A New Orleans foodie and a product of hurricane Katrina, I'm living in
South Tampa - exploring a new city and it's culture and always on the prowl for a good meal. 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.
For writing about dining in Tampa, check out TampaBayEats, creating excitement about food in Tampa Bay... one meal at a time.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Damn I miss that city...
I just finished reading the past couple of entries on Todd Price's blog as he talks about Dallas, Texas, and it almost brought me to tears. The first reason is that I miss New Orleans.
I have been in Tampa permanently for only a little over a week and I love it, but there are certain comfortable things that
I will never have here like I had in NOLA. The second reason is that I see Todd writing about Dallas the same things
I feel in Tampa. He's not even a New Orleans native but in his short passages, I can feel the passion about him missing
the city.
Ok, so I had a few drinks tonight at the friendly sports bar in Clearwater.
I had a productive first week at my new job, and I met plenty of single women, but there is still something missing.
It's not something that will be replaced or even something to which I will find a substitute, but something I will learn to
live without. It is the city of New Orleans. And while I can't have New Orleans right now, I'll do my best to
survive...
It's been quite a journey since my last post almost three weeks ago.
Since then, I interviewed for a job in the Tampa area, and when presented with an offer, happily accepted a position in sales
with a large computer company. So it looks like I will be staying.
I have also returned to New Orleans, spending almost two weeks wrapping
up a few things and packing my belongings. I did a lot of drinking and a little eating, none of which is noteworthy,
but I will report on New Orleans soon. I left behind quite a bit of furniture and packed everything into a 6' x 12'
U-Haul trailer and towed it using my Dad's truck, all the way to Tampa. After a grueling drive, I made it safely to
Tampa and have packed everything into a 5' x 10' climate controlled storage unit. I never would have thought the culmination
of my 27.9 years on this planet could be compacted into a storage unit the size of a large walk-in closet. But somehow
I find comfort in the fact that I place so little value on material possessions. After many of my friends lost everything after
the hurricane, I realize how lucky I am to have so much. Now all I need to worry about is hurricane Wilma, headed straight
for Florida.
I'll get back to food shortly, but I'm not sure what direction I will take
this web-site. Now that I can't easily get Creole or Cajun food, I have a feeling I will be cooking a whole lot more
than before. Today I will be making Jambalaya and Red Beans and rice, and drinking some Abita Amber. So I guess
now is a good time to start working on my traditional New Orleans recipes (Gumbo, Red Beans, Sazerac, etc.).
My birthday is only three days away (Wednesday the 26th) and I already
know the food won't be as good as last year. My birthday week last year was spent dining at Mat & Naddie's, Clancy's and Mother's; this year I will take comfort in my new life and many new friends.
