“Laissez les bon temps roulez” says my friend Andy, who lives here!
After breakfast and some hanging out, we made our way uptown to Tulane. Andrew’s apartment is quite typical
And typical college near-grad, he had just woken up –
At least there were some nice family photos!
We all went for about an hour stroll around the campus –
And stopped in for some refreshments. I downed this in about 5 minutes!
Matt found one of his old friends, but thankfully he declined the purchase
ZBT Brunch
I was very surprised that I made it until 2:30 without getting too hungry. Guess because we were busy! We finally arrived at the ZBT house for a family brunch. Their frat house actually burned Andrew’s sophomore year and they just finished a big re-build with modern castle – it’s unlike any frat house I’ve ever been in!
But there were still familiar sights, such as this toasted of tater tots probably a few days old 🙂
The brunch was gorgeous and put on by the house chef Mike and his wife Deb.
Crawfish galore –
HELLLLLPPP! he said. Made me sad 🙁
Omelets, ham, prime rib, rolls, veggies, fruit + chocolate, shrimp + desserts, plus a huge hot bar with shrimp pesto pasta, gumbo, meatballs, chicken wings and mussels! We were all really hungry and couldn’t have been happier with the selection
Crawfish lessons!
Poor little guy … I only ate two. They were pretty gutsy today!
My eats included a bite of most everything, per usual
A ham sandwich, muscles, shrimp, 2 crawfish, some veggies
Crab Gumbo (which was excellent) over rice with some shrimp pasta
Seconds. I’ve never had mussels on a buffet before – I went a little crazy.
Drinks included a water spiced with cranberry, lots of more water and a taste of some cinnamon whiskey that was good, but I didn’t want more than a taste of –
The desserts were totally tempting –
I had 50% fruit with some chocolate drizzle plus a tiny piece of cake and a cheesecake bite. It was hard not to go back for more, but I knew I’d be better off sticking to a taste and not getting to full/sickly off of icing at 4pm. We had more fun food coming up-
I also snagged two bananas for breakfast in my purse!
Kanz said I look like Kelsey in this photo!
Wave Goodbye To College
After the brunch we headed back to campus for the “Wave Goodbye Party,” a big jazz musical festival on the quad with lots of free food (and of course in NOLA you can bring open containers anywhere so we brought in some brews!)
We listened to the band Bonerama on the lawn under the sunset.
Andrew, Andy (Matt’s frat brother from Davidson), and us
I enjoyed a strawberry Abita – about 2/3 of a bottle. They had lots of food options at the party, but the lines were long and we had dinner reservations, so we passed.
Upperline
We had 8:45 reservations at Upperline, which was recommended by lots of our friends.
We ordered two bottles of wine for the table – a white and a red.
I started with red and had 2 smallish glasses..
Congrats to the graduate!
I tried the bread, but it wasn’t anything to write (the blog) about so I passed on the rest
Karen and I decided we weren’t that hungry from our late lunch, so we split two appetizers and each got salads. We got the Watercress Salad with Stilton and Pecans and a Thyme Vinaigrette. Delish!!
Karen ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes (classic!) and I got the Duck Etouffee as another traditional New Orleans dish –
Green termaters –
Etouffee –
My tasting plate. LOVE doing these tastings. It’s so much more fun! I’m so glad to have a family who likes to share –
Andy gave me a bite of his duck + sweet potatoes (the orange on the left above), which was to-die-for good. The sweet potatoes were like Thanksgiving dinner 100%.
Cheryl gave me a bite of her authentic gumbo (she’s from LA so she knows her tastes!)
Lastly, Mark (Matt’s dad) gave me a taste of his tuna with a ginger sauce and sticky rice. Delicious as well!!
I ended the night with a taste of white wine
And we split these desserts – a Sticky Pecan Pie a la Mode and a Creme Brulee – SEVEN ways. I had a spoonful and a half of each –
We start tomorrow at 6:30 to get to the Superdome for graduation by 8:15. Gotta get to bed!!
klm says
crazy fun + delicious day!! Funny that Kanz thought that about that picture!! I’m going to compare it to my photobooth!!
Lisa says
Wow! You had such an adventurous day, food-wise.
If you really like mussels, you should try making them at home – it’s super easy! Just steam them in white wine and some chicken broth and you’re golden.
The Novice Berker says
Such a cool celebration! I’m absolutely jealous of that awesome NOLA food. 🙁 You look so gorgeous too! 🙂
Linda says
Yea for the tasting and sharing of food! As an Asian-American, eating family style is the norm in our household.
Run Sarah says
Wow, what a fancy brunch for a frat house! Looks like an awesome day with tons of interesting eats.
Sarah (lovINmytummy) says
Is it sad that my comment is going to be about your Diet Peach Snapple? I haven’t had one of those in forever and I really want one now.
Of course, all the food at your dinner looked wonderful too!
Christina says
I’m impressed with your eating skills- it’s cool to see how you can enjoy special food but not stuff yourself!
Moran (The Running Addict) says
Wow I didn’t have a snapple in years! we don’t have these in Eastern Europe!
Andrew’s apartment is…well…hilarious!
j3nn.net says
What a fun day! I love sampler plates, too. I try to make them at home as often as possible. Variety is essential to my taste buds’ happiness. Sometimes I wish I had a commercial salad bar in the kitchen. 😆
Jenn
Beadie @ What I Ate Yesterday says
What a fun day!
Have a nice weekend!
Lauren says
There’s always good eatin’ in NOLA! Well, except for Mad Dog – ugh, that stuff is awful, Matt 😉 Good to know he just posed for a pic.
I attended a crawfish boil during our brief stint in Houston, and oh my gosh it was a gluttonous affair! I love lobster, crab, shrimp, etc… but I didn’t love these little guys.
Salad + appetizer is the way to go sometimes!
Melissa says
Looks like ya’ll are having a blast!!
Oh and I think that blog post is the closet thing to living college life that I’ll ever experience. 😀
Angie says
Looks like a great day with the family!
Love the little bites of everything! I think that is such a great way to eat- what’s cool is if we really savour our food, then a small bite or two of each item can really satisfy… So important when the options are fairly high in fat/calories.The meal looked fabulous, thanks for sharing your family’s day!
WEEKLY BITE says
What a great day! I love New Orleans food! Some of the best cuisine around!
Tina says
Looks like you guys are having a blast!
I like your dress! I actually bought one VERY similar!
Christina says
All I ever think of is crawfish when I think of New Orleans food. I guess it’s a staple there – cool! They look like little lobsters.
Heather says
Sounds like a fun, busy day! What a great seafood buffet at lunch. Everything looks so good!
I love how you guys always end up sharing meals… the perfect way to try a bit of everything.
Glad your enjoying your trip!
allijag says
Everything looks so fun! You really do look like Kelsey in that picture- weird! 🙂
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
What a fun day, and an AMAZING brunch!! My college sorority goodbye brunch included lox and bagels, and lots of jello salad… ew.
emmy says
I LOVE Abita Strawberry, it is my new favorite thing!
Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats says
Ohhh my gosh – what a southern meal – all that seafood and crawfish! You would NEVER see anything like that in the Midwest – love it!
RK says
It is really great for me to see and example of how to eat and enjoy yourself at a special event in moderation and without depriving yourself. I love that you were able to taste everything you wanted and truly enjoyed the experience. Thank you for taking the time to share this trip with us!
Danica says
This is the first chance I’ve had to catch up on your blog in like a week! Thanks for the laugh and smiles as I read your post – how I don’t always miss that part of college 🙂 LOL
LOVE the fun food layout too – so southern 🙂
It looks like you had a great time though.
Rachel says
I’ve always wanted to go to Lousiana! I have some family there but never made it down. Thank you for sharing all these photos with us, especially while you’re on vacation. I hope the good times continue to roll! (I learned that phrase from Stephen Colbert, haha)
lainb says
LOL at the most likely days-old tater tots in the toaster!
Katie says
I love the pic with the MD 20/20…I actually just last weekend made my husband try some because he had never had it. After trying it again, I forgot how horrible it actually tastes haha. Too funny!
amber says
omg mad dog twamp twamp! haven’t seen that for days!!
Kelsey says
I promise that I’m not creepy for finding this old post.. I just happened to notice under your “Travels” section that you and Matt took a trip to New Orleans (my hometown!!!). Reading these posts are hilarious for me – especially when you noted that you ate 2 crawfish. We typically eat between 3-5 pounds per person at a crawfish boil!!! I was also pleasantly surprised when I read that the band that played at the party was Bonerama – my dad started this band with a few of the other trombone players. I doubt you remember but he is the trombonist with the blonde hair. Small world!
I’m glad that you enjoyed your trip, I hope you loved all of the deliciously rich foods (see how its so hard to be healthy in the South)! Come back soon!!