Crackin' the egg

For almost a year now my friends have been enthusiastically encouraging me to start a blog. "You're always going out to eat," they say, "you should write about food, and you're funny." Well, I don't know about the whole funny thing, but I am always going out to eat and so I decided that as one of my many 2010 resolutions, I would start a blog about my dining out experiences in my home city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a deep appreciation for food. I love the colors and textures, but most importantly, the flavors of culinary creations from all over the world. I really don't discriminate when it comes to what I eat and can thank my parents for always encouraging me to try new things. Especially my father, an artist, who always seemed to find a way to get me excited about what I was eating, even if that meant dyeing my black eyed peas blue.

While I'm not an advocate for blue-dyed legumes, I am an advocate for good food and New Orleans just so happens to have a ton of it.

When hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, I was forced to leave New Orleans and relocate to Jackson, Mississippi to attend college. Once the stress and confusion of relocating had dwindled and the homesick feeling had settled in, I found the best way to fill the void was to go out and enjoy a great meal with my friends. Food was my connection back home, as many Jackson restaurants had replications of classic New Orleans dishes such as red beans and rice, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee and even beignets. Needless to say, the school cafeteria barely saw me.

I moved back to New Orleans in May of 2009 and have fallen in love with the city all over again. It has been such a pleasure reuniting myself with my city and all it has to offer, especially the food. In an attempt to make up for lost time I have constructed a very long list of local restaurants that I have yet to try. This blog will consist of reviews from some of my favorite restaurants as well as those that I will be dining at for my first time.

Now, I'm not claiming to be some type of culinary genius and I'm certainly not a master chef in the kitchen. But what I do know is what tastes good and my expectations of food (and food service) are generally pretty high. I look forward to enjoying the fruits of the culinary laborers that make this city so special and sharing my thoughts and experiences with all who choose to follow me. Bon appetit!