The important part of New Orleans is back...

No, I'm not talking about Bourbon Street (I didn't go to the quarter) because the Quarter never really shut down...

I'm talking about the food!

Fried Shrimp

Gumbo

Bread Pudding

It is all here...

The restaurants are all running "limited menu's" but the classics are here. I'm not sure that the limited menu is a result of limited supplies, or rather that the kitchen's realized they could get away with limiting the amount they had to prepare. Either way, if you are coming down looking for the food you have come to know and love, its here.

We went to Parasol's over on Constance and Third. If you've never had the pleasure of eating in a restaurant where you were afraid to touch the table, you've never had good local food. Its kind of like Memphis BBQ in a way. If you walk in, and there are bars on the window, and the menu is hung on the wall on one of those "letter boards" where you put the letters in yourself, you know you've hit the jackpot.

This morning we went to the Blue Bird Cafe, another gem. We stood outside on the curb for 25 minutes just to get in the door, but it was fantastic once we got a table. I might have been a little over ambitious when I ordered the Corned Beef Hash, but the pancakes were good, and the homefries were exactly what I needed this morning.

All in all, The city is doing well. Its amazing how much better it looks than it did 1 month ago. The trash that was built up at every corner has been cleared. Some of the houses you can see from Robyn's back porch are finally able to remove the blue tarp, and the traffic lights are mostly back in order. I am sure 1 month from now, when I come back for Mardi Gras, it will look even better.

Even the crawfish is back. At Friar Tuck's (a bar around the corner) this Friday, they started back the weekly tradition of having free crawfish on Fridays if you are drinking. Do you need more proof than that?

2 hours until I have to go to the airport, what am I doing wasting time telling you all about New Orleans...

Oh yeah...The Abita flows like water!

Stay Tuned...