My Top 5 Fried Foods in New Orleans/Louisiana

I would have had an incredibly tough time coming up with a Top Five for Non-Fried Foods in New Orleans, as during the week I was there working with Habitat for Humanity, I don't think I ate five foods that weren't fried. My #1 Non-Fried Food would have been the Cajun Boiled Peanuts, but besides that, it's a tough call.

Lisa's TOP FIVE Fried Foods from New Orleans/Louisiana

1. Café Du Monde’s Beignets

2. Jacques-Imo’s Godzilla meets Fried Green Tomatoes

3. Cajun Kitchen’s (in Port Sulphur) Fried Cauliflower














4. Rocky and Carlo’s (in Chalmette) Fried Shrimp Po Boy















5. Parasol’s Hush Puppies

New York, New York...

Recently while in New York, I had dinner with my friend Sally, who I always love seeing. She took me to Casa Mono (17th/Irving). We didn't have reservations and the place is tiny, so we put our name in and were sent next door to their wine bar. We stared at the extensive Spanish wine list and had no idea what to order. We wanted to buy a bottle, but quite honestly--we could hardly tell what was white from the reds. So we sat there trying to prompt each other to go up to the front to talk to the bartender. Fine. I finally got off the stool and made my move. He talked me into a bottle but just as we were going to seal the deal, the restaurant called and we scurried over to the restaurant. We were seated right at the bar looking into the kitchen. It was perfect, as we were able to see everything that was being prepared. I love watching people cook--especially since reading HEAT (great read, if you haven't read it yet!). We then relaxed and ordered a bottle of wine, and then pumpkin and goat cheese croquettes (seen above). We ate very well. The salad was extraordinary--with manchego and quince dressing. I could go on and on but then you'll think I ate everything on the menu...


The plate at the left is from my FAVORITE place to have lunch while working at the NY Gift show at the Piers. For lunch, I eat everyday at the same place...Azuri (465 51st St., betw. 9th & 10th, 212-262-2920), which is hands down the best food anywhere near Pier 92. The owner, Ezra, a gruff unemotional man in his fifties, makes the best falafel, Israeli salads, and soups in NY. It's always fresh and remarkably tasty.

The Game Ended...

So Karen and I were playing a game that involved not going to the store and only eating what we had here in the house--in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. It was adventurous and fun to start--grilled cheese sandwiches with organic tomato soup. We then had spaghetti with turkey tomato sauce. We ended up eating that for three nights straight without tiring of it. We seriously cleaned out the freezer and then last night I made the mistake of only cooking out of the fridge and mostly the pantry--and what a mistake that was.

It's amazing how a bad meal can ruin an evening and one's mood. I was excited when I got home to go into the kitchen to do some digging around and come up with a menu. It was slim pickings--I noticed I have far too many sauces/condiments and not enough items of substance. So here is what I came up with...(you can see how horrid it looks). I called it TRIO with a side of spuds:

Tofu-Egg Salad on toasted english muffins
Hummus on semi-stale rice cakes
Aged Gouda on not so fresh crackers
Trade Joe's Scalloped Potatoes.

Wow did that meal suck. Karen wouldn't even eat more than a bit of the tofu-egg salad, and I don't blame her. Somehow the silken tofu was just a bit too silken...She was a trooper though and didn't complain too much. Although I know she went to bed hungry. Poor thing. I love to cook because I love to feed Karen. I love to make her happy and she is always so appreciative. Even though I made this meal with love, it's clear that 90% of a meal's strength is in the ingredients. Although I'm sure that Mario or some other great chef would actually have pulled this off. Well, maybe I just need practice. There is indeed more crap clogging up my cupboard. There's always tomorrow...

Los Angeles

I was back in Los Angeles last Friday & Saturday, and it amazes me that every trip I go on is orchestrated around food. What makes me most excited about traveling is knowing where I am going to eat and where I might be eating. This trip was no exception. I landed in LA early on Friday morning--didn't have to be at my sales conference until 1:30--and I hopped in my rental car and immediately drove over to Joan's on Third. OK, so I made a pitstop at Jet Rag to look for some new used clothes--and then went to Joan's. It's more crowded than ever...and more delicious. I love that it is like a European market with all of the cheeses, breads, and condiments you can buy--and a long counter filled with fresh meats, salads, and desserts. I ended up getting the Trio Plate, which is three salads served on a bed of field greens. I chose the beet salad, edamame salad, and was talked into the Szechuan string beans by the nice guy helping me. By "talked into" I mean he handed me a small taster of the beans and I was sold. I washed it all down with an iced tea (which they refill for free) and a hunk of fresh french bread.

Then I had to go to my sales meeting. Thankfully, they had donuts and other goodies to keep the Reps amped and the afternoon passed quickly (mostly because I was talking for three hours straight).

After the meeting, one of my local Reps took me to a Japanese restaurant that she and her family love. I walked in and all of the staff do the typical Japanese greeting--they all call out and it's very welcoming and actually cracks me up. I sat down at our reserved table and waited for the others to arrive. We ordered the most amazing Sake (I wrote it down somewhere!), and then Leslie ordered most of the dishes that arrived at the table. I was in heaven, as a lot of the food reminded me of the food I'd had in Japan--the homemade tofu in Kyoto, the izikaya in Tokyo, and the sashimi at a small restaurant near the Tjukiji Fish Market. The restuarant's name was YABU, and they have two locations in LA. We ate quite a bit that night--ginko nuts, iced tofu, chawan-mushi, egglant, spicy tuna salad, and more. Leslie and I then headed over to the Beverly Hills Hotel to have a drink at the Polo Lounge. We had Hangar 1 Mandarin vodka with a splash of cran. Sooooo good.

Wait...Watchers

It's time to admit it. I'm on Weight Watchers. This is my third time on WW, which clearly points out a couple of things--1. I'm fat again. 2. Maybe WW doesn't work. But I'm trying to be optimistic (at least about #2.) The first time I joined was when I was the summer after 8th grade, and when I showed up to school in 9th grade--no one recognized me. I'd grown out my hair and had stopped eating (I had about 1/2 cup a rice a day). Clearly I was more interested in and worried about weigh-in's than I was about healthy eating and smart choices. But hell, I was in 9th grade and all I cared about was finding a boyfriend and crushing out on my best friends. The second time I was on WW was when I moved back out to CA from NY and I gained a bunch of weight. While in NY, I was an extremely poor graduate student who walked everywhere. In CA, I was happy and eating up a storm and walking nowhere. WW didn't help me very much that time around. But now--here in 2005--I'm coming to WW with a different view. I have a HUGE appreciation for food now, and know how important it is in my life. But I was out of control--traveling for work and eating & drinking far too much--and WW is getting me back on track. If anything, at least I feel better about myself and my eating.

One complaint though--I cannot help but think of all food in terms of points. Not a good way to look at the world.

Impeach Bush? Now there's a good idea...

One of the greatest guys I know--Brad Newsham (author of TAKE ME WITH YOU and cab driver in SF)--has come up with an interesting idea.

http://www.bradnewsham.com/articles/impeachment.shtml

I don't have $1,000 to open a bank account right now. But I'm absolutely for impeaching Bush, as it's clear that there is pure evil wandering the halls of the White House. Anyone else have any other ideas? I'm not sure I can stomach another three years.

Scary Ugly

 
I suddenly feel sad. Tomorrow is Halloween and I've already dressed up for two different Halloween events--and I'm not so sure I liked either of my costumes. I don't have another shot either this year. My mother asked me a few years ago why I always dress up "ugly." I guess I dress up using extremes or humor, because I'm not sure I can pull off anything else. And this year I don't think I even pulled off ugly. (Although my girlfriend thinks I can pull off cute). I dressed as someone from the "Remainder Nation" for our Tailgating Party at work...and as a Drag King (to Karen's Court Jester) at J&A and M&N's party. I have to say, that their party was the best decorated Halloween party I've ever been to. There was a fog machine, lots of food with holiday spirit, and many moving bats and spiders. Our house isn't decorated for the kids tomorrow, but we have a bowl filled with candy for the little people. I hope we don't get many older kids with no costumes demanding candy. That has happened in the past at my doorstep--and that scares me. Halloween is scary in many ways...