Girls Go Gambling

Sara, Amy & I did a girl's trip to Island View Casino (courtesy of Sara's mom) for my last weekend in the deep south. Somehow we managed to not take a single picture of the three of us?! You may remember that Sara and I stayed at this hotel last summer, this go round we did a bit more game playing and tried out the buffet! Sara's parents were staying at the Beau Rivage this time so we met up with them on Saturday. All you can eat crab legs...yes please! 

The sunset Friday night from our 14th floor room.

 Video poker is my game of choice since I get to have a bit of control over which cards I hold and how I play them (as opposed to the slot machine where you push a button and the computer generates the icons that are shown). I know that video poker is a computer game too, but it makes me feel better to have some "power". Any way... it paid off at both Island View and the Beau Rivage! The vouchers you see below are right after I won $120 on a hand. I immediately cashed out both times this happened. The additional money is what I had left to play on before winning the $120. Unfortunately I did not have this luck continuously; however, I was up a little over $200 for the weekend so I was thrilled!

We saw a man win $3,240 on a Willy Wonka themed slot machine! He chatted with us a bit as he could tell we were interested in the process. In that case you can't simply print a cashout voucher, a casino employee comes and fills out paperwork, resets the machine and then gives you the cash. Sara's mom said that if you win over $1,000 that is the process because you have to report it on your taxes. None of us won anything close to that amount!

It was a really fun weekend and I am so thankful that we were able to go and make such fun memories!!

Commander's Palace

A New Orleans institution for well over 100 years, Commander's Palace has been on my list of places to go before departing the city. Sara's mom made the bucket list item a treat of hers this past week with lunch reservations! 

I did not snap any photos of my lunch (this was a fancy place!) but I can assure you everything was delicious! 

I had been strongly advised to try the Turtle Soup so I gave it a go. It wasn't anything that I will be dreaming of in the future, but it was not bad at all either. My best description would be that it was more watery than chili but has a similar profile of tomatoes, onions, and herbs. The turtle meat was white and ground up like turkey or beef would be. I can't say that it had a distinct flavor that made it stand out from the other ingredients. The waiter tops the dish with a swirl of aged sherry at the table.

For my main course I had the red fish with "a warm salad of roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, local tomatoes, baby roots, and grilled kale with herb vinaigrette and compound chili oil". Very good! Light yet filling. 

Dessert was Ponchatoula Strawberry Shortcake. OMG...I could have licked the plate if 1) I wasn't already super full and 2) I wasn't in a public place. "Local strawberries marinated in Louisiana sugarcane with a fluffy buttermilk biscuit, powdered sugar and Chantilly cream" Wow! Everyone raves about the Creole Bread Pudding Souffle, which I tried a bite of since Susan & Sara both got that, but I couldn't resist the sweet strawberries knowing that they are in season now in southern LA!

A picture of the ladies :)

 Sara & me | Sara & her mom

Another thing they are known for, besides the Turtle Soup and Creole Bread Pudding Souffle, is their 25 cent martinis! I had a Cosmopolitan and the Commander's which was a blue citrus concoction. Can't beat that price!!

I am so thankful that I was able to experience this famous restaurant, it was most certainly a lovely treat!

All The Food

As I meet up with people to say "see ya later" I have been integrating my farewells with some of my favorite places to eat too! Two birds, one stone sort of thing. Behold my most recent outings:

Sara, Kenneth and I ate at District Donut where I savored their cheeseburger slider...so good! We caught up on the Serial podcast, Apple v. FBI, and other worldly matters.

Pi Day (3.14) brought Sara and I to Noodle & Pie where I enjoyed a slice of lemongrass buttermilk pie! 

Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks) ordering some of his favorite Cherry Pie.

Bacos from Ba Chi Canteen are so very yummy! Sara, Jackie & I had lunch one day and enjoyed many slider-meets-taco-meets-Vietnamese-flavor style treats. 

Happy Hour at Superior Grill with Sucre ladies means half priced frozen strawberry margaritas & Mexican food! 

My fellow cheeseburger fanatic, Laura Theriot and I met at Company Burger to catch up over greasy food. So many tots!

I made the drive out to the East to Dong Phuong for the best banh mi in the Greater New Orleans area! #4 will always be my favorite :)

There are still a few more places to go before I hit the road. New Orleans does not lack for good food!

Katie's Chocolate Club: March

Sara discovered Chocolatier Blue for me after I told her that I realized most of my monthly indulgences were coming from the east coast. Based out of Berkley, California, this chocolate shop rotates its flavors seasonally. The selection available to me featured a lot of breakfast inspired bon bons as well as some more classic pairings. 

The UPS guy left the box at the side door of the house without any notification, so I was unaware the package arrived and it sat outside in the rain over night. Despite the outside box being soaked, the inside, chocolate-filled box was not harmed at all: thank goodness!

I went with a simple note to myself this month since I am finally making the move from New Orleans back to Virginia. It serves as a nice little reminder...

Oooo! Aaaaa! Check out these bright beauties in their fun shapes!

ROW #1

Cookies & Cream: oreos are ground up and blended into Straus organic cream, organic butter, and white chocolate

Passion Fruit Caramel: fresh tangy New Zealand passion fruit juice is made into dark caramel with a Solstice dark chocolate shell

Tequila Sunrise: fresh squeezed orange juice is mixed with tequila and grenadine in a ganache filling

75% Dark Chocolate: single origin Solstice Madagascar dark chocolate is blended with Straus organic cream and butter

Chili: crushed red pepper flakes are steeped in Straus organic cream, organic butter, and Solstice Madagascar chocolate

Espresso: local Flying Goat Coffee is steeped in fresh-farm Straus cream with organic butter and Solstice Madagascar chocolate

ROW #2

Banana: ripe bananas are blended into a rich caramel with Straus cream and butter

Chai Tea: Mighty Leaf Bombay Chai tea with black tea and spicy aromatics is steeped in fresh-farm cream

Hazelnut: award-winning Ennis hazelnuts from Holmquist farm are freshly ground with fleur de sel salt

Maple Syrup: true Vermont grade A maple syrup is added to Straus cream and organic butter in a white chocolate filling

Fruit Loops: flavors of fruit loop cereal is made into a milky white chocolate filling with Straus organic cream

Grapefruit Mimosa: fresh local ruby red grapefruit juice is added to champagne in a white chocolate filling with Solstice dark chocolate

ROW #3

Grapefruit with Rosemary: fresh local rosemary sprigs are used in a caramel made with fresh-squeezed organic ruby red grapefruits

Vanilla Rum: fresh Madagascar vanilla beans are cut open then added to dark rum, Straus organic cream, organic butter, and white chocolate

Sage Honey: wild California sage honey from Gipson's Golden is blended with Straus organic cream and butter

Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam: smoothly ground peanut butter with fleur de sel salt is layered with house-made organic strawberry jam

Pistachio: true Sicilian pistachios from Bronte are slowly roasted and mixed with organic Straus cream and butter

Lemon: fresh local lemon zest and juice is mixed with Straus organic cream and butter

ROW #4

Blueberry Muffin: a layer of fresh blueberry compote and vanilla muffin in a white chocolate filling

Mint: fresh market mint leaves are steeped in Straus organic cream and blended with organic butter and a touch of salt

Toast: a rich toasted flavor with Straus cream, organic butter, and white chocolate filling

Lemon Poppyseed Muffin: fresh lemon and poppyseed muffins are blended into a white chocolate filling

Coffee & Donuts: Flying Goat coffee is steeped in Straus cream and blended into a filling with fresh donuts

English Breakfast Tea: a malt smooth Mighty Leaf Breakfast Tea is steeped in fresh-farm Straus cream

ROW #5

Caramel: a dark rich caramel with a trace of fleur de sel salt from Camargue and Straus organic cream and butter

Tangerine: fresh local tangerines are juiced with Straus cream and organic butter, then blended with Solstice chocolate

75% Dark Chocolate: single origin Solstice Madagascar dark chocolate is blended with Straus organic cream and butter

Tequila Sunrise: fresh squeezed orange juice is mixed with tequila and grenadine in a ganache filling

Passion Fruit Caramel: fresh tangy New Zealand passion fruit juice is made into dark caramel with a Solstice dark chocolate shell

Cookies & Cream: oreos are ground up and blended into Straus organic cream, organic butter, and white chocolate

The winners for me were Vanilla Rum, Blueberry Muffin and Tequila Sunrise, though there were no real losers in this group. Those three had strong flavoring and I feel confident in stating that I like vanilla and chocolate together. Very sweet! I will keep their website handy to check back and see what other interesting combinations they roll out over the year!

*all names/descriptions were copied directly from the guides provided with the collection.

Tyler Turns 24

Last Saturday Brie threw Tyler a surprise 24th birthday party (after his original camping trip plans were rained out)!! It was a lot of fun tricking him into coming to his friend's house where we were all waiting! On a whim I made a bunch of Jell-O shots with things I had at the house. They turned out STRONG! But Butterscotch moonshine with King Cake soda is rather delightful! 

After blowing out the candles and socializing for a bit, we made our way to Mimi's in the Marigny for pool and darts, then ended the night at Kajun's Pub for karaoke!

Me, Sara & Brie waiting for the birthday boy to show up for his surprise party!

Tyler huffing and puffing to blow those candles out!

Jell-O shots!

 Candid moment: Brie & Tyler

 

Good ol' bathroom wall wisdom at Mimi's: people write some truly absurd things on the walls of bars!

Brie, me and Sara at Kajun's

Tyler squeezing in with the gals!

China Lights

City Park is hosting a really cool light exhibit + entertainment show in the Botanical Garden right now called China Lights. Brie, Sara and I wandered around and took in the circus-like performance (minus animals) for nearly two hours the other week. It is open during the day and in the evening, and while I am sure it is beautiful either way, the black night sky made for a great backdrop to all of the colorful lanterns and figurines!

In the tent where the live entertainment occurs they are serving food, including this delicious deep fried s'mores egg roll! Oh yeah!

 A very visually fascinating set-up that can be appreciated by all age groups :)

Katie's Chocolate Club: February

Due to the distraction of Mardi Gras I did not opt for a Valentine's themed chocolate club this month. I just wasn't on the ball enough to make it happen. Instead, I scoped out FIKA of New York City. According to their website, 

"The word FIKA [fee:kah] translates into taking a coffee break to indulge in the ritual of conversation, often accompanied by something sweet or savory. Having a daily FIKA is a way of life in Sweden and an important part of the culture. It offers a way of both relaxing and staying connected."

Their packaging is unlike others I have seen. The black sleeve is attached to the white section to the left of the box and slides off, revealing a complete white box inside. That box's lid hinges on the left-hand side, as opposed to the lid coming off entirely like most other chocolate boxes. Inside, each chocolate was nestled in its own cavity, though some had danced around a bit during transit. A lot of the truffles have garnish on them that can rub off so there were lots of crumbs dusting everything. There was one casualty, a caramel that was cracked and broken: but no worries, I still ate it!

I did not see a place to add a gift note during checkout on their website. I may have just missed it, but none-the-less, no cheeky message this month. Darn! 

ROW #1

Pistachio Gianduja

Key Lime Pie

Peppermint Lime

Mackmyra Swedish Whiskey

Gingerbread

Staranise Hazelnut

ROW #2

Macadamia

Water (Salted Caramel)

Seawater Caramel (arrived broken)

71% Signature Dark

Goat Cheese (my "surprise" truffle)

Almond Gianduja

ROW #3

Quinoa Hazelnut

Wind (Four Liquors)

Almond Gianduja

Cardamom

Vanilla Xante

Caribbean Rum

ROW #4

Lingonberry

Cactus Lychee

Strawberry Lime

Hazelnut Gianduja

Laphroaig Whiskey

Almond

Hmmm... This collection confused me more than any others I have tried. Between the photo guide that came with the box and the page on the website I used to select my truffles, I did my best to identify each truffle, but I am not certain I got them all correct. Most of the flavors were very subtle, with the exception of the alcohol based ones: they were strong! Too strong in my opinion. The goat cheese, which I was fearful of because I am not a fan, didn't taste like the dairy product I detest. The salt on top of that truffle really overtook the taste.

Overall I was bummed that some of the more unique flavors didn't shine through. I was initially very excited to try so many new things (lingonberry, cactus lychee, cardamom, quinoa hazelnut, etc.), but was disappointed that I didn't get a strong sense of these ingredients in the ganaches.

From their website I see that they have multiple locations in New York City and their main focus appears to be coffee and providing a Swedish experience.

*all names/descriptions were copied directly from the guides provided with the collection.