On Family and Food in The Big Easy

It was nice to spend a little bit of time with our New Orleans family, but it is also great to be back home.

As you can see from the photo at left, Jay and family are alive and well and Linda sure was glad to be with the little guys she hasn't seen since last June. The photo was made on Monday evening (the day we arrived). Jay and Canon (the three year old) had come to meet us at the Seminary's Providence Guest House and had spent part of the afternoon with us there. When Michelle and Quint got out of school they met us at the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Turns out that would be the only time we would see Michelle and Quint until Thursday after school. Jay had to attend a city council meeting on church business Monday evening but the rest of us enjoyed a meal at Texas Roadhouse and just spending some time together.

I know what you may be thinking. Texas Roadhouse? With all the great places to eat in the Big Easy, why would we go to Texas Roadhouse? The answer is simple. That's Canon's favorite place to eat! We had time to visit some of the other places as well, but that evening was for the kids...

As part of my board of trustee meeting, there is lunch with the Seminary family on Tuesday; a seafood buffet for trustees, faculty and spouses on Tuesday evening; another lunch in Wednesday with students, faculty, and staff, and a "country buffet" on Wednesday evening with the Trustees, Seminary administrators and their spouses in the smaller Creole Room off the cafeteria. One benefit to being a Seminary Trustee, is that one certainly eats well! After a week in New Orleans I'll need to get back in the gym every day for a couple of weeks to try to lose some of the pounds I know I've gained.

New Orleans is famous for a number of things and food is way up there on the list. We had lunch at the Camillia Grille in the Uptown section of the Big Easy. The Po Boy was delicious and the server (a guy named Marvin) was hilarious. He was as entertaining as the food was delicious. Thursday evening we dinned with Jay's family at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro on St. Charles. It is Linda's favorite. We have been there several times in the past but this was our first visit there since Katrina. The place didn't reopen until this past January, but it is back, and the locals and tourists alike are pleased! The atmosphere is tops, and one can sit in the window booths and view Emeril's Delmonico's down the street, and watch the green Trolley Cars going up and down the St. Charles line.

There are so many great places to eat in New Orleans, that I'll never run out of new treats. I could never afford to eat at some of the places there, but there are so many great restaurants to choose from, there is no danger of ever running out of options. The Cajun and creole food is in abundance and I have learned to love it. Red Beans and Rice is a local favorite, as well as Gumbo, Shrimp, Catfish, Jambalaya, and Crawfish (prepared any number of ways). Oyster Bars abound, and the seafood in New Orleans is the best anywhere. The blackened redfish will make your mouth water.

My personal favorite places to dine are "Mother's" in the central business district, "Cafe Mespero" in the Quarter, and "Snug Harbor", on Frenchman Street in the Faubourg Marigny District. For Po Boys, "Sammie's" and "LaFitte Cafe" (both on Elysian Fields out near Lake Pontchartrain) are hard to beat. Visitors love the Beingnets and Coffee at "Cafe DuMonde". If I lived in New Orleans, I would weigh 400 pounds (or go broke trying).

The best hamburger I have ever tasted is at a place called Port of Call on the corner of Esplanade and Dauphine Street. They serve a cheeseburger and baked potato to die for. I love to have lunch there, but it is not always an easy task. We tried to eat lunch there Thursday, but to no avail. They open at 11:00 AM (sort of). We were there after 11:00 and there were several employees inside milling around but the doors were locked. We asked one of the employees who stepped out on the street when they were going to open up. "I'm not sure" he said. "We're having some issues." Jay tells me that is not unusual for that place. He laughs about a time when he and Robby Gallaty went by for lunch about noon and found the doors locked. A guy with a Port of Call T-shirt was standing by the door, smoking a cigarette.

"Are you open?" Jay asked.

"Not yet" the fellow replied.

"When will it be open?"

"Not sure", the guy shrugged.

"Why not?", Jay asked with some exasperation.

"They had a party in there last night, and we haven't got the place hosed out yet.", he explained.

That's life in the Big Easy!