reunited (and it feels so good)

We checked out of Hotel Monteleone at 12:15pm (I think you get the idea not expect anything else if you ever find yourself traveling with us). Also, is it alarming to know that you’re traveling with someone who can break the code of your hotel safe with one guess? A testament of how well we know each other, I suppose. Please advise if I need to call LifeLock sooner than later. We quickly made it our mission to be one with sought out bagel. We did some research (which included Amy calling places to make sure they did more than just sell a bagel and cream cheese). So glad she did this bit of research and found Surrey’s. Surrey’s is a small artsy café advertised as a juice bar, but with so much more. I think it could possibly be top on the list of “hidden gems” found on this trip. Amy’s friend, Nicole, had mentioned hearing of this place, but not yet having found it. Nicole, GO! There was an extensive breakfast and lunch menu that included homemade bagels and house-cured salmon (lox). Amy ordered two scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, and an onion bagel with cream cheese. She made and consumed about twelve perfect bites to reveal a clean plate (well, I think she left some bacon – a little shocking, actually). I had the lox plate with an onion bagel. I love lox, but mostly for the caper/cream cheese/bagel combination. They also served this with an avocado mash – which was such a nice touch. I ate every bite and am not ashamed of that at all. I also washed it down with some awesome coffee. I like to think that Surrey’s has it all figured out – those that know, go; those that think it’s Jamba Juice, don’t. Oh, elusive bagel – today you were finally ours.

After brunch, we circled many blocks looking for the post office. Glad I finally got the chance to pass through a metal detector on the way to mail some postcards…that’s now checked off the bucket list. We made our way out of the Vieux Carre (we’re pros now), crossed the Mississippi, and headed on to Birmingham. Today’s drive didn’t contain as many profound moments as the drive from Austin to New Orleans, but we managed to keep each other entertained for the six-hour drive. We arrived in Birmingham with enough time to change our clothes and meet Amy’s friend, Smith, for dinner. Smith lives and works in Birmingham and I was more than thrilled to get to meet another one of Amy’s dear friends. After seeing Smith’s house, we headed to the Mountain Brook area for dinner at Avo. We had scoped out the menu en route to Birmingham and we were excited to try to options. We started with the fried okra sticks accompanied by a lemon-caper aioli and the homemade pimento cheese spread. Both delicious starters. For my meal I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The cheese was light and it had avocado, but the star was the sourdough bread. So toasty and sourdough-y – I loved it to the last crunchy bite. Amy had the panko-crusted chicken on polenta and she was pleasantly surprised by her dish. (I could tell she had hesitations about the chicken breast being dry and lacking flavor.) I looked over and it was quite juicy and it just looked appealing. The polenta was nicely cooked. Smith ordered the roasted beet salad and the bacon mac and cheese. She approved of the dishes by not leaving any leftovers – which was something we all did. We indulged in a few alcoholic beverages and a lot of conversation before heading back to the car. We got back to Smith’s and returned to our hotel (Holiday Inn Express in Birmingham, I love you) for a full night’s rest.

Joellen

P.S. Is it wrong to title your blog post for your bagel reunion? No.

livin’ it up in the big easy

I was really excited to come to New Orleans for several reasons.  High among them was to see another college roommate, Nicole, who is now studying at Tulane.  I usually don’t mind arriving in new destinations late, but in the case of New Orleans, I was nervous that we wouldn’t have very much time and it kind of bummed me out.  After waking up late and struggling to get out the door, we were greeted by Nicole with open arms as she graciously offered to help us pack up the car before heading out to lunch destination number one.

Now, I don’t like to brag, but I’m a pretty good eater.  I’m sure that that has been made quite apparent to most of you, but just in case you’re new: I can eat.  I wouldn’t describe myself as a competitive eater and I certainly don’t strive to be one, but there was one challenge that I heard of that I really wanted to try out.  So much so, that I put it on my bucket list.  It was a big goal of mine to become a part of the 15 Dozen Club at Acme Oyster House in New Orleans, and although many scoffed, I knew that I could defeat this challenge with few to no problems.  So when I had the chance to go to New Orleans for the first time in March, I knew that the challenge would be my main goal of the trip, and after 40 minutes, I completed my challenge, having eaten 180 oysters, making me one of three (or four…) women to ever become a part of the 15 Dozen Club.  Among the many perks (really, it’s just like, three perks but they’re still cool) of being in this exclusive club, I was lucky enough to have my name put on the wall.  I have my own little name plate with my hometown and the date of my challenge.  I didn’t really care to have a full meal at Acme again, but I really wanted to see my name plate and perhaps milk the tiny bit of stardom that goes along with it.  I was very excited that some of the shuckers remembered me, and to my utter shock, someone wanted to take my picture.  Oh, the hardships of being a star.  We decided to have a small appetizer of chargrilled oysters, which are all the rage right now, and I can see why.  Grilled over an open flame with butter and parmesan cheese, these little suckers are salty, tangy and delicious.  They were the perfect first few bites of our time in New Orleans.

For our main lunch, we decided to go somewhere a little less fried-fishy and a little more vegetarian friendly, so thanks to urbanspoon, we happened upon Bennachin Restaurant, a little African place that caters to vegetarians and omnivores alike.  Since I was outnumbered 2-1 in this category, I decided to follow suit and order vegetarian so that we could all share.  But before I get to the food, let us first discuss the atmosphere.  With Afro-Caribbean music playing on a television just above the kitchen door and the smell of musty incense that hits you right when you walk in, Bennachin immediately makes you feel comfortable and ready for good food.  There was one server, who I can only assume was local (based on her accent) who was very friendly and knowledgable on the different menu items.  She offered her opinions and we quickly ordered and anxiously awaited our lunches.

To start,  we had the black eyed pea fritters with a tomato jam.  They were light, crispy and delicious.  I can’t really figure out which part was the black eyed pea, but none of us had any complaints about this dish.  It was a great way to start out the meal.  For our main courses, Joellen ordered the Kone ni Makondo, black eyed peas in a tomato sauce served with ripe fried plantains and coconut rice.  Her dish was absolutely delicious and even though I had my concerns about the coconut rice at first, I must admit that it was pretty awesome.   The flavor was savory and the coconut was present but not overpowering.  I had the Bikai ni Curry, a relatively spicy eggplant, bean sprout and mushroom curry which I ordered with cous cous.  The flavors were really on point, and although I could have done with a few more mushrooms, the eggplant added a nice meatiness that I wasn’t expecting.  The sauce was spicy without being too hot, and had a really good, strong curry flavor.  Nicole’s dish was the one that surprised me most.  It looked like it was just a plate of bland, steamed vegetables over rice but it was so, so much more.  She got the Baham, which was broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in a light ginger sauce over rice.  What really excited me about this dish was the savory ginger-garlic broth that was ladled over the vegetables and the rice.  It was so flavorful and really played well with the coconut in the rice.  If we have a chance to go back, I am definitely getting this dish and will probably (shamelessly) lick my plate clean.

During lunch, we found out that one of our next stops had fallen through, so we decided to stay an extra night in New Orleans and spend some time in Birmingham before heading to Nashville.  Although we were sad that we had to miss Panama City, we’re excited to make it there in the near future, and we were happy to have a little bit more time in the Crescent City.  We took our time in making it back to the Holiday Inn, and on our way stopped in some fun little shops on Decatur Street.  After perusing what the local markets had to offer and purchasing some very necessary fall decorations, we stopped at Cafe Du Monde for an after lunch treat.  Joellen had her first beignet and we enjoyed all of the people watching and re-caffienating.  Nicole had to go to class, so she left us after a little walk through Jackson Square with the promise of seeing us later that evening.

Since we were unimpressed with the Holiday Inn, we decided to switch hotels and stay at the Hotel Monteleone to have a true New Orleans experience for the night.  We got the car from one block away and drove it four blocks (thanks, one-way streets) to the hotel where we unpacked and relaxed for a few hours.  Feeling ashamed that we hadn’t really done much since lunch, we got ready and waited to hear from Nicole about dinner/drinks.  Since she is a good student, she told us that she could only meet us for one drink and that we’d have to be on our own for dinner, so I wanted to make that drink count.  When I was in New Orleans last, I really wanted to go to the bar at the Monteleone because it looked classy and very retro.  So we went downstairs to the Carousel Bar to check it out.  Aside from a rude bartender and a disagreement over what constitutes a Bellini, we had a pleasant time at this rotating bar (hence the name).

After bidding adieu to Nicole once more, we made the very short walk to Deanie’s, a popular seafood place, in search of some po’boys.   Joellen ordered the crawfish tail po’boy and I ordered the soft-shell crab po’boy.  While we waited, we were served boiled potatoes with Old Bay and butter…I could get used to that.  The service was quick and before I knew it, I was face first in to a Louisiana classic.  And it was just ok.  I think I had just been so excited about the chance of having boiled blue crabs or crawfish that anything else was destined to be a bit of a let-down.  They weren’t served with remoulade sauce, but we asked for some and that really amped up the flavor.  In the end, I’m glad that we made it to Deanie’s (it was another place that I had wanted to go to for a while), and I really did enjoy my sandwich, but next time we come to New Orleans, I think I’m going to need buckets upon buckets of boiled crustaceans to make up for this trip.  Feeling full and satisfied with our trip to the Big Easy, we made the short walk back to the hotel and promptly collapsed in to bed, thoroughly excited about the 12pm check out time the following morning.

❤ Amy