A Delightful West Bank Hole in the Wall: Paris Deli

Like many Gretna establishments, it was unassuming on the outside.

But the sign was new - we had walked that way several times before over the lunch hour, but we had never seen the sign trimmed in red, white, and blue or the lone table crammed against the front of the place.  We literally stumbled upon it.  Naturally, we had to try it.

It turned out to be one of those classic mom-and-pop New Orleans area hole in the wall restaurants.  The menu was limited in the cramped front ordering area with specials listed overhead, but the lone employee proved quite a treasure.

After ordering, we moved into the back dining area - which was replete with nets full of marine creatures.  Giant pufferfish, sand sharks, sizable shells, and even a seaturtle hung dry and browning in nets.  A pulldown backdrop of Polynesian isle palms filled the back wall between two wicker peacock chairs.

Then we heard the older lady up front speaking French.  When she came back to drop off the salads, we learned she was from Tahiti (makes sense, French Polynesia).  We started talking about breadfruit, and she was mystified as to how I knew about breadfruit and Tahiti.  I said Mutiny on the Bounty.  Then we learned that Marlon Brando's wife (I think) was from Tahiti, too.

The place was small and a bit dingy, but very intriguing.  The tableware was low-end, but sufficient.

Then my porkchop arrived in a pile of vegetables.  I was a bit trepidatious about the whole thing, but when I bit into the glazed, spiced piece of meat, I had the same amazed face as one of my companions across the table who had just ventured into the chicken.  It was uncommonly tasty!

Admittedly, another gent at the table found his "tripledecker sandwich" - a substitute for the item he ordered, which was found to be out of stock - less than satisfactory.  And the place seemed to close up as we left.  Or before we did.

But we had a fun time in the strange little nautical nook on Second Street in old Gretna with our charming, laughing host.  And we might have to go back.

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Where I Like to Eat in New Orleans: Breakfast

The Big Easy is famed for its food. However, some of the finest fusion and creole cuisine here is a bit out of the price range of a lowly loan-bound law student. With that - and my rather stifling academic schedule limiting my exposure - in mind, I figure I'll share a few of the places I recommend to friends and family when they're in town. Starting with the first meal of the day...

Breakfast:

+ The Bluebird Cafe - Prytania Street, Uptown
- A classic no-frills diner space with a friendly, interesting staff and a quick wait line outside. The omelets hit the spot, especially when accompanied with black beans and rye toast. You never know who might show up in the seats.

+ Surrey's - Lower Magazine Street
- The wait on weekends can be prohibitive, but the food is scrumptious. The bananas foster pancakes were memorable, and the fresh, relaxing atmosphere feels just right in the morning.

+ Betsy's Pancake House - Upper Canal Street, Mid-City
- The food's alright, but the atmosphere is one of the most intriguing mixing pots in the city. The place has character. With blue walls, crucifixes over the doors, and a range of clientele from churchgoers in their Sunday best to local law enforcement, the place is great for people-watching. Betsy herself will likely serve you, dressed in gold, accompanied by colorful, unscripted calls from the kitchen.

+ Oak Street Cafe - Oak Street, Carrollton
- The food isn't the best around, but the music from regular pianist Charles Farmer makes for a pleasant start to the day nonetheless.

+ The Coffee Pot - St. Peter Street, The Quarter
- While it's in the Quarter, and it's certainly more expensive, the outdoor courtyard seating is picture-perfect - if you hit it early on a weekday morning when it's not overrun by tourists. And even if it is, the staff is gracious and gregarious, and the menu sports some old school hard-to-find entries, like lost bread (done well) and calas. Omelets = delicious.

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Global warming isn't so bad

Farmers in the future it may benefit more as with what happened in southern Switzerland a few decades ago:

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Here's some food for thought...

while I'm contemplating what to make myself for dinner.

A few days ago I saw a story on a new product in Europe: canned cheeseburgers:

I honestly can't figure out how I feel about this: is it the greatest achievement of mankind thus far, or is it an abomination of foodstuffs that deserves to be hucked back into the gaping maw of whatever food processing plant it was spewed from?

Today I saw a story about poor people in Haiti making and eating dirt cookies:

A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered.

If they start canning mud for dirt cookies, would you even bother washing the pan before baking them?

Update: A guy cooked and ate a canned hamburger here

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ASM Grocery Idea Needs to Be Sacked

Today marks the triumphant return of the Mendota Beacon across campus. Running of the paper has moved to new hands and I've moved up to the position of 'village elder.' After running it day-to-day in the spring, moving back to a role of mainly just contributing articles is a welcome relief. As the paper is still getting its internet kinks out, I'll stoop to some shameless self-promotion.

As students return to campus to start class, our student leaders are forming new ideas and goals to attempt to achieve this school year. One idea that's floating around this year is to start up an ASM grocery store.

I agree that for as populated as the University area is, there seems to be a shortage of grocers—take the University with 40,000 students in comparison to my small home town which has five thousand residents and one full grocery store—but I don’t believe ASM should use our money in an attempt to fix the perceived problem.

Students don’t have the same consumer needs as average people living in families. The students in dorms are the least able to easily get to a store, but that’s overlooking the fact that the few thousand people who live in dorms have their food needs served by cafeterias. Food service also takes care of the other typical things they eat—snacks, munchies, and microwavables—with small convenience stores adjacent to the cafeterias.

There is one grocery store by State Street this side of the Capitol. I’ve heard complaints about it, including high prices. However if that store is making such a killing as a monopoly, then the market would have taken care of it already by someone else realizing it and starting up his own store to get a slice of the student money. However, everything from Madison’s anti-business laws to land zoning laws are deterrents holding up the market that wants to serve us as consumers, but that’s a different story.

Even students who live on the outside without cars, have another means of getting somewhere: the bus, for free with their ASM bus passes. Sure, it’s not the most time-efficient or easy way to go, but it beats walking. On the bus maps, they even label where the numerous grocery stores are! People complain about having to spend hours on the bus venturing to the edge of town, overlooking a grocery store just a mile south of campus on Park Street.

A problem for ASM, as it seeks an affirmation of its existence in starting up a student supermarket, is that if it could be done profitably serving the student areas, then a store or two would have opened already. From the start, they’re going to be trying to sail a sinking ship. Not to mention that running a grocery store is more complicated than providing a non-perishable service, since grocers normally buy goods, mark them up a little, and then hope to sell them before they spoil. Luckily for them, ASM gets hundreds of dollars from each of us each semester that could be put toward a failing enterprise.

In recent newspaper articles, I’ve read that some people would like to put the store in the new Union South or in the new University Square building. I, too, last year imagined a grocery store going into the new retail space in University Square, but we students can’t force a business into a private development, something we don’t own. Moreover, our campus is simply too big for a single store to be convenient to a majority of students. People on the east side of campus rarely venture out to Union South as it is, let alone carrying groceries, and visa versa from the western side.

I don’t complain about something without providing a suggestion. My idea is that if they want to start a grocery store, it should be for-profit, or at the least setup as some kind of co-op. To give it as big a market as possible and taking into consideration easy access and rentable places, it should be on or near Regent Street, so students and Madisonians alike would shop there. While not close to the State Street area, numerous buses, even the 85, run along Regent and Park Streets up towards the Capitol. If it doesn’t catch, after a year or so, it’d just close and ASM would be out its check. If it works well, I would hope to see its profits either re-invested or go directly to ASM to help pay down the amount we students need to pay in seg fees.

All in all, a campus grocery store would be convenient for some people, yet all students would bear its cost equally. At present there are other issues ASM could be dealing with, especially as the students’ advocate for city safety.

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Spittin', Bullfrogs, and Gettin' Buddha with It

Trivial things start to stand out on a whirlwind trip. Like cultural norms. Like social customs. Like local cuisine.

As I've moved east, I've noticed an uptick in the frequency, ferocity, and acceptance of spitting in public. In Dubai, the men spit more often than I was used to seeing. In Kathmandu, the most lady-like of women, sitting side-saddle on the back fenders of bicycles with umbrellas in their saris, were spitting right along. Here in China, both sexes will loudly work up a nice big wad as you walk by and let it go, whether you're on a sidewalk or in the bus.

Men here also seem to revel in baring their midriffs. It's rarely a full lack of shirt, but rather a flip of the shirt up just below the pectorals. For some of the better-fed middle aged men, I couldn't help but note the likeness to the traditional depicted physique of the Buddha.

And, of course, the food changes. Dubai was almost too cosmopolitan to pin down. Kathmandu got very curried. Bangkok presented paper thin squids hanging on lighted bicycle stands. And China has been a menagerie.

Last night, we tried Peking Duck, a glazed roasted duck carved up by the chef. It's eaten with thin pancakes, cucumber slices, onion slices, sauce, and salt. Not bad, but you don't get much of the duck for the price. The night before, we had bullfrog. And two nights prior, we had a smorgasbord of squid, octopus, and some grisly skewered thing called "little bird." Dog is currently out of season. Rice, noodles, and vegetables usually accompany. I've seen carp, turtles, sturgeon, flounders, and more swimming in tanks at the entrances to dining establishments.

For dessert last evening, on a bit of a dare from the Germans, we did shots of "schlongenschnapps" or snake liquor "Ganbei" style. It wasn't too bad. I just couldn't look at the jar the stuff had come from.

Thinking of the snake curled up inside of it made me gag enough as it was.

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