Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez...

...and I'll be rolling right along with them, I ate so much this past weekend. Ugh! Can we please call a halt to the skinny jeans trend and skip straight to the I-ate-my-way-through-vacation-jeans trend?
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It appears that it is nearly impossible to have a bad meal in New Orleans. I say *nearly* only because, hypothetically speaking, if one is so intent on getting to Saks Fifth Avenue that one passess all the cute bistros on a five mile road and doesn't discover one is starving until one is actually in Saks, one might be forced to eat at "Cafe Sbarro." Hypothetically speaking, of course.
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I forgot my camera. I could just absolutely kick myself for this, because the architecure and details of New Orleans are truly a feast for the eyes.
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Here are some food lessons learned in New Orleans:
1) Everything is better with butter and garlic.
2) A perfect meal just might be lamb meatballs served with an eggplant and tomato sauce, topped with fresh provolone and arugula.
3) Or it might be the world's most perfectly prepared scallops.
4) Or red wine and crawfish risotto.
5) Or crawfish crepes (OMG. So frickin' good).
6) Or just about anything there.
7) Except Sbarro.

Tastes Like Chicken

We are home safe and sound...how does a week of vacation fly by so fast?

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A few more Charleston notes before we turn back to regular business of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you are looking for the best fried shrimp in the Low Country (and let's be clear, I know fried shrimp), you MUST eat at Joseph's, on Meeting Street. And the best people watching + fabulous food has got to be Sermet's, on King Street. Oh, such a happy tummy I had all last week.

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Now, back to business. I have made a wonderful discovery in the Dinner-In-Less-Than-20-Minutes-Department. Our grocery store (Publix) sells pre-made and seasoned chicken burger patties (in the organic meat section). These are fabulous. All you have to do is grill them up and make a veggie to go with them. All of us love them. Keep an eye out for them, and pick them up if your grocery store has them.

Been There, Eaten That

We continue to eat our way through Charleston, visiting old favorites and not yet being dazzled by all the pretty new places to eat. Thankfully, this is Charleston, and things don't change too quickly around here.

It has been so long since we were here just for true vacation, and not a wedding, holiday, fund raiser, or other food-is-already-built-in-event, that in some cases it has been over five years since we have called on these old friends. Let me tell you, just between you and me, some of them are showing their age. It's always been my practice not to say anything negative about a restaurant on this blog. I try to keep the attention on the ones that are doing it right, and ignore the rest in the hopes they will just go away. So I'm not naming names...but really...haven't we learned that bread should be warm, and butter at least should not be ice cold? And that coffee ordered with dessert should be served with dessert, not 15 minutes later?
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Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, and I have a special treat for my boys. When you are a Mean Mom like I am and force your children to have hot cooked breakfast every morning, like oatmeal, French toast, and peanut butter pancakes, it's pretty easy to make their day special with a little sugar. They'll be surprised tomorrow.

A Little Vacay

I always have such grand plans of cooking big elaborate meals whenever we are on vacation, figuring I'll have so much more time on my hands. I do things like bring my cooking magazines (3 of them, this trip), or my new cookbooks (only 1 this time), thinking I'll have all afternoon to flip through them, run to Whole Foods, and cook to my heart's content.

Whatever.

Our days are definitely more fun, but no less busy (or exhausting!). After a day packed of tennis lessons, pool, beach, and playgrounds, the last thing I want to do is cook. Not to mention DH (who, let's be honest, is the one really in the trenches when it comes to pool and beach play) has no intention of spending his vacation evenings doing the dishes.

So, in 2 short days, we have already managed to hit many of our Charleston favorites:

1) The world's best BBQ, according to DH, and the cheeseburgers are amazing (I should know. I make it my personal mission to find amazing cheeseburgers.)

2) Our absolute favorite butcher shop, with fabulous meat and prepared foods (I stock a whole cooler with chicken parmesan, ravioli, and meatballs to take home with us).

and

3) Our favorite place for seafood.

If you are ever visiting Charleston (or the surrounding area) and have the chance to hit any of these places, don't pass them up.

Delay, Delay, Delay, Part II

For the third time in a row, our departure on vacation has been delayed. In August we got pushed back on the way to Bermuda by a tropical storm. Last month we had to wait for the stomach virus to run its course before heading to Orlando. And now our spring break trip to Charleston ran up against a case of flu in our youngest. We are doomed!!

Nonetheless, we are here now, coffeemaker and all. (And what a total and complete treat to have my coffee maker with me, instead of having to make the usual trek across the street to get bitter and lukewarm $2.00 coffee)

More food posts from me tomorrow, for now I'm off for a second cup of happiness.