Picture of the Day

Busking, outside Cafe Du Monde. French Quarter, New Orleans, LA.

Pizza Hut It Ain't!

We've made our first pilgrimage into New Orleans in two years. To say that things look a little different, would be understating the obvious.

For the most part, this trip was pretty business-like. We spent a couple of hours on about a quarter-mile section of N. Peters Street.. the French Market area. We needed to restock on our- Oops! I almost let it slip.. a secret ingredient for my famous Bloody Marys, (available only at the French Marketplace Seafood Co.).

Then it was time for lunch. Prior to our visit I'd asked for recommendations for cheap eats in the Quarter. The recommendation was for the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, located in this building on the corner of Decatur and Barracks St., right at the end of the French Market.

Now, when I think of New Orleans, pizza (or Italian food in general) is not the thing that first jumps into my mind. After I thought about it a bit, though, I figured we'd get some local flavor even in a pizza joint. Was I right. The boys at PepsiCo just haven't got a clue when it comes to a "sausage-lover's pizza". Check out the Salciccia Marinara pizza on this menu. Now, that's a sausage lover's pizza! Margaret had the Crawfish Etouffe pizza.. actually, we shared. Washed down with a Turbo Dog. We will be back. And a HUGE Hat Tip to Matthew Mullenix for this recommendation!

We passed on the dessert at the Pizza Kitchen, and opted instead for a more "touristy" treat: Coffee and Beignets at Cafe du Monde. Picked up a couple of cool new T-Shirts at Jester's, some Mardi Gras masks to send to Margaret's grandkids, and we were ready to head back across Ponchartrain to Fountainbleu State Park.

Daily Optimism

We've added a little something to the blog. Once you find it you, too, will feel a little more optimistic with each passing second...

Pic of the Day

Or, why I stayed ashore for four years in the Navy.

What Sighthounds Do.

Watch this. Don't forget to breathe.


HT to Steven K. in New Mexico.

Picture of the Day

(Not that there will be one every day, but I was having trouble uploading photos lately, and this was actually a test. Still can't get them loaded from Picasa).

A foggy late afternoon at Forth Yargo State Park, Winder, GA a few days before Christmas '06.

We Eat, Therefore We Are... Sated.

We're in the midst of 10 more days in the Gulf Coast area. One thing that has been reinforced to us while here, is that this is where the food lives! Mostly seafood, but we also had to try out a place that kept turning up everywhere we looked, from the Stern's Road Food book, to Chowhound.com.


Doesn 't look like much, does it? But then, barbecue, more than any other cuisine, is immune to the glitz and glamour. In barbecure, rundown is good. When was the last time you heard of food that was transcendental?

"The Brick Pit was transcendental, Food Network worthy and them some in every respect. In a classic old fashioned building, slightly rundown and the bbq aroma permeating the air. Friendly service, a banana pudding that made me gasp, and then the bbq, and the sauce. It takes cajones to put out a sign that says best bbq in Alabama on your front door like the Brick Pit does. After eating there, I believe the sign."

That was "Big Milwaukee", writing in Chowhound. The Sterns were equally effusive in their praise.

We'll now add our voices to the chorus. Ambience, sch-mambience.. it's just like it looks in the pictures. Inside, the ceilings are low, the floor uneven. The walls are covered with graffiti.. mostly praising the food. The restrooms? Don't go there. Literally. The menu is sparse: Pulled pork, ribs, chicken. We didn't try the chicken... who the hell comes down here to eat chicken? I had the ribs plate, and Margaret had the pulled pork plate. Can we say "exquisite" about a joint like this? We will. I can't quite call this the best barbecue I've ever had... but I can't remember where I had any better. This was great. Terrific beans, and cole slaw with real bite. A great lunch, capped off by "Mrs. Waits's Banana Pudding". They couldn't tell us if she's Tom's mom. See the menu here.

That was Saturday, and that was the highlight of our week in Southwest Alabama, but we do want to mention a couple of other places worth visiting... Fish Camp, on State Hwy 59 right here in Summerdale was quite good for lunch, and they apparently have a seafood buffet for dinner. Sorry, no website that I could find.

Yesterday, we went to visit the USS Alabama battleship, which sits on Mobile Bay. I spent 4 years in the Navy; yesterday was the most time I spent on a ship in my life. On the information board showing a lot of Navy slang, I would qualify as a "landlubber". I'll post some pictures on another post, especially one showing a very scary room!

Following the tour of the ship, and the attached submarine, we had a late lunch at Felix's Fish Camp and Grill. This one had it all: Ambience, and good food. We had a sampler of the gumbo, crab, and turtle soups- all very tasty; a "camp salad", consisting of greens, artichoke, and hearts of palm in a homemade Italian dressing. This was followed by a couple of Po'Boys- one fried crawfish tails, and one half-n-half shrimp and oyster. All while sitting in the upper deck bar overlooking Mobile Bay, watching the gliding pelicans.

Ah... food. Tomorrow, we move on to New Orleans. There's no quit in us.