Beignets, Bloody Marys, and Debris

What happens when you eat out-of-this-world, southern food every day and don't get any exercise because you left your Border Collie at home?

There will be no photos of me for the rest of this trip. I'm just sayin'.

After "The Best BBQ in Texas" at the Shell gas station on the Waller County Line,

our extravagant breakfasts at our B&B in Lafayette (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RPhdy40c22g), dinner at local authentic Cajun restaurants (that's grilled alligator),

drive-thru cocktails (yes!),

and a couple of days in New Orleans, where every drink has a "to go" option, I admit I'm finding my trousers a wee bit on the tight side. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Last night, we recreated one of our favorite New Orleans pastimes -- sitting in rickety, mismatched chairs on the sidewalk outside Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, sampling the local beers, and waving to all the tourists who clopped by in their mule-drawn carriages... I'm sure we'll make it onto a postcard someday.
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Now, last time we were here, we discovered the Best Burgers in the World. And I'm not sayin' that just because we'd had a few beers. The Clover Grill cheeseburger is The Single Most Awesome Cheeseburger I Have Ever Had, Made More Awesome By The Surroundings:

  

This morning, our requisite visit to Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait:


Then, after wandering around in the 100% humidity for a while, we sought refuge in Mother's (a tradition since 1938 - "World's Best Baked Ham"); I sampled the red beans & rice with collard greens--awesome!--while Ben opted for the 2/3-size "debris" po'boy (yes, this is the 2/3 size). "Debris," with the accent on the first syllable, is the scrapings from the bottom of the pot after beef simmers all night long in a garlic, onion, add-secret-ingredients-here mixture:



I have no more to say about debris, other than it was clearly created by the gods themselves, and in Ancient Greece was pronounced "ambrosia."

Taking a couple mimosas to go, we ambled back through the quiet streets of the Quarter (yes, quiet on a Monday afternoon) and spent the afternoon catching up on our blog (btw, there will be more about the Cajun food in Lafayette & Breaux Bridge, but I had to get the New Orleans stuff out!).

And now, Ben tells me we're off to get fried chicken at Fiorella's -- "The Best 'Dive' Fried Chicken in the Quarter." Oy!