NOLA, I love you and I haven't even met you.

In 2007 I fell in love with New Orleans chef, John Besh, when he was on The Next Iron Chef. Everything he cooked just screamed out to me. I wanted to taste every. single. thing. he made. I've always had chefs that I like but Besh is the first one that I love. It also doesn't hurt that he's pretty handsome for an older dude. If I ever met him in person I'm sure I would make a total ass of myself. Like the time I met Dr. G: Medical Examiner at Brick and Fire Pizza. I was so nervous that I told her that if I ever died a mysterious death I would want her to do my autopsy. I said this in front of her kids. Yeah, it was awkward.
Besh made it to the finals but lost to Micheal Symon who is also amazing, but there was still something about Besh that just called to me. It was then that my obsession with Creole and Cajun cooking started. And New Orleans in general.
I started reading more about NOLA like Mardi Gras and the French Quarter and started to learn more about Cajun foods like the holy trinity, crawfish, and Andouille sausage. I made a list of restaurants I wanted to visit if I ever went there. I took notes from people like Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain when I watched the Travel Channel. Places like Mother's, Cochon, and Antoine's head the list along with some of Besh's restaurants like August and La Provence.

Around this time I met Tim. My friend started dating this guy and Tim was that guy's roommate. I was busy dating some other douchbag so I didn't pay to much attention to him but we'd chat a little if I ever saw him out at a bar or something. I learned that Tim was from New Orleans and given my new obsession, it would often come up in conversation. I broke up with the douchbag about a year ago. Me and Tim started talking more, then hanging out more, then we started dating. It's been about six months now. Lauren is happy.
Tim is my living reference when I have anything to ask about NO or it's food. We ate at Mojo Cajun Bar and Grill a while back and it totally blew. He ordered the Jambalaya with red beans and rice. He said that both of those are staples and not too hard to make so if they get it wrong, they must really suck. Well, they got it wrong. Here is my review on Yelp.

For Christmas the first thing on my list (yes, I still make a list) was My New Orleans, The Cookbook, by John Besh. My brother got it for me and it was one of my favorite presents. Not only do I read it sometimes at night like it's a murder/mystery book or something, but it's my go-to cookbook for pretty much anything. Not only is there over 200 recipes but in the beginning of every chapter, JB tells a personal story and gives a little history lesson on what the chapter is about. This book made me fall more in love and have an even deeper appreciation for New Orleans.
My first attempt at a traditional Cajun dish was red beans and rice. Up until I read the recipe I really had no idea that it took so long. I followed John's recipe exactly except for instead of using butter I used duck fat. It took about three hours simmering on my stove. It was delicious except for the ham hocks. I don't know what kind of hocks Besh uses but the ones I got were almost inedible. I understand using a cut of meat with the bone in so I think next time I'll use one for flavor but use ham and Andouille to actually eat and throw the ham hock away at the end.

I went shrimping last weekend. It was a pretty slow night. Caught about four dozen. The next night I made some "bang bang" shrimp and some peel and eats with a homemade smokey cocktail sauce. I had onions, celery, and carrots in the fridge so I saved the heads and shells and made some shrimp stock. I, of course, referred to My New Orleans for guidance and I will use it again when I use my stock to make Barbeque Shrimp or Shrimp and Grits.

In 2008 I went to the Abacos, Bahamas for two weeks. Shortly after I planned to go back for my 30th birthday. I've recently changed my mind. I'm going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. While I'm there I plan on going to a few of the restaurants on my list. My nephew is going to be back from Afghanistan by then but will still be at 29 Palms til' next May until his career as a Marine is over. He told me he plans on using some of his leave time to meet me in Nawlins for my birthday. Damn, NOLA, you in trouble.

I heart my nephew

So last weekend was interesting for me. Friday night my nephew, Charles Roger Ball III a.k.a. "The Boy", called me as I was leaving work to say goodbye. I cried the whole way home. This is his 2nd deployment to Afghanistan. He is an Infantry Mortar man in the United States Marine Corp.


We've got closer since he's been in the Marines. Not because of that but because I think we're closer in age now. I mean, we've always been 3 years apart but there's a difference between 23 and 26 and 26 and 29. I kinda feel like we're on the same level now. The first time he deployed I was worried but I wasn't this worried.
Saturday I was on my way to go fishing with my brother, his dad, and everything was perfect. I was driving with the windows rolled down blasting Mumford and Sons, not a cloud in the sky and a perfect 80 degrees. One second I felt grateful then the next I felt guilty. It's a weird two feelings to have at the same time. I felt guilty that while I was enjoying that perfect day, my nephew is eating MREs, not showering for weeks at a time, missing his family and friends, and putting his life on the line. Then I felt grateful again. That because of him and everyone else that serves in the military I am able to drive with the windows rolled down blaring music and can pretty much do whatever the hell I want.
My brother talked to me about where he was going and what he would be doing and it made me even more worried.
Sunday sucked. I wasn't on the water anymore so I actually had time to think about it. I didn't even want to be in Orlando. I just wanted to run away somewhere else and get my mind off it. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and couldn't go back to sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about him.
So I guess all I really have to say is thank you Charlie and I love you. I can't wait for you to be home safe.

Abacos, Bahamas, June 2008

Hmmmm..... Let's just say I had an opportunity to go to the Abacos on a 45 foot 1969 Hatteras for two weeks. For free. Damn, I was lucky.













The only thing not so lucky about the whole trip is that I get EXTREMELY sea sick so I prepared by getting a prescription sea sickness patch. It works, don't get me wrong, but there are some unpleasant side effects that come with it. Scopalomine, the drug in the patch, is an Atropine derivative so it can make your pupils dilate just like the drops you get when you get an eye exam. It did this to me except one pupil was bigger than the other. Not only did I look like a nutjob but I couldn't see very well unless I was in the sun. Another side effect is "delayed gastric emptying." Combine that with the fact that I was eating more food than I had probably ate my entire life and at some point I'm pretty sure I contracted a parasite from the raw fish I was eating and I had myself a very awkward predicament.
Alright, there's no way I can really get around this without being blunt. I had the worst case of diarrhea I have ever had in my entire life. The kind where if you don't find a toilet RIGHT NOW you're going to crap your pants. There was a lot of bathroom window opening, faucet running and shitting in holes.


When you're on a remote little island like this and you HAVE to go, you hang behind a bit, wait for the one person you're with to round a corner out of ear, nose, and eye shot, dig a hole, and poop in it. Hey man, I had to doo what I had to doo.
So yes, it was free, but I did pay a price.


Other than that it was one of the most awesome vacations ever! We fished A LOT!


I was laying in the cabin of the boat because I felt a little woozy then all of a sudden I heard a bunch of shouting and running around on deck. Then the door swung open and Dave yelled "Do you want to catch a fucking Marlin?!" Of course I did, are you crazy?! I wobbled my nauseous, little ass out there, they put me in the fighting chair, and off I went. I think I reeled for like 20 or 30 minutes. It was a beautiful 100 or so pound White Marlin.




I ate a lot of food, drank a lot of drinks, drank Moet for the first time, got nipped at Nippers and made an ass of myself, island hopped, got an amazing tan, got caught in a storm on a dinghy, and was wading waste high when two Lemon Sharks decided to show up. It was awesome and what vacations are suppose to be made of.

My new obsession that is Food Trucks.

Lately Orlando has been home to a recent food truck rage. It really is getting big. It seems like in the past few months Orlando has gone from a few to a few on every main or not-so-main road in Orlando. I'm not talkin about some of those dirty trucks and food carts you sometimes see on O.B.T. I'm talking real, legit, restaurants on wheels. These things get inspected just like free-standing restaurants, have liabilities just like they do, and have to hold up to all or most of the same rules and regulations. And did I mention that the food is f*cking amazing!

Here are some of my favorite food trucks.

Red Eye BBQ
Favorite eats - Double cheeseburger, grilled mac n cheese, fried Oreos.
Usual hangouts - World of Beer off Sandlake Rd. and Orlando Brewing.
Web - www.redeyebbq.com, Twitter - Redeyebbq, Yelp


Korean BBQ Taco Box
Favorite eats - Spicy Pork Taco, Spicy Pork Sub, that fried chicken drumstick they come with
Usual hangouts - Colonial and Primrose, 901 S. Orange Ave., Alafaya and McCulloch
Web - www.kbbqbox.com, Twitter - koreanbbq_2011, Yelp


Big Wheel Provisions
Favorite eats - Local pork porchetta sandwich, local corn on the cob with fresh mayo and spicy parm, deviled eggs
Usual hangouts - Washington and Orange
Web - www.bigwheelprovisions.com, Twitter - BigWheelTruck, Yelp


Treehouse Truck
Favorite eats - ChiMoo sandwich, fried Twix
Usual hangouts - Colonial and Ferncreek, Remax @ 954 S. Orlando Ave.
Web - www.treehousetruck.com (coming soon), Twitter - treehousetruck, Yelp






The Crooked Spoon
Favorite eats - The Crooked Spoon Burger, mac n' cheese, homemade chips, apple papaya sauce
Usual hangouts - Colonial and Ferncreek, Stogies off Sandlake Rd.
Web - www.facebook.com/thecrookedspoon, Twitter - TheCrookedSpn, Yelp


El Arepaso de Orlando
Favorite eats - Beef Arepa
Usual hangouts - 53 E. Washington St. (Wed-Sat nights)
They don't speak very good English. I tried to tell them about Twitter. Hopefully they get it soon.










Here is an awesome map that Chris from EatLocalOrlando made - Food Truck Map