On a recent trip to Louisiana I spent a few days in Lafayette and New Orleans. What are standard foods for locals most often are foods that many of us have never experienced, including myself. I try to remain open-minded about foods so that I can try new dishes and give my honest opinions. In Lafayette my first "Cajun" meal was a shrimp po' boy. A po' boy is probably better known as a sub, hoagie or a hero. The shrimp po' boy was excellent - so good in fact that I ate the second half for lunch the next day and it was just as good as when I first tried it. For dinner I had a shrimp cocktail that was out of this world. The shrimp came in a 16 oz. salad bowl. It was at least 16 pieces of medium shrimp mixed together in a special cocktail sauce and laid out on a bed of fresh crisp lettuce. It was a meal in itself! I also had shrimp gumbo. With all the news regarding the BP oil spill, I was leery to keep eating the fresh shrimp; however, the locals informed me that the news in other parts of the country was not quite accurate and that the seafood was in fact quite bountiful and good. I found this to be true. All gumbos start with dark rue simmered slowly with just the right mix of seasonings and spices. Mine had crab legs, and was served with steamed rice. Fabulous. The gumbos I tried on this trip included chicken, shrimp, duck and fresh sausage. They were the best in the nation. At another famous Cajun restaurant I had a fried platter which consisted of alligator, frog's legs, catfish, oyster, shrimp, stuffed shrimp, and stuffed crab and Corn Macque Choux. I tried them all! The alligator surprised me because it actually tasted fishy. The frog's legs were tasty, reminding me of chicken legs. The catfish was scrumptious. It was a great experience. Finishing up in New Orleans it was the La' Bayou, Creole Cuisine with Chef Rob Vance, right on Bourbon street in the French Quarter. The trip would not have been complete had we not eaten beignets and sipped coffee au lait at the world famous Caf Du Mode, right across the square from the Cathedral of St. Louis. Magical. |
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