The Jaded New Orleans Crab Boil

Alligator kabob and Turtle Soup. The thought made me queasy - a strange thought considering that I have the toughest stomach - working with big ass wounds all day. I guess I'm not ready for deep cuisine dining.

After immersing myself in New Orleans cuisine for 3 days I had but one thought - there is only so much you can do to fried food - change the breading. The nuances of Cajun and Creole seasoning are totally lost on me - one restaurant's version doesn't differ much from the next and the price differences don't justly themselves.

I bemoan the lack of opportunity to sample a less touristy establishment but I guess who wants to cater to locals when you can parlay your history for a few dollars more to the traveler hungry for the experience. Disappointing the NOLA crab boil is, after Boiling Crab in the Orange Country upped the ante by offering the traditional boil with different sauces other than lemon and cocktail sauce. As for fried everything, your Chinese migrant's neighborhood fish fry is just as good.

Muffulettas at Central Grocery along Decatur St

At the end of the 3rd day munching on Cajun fried soft-shell crab, crawfish, catfish and shrimp, and a succession of gumbo, sausage, jambalaya and étouffée, all I can mutter to myself is seriously?!? The mere suggestion of following thru with bread pudding and pecan pie made me want to empty my stomach posthaste.

Beyond these mainstays - is there much to look forward to, enough to make you linger? You peruse the celebrity chef offerings as that of John Besh and Emeril and you see that their menu highlights are still continental fare, not regional cuisine. Which is perhaps why exotic cuisine is offered as a palate tickler.

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait at Cafe du Monde

There is not much to miss unless you came to sample the cuisine with it's history. This is why you have to eat the beignets with cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde.  Over a million suckers, including me, have lined it's pathways to do so. And sample oysters at Acme for 14 dollars a dozen.

Oysters at ACME along Iberville St at the French Quarter

Yet beyond the falling out with the cuisine, I felt right at home, with the chance to learn first hand about the city, as a whole, not just of the French Quarter, a mistake most tourists make. It has been my group's custom to always book a city tour whenever we visit a new place. It is the fastest way of getting the essence of the whole city from it's denizens, feel their love for their place and get some pointers on how to experience their town like a new friend.

And dont forget to tip, smile and spread the love.

Coasting in the Big Easy

Dateline New Orleans, LA 2nd Day

There is a 50 feet waiting line outside ACME Oyster House along Bourbon and Iverbille and there are 20 or so people before us. Nonetheless we wait, wanting to start the evening right. It was a perfect plan - start with oysters and white wine, spill out into Bourbon, have a hand grenade, meander in and out of the bars, get Charmie's stuff in the Voodoo shop, and watch one of the Marsalis jazz scions at Snug Harbor at Fauborg Marigny. Today, I asked Chef Pat at the Krystal room at LE Pavilion how come the pasta with gorgonzola sauce tasted so good and she started crooning "a lot of love".

Finally a space at the bar emptied and we sat down. Pinot Gris and fresh oysters, shooters for my 2 companions, a taste of Abita which I find too strong followed by Po boys and fried shrimp and oysters. This was bliss. What is it with local ambience that intensifies the gustatory experience. Bubba Gump would have done an equally excellent job, but somehow, this place makes you want to yell woohoo and dig deeper into the fried crawfish tails.

Meanwhile everyone around us was getting hammered. Almost back to the streets, then off to the jazz joint. After which I would look forward to the late night PB & J and hot choco at the Le Pavillion lobby.

California Southern Coastline

Imprinted in my mind was an evening drive way back in 1992 from Christina's house in Costa Mesa to Laguna Beach for a pint of gelato. Melvin, Bong and I together with Alfred, would take an odd spin in the hood on most nights - rollerblade in the nearby park, hunting CDs, and driving about. There was a full moon that night, Pacific Coast was deserted, and right where the road dipped and the ocean horizon seemed to loom higher, we turned off the lights and coasted along with the moon as night light. It was beautiful. Happiness was as simple as licking spoons of Nociola gelato and going home to sleep.

It will take more than a decade before I would go back to Laguna beach again but that memory lives, together with other memorable moonlit nights in various places. The coastline is just as beautiful today. It is truly remarkable and a blessing that I would live so close to the coastline that requires a trip as short as 5 minutes and as much as an hour, before you hit pay dirt. South Bay weather is pretty much like the Mediterranean coast. There is no need to hit the South of France.

Roughing It Out

Here I am, deep in the Cobb Mountain elevation 2000 feet, probably traipsing on private property. I finally turned off my iPod and the seeming silence is saturated with forest noise that is so subtle and yet so distinct. Birds chirping, insects making a distinct and constant creaking sound, even the wind creating a whooshing sound that moves and rustles the blades of grass. A family of five emerge from the clump of trees making a ruckus. I say Hi. Have you seen the lake yet? I ask. Oh there's a lake? When you reach the end of this road and you turn back, take the other fork - it leads right to the small lake. Sometimes you see deer coming down for a drink. Earlier, I snag some bird feather by the roadside and kept them, thinking I wanted to experiment on using it as a pen with ink I have at home that has been forgotten since I abandoned calligraphy as a hobby. Boy those crickets are incessant. They get louder everytime a breeze comes up. This is actually bliss, being able to experience silence as nature has designed it. A symphony of sounds. I feel blessed to get such an opportunity. Though going with the girls would have been fun, this is rare and I have already been to San Diego. The family is back. So there is indeed another way around from the closed gates. I would definitely go with Medic again for next year's camping.