Planning for some culinary exploration in New Orleans for IFBC 2011

As you can see, I've been looking forward to my trip to New Orleans for the International Food Bloggers conference.  

Below, a typical trip-planning session with my mom, who will be attending the conference with me (picture taken at La Maison Du Pain on West Pico, Los Angeles.)

 

This year marks my second time attending this conference and my first time visiting New Orleans.  I've always felt a connection to this city, not just because of its reputation for food, but because my New Orleans born grandparents served this food at my family table long before I understood its origins.  At the same time, as a Southern California kid, I grew up eating Mexican food in equal proportions, a child raised on avocados and spicy Serrano chillies.  

Californian as I may be, I am fiercely connected to Louisiana, a state I have never been to but already love.  And I know you're thinking that all these travel books are leading to my New Orleans infatuation, but I assure you, this is the real deal.   The proof is in a rather morbid exercise that food lovers engage in: the last meal question.  The last meal question is a question that any chef or gastronomic fanatic has asked themselves at one point or another.  If you could plan your last meal on earth, what would it be? And my answer remains the same-- my most comforting, delicious, and soulful meal, my last meal, would be red beans and rice, cooked with ham hock, served with tabasco on the side, a slab of homemade cornbread, and accompanied by a cold bottle of beer in my hand.  So you see, I was born ready to embrace everything New Orleans has to offer.   

We have decided the trip's main emphasis is exploring Louisiana through our stomachs, but we're also pretty thrilled to learn all we can about the culture of our destinations.  We'll explore New Orleans as well as a few surrounding Cajun country spots, a 13 day culinary tour where we also plan to check out local music, local swamps, and maintain a strict policy of a one-Sazerac-a-day-minimum.  We'd love to learn more about our family's connection to the city, and even with the humidity, we're convinced it's going to be epic.  After all, it's a city known for gumbo-- enough said.

We have certainly been doing our research: from just about every travel book written about New Orleans, to chamber of commerce websites, to studying each episode of the series Tremé.  Additionally, I treasure every page of the book Gumbo Tales, a food inspired account of New Orleans written by Sarah Roahen.  I have fallen even more in love with the city through her eyes, whether through the personal stories of the local business owners, mouth-watering descriptions of her ideal meal at Galatoire's and many other places, her habit of "craning from a barstool to observe the kitchen" in destinations such as Liuzza's by the Track, or her affection for mirlitons (Roahen says she is "forever drawn to the underdog-- in love, automobiles, sports, and vegetables.")  In return for this gift, I would happily share with her a bowl of any gumbo in my possession.  I'm also listening closely to what my grandparents have to say about this big adventure.  While they spent the majority of their lives in California, they're still full of anecdotes about swimming in Lake Pontchartrain, Mardi Gras through a child's eyes,  and best of all, the way cooking was done in their families.  My other blog project, Pâté Birthday which focuses on family food culture, will also have updates about this New Orleans trip, so stay tuned.

Below, another planning session takes place with mom.  French's pastry, in Costa Mesa, proves to be a great meeting spot for nibbling on a cookie or cupcake or two, then washing your sweets down with some espresso at the Starbucks, just a few retail spaces down.   French's doesn't serve coffee, and with limited time to plan our journey, this is a combination that gets the job done.

Happy Birthday Grandma Carol!

July 3rd was my Grandma's birthday, so naturally we ordered a cake from our favorite local bakery, French's.  Cakes from French's have made an appearance at almost every birthday throughout my childhood years.  True, I went through a brief rebellious Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake phase, but we always come back to French's for our special occasions.  Pictured above is a strawberry vanilla cake with whipped frosting.  

However, we should note that the cake French's is most known for in our family is the chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, before mentioned on The Great American Bakery Hunt as the official cake of Chocolate Cake season.

Of course, the best thing about this bakery is its old school style.  This is baking at its very best: just a good old fashioned family business with no hefty price tags or name dropping of fancy imported ingredients.  With all of these fancy bakeries popping up, I'm always thankful that there's still one place you can buy a cupcake under $4!

Bakery Hunting...

After a satisfying lunch of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and German-style potato salad at the Globe German Deli in Costa Mesa, I ventured a few blocks over for a bakery hunt. The hunt started out well, since I was able to use my small amount of Danish expertise to convince one of the shop owners that the DanSukker I was holding was indeed sugar and not salt. After attempting to bake in Denmark and going on supermarket adventures in Kvikly to find the right stuff, I was sure of this one. I was proud of myself today, a little too proud. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to Danish. I love the Globe Deli because even if they don't always know whether they are selling you salt or sugar, they give you great German sausage and they do it with a smile! Plus, they have Danish products, which means that I am a happy happy girl when in the Globe Deli.

Anyway, on to the bakery hunt...

I snooped around the greatly anticipated new location of the Sunflower Bakery to take a gander at their fresh digs. According to one of the employees, the store will not be open for another month or so. But if you're a great investigative journalist like me, you can walk around the back and purchase items wholesale (Alright, alright, so there was a sign with an arrow, but it was in a somewhat tinted storefront window people). The new bakery is located off of Baker in Costa Mesa, tucked away on Grace Street, and I am looking forward to sampling its delights!

The genius of the location is clear: It is extremely close to my house, and since close proximity to me gives bakeries an even better chance of more local bakery fiend business, I'd say they are in for a pleasant surprise. Bakers: stick with zip code 92626, you'll be golden. Also, allow me to point out the genius of a bakery located within seconds of a dairy (and a drive in dairy no less)? This allows for a more satisfying bakery hunt indeed. The dairy I speak of is since is Manneh's Alta Dena Dairy, which is within a minute's walking distance of Sunflower, and located on the corner of Baker and Grace.

Where to find it:
Alta-Dena Drive in Dairy
1085 Baker Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

The dairy is also easily accessible after a visit to French's Pastry Bakery, which is on the same street. (French's hold a special place in my heart since their chocolate fudge cake has always been a fixture at different special events and birthdays within my family. It has become such a tradition that we even declared an annual "chocolate cake season" that spans several holidays and birthdays within about a three month period of one another. Basically, it's a good time to purchase a 3-month gym membership).

But back to the dairy, oh sweet dairy of mine in Costa Mesa.

This dairy reminds me of how I am often torn between two of my favorite European cultures. While I celebrate my French background on my mother's side, I am disloyal to my culture in one respect: their attitude towards consumption of dairy products. Growing up in America, it seemed there was no better combination than baked goods (particularly chocolate chip cookies) and a glass of milk.

When I lived in Denmark, Danes seemed to have an equally great appreciation for a good glass of milk. In fact, Danish milk is the best I have tasted yet. (While I never knew what I was missing as a young American child, studying abroad ruined me as far as dairy libations go--Trust me dear readers, once you go Danish dairy, you never go back). In Denmark, it is not uncommon to see Danish business men and women, teenagers, and kids alike drinking oversized cartons of Matilde chocolate milk as they wait for their bus or train ride home after work and school. Matilde chocolate milk reigns far supreme over any Nestle or Hershey's concoction we have in the US. It is a seriously spiritual experience if you like chocolate milk.

However, when it comes to drinking milk in France, I was told it is unfashionable, juvenile, and ridiculous even. I found this out by accident, when I was walking down the street in Paris, pastry in one hand, small jug of milk in the other. Apparently this was so shocking to a local passerby that she did a double take before going on her merry French way. I was not even sure why she did a double take at first, and quickly forgot the incident.

Then I visited Millies Cookie's, a UK-based cookie shop located in the Opera Metro station in Paris which offers a generic but decent chocolate chip cookie (a European quick fix for any American having a chocolate chip cookie craving, which I seem to have quite often). When I purchased three cookies, and then asked the cashier if I could buy some milk, she laughed at me. I knew something was up, and asked my friendly hotel clerk Sasha why French people seemed to think me ridiculous. He told us that milk is something that "small kids" drink, and could not stop smirking, presumably because of our silly American reliance on calcium products. He did explain that his birthplace, Normandy, makes some excellent dairy products, but insisted that one had no place drinking milk in the city of lights if they happened to be over the age of six. (Even six seemed to be pushing it). What gives Paris? You have all of these amazing bakeries and no love for the moo-juice? I was not the only one with milk woes. I also met a lovely American bakery owner from Boston, who had married a French man and relocated to Paris (I wanted to steal her life, but not in the creepy way you are thinking, just in the way that it would be amazing to live in Paris, learn French, and be a part of the bakery culture there. I am one step closer to being a Parisian at this point, because I just enrolled in Practical French at Goldenwest College, and I am pumped up. This will only aid me further when I pursue future international bakery hunts!).

Where to find it:
Mr et Mme Crocher- artisan boulanger
off the Argentine Metro stop in Paris
(her husband mostly does all the baking, but she will offer friendly service, food tips, directions, or any other advice you might need as an American in Paris)

A self-described "milk fiend" (I swear, I quoted her in my travel notebook), she commiserated with me as I told my tales of milk mockery. She explained that she had also noticed the void of milk after growing up in the States, and explained that whenever her family visits the USA, their children cannot get their hands on enough milk. Poor French-American kids, all confused and conflicted over their calcium intake. They need to go on a little "holiday" to Denmark, that's what I'm saying.

Even as my taste expanded to pastries, cakes, and tarts, milk always seems an essential companion to baked goods consumption. And this is why I am disgruntled with French culture. Although I have no Danish blood, I have to say that I side with the Danes on this one. Don't get me wrong, I still deeply love Paris. I just don't love having to search high and low for milk to go with my ever present pastry, only to be shamed for it later. Try it our way Paris, it's not all bad.

In other news, I am now officially connected to Chowhound , an online discussion forum for "people who live to eat". I am hoping to find some good contributions to the Great American Bakery Hunt, and have already began to search the posts with a few good leads.