Sometimes you just feel like a little Sinatra

Sometimes you just feel like a little Sinatra  

Sometimes you just feel like a little Sinatra...

Last Friday night was just that night for me and my husband.  

We were looking for a good authentic Italian meal.  And Sinatra's on Kenmore Ave., has an unassuming exterior--even down market--no valet, no false airs, but the cars in the parking lot looked spiffy so it seemed like a fair chance that this was the right place to get some really tasty Italian food that would fill our bellies and take the edge off of a stressful week.

And we were right!!!

Our waiter was a husky, dark-eyed Italian fellow with an easy nature who looked like who knew what was on the menu from firsthand knowledge.  And his father was behind the bar, concocting some old school basic drinks that were well made.  No new age pomengranate infusions here!

I started with the Sicilian Olive salad, which was a rich blend of green, black, Calamata, mediteranean olives with herbs, olive and balsamic.

We also got an appetizer of Greens and Sausage--this was super good!  And it was perfect for lunch the next day too--because we ordered way too much food.  Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs on this night and the portions at Sinatra's are like what you would expect at your Italian grandmother's house on Sunday.

I had a veal and eggplant parmigiano special.  It was heavenly with a fresh basil leaf on top.  My entree came with a side of grilled zuchini and a salad.  This too went into our shopping bag of Italian goodness that we left with.

My husband had the Sunday Pork in Sauce this came served over pasta.  The meat was very tender and this dish tasted just like what you would imagine this to be -- your grandma's Sunday pork dinner (if your Italian -- like we were pretending to be).

We had espresso after our meal and this arrived with some almond biscotti that was perfected dipped in the coffee.


Sinatra's felt like home as soon as we walked in--if I were Italian.  I'm not but I DO like to pretend that I am on some evenings.  My husband does too.  Our blue eyes and Irish-Scottish complexions give us away every time.  But we can sure eat like good Italians!  And Sinatra's is a good place to do just that.

Breakfast at Bertha's Diner

Sidewalk advertising

Eat at Bertha's

Bertha's Diner on Hertel Ave. is under new ownership.
The decor is distinctly late Elvis, early tacky--yet delightfully mid-century Buffalo.

I didn't experience Bertha's with the previous management, but we enjoyed the food and classic old school diner experience when we went on Labor Day.

Belgian Waffles at Bertha's

I had the red, white and blue Belgian waffles.  They were a fantasm of blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream atop a fluffy light Belgian waffle.

The bacon at Bertha's, aka pig, was cooked to order crispy and good.

The staff was eager to please and ready to take on special requests.

And there's definitely a perk to seeing guys labor behind the counter on your food--that is if you are a female.

My husband enjoyed his "heart attack on a plate" -- eggs, hash browns, bacon and English muffin.  It was tasty goodness.  And they had Tabasco for us die-hard Louisiana folks.

 

Cash Only at Bertha's

Bertha's Diner is a cash only establishment.  So save up your pennies and sheckles and make a visit to Bertha's Diner on Hertel Ave.  It's a bit of nostalgic old school diner food and atmosphere in the heart of North BFLO.

How to Prepare for a Hurricane Cajun Style.

Cajun Rain Gauge

My do list for hurricane preparation

made simple: 

(even Cajuns can do it!)

 

So...when it look like this outside

FOLLOW THESE STEPS

Step 1.  Get a frozen drink of choice at a drive thru daiquiri shop.

Here's mine - a strawberry daiquiri

This will fortify you and improve your attitude for step 2.

Step 2.  Go to Walmart (along with everyone else)

Stock up on water, batteries, bread and granola bars.  You will need these items for when the power goes out.

Oh and get ingredients for brownies, you will need these to make brownies the night before the storm hits.

Step 3.  Get out of Walmart

This is a very important and time consuming step, hence the need for the fortification of step 1.

Step 4. Take the letters down off of Tiger Stadium

 

-this is IF you live in Baton Rouge

 

Step 5. Get your generator fired up and ready to run.

 

 

Step 6. Put on your Cajun Reeboks aka Cajun rain gauge boots.

Make your brownies and sit back and relax.

Step 7. Get a frozen drink of choice at a drive thru daiquiri shop.

Make this one an EXTRA LARGE you will need it to deal with all the extra family members that are cooped up in your home. 

 

NOTE:  This is more than just a simple "rinse and repeat" of Step #1.  This is an essential component to your success and survival of the clean up process.

I repeat, obtain an extra large frozen daiquiri for optimal survival of all parties involved.

Wendy's Son of Baconator & Wake n' Bacon

The Baconator and Son of Baconator

Wendy's Baconator and the Love of all things Pig

This post is a tribute to my husband, Dave.  Dave loves him some bacon or pig in any form.

Dave loves him some bacon.

My son and I witnessed this fact on our recent cruise, as Dave made frequent visits to the bacon trough on the ship's breakfast buffet for bacon re-stocking.  Yes, Carnival Cruise's Conquest has a well-stocked bacon trough.

Fortunately, for all of us it is not a posthumous tribute.  Though quite possibly Dave risks shortening his life for his conspicuous and frequent consumption of pig.

A risk he readily admits is worth the price.

Pig Good!

Dave's motto is "PIG GOOD." 

Would Tony Bourdain endorse this?  I think yes.

Dave thinks that the pork industry missed the boat when they passed on "Pig Good" as their marketing slogan.

Though I tend to agree on this.  I drew the line at sampling the Baconator at our recent Wendy's visit.

I limit my consumption of processed foods for several reasons.

• One because there are usually much better things to eat.  
• I'm concerned about the longterm health effects that the inflammation of veins and arteries from eating fried and processed foods causes.  

• And because the calorie count is sky high and you are left with that yucky taste in your mouth afterward.

Nough said.

Wendy's Single with Cheese

I have been known, when facing a desperate moment of hunger in a restaurant desert (think Sahara desert of poor choices not rich, yummy dessert) to chomp a Wendy's Single with cheese.

And as fast food burgers go, it is not the worst you can do.  But if I read the nutrition report at the Wendy's counter, which I frequently do, I will change my order to water with lemon and run screaming out of the restaurant.

But David will stay behind and order the SON OF BACONATOR.

It's a good thing David isn't Jewish.  He could never keep kosher!

Wake n' Bacon

Check out this awesome bacon alarm clock called the Wake n' Bacon!  Life is sweet.

I plan to get Dave a Wake n' Bacon for Christmas this year.  Don't tell him, it's a surprise.

DeAngelo's Pizzeria in Baton Rouge

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette salad at DeAngelo's

DeAngelo's offers a consistently good meal.

And, yes, their specialty is pizza but I ordered one of my favorite salads!

I remember when Louis DeAngelo started his pizzeria in the Hammondaire shopping center on Airline Hwy in Baton Rouge.  He started with a New York style pizza concept and you could get "a slice" like you can in "the city."

Then he got big.  Then he got bigger.  Now he has so many restaurants in different areas that I have lost track.

Somewhere in all that his wife, Kristen, was my customer at my maternity and breastfeeding store, Mother's Best.  I helped her with several pregnancies and babies.

Recently while waiting out a huge traffic snarl in Baton Rouge from a wrecked butane tanker truck on I10, I stopped at DeAngelo's on Jefferson Highway for lunch.  My lunch date couldn't get through the traffic, so I dined alone.  This may explain the delay my server had in approaching my table, she probably thought I was waiting on another diner.

I ordered one of my favorite salads that they serve.  Notice that I said ONE of my favorite salads.  Yes, their salads are a well dressed complete meal.  And they are happy to bring me extra lemons.

Yes, DeAngelo's still offers a consistently good meal.

What to do in New Orleans between gumbo and beignets?

Thin fried catfish at Walk On's in New Orleans

What to do in New Orleans between gumbo and beignets?

Answer:  Eat bar food. 

Walk-On or Walk Off in New Orleans

Walk On's in New Orleans offers basic bar food choices and table side beer taps (though I didn't try one on this visit), and it's a good stop when you are fatigued from the French Quarter and tourist food (or just got off a Carnival Cruise like we did).

Buffalo chicken sandwich at Walk On's

The Buffalo chicken sandwich was the best of what we ordered.  It comes with waffle fries which were pretty tempting but no pickle!  Boohoo!  No pickle, a heartbreaker.  My son liked it and I sneaked a bite (or two).  It got a thumbs up rating.

Fried Catfish

I wanted some catfish and decided to try the fried catfish platter.  The waitress explained that it was their "new and improved" thin cut.  The thin fried catfish was too thin.  It was square bits that you could read a newspaper through--really!  It seemed like a dollar and cents management choice for some really cheap catfish as opposed to something to please the palate.

Walk On's, GO BACK TO REGULAR FRIED CATFISH!

Fat Boy's Mystery Debunked

Fat Boy's Lounge in Alexandria

I had always marveled at Fat Boy's Lounge in Alexandria, LA from the road.  It's an old gas station made over into a bar that can best be called a dive.  The outside still looks like an old gas station with the service bays.

Finally, today we decided to go in and see what Fat Boy's was like once and for all.  We finally dispelled the mystique.

As you can see here, they went all out on their signage.  You can see why I was attracted to Fat Boy's.

As I approached the door, I nearly chickened out.  But I forged ahead, determined to see the interior of Fat Boy's.  After all I ran the Fat Boy 5K Race in Baton Rouge a couple of years ago, I should be able to stand the bar.

The inside is pure class.  The vibe here is akin to an after work stop off for construction workers looking for a quick infusion of alcohol.

I especially liked the drive up window stocked with pints of bourbon and vodka that are sold at the drive up window to customers in their vehicles.  Nice touch.

A sign on the door said "NO SMOKING INSIDE THE BUILDING."  But the patrons inside smoke away.

Fat Boy's is too skankalicious for me!  I've seen it now and won't be going back.

Pita Pit at LSU Northgate: $1 Beer

The Northgate area at LSU is rich with junk food choices and fast eating emporiums.  There's Louies, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cane's, Wendy's and of course CVS drugstore.  My son dines regularly at all of the above.

A BUCK FOR A BREW

But I stopped into the Pita Pit recently for the first time.  First thing that caught my eye was $1 BEER. 
Yes, a buck for a brew!

This probably explains why it was ALL YOUNG GUYS in the restaurant when we visited.  Their beer menu included $1 and $2 beer selection--pretty sweet!

Gyros and Falafel

Gyros salad

We had the Gyros Salad and Falafel Salad to avoid the carbs in the wrap.  They were served in styrofoam boxes even though we were dining in.  College kid style.

The salad was very basic-nothing to write home about.  The falafel was reheated on the flat top grill and had a bitter re-fried unpleasant taste.  I will not try this again here.  The Tzatziki sauce was too thick almost like a dollop of sour cream with a couple of herbs thrown in.  Thumbs down on this one.

Update and correction on the GYROS:
The gyros was good - as reported to my by my husband and son.  But steer clear of the falafel.

Falafel salad

Bottom Line Cliff Notes:

LOCATION:  Good
BEER:  Cheap
FOOD:  Meh

Go for the CHEAP BEER, skip the falafel and gyros.

Hooray for Bouray Pizza at Red Zepplin Pizza

Thin crust pizza cooked well at Red Zepplin

Fun bar decor at Red Zepplin's

New Bouray Pizza with Boudin

I'm a frequent flyer at Red Zepplin's on Perkins Road.  I started eating there shortly after they opened right in front of my gym, at the time Spectrum Fitness.

We tried their new Bouray Pizza yesterday.  The Bouray is topped with boudin, jalapenos, andouille sausage, red onion and mozzarella.  It was a tasty cajun style pizza with just the right amount of spice.

It was so good, we forgot to take a picture until we were down to the last slice!

Last piece of Bouray pizza

Summer is too hot to sit outside on the patio

The patio is pleasant at Red Zepplins (when no one is smoking out there).  But August is too hot in Baton Rouge for outdoor seating at lunch time.

Red Zepplins has only a few tables inside and can get noisy with all the hard surfaces for noise to echo off of when a table of small children is present.  

They had only one waitress on staff at lunch time yesterday and service was a bit slow.  Maybe someone called in sick.  But with pizza this good, they should staff for more customers.

Feeding Alligators at Corbett Hunting Camp

Alligators have to eat too!

12 foot alligator grabbing pig guts off the bank

Recently, I have blogged about a lot of restaurants that I've eaten at.  Enough about me eating.

Now it's the gators turn.

Troy Landry to visit Paragon Casino

Troy Landry from Swamp People (just choot 'em) would have a field day here at my uncle's farm.  Every Wednesday, my uncle Dr. Bryan McCann, picks up a barrel of pig entrails at a butcher shop in Marksville, LA and takes them out to his farm and hunting camp, Corbett Hunting Camp, and feeds the alligators.

It all starts when he gets to the bend in the river at his camp and hits the horn on his red pickup truck.  They are conditioned to his horn and 20 gators start swimming toward the bank from as far away as a half mile.  

He hurls pig guts down the bank into the edge of the water as the alligators approach.  We are careful to stand up on the bank behind the cypress knees as we watch them feed.  The "big boys" come in first and grab the juicy lungs and livers.  These are the 10 to 12 feet gators.  The medium and smaller ones come in later and grab intestines and haul them off to eat often with other gators following them and snapping off pieces of their pig guts from them.

Here are some of my favorite gator photos

Corbett Hunting Camp

Dave pushes food to "big boy"

PIG, good!