Thursday, June 30, 2011

NOLA Meals

I'm sure you're all wondering what I ate in New Orleans (um, yeah), so I shall tell you.  Here is a fantastically detailed list of all the food I consumed.  Don't say I never gave you anything:

Day One:
We arrived at lunchtime, and I had packed PB&J for the family.  I'm smart like that.  Because everything airport related takes way longer than you'd like.  After walking in 7,000 degree heat, we made it to Cafe du Monde and had our beignets.  I'm fascinated by New Orleans and how people can eat outside in the oppressive heat.  That, and so many people there smoke.   And how do people with curly hair survive?  After beignets, we watched a band and a strange balloon man make a giant balloon concoction for Romy.  For dinner, after a long, hot walking and traveling day, we ordered room service.  I had a club sandwich without the bacon.  Which is really a turkey sandwich with extra bread.

Day Two: We stayed at an Embassy Suites, so breakfast was the buffet.  Very handy.  I had oatmeal every day with brown sugar, cinnamon, almond slivers, and raisins.  I cannot for the life of me remember what we had for lunch.  Must not have been very good.  It's driving me a little crazy, not remembering.  Ah well.  For dinner we all met up with my editor, the glorious Liz Szabla, at American Sector, a restaurant inside the World War II Museum.  It was funky, and the food was quite awesome.  I had fish.  For dessert, we ordered four cupcakes and a peppermint patty and split them all.  Then Romy spilled ice water all over her lap, and she did the cutest little water crotch walk to the bathroom.

Day Three: Friday was the day I spoke at the YALSA pre-conference (and I was quite awesome, if I do say so myself.  After I finished, my editor said to me, "We have to get you more public speaking engagements!"  Right on!), and afterwards Liz and I went out for lunch at a place called Luke.  But it had an umlaut over the u.  That part was silly.  The food was not.  Beet salad, people!  And then some chicken and more salad.  So good!  But the best part was getting to hang with Liz.  We haven't spent that much time together in at least three years.  And it completely reminded me of why she is my editor and I am her writer and why it is so easy to work together.  I love you, Liz!  We also stopped by a Pinkberry on the way back to the hotel.  I did something I never do: I ordered a fruit flavor with fruit topping.  I think I was thirsty.  For dinner, we found a pizza and pasta restaurant nearby our hotel.  I had grabbed the takeout menu earlier, so we called an order in and dined on quite tasty pizza and pasta in the hotel room.  Sometimes that's easier with a kid.  And cheaper.  And then we get to watch Spongebob while we eat, something only allowed on vacations.

Day Four: Saturday was conference hall junk for lunch (although the chicken sandwiches weren't bad.  And aside from costing a dollar per strawberry, those were fresh) with our buddy, James Klise.  Romy particularly liked the singing group strolling around the tables.  Later, Ro and I snacked on a cup of the Pinkberry salted caramel with little crunchy chocolate balls (laugh if you must) that they sold from a stand in the convention center.  Late in the afternoon, the whole fam caught a cab to author/illustrator Alex Beard's studio in the French Quarter, where Abrams had a cocktail party.  Romy ate grapes, strawberries, and a cookie while we hung out with Tom Angleberger and blogger Travis Jonker.  Dinner was a slight variation on the pizza takeout from earlier, which was ordered while still in the French Quarter.  I believe we were standing next to a pirate at the time.

Day Five:  Same breakfast, same gross lunch, same Pinkberry.  But dinner?  Awesomesauce.  We walked the five blocks to the St. Charles street car in the sprinkling rain, which is welcome when it's so hot.  But when we got off the street car and had to walk another five blocks, it really started pouring.  Eventually we found an awning.  While we waited it out, we ran into the odd balloon man from our first day at Cafe du Monde!  Dinner was at Juan's Flying Burrito.  SO GOOD.  I had a burrito with potatoes!  And for dessert?  More cupcakes!  And a homemade popsicle! 

Day Six:
Travel day.  Which means really shitty sandwiches at the airport that cost way too much and were made way too slowly. 

I'm so glad we actually got to experience some great meals in New Orleans.  Sometimes we're so busy, or we always take the easy way out and we miss the tasty.  What did everyone else eat?

4 comments:

London said...

OMG I was in in NO last week too! Sorry we didn't figure that out! I ate tons of food. We mostly avoided the French Quarter, having done that on previous trips. Dinners at Jacques-Imos, Restaurant August, and Cochon. Lunch at Central Grocery (mufalettas) and Domalise Po' Boys. Snacks at a Snowball (snowcone) stand on Magazine Street. Passed by Juan's Flying Burrito's b/c we stayed near there (Columns Hotel on St. Charles)!

Julie H said...

You weren't there for ALA, were you?

Unknown said...

Why in the world was I thinking you were a vegetarian?

Julie H said...

I was, Ronni, but mostly I was also just a picky eater. For a long time the only meat I ate was turkey and tuna. Don't ask. But then I had to eat chicken for more protein. Another long story (tied to nursing my daughter). So, I often said I was a vegetarian at events so I wouldn't have to deal with saying no a million times to food I wouldn't eat.