Swamp People Fans Eat Alligator

I just spent a great weekend in New Orleans.  The company was great, atmosphere was great, food was really great (happy birthday Adam!).  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera the first night we went out, but we had a very fun dinner at Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House.  Garrad and I split a few courses:

Crystal Alligator w/ bleu cheese dressing

Trio of Oysters Rockefeller, Oysters Bienville, Oysters Fonseca

Shrimp Creole over Popcorn Rice

Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding w/ Bourbon Sauce

The alligator was by far my favorite.  It was fried, glazed with a sweet and souring tasting sauce, and served with bleu cheese dressing on the side.  The pieces of gator had wonderful spice and just the right amount of chewiness.  The oysters had great flavor, but weren't very hot by the time they reached the table.  We definitely enjoyed the classic shrimp creole and splitting an order of bread pudding with Sirobe.  Also, the wine, whatever it was, was delicious.

On Saturday we went shopping, and ended up in the mall during a rain storm at lunch time.  Luckily, a deli in the food court was serving up po-boys, gumbo, jambalaya and red beans and rice.  I got a shrimp po-boy and a cup of gumbo that had a great amount of seafood in it.

 Saturday night I lobbied for a trip Uptown.  During my last several trips to New Orleans I've spent all of my time in the Quarter, so I was looking forward to getting out into a neighborhood and hanging out with some locals.  We went to Ye Old College Inn and waited at the bar for a table, which is fun when you can talk to people that have been eating and drinking there for decades.  They have preserved the historical charm of this place, but also embraced the contemporary local foods movement.  Showing love to Dr. John, also a plus.

 By the time we got seated we were starving, so several appetizers were rapidly consumed (pulled roasted duck, onion rings, and bbq shrimp).  Dinner was a classic breaded veal cutlet with gravy, veggies, and mashed potatoes.  I know it's ridiculous that I've now so far removed myself from vegetarianism that I can actually eat veal, but what can I say, I'm on my long journey to the middle.

 Garrad did not get enough po-boy at lunch, so he got their very famous fried oyster, havarti, bacon po-boy.  We had really great service and the option to bowl afterwards at their sister operation across the parking lot, Rock & Bowl (though we were too full and feeling too old to go out afterwards).  

 I definitely had no room for dessert, but the crew ate left over nutella cheesecake brownies at the pool back at the hotel. Only two things would have made this weekend better:  if I had seen Harry Potter and if the U.S. team would have won the Women's World Cup!