Category Archives: Yankees

eating through the weekend

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Food, Restaurants, Yankees

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So my best friend comes in for the weekend (a fellow Yankee) and as usual we eat our way through Sunday. Three meals we shared really stuck out for me. We both love good food and a good time (you can’t really have one without the other, let’s face it). She arrives Friday night and I take her to Beausoleil on Jefferson Highway. I love it there because until now, I had to travel to New Orleans to find contemporary Louisiana cuisine. Plus it has a warm, casual atmosphere that is inviting and enjoyable. She had the scallops on chorizo risotto with chili butter. I had the veal cheek over Louisiana purple rice pilaf with pepper jelly. Both were superb! The seared scallops were not overcooked and my veal cheek was braised to perfection.

Braised Veal Cheek

Seared Sea Scallops

The next morning we headed over to a new favorite of mine, Magpie Café at the Perkins Overpass. I love this delectable little café with their Weck Jars and local products. Every morning is a surprise and particularly on this morning we were pleasantly surprised! Magpie’s was making fresh homemade strawberry-filled pop tarts! They were scrumdidalyumptious (to quote Roald Dahl)! The pastry was melt in your mouth delicious. Warm and buttery on the outside and oozing with strawberry on the inside! They don’t always have them so check them out on Twitter or Facebook before you go (not that they don’t have other tasty treats!).

Pop Tarts

Because we had not stuffed ourselves enough, we proceeded to Zeeland Street Market for lunch (after an estate sale). I had never been before but it came highly recommended from many people. When you walk in, you immediately feel welcomed at this family owned and operated establishment (even when you arrive 20 minutes before closing). We each ordered a sandwich but could have easily shared one. The portions are huge! I had the Belmont Po’boy. It’s a pot roast sandwich with turkey, ham and mozzarella cheese. Of course I had it fully dressed! The sandwich just exuded scrumptiousness. Sadly, I wimped out and couldn’t finish the other half. Next time, I will have to share. Beware they close at 2 p.m. and are only opened for breakfast and lunch. Enjoy!

The Belmont

A Yankee Eating Crawfish – Guest blogger from New York

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Food, Yankees

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Sometimes, when I’m throwing a pity party for myself, I’ll express to Andrea how inconvenient it is that she now lives so far away. On the other hand, I’m glad she made that drastic move because that means I get to visit! I recently visited Andrea in May, before the heat really set in but most importantly before I missed out on yet another crawfish season. You see, as Andrea’s fellow East Coast friend, I could live on seafood alone. I love it all, slippery oysters, sandy mussels, and most of all “lobsta”, as Rhode Island natives say. So of course I was going to love diving into a bucket of crawfish, after all they are just mini lobsters, right? I salivated for weeks before my visit, incessantly reminding Andrea that I would be there within days and that she absolutely had to include a crawfish dinner in our itinerary. Kindly, Andrea and her hunky man, made my dream come true. However, when the tray of crawfish arrived at our table and was placed in front of me, my excitement quickly turned to panic.

The site of their ruby red bodies, darkened by loads of Cajun seasoning, piled on top of each other like so, made my stomach drop. You see, I live in New York. The truth about New York is that it is filthy! Making it the most desirable habitat for cock-roaches which render me totally limp and paralyzed in fear. A similar feeling set in when presented with my pile of “mudbugs”. Only then did I understand that vernacular. Andrea and Mathew looked scared for me but I couldn’t let them smell my fear so I started in. After all, I had been talking quite the talk.

Real Flattering

Lets just say, I can cross eating Crawfish off my bucket list. It sure is a lot of work to get to that little piece of meat and all your left with is what I can only describe as a fire in my mouth! I might not be attacking another tray of crawfish anytime soon but I can’t wait to try another Southern delicacy.