You know when you take a bite of something and you realize that this is a taste you are going to crave? Like salted caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery. It's usually something you can't get just anywhere. For me it often happens when I'm traveling somewhere and I won't easily find that taste again back home. Like the Middlewhite bacon sandwich at St. John's in London (on homemade bread with homemade ketchup, don't knock it til you try it), which my husband and I often wistfully talk about. Or, more recently, the most perfect shrimp po-boy from New Orleans.
A few weeks ago I went to New Orleans, a city I adore and which I've visited many times while growing up in Texas, but where I had not returned for at least 8 years. This was my first visit post-Katrina, and it ended up being one of the most meaningful, eye-opening, and intense experiences I've had while traveling (more on that in another post when I've had a chance to digest it all). For me, most of what makes New Orleans so special are the people who live there and their generous and kind spirit. With all that they've been through, they still carry on with the most positive attitude, full of Southern hospitality. It's obvious every time you go to a restaurant or a bar and they serve up some authentic New Orleans cuisine, welcoming, gracious, and always happy to have you there.
On the advice of a few locals, we headed over to Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar for one of the best po-boys in town. Tucked away in a residential area, we almost drove by the nondescript corner restaurant. It's all that you might expect from a divey po-boy shop, the deep fryer and sandwich station on one wall, the bar on the other, and a handful of tables scattered in between. The line moves swiftly, and then you have to jostle for a table before your name is called and your sandwich comes out. In keeping with the old-time Southern feel, the drinks on offer include bottled Barq's root beer and crème soda.
