We’re here to eat

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Keith, Benjamin, Alexander, and I enjoy the flavors of New Orleans, so we planned a trip together just to eat. The fact that it is forecast to be in the high 90s the whole time we are here won’t be a problem. We are going to hang out together in our hotel suite, then eat, then hang out, then eat, then hang out. Solid plan!

Keith and I got upgraded to comfort. I put Benjin in my seat so he would have extra legroom. He is the one with the most leg. The children were not happy I was separating them on the plane. I had to rock/paper/scissors to get to have my choice. Benjin was happy with a little extra wiggle room. Alexander and I sent our “we’re going on a plane” picture to Keith, and he had already sent his with Benjamin. Look at the lady behind me. How great is that? I wish I could send her a copy.

At least it is a short ride, so they were reunited after not too long.

We saw this statue and Alexander said, “Look. They spelled Louis Armstrong’s face wrong.” He makes me laugh.

We arrived in time to hang out a bit in our room.

We went to Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner. I had an appetizer as my meal – bacon wrapped shrimp. It was shrimp wrapped in black pepper and maple bacon, topped with caramelized onions and tiger sauce. I went with something unusual and was not disappointed. I could taste both the pepper and the maple along with the bacon. The onions were a little grey looking, but their taste was perfect. I don’t know what tiger sauce is, but there was something tasty in the mix. I wasn’t that hungry because of plane snacking, but I could have eaten more – only because it was so good.

Alexander was torn with ordering something “interesting” and what he had a taste for. He went for the sure-to-please – fried catfish. He commented that he can get catfish at home, but it is just so much better here. He had a mountain of fish; he ate a mountain of fish. He enjoyed it best when he dipped it in either of the sauces on Keith or Benjamin’s plates.

Keith and Benjamin shared their meals. They had linguini tossed with shrimp in a cream NOLA style BBQ sauce (creamy) with Romano cheese. They both enjoyed, but Keith loved it. Benjamin preferred the crawfish smothered in a buttery blend of onions, peppers, celery, and garlic to make a delicious etouffee that was poured over blackened redfish.

I did a wild and crazy and never-done-before-by-me thing for dessert. I ordered it! Our server told us what they had and I just busted out with I will have the coconut cream bread pudding without waiting for anyone else’s input. What? I think Keith’s mouth actually fell open. I made the right choice. It was AMAZING. The sauce was to die for. I don’t even know what it was. Sweet. Creamy. Delicious. The bread pudding had a wonderful chew because of the coconut. I shared with everyone, because I am just that nice. It should come in an 8×8 pan. That would probably be enough.

We went walking in the French Quarter, looking for the store that has the Voodoo shirt we all like. Every trip we get it for Alexander in another color. We saw a variety of fun things along the way.

A band

Sparkly hats

Voodoo dolls

I saw a big painting of a dog playing the drums in a window. The next window had lots of dog paintings. Alexander said, “He has careers. Like Barbie.” He makes me laugh.