Author – Grant
Based In – New Orleans
Day 111’s Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157614423229020/
The gods of Mardi Gras spared us from a proposed 30 mile bike ride on Day 111 by smiting Kate’s foot overnight. Whilst this means that it pains her to walk, it has saved me from an embarrassing two-wheeled death from liver and kidney failure somewhere between Mandeville and Slidell so, you know, every cloud…
Without a parade until early evening, this left us with a rare day with no commitments and, more importantly, no requirement to drink ourselves to death. Given this rare opportunity, it seemed a shame to squander it doing something mind-numbing like watching TV…so we went to the movies instead which is totally different and much more cultural, kind of. Given the recent accolades (8 Oscars, screw you Brad!) and being fiercely British, we chose to see Slumdog Millionaire which, in my humble opinion, is well worth the hype. Despite the fact that it is, at heart, a love story, it is so much more and I haven’t been blown away by a film for quite some time.
Lunch saw the resumption of the Great American Chain Restaurant Experiment with a visit to Olive Garden, an Italian restaurant that claims dishes inspired by their Tuscan based chefs. I have been a bit obsessed with the thought of going to Olive Garden since arriving in America two years ago as I see it as the US equivalent of Harvester’s, a British institution that I love, so today was a big day for me. Kate, on the other hand, has always dismissed the place as looking like crap. As always, Kate was right as the meal was
pretty rubbish but it filled a hole and cost not much more than a couple of Happy Meals so I’m not moaning. Kate ordered a Shrimp Arabiatta Penne and I got a Classic Lasagna, both of which came with their famous unlimited salad and breadsticks. The salad would have been decent enough had it not come pre-dressed with the usual half pint of vinaigrette and both of the mains were just OK but, like I say, at less than $10 each it’s very fair value and it’s no surprise that the place was fairly full on a Monday lunch.
Based In – New Orleans
Day 111’s Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157614423229020/
The gods of Mardi Gras spared us from a proposed 30 mile bike ride on Day 111 by smiting Kate’s foot overnight. Whilst this means that it pains her to walk, it has saved me from an embarrassing two-wheeled death from liver and kidney failure somewhere between Mandeville and Slidell so, you know, every cloud…
Without a parade until early evening, this left us with a rare day with no commitments and, more importantly, no requirement to drink ourselves to death. Given this rare opportunity, it seemed a shame to squander it doing something mind-numbing like watching TV…so we went to the movies instead which is totally different and much more cultural, kind of. Given the recent accolades (8 Oscars, screw you Brad!) and being fiercely British, we chose to see Slumdog Millionaire which, in my humble opinion, is well worth the hype. Despite the fact that it is, at heart, a love story, it is so much more and I haven’t been blown away by a film for quite some time.
Lunch saw the resumption of the Great American Chain Restaurant Experiment with a visit to Olive Garden, an Italian restaurant that claims dishes inspired by their Tuscan based chefs. I have been a bit obsessed with the thought of going to Olive Garden since arriving in America two years ago as I see it as the US equivalent of Harvester’s, a British institution that I love, so today was a big day for me. Kate, on the other hand, has always dismissed the place as looking like crap. As always, Kate was right as the meal was
pretty rubbish but it filled a hole and cost not much more than a couple of Happy Meals so I’m not moaning. Kate ordered a Shrimp Arabiatta Penne and I got a Classic Lasagna, both of which came with their famous unlimited salad and breadsticks. The salad would have been decent enough had it not come pre-dressed with the usual half pint of vinaigrette and both of the mains were just OK but, like I say, at less than $10 each it’s very fair value and it’s no surprise that the place was fairly full on a Monday lunch. We’ve still got the kitchen and I’ve not cooked for a while so, inspired by a recent magazine purchase, I decided to do a rede
mption chili after the chili disaster a month ago. The magazine was the best recipes from a year’s worth of America’s Test Kitchen, a 2,500 square foot kitchen based in Boston that tests and refines recipes with no predefined theory or technique assumptions. As such, they question every step and the result is a real understanding of why cooking techniques and ingredients do what they do. It’s fascinating stuff (well, I think so) and their chili recipe had me licking the page so I happily began the 2 ½ hour process. Furthermore, picking such a time-consuming recipe enabled me to sack off any notions of going for a run. Our next stop it Texas which is the chili capital of the world but I think this smoky little number would stand up fairly well against their output…but I guess I’ll have a better idea of that in a week’s time. All I know is that I was shamelessly licking the plate and that the extras in the pan that was supposed to be a future lunch didn’t have chance to stop steaming before they were in my belly.Faced with the c
hoice of a trip downtown to catch some of the Lundi Gras parades or to catch a local one, we wimped out and chose the Metairie based parade. Whilst it was pretty uneventful and rubbish, it did mean that we were all tucked up well before midnight which was a very good thing given that the following day’s parades (and hence the drinking) starts at 8am. In a city renowned for partying, tomorrow is the biggest party day of the year. Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez…
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