On my last day in Pittsburgh, I took a quick trip to Phipps Conservatory to see their new orchid show. The tropical climate inside the green houses gave me a glimpse of what I was heading to in New Orleans. Unfortunately, winter's reality hit me pretty quick when I stepped back outside!
Leaving Pittsburgh in the middle of winter is a bit trickier than you might think (especially after a few snow storms). I decided to leave from our ski cabin at Hidden Valley because it's about 1.5 hours closer to North Carolina. That week, 8 inches of snow had fallen. Undeterred by this fact, I tried to drive my tiny Elantra right into our snow-covered driveway and ended up getting stuck! I had to dig myself out, park haphazardly on the street, and wait for my Dad to arrive and fire up the heavy duty snowblower. Yikes! Not the best start to my second epic journey down south...
Eventually, I finished packing my car and was able to maneuver around most of the black ice on our street (and across most of southwestern Pennsylvania). After taking a really scenic drive through West Virginia (wish I had stopped at the New River Gorge!), I finally made it to Greensboro, NC for the Atlantic World Foodways Conference. The conference was excellent! The most prominent food scholars from across the country were in attendance and many of them were kind enough to attend my panel and paper presentation.
One evening during the conference, I drove all the way to Durham to see my good friend Meggan perform with her jazz band. She sang a food-related song just for me!
During the conference, I attended a fabulous Carolina lowcountry tasting dinner at the swanky Proximity Hotel in downtown Greensboro. Chef Sean Brock prepared an amazing black eyed pea dish (that was really peanut-y) as well as a to-die-for satsuma drenched, flourless chocolate cake. Yum! I was able to sit next to my long-time mentors Marcie Cohen Ferris and Bill Ferris. That night, Jessica Harris gave a fabulous talk on the contributions of West African cultures to lowcountry cuisine - I was geeking out!
After the conference, I headed to Atlanta to see my wonderful godfather Bryan, his wife Karen, and their two adorable daughters, Maggie and Lucy. Over the past year, Bryan and his brother (my cousin) David have been experimenting with aging beef. When I visited Bryan, he was kind enough to make a fabulous fajita spread that featured the complex flavor of the beef they had just finished aging. The fajitas were so wonderful - the meat was cooked perfectly and it had this je ne sais quoi flavor that was over-the-top! Yum!
Between Atlanta and New Orleans, I had this awesome plan to return to that amazing BBQ place in Greenville, Alabama. When I got off the exit, my little BBQ pit was closed! I had to go to my plan B - Bates Turkey restaurant. Well, if you can't have BBQ, you can have roasted turkey!
Evidence! My BBQ place was closed...!:
What I found in its place:
After hitting up Bates (a decent plate lunch), I made my way toward Mobile, AL. Needing an energy kick, I headed to that great coffee place I found on my first trip down to New Orleans: Serda's. I wish I hadn't given up coffee - then I could have enjoyed a nice cup of joe instead of an early grey tea!
Two hours after leaving Mobile, I took the beautiful drive over lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans just before sunset. Once again, twilight cast the entire lake in gold. Off in the distance, at the very edge of the lake, New Orleans shimmered -- a topaz city!
Eventually, I made it "home" - back to my little pool cottage.
That night, Joe and Joy (my landlords), took me to Parkway Bakery for a po'boy. Parkway was the very first place where I had a po'boy all those moons ago in 2009. I was in New Orleans for my internship at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum - I headed to Parkway with a few of my Yale friends. I had THE BEST po'boy there - roast beef with gravy, dressed (e.g. with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise). Oddly enough, I hadn't been back to the place until Joe and Joy took me (it's a bit off the beaten path). Obviously, I ordered another roast beef po'boy. It was SO meaty. Yum.
Once I got home, I treated myself to a seasonal Abita beer: Mardi Gras Bock. Only then did I feel like I had finally made back to the Big Easy.
Leaving Pittsburgh in the middle of winter is a bit trickier than you might think (especially after a few snow storms). I decided to leave from our ski cabin at Hidden Valley because it's about 1.5 hours closer to North Carolina. That week, 8 inches of snow had fallen. Undeterred by this fact, I tried to drive my tiny Elantra right into our snow-covered driveway and ended up getting stuck! I had to dig myself out, park haphazardly on the street, and wait for my Dad to arrive and fire up the heavy duty snowblower. Yikes! Not the best start to my second epic journey down south...
Eventually, I finished packing my car and was able to maneuver around most of the black ice on our street (and across most of southwestern Pennsylvania). After taking a really scenic drive through West Virginia (wish I had stopped at the New River Gorge!), I finally made it to Greensboro, NC for the Atlantic World Foodways Conference. The conference was excellent! The most prominent food scholars from across the country were in attendance and many of them were kind enough to attend my panel and paper presentation.
One evening during the conference, I drove all the way to Durham to see my good friend Meggan perform with her jazz band. She sang a food-related song just for me!
During the conference, I attended a fabulous Carolina lowcountry tasting dinner at the swanky Proximity Hotel in downtown Greensboro. Chef Sean Brock prepared an amazing black eyed pea dish (that was really peanut-y) as well as a to-die-for satsuma drenched, flourless chocolate cake. Yum! I was able to sit next to my long-time mentors Marcie Cohen Ferris and Bill Ferris. That night, Jessica Harris gave a fabulous talk on the contributions of West African cultures to lowcountry cuisine - I was geeking out!
After the conference, I headed to Atlanta to see my wonderful godfather Bryan, his wife Karen, and their two adorable daughters, Maggie and Lucy. Over the past year, Bryan and his brother (my cousin) David have been experimenting with aging beef. When I visited Bryan, he was kind enough to make a fabulous fajita spread that featured the complex flavor of the beef they had just finished aging. The fajitas were so wonderful - the meat was cooked perfectly and it had this je ne sais quoi flavor that was over-the-top! Yum!
Between Atlanta and New Orleans, I had this awesome plan to return to that amazing BBQ place in Greenville, Alabama. When I got off the exit, my little BBQ pit was closed! I had to go to my plan B - Bates Turkey restaurant. Well, if you can't have BBQ, you can have roasted turkey!
Evidence! My BBQ place was closed...!:
What I found in its place:
After hitting up Bates (a decent plate lunch), I made my way toward Mobile, AL. Needing an energy kick, I headed to that great coffee place I found on my first trip down to New Orleans: Serda's. I wish I hadn't given up coffee - then I could have enjoyed a nice cup of joe instead of an early grey tea!
Two hours after leaving Mobile, I took the beautiful drive over lake Pontchartrain into New Orleans just before sunset. Once again, twilight cast the entire lake in gold. Off in the distance, at the very edge of the lake, New Orleans shimmered -- a topaz city!
Eventually, I made it "home" - back to my little pool cottage.
That night, Joe and Joy (my landlords), took me to Parkway Bakery for a po'boy. Parkway was the very first place where I had a po'boy all those moons ago in 2009. I was in New Orleans for my internship at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum - I headed to Parkway with a few of my Yale friends. I had THE BEST po'boy there - roast beef with gravy, dressed (e.g. with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise). Oddly enough, I hadn't been back to the place until Joe and Joy took me (it's a bit off the beaten path). Obviously, I ordered another roast beef po'boy. It was SO meaty. Yum.
Once I got home, I treated myself to a seasonal Abita beer: Mardi Gras Bock. Only then did I feel like I had finally made back to the Big Easy.
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