everyone told me that they were just bad ones and if i had good ones i would like them. seeing as how so many reputable food lovers that i know are obsessed with raw oysters, i knew there had to be something to it so i made it my personal food goal to learn to like them on my trip. readers, i succeeded. avani is a seasoned oyster lover and did her homework to find us what i am absolutely certain are some of the best raw oysters on the planet. i was so obsessed with these oysters after i had them on thursday that i had to go back and have them again, for breakfast, on saturday. the oysters were phenomenal and with the super spicy homemade horseradish it was a culinary experience unlike anything i have ever had. the juice dripping down my face, the feel of the shell resting against my teeth, the tender juiciness of the oyster in my mouth, and the hot bite of horseradish and lemon on my tongue... unreal. i didn't even know food could be this good. these oysters are without question one of the best things i have ever eaten in my life.
honorable mention: bloody marys, yet again from acme oyster. my other food goal for the trip was to learn to like bloody marys. i had one in chicago once that made me want to throw up and swore them off after that. but what goes better with oysters than tomato juice and vodka with a bunch of pickled shit in it? nothing i tell you, absolutely nothing.
