~ Notes from a New Orleans Foodie... in exile ~
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by Kevin Lacassin

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A New Orleans foodie and a product of hurricane Katrina, I've landed on both feet and have started a new life in the Tampa Bay area. A natural disaster changed my state of residence and you can take me out of New Orleans, but you can't take the New Orleans out of me.
 
This is my resource for all things New Orleans: food recipes, culture and history.  In addition, you can find my original recipes and a log of my cooking adventures.  My writing here is unedited and uncut... I don't outline or plan what I type on the page.... consider it a diary of dining and cooking.
 
If you are a Louisiana native who's landed in the Tampa Bay area, you may be feeling a bit homesick.  Check out my NOLA in Tampa page to guide you to the places and foods that will help you feel more at home.

Friday, July 29, 2005

I'm Still Here...
In fact, I just finished eating a frosted strawberry Pop-Tart and am still working on my diet coke.  While I haven't really gone "anywhere," quite a bit has changed in the past month.  I've moved apartments but fortunately I still live in the same area, and since moving, I haven't really done any cooking.  In fact, the refrigerator in my new apartment was getting old and leaking water, so my landlord was nice enough to replace it... with a non-working one.  During the recent tropical storm and power outage, I was one of the lucky few that didn't lose power and lose everything in their freezer.  I shouldn't have counted my blessings so soon, but I should be getting a new fridge later today.  So no good recipes or cooking reports in this installment.
 
I made up for the lack of cooking by dining out.  A lot.  My sister had her birthday meal at Impastato's in Metairie, where I had two giant perfectly soft shell crabs topped with lump crab meat.  I had an equally tasty Soft Shell Crab in a recent meal at Tommy's, one of my new favorite restaurants.  My mom celebrated her birthday with a family dinner at Middendorf's.  When I say family, I mean that I was the familiar fifth wheel (parents, sister and husband, and me).  But it was a good time nonetheless; I got my fill of their famous thin-fried catfish and hushpuppies, as well as some mediocre fried oysters.
 
I've made a couple of stops by Vega Tapas Cafe on Metairie Rd. but only indulged in cocktails.  Last night however, I had some outstanding tapas at Mimi's in the Marigny; a grilled avocado drizzled with olive oil and lightly seasoned, and some ground beef empanadas served with a roasted pepper aioli.  Both were outstanding and priced just right at around five bucks each.  I ate downstairs at the bar, and while the atmosphere may turn some people away, I found it inviting and comfortable.  For the dog lovers out there, where else can you bring your dog for tapas and drinks?
 
I recently had an excellent dinner at Clancy's with a couple of young ladies visiting from Austin, as well as an evening of appetizers at One.  But the mainstay of my diet has been at "the regulars."  You know, the places that you tend to frequent because they are comfortable and you know the menu like the back of your hand (how well do you know the back of YOUR hand?).  My latest favorite is Martin Wine Cellar, where you can get an outstanding burger and steak fries, or a great club sandwich or even the Lindy special: oven-roasted turkey, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, tomato and Russian dressing on 7 grain bread.  Is your mouth watering yet?  To get my Tex-Mex fix I've been dining frequently at Superior Grill, as well as eating some damn good burritos and chicken tacos from Juan's Flying Burrito.
 
Ok, so now that I'm caught up for the past month, it's time to get back to cooking and writing.  I apologize if this entry had little interest to foodies outside of New Orleans, but I'll get back on track.  I have some serious writing to do and am a little behind.  Hope to hear from you soon, by e-mail or in person.  I'll keep writing if you keep reading.
10:37 am | link

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