More about food

Galveston and New Orleans

After the boat trip in the Galveston harbor, we ate lunch right near the waterfront at Willie G’s. We sat outside with the dogs. I had fried shrimp and fried oysters. I used to love eating raw oysters but after a guy in St. Louis died from eating some raw oysters brought back from the Gulf, I have decided I liked them fried. The shrimp was really special too. My wife had the seafood pasta. We liked the place so much that we went back for a second time after our Mardi Gras parade.

In New Orleans, we opted to go to the Morning Call Coffee Stand in City Park rather than Cafe DuMonde for our classic beignet breakfast. Funny story, when we sat down outside, the older gentleman waiter came out and said (in a thick Cajun accent) you want cafe au lait and beignets. It was more of a statement than a question. He brought us each a coffee and one plate of 3 beignets. He clearly thought we should share them. They serve chicory coffee and only take cash. They were originally established in 1870 in the French Quarter but have since moved to Canal and City Park which happened to be quite close to our rental.

Our splurge dinner was at Cochon in the Warehouse District. The chef, Donald Link is a James Beard Award winner. Cochon means pig in French, and they focus on traditional Cajun dishes and local sourced pork. But their special that day was pan fried drum and I wasn’t ready to stop eating fresh seafood. My wife had the smoked braised brisket, and we both loved the fried alligator appetizer. The place felt very trendy. Sadly, neither of us had the pork. Hope there is a next time. The food was special.

For our last New Orleans meal, we chose Lost Coyote in the Treme neighborhood. Apparently when the new owner bought the property, it came with a goat named Rosita. After we ate, we were given some lettuce to feed her. The place also came with a pool and they sell day passes. The food we ate was extraordinary. One reason for picking it was because of the exceptionally high ratings given by reviewers. The ratings are well deserved. Our dessert was a sweet potato beignet. One order came with four and we split it, so we upped our intake from the one and half we got for breakfast.

Earlier, we had also eaten at Liuzza’s, a dog friendly place that was very near our rental. Their specialty was classic New Orleans food.

The red beans and rice were amazing!

They also have fantastic happy hour prices, so we went back for that. We each had a well-crafted Old Fashioned for $5 and split an order of bread pudding.

One more great meal was at Wakin Bakin in the French Quarter. If and hopefully when we return, I would choose to go back to every one of these restaurants. We picked well.

One more memorable snack for me was at the Graceland Guesthouse. Every evening, you can go pick up your complimentary peanut butter sandwich with really good hot chocolate. Since my wife despises peanut butter, it was all up to me to have the quintessential Elvis experience.