Weekend In NOLA
What a fabulous town this is! I landed yesterday (Saturday) at cocktail hour and grabbed the first vodka-rocks I could find. After unpacking my materials for this week’s trade show, I dined at Cochon, a cajun restaurant in the Warehouse District. Everything on the menu is fresh, and all the meats are cured in-house. The vibe is upbeat and the interior design has a contemporary, urban feel.
It was a meat fest! I started off with the paneed pork cheeks, garnished with pickled anise and peanuts. The combination sounds bizarre but it was quite delicious; the peanuts were not overpowering. The pork was dreamy, but I would have liked a bit more vinegar flavor to the marinade/sauce. My salad was fresh mushrooms with fried beef jerky, and it had a touch of cilantro tossed with it. A great combination of flavors and texture. Finally, I had the smoked brisket and horseradish potato salad for my main course. That’s a hard dish to fuck up, and this was no exception. Delicious! Cochon definitely gets snaps for the overall dining experience.
The Southern Republican Leadership Council is meeting in New Orleans this week. Sadly (cue the sarcasm), I did not run into Newt Gingrich or Sarah Palin last night. But they got to do their speechy thing! And despite their rockstar celebrity, both of them finished way down in the straw poll, losing to Mitt Romney (who didn’t even show up) and Ron Paul. So the GOP hasn’t changed:
- Obama is a socialist;
- Stimulus spending wrecked our country;
- We need to cut taxes, because that won’t add to the budget deficit;
- We need to bomb Iran, because that will fix the Middle East;
- Homosexuals will prevent God-fearing Christians from breeding;
- Let’s forget about the War Of Northern Aggression and worship the 10th Amendment.
So, it looks like we’re going to have an elevated, intellectual debate about public policy as the midterm elections approach.
On a happier note, I just finished my poached eggs and corned beef hash at Pierre Maspero’s, a favorite breakfast joint. It’s a lovely morning and I’m going to wander the Quarter a bit before I have to setup the trade show. More to come…
