Big Easy

On par with trying local beers is my affinity for dining on the local cuisine when I'm traveling. That's why I tooled around Greenville, SC looking for Henry's Smokehouse, "home of the leanest butt in town," as what could be better than Carolina style bbq in the Carolinas? It was also my introduction to Brunswick stew. That's also why I ordered the amazing Black & Bleu burger (blackened with Cajun seasoning and topped with crumbled bleu cheese) at the Montgomery Brewing Co, which, incidentally, for those of you keeping track (ok, just me) made it 27 states that I've visited a brewery in. Only 23 to go, but I just haven't had time on this tour to stop at one in most of the states I've driven through so far.

Back to food, you can imagine how excited I was to be in New Orleans, the Big Easy. It went down like this. I pulled in around 8:30 Friday night. By the time I made it out, all the good joints near me stopped serving. So I got in my car and hit some others, but I'd just missed them. It never used to be like this. Pre-Katrina, this was more of a 24-hour town, the Quarter notwithstanding. So that's where I headed, but I just couldn't get enthused about a regular hamburger when I coulda been eating some etouffe or even a decent po'boy.

In the morning, I sat down to a boudin omelet, boudin being akin to a well-spiced sausage. And cafe au lait. The book signing at Octavia Books was set for 12:01 p.m., because Dixie Brewing provided free beer samples, and you
shouldn't drink before noon. As an added treat, Joe, Kendra, and Maddi Bruno (the owners and their granddaughter, though Kendra cracked that Dixie actually owns them) were on hand so a lucky few got books signed by both the author and the subjects of the New Orleans chapter. Quite a few people came running in, one of them literally, to get a signed copy. Sweet.

Afterward, I received an invitation from the Brunos for a late lunch. When I showed up, a plate of fried oysters appeared before me. Bad time to tell 'em I'm, uh, allergic to shellfish? Still, we had a great lunch and it's always good to see the 3 of them when I'm in town. Which means I'll see them again in exactly 6 months for Jazz Fest.

After that, I headed to the reception for a beer dinner. Yes, they're doing beer dinners in NOLA now! The offer came from the woman who ran into Octavia Books, upon her completion of a 7 mile run. She bought 2 books, for her husband and his brewmaster. Kirk and Peter, respectively, are opening a brand new brewery here in NOLA called NOLA Brewing. (New Orleans Lagers and Ales.) This is very exciting news. Peter Caddoo, I should point out, spent many years as Dixie's brewmaster. I tried their brown and blonde ales, and canNOT wait to try them again on tap when I'm back. They open in January, just as soon as the brewing equipment from Left Hand Brewing arrives from Boulder.

The night ended with hitting Le Bon Temps Rouler with my friend Steven in town from LA to do some hurrican Gustav cleanup. We caught a set by local musician Anders Osborne, a favorite, and then hit Cafe du Monde around 1:30 a.m. for some beignets and cafe au lait!

On the road. Again.

Greetings from Grand Junction, Colorado. After the book release party, everything has flown by briskly. On October 4, I participated in the annual San Francisco Litquake Fest during the “Food and Beverage Hour” in the Main Public Library. The great lineup included readings about the origins of soul food, the Mission burrito, Robert Mondavi and his wine, and a killer six minutes about the origins of rice as both a meal and fermented beverage, aka sake, as read by Beau Timken. Oh, and beer.

Afterward there was a signing event at Books, Inc in Opera Plaza, just a couple blocks away, but between Freakfest, er, Lovefest (think thumping house music, lots of gold lame and glitter, and thousands raving throughout the Civic Center) and my broken ankle, it took almost that long to reach the store. Once there, I rubbed elbows with my fellow authors (still kills me to say that) and even signed a few books.

The next morning, Half Pint and I drove down to LA, arriving just before the start of my parents’ Oktoberfest. In an attempt to have as many beers from Red, White, and Brew on hand, they offered: Leinie’s Sunset Wheat, New Belgium (a variety, not just Fat Tire), Grand Teton’s Bitch Creek ESB, Widmer Bros. Hefeweizen (thanks, Craft Brewery Alliance!), Anchor Steam and Porter, Shiner Bock and Dixie Blackened Voodoo and even Dixie’s Amber Jazz Light, which I forgot to taste. There were plenty of family friends, good bbq, and best of all, a cake my Aunt Terri made that looked like an honest to goodness pitcher of beer. A chocolate stout cake!

Before splitting town on Monday, I was interviewed by NPR. Not an in-studio NPR interview (Schwette Balls, anyone?) but I was interviewed by Kai Ryssdal at the Library Bar in Downtown LA. He suggested I order “something dark, something hoppy, something middle-of-the-road, and something like piss water.” I don’t think the piss water part will make the edited down version. Based on what I had available, I selected Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Racer 5 IPA, Craftsman 1903 Lager, and, what I’m guessing is the third best selling beer in LA after Corona and Heinie, Amstel Light. I’ll announce when the interview will air and will post a link to the streamed version. I sat at the bar, alone with all eight beers (two of each for the both of us). Naturally my inclination was to sit there and drink all six (guess which ones I’d leave), but we had to get as far as Vegas where we stayed with Half Pint’s cousins, Bart, Luanne, and Carlee.

Today we drove 500 miles through Arizona and Utah to Grand Junction, where we got dinner at the Rockslide Brewpub. I had the buffalo meatloaf and we washed our meals down with pints of Oktoberfest and Widowmaker Wheat. Tomorrow: Fort Collins.