Eating: A Tale of Two Chain Restaurants

Recently, for various reasons, we did something we rarely do. We ate at chain restaurants. Now, we are not snobs. I could eat at IHOP anytime anyone suggests it. Cracker Barrel is truly a tradition for us when on the road and that comes from both sides of our families.…

Eating: The English Tea Room

Cristina has been very indulgent of my new tea obsession. She has encouraged me to get the right tools I need and does not say a word when I buy a new tea just randomly. So, when I took her to the English Tea Room in Covington for Valentine’s Day…

Eating: Smitty’s Seafood

Boiled seafood must sound like the most boring bland food in the world to an outsider. Yet, we all know in Louisiana our boiled seafood is everything but boring or bland. Boiled seafood is more than a meal; it’s a celebration. We were celebrating the fact that Cristina’s mom and…

Drinking: Local Brews

Being an ex-smoker, I don’t drink a lot of beer. Some people prefer coffee with their cigarettes; I always preferred beer. And the cheaper the beer usually the more I crave a cigarette. It’s truly the only time I crave one. So I rarely drink. Yet, I do enjoy a…

Drinking: A Tea Education

Coca-Cola and I have come to a point in our relationship that is no longer beneficial to me. I must leave it behind. Water is a fine replacement, but where do I go when I want a pick me up drink? I do not really care for coffee, except expensive…

Eating: La Magazine’s Roast Beef Poboy

From the outside, La Magazine looked like the last place on earth to serve a great roast beef poboy. Well, looks are deceiving. La Magazine made a great roast beef poboy one that would stand up to most poboy shops around New Orleans. This poboy was the first poboy that…

Cooking: Challah French Toast

Challah Bread is a egg bread that is a Jewish bread made for the Sabbath. At least, Wikipedia says so. My wife is not Jewish, and she loves Challah bread any day of the week. Now, I haven’t gotten to working with yeast breads…yet. We buy ours at the supermarket.…

Cooking: Butter Cookies

Michael Pollan, author of the Food Rules, once stated that you should eat anything you cannot be bothered with cooking from scratch. ; His point is that most bad for you foods have quite a bit of hassle in cooking them, so most people will not want to go through…

Cooking: Baked Chicken and Maple Glazed Carrots

Baked chicken is easy.  Baked chicken legs is cheap and easy.  Now, that you have stopped snickering.  Let’s get on with the post. Even though you didn’t ask, I’m going to tell you how I bake chicken legs. I take two tablespoons of smoked paprika.  Don’t settle for the paprika…