I've never really been fair in my criticism of New Orleans. I still will not at all say that the city is one I especially like. The heat is oppressive. I like to walk to and from the converntion center, but I feel a slight burn from a bit of walking today. Moreover, I like not having to sweat excessively. Ah well. There's a lot of derelict storefronts to be seen, of course. I still think that people come here to try to hard to have fun or something like that.
But I also know this: the great financial corner-cutting I had to undertake on my last conference visit in 2002 meant I experiences only a cheap hotel and lame food. The weather was not great then - drab and grey. I didn't know other people at the conference other than my colleagues. This time, despite some flight and luggage issues, things are different. Nice hotel room. I am running into people from elsewhere whom I know. I need not count my pennies so.
And I had a good meal tonight. I only wish the photos had all turned out!
My meal of Louisiana cochon (pork) with turnips, cabbage, and cracklins. Not sure where the cabbage really was, but it also had some peach chunks on it. Very very very good!
David and I met for dinner at Cochon. In fact, I was early (having come from Madeleine Albright's keynote lecture - I only wish she'd mentioned her appearance on Gilmore Girls!), so I sat down with CG, Melissa, and Terry as they finished up. It's a handsome place in the Warehouse District - clean lines, blond wood, that lofty/sort of finished feel. David and I each had three courses, split a half bottle of an Argentine Cabernet Sauvignon, and had coffee to finish. Total bill with tip: $53 each. If we'd had as much food the night before at the touristy place, it would have been a similar price and nowhere near as good.
Our meal:
"link" sausage with stone ground grits and peppers (David)
smoked ham hocks with braised greens (me)
fish special - lemonfish? I wasn't paying attention. It looked good. That was David's.
My cochon.
David's dessert was some orange creamsicle/chocolate cookie thing that looked lovely. Mine was the homelier but tasty peach buckle with creme fraiche (shown below):
I actually kind of want to change a future reservation and go back and try some of the other things like the wood-fired oyster roast or the head cheese with house -made mustard or the rabbit and dumplings.
Anyway, a decent day. One program done, lunch - unexpectedly - with a GLBTRT colleague, a meeting that was kind of weird (no quorum, a little steam blown off by others), the excellent Albright speech during which I sat next to an architect from Edmonton whom I chatted with at length before it all got underway.
Shall I actually get up at 8 tomorrow for a program?
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8 comments:
The cabbage no doubt has been cooked so long that it needs CSI to find trace evidence of it. Those southerners are hard on their veggies.
I love the peach buckle, but I'd like to see some buttermilk ice cream instead of the creme fraiche.
I am a lover of N'awlins, but there's a lot of things I don't like about it. The food is superb and I think my first truly memorable meal was at Antoine's in 1975.
I'm appalled by conditions in New Orleans and I can't imagine how it looks now, but there were parts of the city where you took your life in your hands if you strayed into them.
Most of all, the African American community is the heart and soul of New Orleans and if the powers that be succeed in driving the poor out then New Orleans will lose all it's flavor and life.
For every great restaurant in New Orleans, there were dozens of small places that served great boudin and etoufee if you took the time to seek them out.
I haven't been to New Orleans in about 4 years and I hope the get the reconstruction right.
LOL (Jeph's comment). You seem like a fun guy, Jeph! :)
Wow, a handful of comments to respond to....
Steven, given the constraints of the conference (and the heat!), I won't be wwandering too far afield. I will discourage you and anyone else from bothering with Redfish Grill, where I dined last night. I suspected it would be strictly okay (in a pub food sense), and it was. What was worse was the incredibly obvious way in which they tried to rush us through the meal: dinner arrived at our table after we'd had all of two sips of the bottle of wine!
The downtown looks like heck, frankly, a combination of deterioration and closed businesses. What I saw of the Garden District last night was in much better shape.
Jeph, I've had good etouffee elsewhere and elsewhen. It's just one of those things that supposedly exemplifies a place and so gets bastardized a whole lot.
Go commando? Sure - if I were completely manscaped! Getting things caught in zippers is NOT fun!
Brenda, Jeph is fun, or so he claims! Have you checked out his blog yet? Or Steven's for that matter?
No one ever listens to me..you should have gone to Jacques-Imo Cafe.
I found Jacques-Imo because a friend of mine and I were in a bar near Tulane University having a boudin and a beer, discussing where we should have dinner and we were told by pretty much everyone in the bar to head to Jacques-Imo and forget about anything else.
I think when the locals give a vote of confidence like that to a place you just have to go.
True enough, though I am slightly constrained by accommodating the restaurants that dining partners are insistent on. Ah well. Back to Cochon tonight!
In response to Peter...
I glanced at Jeph's blog once but I would like to take another glance or two. I'll also check out Steven's. It looks like my evening's planned :)
Oh, great Jeph! So now Brenda's your NBF?
LOL
lol - NBF - that's such a Peter and Allison term!
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