Mardi Gras, New Orleans, 2012, part 1

Tim and I stopped at Pom Pom's for some road food on our way out. He got this Snickerdoodle cupcake from BlueBird Bakery and let it sit there teasing me for like an hour. Then I made him finally eat it. Oh yeah, it was his birthday so I made him this card on the RedStamp app.We arrived at our B&B, Elysian Fields Inn, at about 11 at night. The Inn Keeper, Jim, waited up to check us in then we went straight to bed.Unfortunately for Tim, one of the reasons we went to Louisiana was to visit his dying Grandpa. The next morning we woke up early and drove 2.5 hours to New Iberia through this shitI met some of Tim's family and hung out with them in his Grand Parent's kitchen while Tim went in a back bedroom to see his Grandpa. It was sad. His Grandpa died a week and a half later.
We hung out there for about an hour then drove some crazy back road route to Abita Springs for 2.5 hours for the ABITA BREWERY TOUR!! Sorry. Abita Amber is my favorite beer. 
That tour is awesome. They give you a plastic Abita cup, put on a 15 minute video, and let you hit the taps for as many times as you can in 15 minutes while the video plays. Then they walk you into a huge room with all the casks and mashers and whatnot, talk to you for 10 minutes, then let you hit the taps again for another 30.

Then, after the brewery tour, we headed to Chef John Besh's La Provence.  I made reservations a month in advance but apparently we didn't need them because when we arrived it was empty.  But it was kinda cool for a minute because it felt like the whole restaurant was ours.

I made some friends.....

Now on to the food......

When we arrived, we were given a chicken liver pate with crostinis.  Best free food nosh ever.

The bartender that's been there for 20+ years asked me if I wanted her to make me a drink.  I was like "are you kidding? you've been bartending since I was ten."  So she made me a Cosmo.  And squirted lime juice on me in the process.  It was the best Cosmo ever.

As apps I got the Oysters Ooh La La and Tim got the Quail Gumbo.  Both good but not 'oh my goodness, I'm glad we traveled 600 miles for this good.'

I forget the exact name of the entree that we split, but I call it Venison x 3.  It was rare seared venison loin on top of slow roasted venison stew surrounded by house made venison sausage.  Best venison dish I have ever ate in my life.  No joke.

We ended with the best bread pudding I have also, ever had.

Cancer sucks

Cancer took my aunt two years ago. We weren't close, but seeing my mom go through the pain of losing her sister was really hard. My mom took care of her until the very end. My aunt died in the bedroom I grew up in in my parent's home. I will never get that image out of my head.

This morning cancer took Cathi Britton, the mother of a good friend and coworker. Ashli is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I can only count on one hand the number of friends I have that have never given me attitude or been mean to me. Ashli is one of them. It sucks so bad that she has to be going through this loss right now. Hopefully something good comes from it. Maybe her family will be closer. Who knows.

I do know that Cathi did not have health insurance. Now her family, a husband and three daughters, are stuck with her horrendous medical bills. If you'd like to donate $ to the Britton family, you can do so by clicking the donate button.

New Years Weekend 2012, Tasty Balls and Other Good Stuff

Food

Top - Salchi Pappas from Que Rico Columbian Food Truck....at 3 a.m.
It's crinkle cut fries topped with deep fried hotdogs, 3 sauces, and melted cheese. A drunkard's dream come true.

Bottom left - my first attempt at Matzo Ball Soup. Saffron chicken stock with spinach matzo balls. Tim loved the broth but not the balls. I thought the balls were some of the most flavorful balls I've ever had.

Bottom right - the Miss Piggy from Yum-mi Sandwiches with Spring Rolls and Thai Tea. The Missy Piggy has caramelized pork belly, lettuce, tomato, and the typical Bahn Mi veggies on it. It was good but I've had better Bahn Mi.

Drinks

Clockwise from top left -

Vodka soaked gummy bears.
They taste just like jello shots but stronger and bear shaped. And easier to make. And then you can drink the gummy bear flavored Vodka when all the bears are gone.

Some f*cking drink our server at Sonoma convinced me to get. I ordered the Perfect Pair but she said this drink made from Gin was sooooo much better. Really? I haven't drank Gin since 2008 because I hate it so much. Then came another 3 minutes of convincing me to get it instead. You think I can drink Gin and not vomit? You're on!
It was ok. I didn't throw up right there on the table so that was a plus but then when we got our check that stupid Gin martini was $11.50!! No wonder why she wanted me to get it so bad.

Some shots I don't remember at Eye Spy.

Recovery Shots - Vodka and Monster Recovery. They really do help after a night of pickling your liver. A little bit of hair of the dog and milk thistle. Mmmm.

Shenanigans