Louisiana Road Trip

Just before Christmas, my husband and I took a road trip to Louisiana to visit family.  It was also a chance for him to gamble, and for me to eat some really good food.  Our first stop: Breaux Bridge, "The Crawfish Capitol of the World."  And I LOVE crawfish. 

The first time I tried crawfish was at a fraternity party in college.  Oh yes, nothing like pounds of spicy, boiled crawfish poured over plastic-covered tables and plenty of beer to wash it down.  While most other college girls would never be caught sucking the heads of these greasy little crustaceans at a party, I stayed by the table for hours.  Each crawfish is a mini challenge: how quickly can you break apart the shell and keep the tiny tail meat all in one piece?  I'm getting pretty good at it.  So back to the crawfish capitol, we stopped and ordered three pounds, plus a side of boudin.

Next stop: New Orleans.  Where does a foodie even begin in this city?  There are far too many options for our less than 48-hour stay.  Still full from the crawfish, we decided to just have appetizers at John Besh's Italian restaurant, Domenica.  It's located in the historic Roosevelt Hotel, which is absolutely beautiful at Christmas time.  I ordered the truffle risotto and it was amazing!  Give me anything with cheese and I am a happy woman.  Add truffles and I am in my own culinary heaven.

Another highlight from the trip includes the gulf oysters we ate at another John Besh restaurant, Luke.  They're 50 cents each during happy hour!  And by the way, the matzo ball soup there is amazing!  Of course these couple dishes don't even scratch the surface of the great food New Orleans has to offer.  That just means I'll have to go back again and again to get the full experience.