Fat girls in Little Coats- Eating (a lot!) in New Orleans
So, today was a big day. A really big day. For about 13 years now, anyone that knows me, knows that I always talk about one of the greatest culinary experiences that I have ever had in the U.S. That experience, my friends, is Commanders Palace. World renowned service, outstanding food, and that certain southern something that you just can't get anywhere else.
We started off checking out Lafayette Cemetery Number 1 to walk off the certainly massive meal that we knew we were in for. It was raining a little, but still really beautiful as we wandered through the graveyard and learned quite a lot of New Orleans history at the same time. Since we were still early for our lunch reservations, we set off through the Garden District, an area with massive southern style mansions.
Finally we met up with Mom and headed in to lunch. We were greated by Lally Brennan (you foodies know who...) and were promptly seated. If you have never been there, it is certainly a destination. Within two minutes of sitting down, Janene turned to me and said, "I now understand why you love this place so much!" The service was outstanding, our meal and drinks were delicious and it was everything that I remembered. Our server was even kind enough to give us menu's (mine is now hanging in my kitchen) that were signed. I have never eaten so much, ever. The three of us were totally fat walking out of there. We even look fat in the pictures we took.
After a walk down the antique filled Magazine Street, we headed to Tony Sevilles Pirates Alley Cafe to try our hand at the Absinthe. Yuk, if you hate anything liccorice flavored, like I do, do not try this drink! But, we did try the Toxic Baby, which is this black "tar-like" substance that tastes actually really good.
That evening, since we had eaten so much we just wanted a snack, so we headed over to the Acme Oyster House. My Uncle had been raving about this place for years, and Janene had never eaten an oyster, so we thought we would check it out. If it is any indicator as to quality, we ate at this place 3 more times in the next 2 days. The char-grilled oysters are the bomb. I love raw oysters too, but the char-grilled are definitely the way to go. Today, I seriously ate up to my eyeballs, it was time to get some cocktails to round it all out.
So, back over to the Old Absinthe House, where my Uncle had been since 11am in the morning. It was now about 8pm. This was one of the most fun nights ever. We made friends with the bartenders, (Hi Vinn!) sang really terrible songs (All By MYSELF...) and I even got Janene to eat a Lucky Dog. Seriously, I love Lucky Dogs-it's a college thing. But I wouldn't recommend it if you have been eating fantastic food all day. I think I was there until 4am.
Man, that was a GREAT day...
