Seen Around Town

Mudbag Madness 2008

Shreveport celebrated 25 years of its Mudbug Madness Festival this weekend, and Matthew and I made our first annual trip. The festival is essentially a tribute to crawfish and Cajun culture.

There was great food and music and even better people watching. In the words of Matthew: "Never before has there been such an assembly of chain-smokers and tramp stamps." That being said, we had a blast.
We both tried our first boiled crawfish, and I can guarantee we won't get fat eating them. Not because they aren't delish, but because we're too lazy to peel them. It was obvious we were crawfish greenhorns, and a woman nearby asked if she could show us how to eat them (she's wearing the pink shirt in the background behind Matthew in the pictures). Hardly a mouthful of meat is in the tail. You can suck the head to get the juices. I tried once, but probably won't again. We were advised not to eat the ones with straight tails. Only eat the crawfish with curled tails.

We really enjoyed listening to the music of Wayne Toups and the Zydecajun and watching all the dancers, especially the man in the photo wearing the rainbow suspenders. Matthew was amazed by his half-boot/half-tennis shoe footwear so we tried to get a photo.
Can't wait til next year's Madness. Start making your travel plans now.

No, really. I'm working...

Just got back from my work trip to Charleston (scheduled for Southern Accents March/April 09). I had the best time, and I hope Lauren, the photographer, and her assistant, Jay, had a great time too. I know we certainly enjoyed eating.

I stayed at the Mills House Hotel on Meeting Street, which is within easy walking distance to pretty much everything. Highlights of the trip include: having an amazing dinner at Charleston Grill; meeting two James Beard Foundation nominees (Mike Lata, chef at FIG, and Robert Stehling, chef at Hominy Grill); getting a private tour of the Nathaniel Russell House; taking pictures of the Charleston skyline from an exclusive perch on the roof of the Mills House Hotel.

Where did I eat? 82 Queen, Hominy Grill (TWICE for breakfast), Charleston Grill, Circa 1886, Slightly North of Broad, Magnolia's, The Wreck of Richard and Charlene, and Sugar (a new bakery). We had the best service and overall meal at Charleston Grill. The best shrimp and grits were at Magnolia's; best breakfast at Hominy; and best dessert was the key lime pie at The Wreck (though we certainly tasted many worthy competitors).

I didn't do any shopping, but we did photograph a great clothing store on King called Hampden. Adorable dresses, but they were, unfortunately, out of my current price range. Another cool spot was the studio of milliner Leigh Magar. She's known all over for her hats and just got back from having a show in Kentucky for the Derby.

I just love Charleston!

Another one bites the dust!

This weekend Trisha Stephenson, my best friend from Colbert Elementary School, got married to Ryan Nickerson of Salem, Alabama. Unfortunately, he's a Crimson Tide fan, but I'm trying not to hold that against him. (Everyone can't have as perfect a husband as I do.) Saturday's weather was perfect for a spring wedding, and Trisha was a lovely bride. There was a brief tense moment as the pianist played "The Wedding March" numerous times and we awaited the bride's arrival. Trisha lost track of time talking and was late coming around, but she finally made it...to Ryan's relief. I do believe a "Hot Sauce and Biscuits" high-five kicked off the reception. But I messed up the video of it. Here are some pictures from the day.

Look, up in the sky!

Matthew loves the Blue Angels (even more than he loves Superior Grill). In Florida, we had the chance to see them fly, and this weekend they are coming to an air show at Barksdale Air Force Base, right down the street from us. Matthew knew they'd be practicing ahead of time, and he was right. Today, we timed an afternoon outing to run errands so we could search the skies for the F/A-18 Hornets (yes, I had to look that up). We wound up driving all over Bossier in search of the best place to watch them, ending up at one of the parks by the Red River. Here are some pics from the afternoon:

As I was writing this, we could hear them back flying again. We can see them fairly well from outside of the house, but Matthew's heading back out in the car for a better vantage point!

Gimme a break!

So I'm making travel plans for my Southern Accents story on Charleston and am renting a car. I checked a couple of car rental companies, and Enterprise had the cheapest rate. Isn't it nice of them to also offer me the chance to buy carbon offsets?

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is pleased to offer you the opportunity to benefit the environment by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions generated by a rental vehicle.
For just $1.25 you can offset emissions produced by the average rental. The money will go to TerraPass to fund certified offset projects that work to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Yeah, I didn't buy them!