Monday, January 23, 2023
Keith was working today and his meetings kept getting postponed from late morning to noon and on, so we decided to zip to the corner for fried chicken for a quick take-out lunch. We both ended up with tenders, because they looked good and meaty. And they were good and meaty. We had a tendering – a taste-off of chicken tenders for Alexander’s birthday a couple years ago, and we both agreed these tenders would have done well in the competition. I was craving fries (and got steak fries with cajun seasoning – a bit spicy and delicious) and Keith got cajun rice, which did not disappoint.
After lunch, the sun was shining and it was 60 degrees, so I headed out to see the Garden District. I talked to my sister, Nancy, on the phone while I walked 6 miles. She was navigating from the satellite view on maps telling me which way to go to see historic houses. I enjoyed the big and the decorated and especially the one for sale that I am going to buy (for only $2.7M).
For dinner, we walked down St. Charles Street to Lula Restaurant and Distillery. I guess most (maybe all, except us) come to drink as well as eat, because when we told our waitress we were happy with just water, she seemed legitimately confused as to what she should do next. She asked if we wanted an appetizer. Nope. She just stood there for a little too long, and finally asked if we were ready to order. We were, having studied the menu before deciding to go there. When she dropped off our meals, she said, “I hope you can enjoy these meals.” I hoped so, too, but thought it was a really odd thing to say. When she brought Keith back his credit card she said, “I guess maybe I hope you will come back.” Maybe it was her first day. The hostess also said odd things. It was fun.
I had slow braised baby back ribs, blackberry ginger glaze, grilled sweet corn on the cob and creole slaw. I was seriously considering ordering a dinner salad, because the creole slaw with horseradish vinaigrette with flank steak sounded really good. The creole slaw was plentiful on my plate and I really liked it. I decided that all salads I make should have shredded-ness. I loved when everything is little so you can get a good mix of everything in every bite. There were little sweet pecans in it for extra crunch and sugary goodness. I concentrated on the sauce on the ribs while I was eating it, but could not discern any ginger flavor, nor actually taste blackberries. It was tasty and sweet, but I would not have minded a little zip in there somewhere. No part of blackberry made me expect anything but sweet, so I wasn’t really expecting zip. The meat was fall off the bone done. Nice. The corn was cold, but tasted good. I cannot ever remember being served corn on the cob in a restaurant that was not cold. I tasted it first, just in case it had heat and might be cooling. Nope. Just cold.
Keith order crawfish macaroni and cheese. He got an Iberville salad that he wasn’t expecting and shared some with me. Shredded! Yay! Mixed greens, cheddar cheese, pecans, and smoked poblano ranch dressing. It was supposed to have grape tomatoes, and no one mentioned that they were missing. Let’s see what he has to say about the meal: [Keith here…] I love macaroni and cheese. It might be my favorite food and it comes in so many varieties. This one did not disappoint at all. They used the right noodles (cavatappi), the right cheeses (cheddar and parmesan), and the right extras (tasso and crawfish). It was gooey and cheesy awesomeness. Like many M&Cs, it was pretty heavy, but that’s a good thing. When it arrived, I thought it was a bit small, but halfway through I wondered if I’d finish it off. I did, but barely.
After eating three of my ribs and all of his M&C, Keith was too full for dessert. Weird. That just doesn’t happen. I wasn’t super full. That just doesn’t happen. We came home and watched TV and I ate up all the candy from Walgreens. My life is just so great!!!
Oh, there was a possum, and a house that I could re-do, and a cemetery, and flowery trees and a great sunset, too.
OH! And lots of terrible sidewalks that would be realllllly hard to shovel snow off.
I used Zillow to check out your new house on Washington. Beautiful and the price has dropped to 2.25 million. That may be a sign to call a realtor for a better look. It would be a lovely birthday gift.
Terrific news! It does seem a fitting present for a milestone birthday 🎁
IT HAS A POOL! I just found that out.
You did indeed make me feel WAY better about the snow shoveling today. Those sidewalks are…. amazing…???? Got to plan a plan to New Orleans wherein the sole activities are: eating, walking, listening to music, walking, looking at houses, walking.
I feel the walking is a key part of the eating. A nice side effect might be that less of the weight will stick with you, but primarily you have to be doing something in order to get hungry enough to eat again during the same day. When you are planning, you might want to consider switching hotels during your stay – French Quarter for a few days, then Garden for a few days – although you can just take the street car….