Food: Firstly, Mrs. Faust is an amazing cook. You could definitely tell that she grew up in New Orleans. Enough said.
Seafood Gumbo... with unshelled crab in the mix. Julie was trying to de-shell the legs with a fork and knife, I dug in with my hands, making a mess, and Carla just looked at it for a while before Dr. Faust brought out the scissors and showed us the most efficient way of getting the little bit of meat in the legs.
We went to the famous Cafe Du Monde in the french quarter and had some beignets which are french donuts covered with cups of powdered sugar. They were amazing but the most interesting part of the Cafe Du Monde experience was that in the middle of the day all of the workers were older Asian women. The three of us didn't recall seeing many, if any, Asian people in the area thus far. We went back at night and the workers were all high school aged kids.
Crab Cakes... not the frozen patties that you simply heat up. This was fresh crab from the bayou fried to perfection. Carla had one for breakfast which for her is definitely not unusual.
Snow Balls: Snowballs are a New Orleans favorite. A snowball is the same concept as a snow cone but significantly different. Alex took us to a place that he and his brothers would visit everyday growing up. There is even a picture of the three of them in the small shop. Hanson's, a snowball place that has been serving New Orleans for 72 years, is in a small building, with a counter big enough maybe to serve two people at a time, and it always has a line extending out the door. They created a machine that shreds huge ice blocks into thin flakes. These flakes are a different consistency than you would find in a snow cone, much softer. They top the ice flakes with many layers of their homemade sugar liquid toppings. The current owner's grandparents started the business in the same building it is in now. The line is always out the door because each snowball is made with great care. A layer of ice, a dousing in sugary goodness, a layer of ice, more sugar, one more layer of ice, and a final topping of sugar larger than the previous two. I would wait in the heat for that any day.
Crawfish Aufait over rice... I think Carla had 3 helpings.
For one lunch we went to Gator-Me-Crazy for some alligator on a stick! Because we went on the airboat adventure we were given free samples of gator. It was a chewy and fishier version of chicken. Pretty good. Apparently there is a higher demand for alligator meat ever since the history channel started airing "Swamp People."
On our last night we had Po-Boys. Alex had left for England this morning so for dinner his parents took us out to eat at a hole in the wall Po-Boy place. I had a roast beef po-boy, smothered in gravy. There was really no dignified way to eat it so I made a mess which I didn't mind. I always like it when not only being messy is acceptable but it is actually expected. Julie and Carla had a fried shrimp po-boy. We were stuffed!!!
I think Carla had stomach cramps every meal. No, not because of the Cajun spices or the seafood in everything. She was sick simply from eating way way way too much. It was that good.
-Rachel
P.S. Pictures will be coming soon... there are technical difficulties. Who knew that a 4 year old computer is too old to do things now?
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