Our weekend was supposed to begin with an overabundance of Drago’s charbroiled oysters and a few 10 cent superfectas at the Fair Grounds Race Course’s Starlight Racing. However, once we both got home and opened up a bottle of Delerium Christmas, we decided that standing outside under a huge white tent in the cold misty rain would be miserable- even if there were go-go dancers wearing jockey uniforms (giggady). We had both just eaten enough food at our respective pot luck company Christmas parties to put Mt. Zion M.B. Church #2 to shame, but we were both suffering from serious hunger pains. I was then reminded of the buried treasure I had stowed away in our desk drawer.
Dick and Jenny’s happened to be the first LivingSocial coupon I pulled out of the converted sewing table and our plans were set. We made the short trip down Tchoupitoulas to the bright yellow building on the Jena corner.
Expecting the place to be somewhat upscale, we imagined the restaurant would exude stuffiness. Our expectations were quickly, and thankfully, shattered as soon as we opened the door and heard the maitre de complaining to a guest about not being able to pick up Tashard Choice on waivers. In the midst of his fantasy rant, we were seated under the Christmas lit waiting area next to an indoor porch swing. Just moments later, we were guided though the converted bedrooms, and were seated in the main dining room which seemed to once serve as a living room. The neighborhood-like feel of the restaurant was inviting and radiated warmth. As my eyes wandered to the plate covered walls, it was hard to focus my attention on the diverse, fall-inspired menu. We started with the ridiculously affordable carafe of the house wine, and decided to skip the appetizers. Much to my surprise, Erin decided to get the lamb shank with a sage-rosemary demi-glace, so I went with the pork tenderloin stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts. Both plates were served with creamy thyme- white cheddar grits and spinach which closely resembled a good ole pot of New Year’s Day collard greens. Stuffed as a Mississippi Leg Hound, we decided to sacrifice dessert at this newfound comfort food eatery for a few rounds of ice cold eggnog.The hindering cold mist from the night before had continued to the next morning. Unfortunately, the rib-sticking fullness did not. However, Jolly Ole St. Nick had visited Erin for the 5th time this week (I’m beginning to think the old guy has had a few too many Abita Christmas Ales) and dropped off yet another LivingSocial coupon. The dog didn’t even have time to stretch before we were out the door and on our way to Laurel Street Bakery. Since this local bakery is only a few blocks from the house, we were gazing into the large, pastry-filled, glass counter within a few seconds.
No quiche, or pumpkin muffin, or fruity pastry for this guy. Instead, I decided to go with the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a housemade bagel, the bakery’s specialty. The bagel arrived with a crispy exterior covering a soft, dense interior as well as crispy bacon and remarkably cheesy eggs. Quickly rooting around I finished off my sandwich like Randy Parker, and turned to Erin’s croissant and chocolate milk. One was enough, but when I finished Erin’s I was fuller than any Who after a feast of roast beast.The big breakfast gave us the power to fight the crowds and part the red sea of buggies while trying to get the last minute gifts for the mammaws. We made it back to the house in time to catch the first bowl game of the season. Normally, the BYU- UTEP matchup wouldn’t have satisfied me, but I was having withdrawals and fiending for football. Hell, at this point, I would have been content with the Capital City Classic. However, halfway through the Fresno- NIU game, the last of the LivingSocial coupons was burning a hole in my pocket.
It was getting even colder, so we bundled up as tight as we could and headed for Parran’s Po-Boys (not Poor- Boys) in Metairie. Once we got a translator, the older Italian lady behind the counter finally put in our order. While finishing off the last of our fried eggplant sticks, another older Italian lady dropped off a blackened chicken po-boy, and a chicken parmesan po-boy. The blackened chicken po-boy was pretty self explanatory and resembled most other blackened chicken available throughout the city. The enormous chicken parmesan po-boy, however, turned into a delicious mess of thick, sweet red gravy, melted provolone, and crispy chicken. With half a po-boy left over for each of us, we got two small to-go plates and journeyed downtown to Miracle on Fulton Street.
The combination of the holidays and the New Orleans Bowl caused a lot of unnecessary traffic. Tour busses and RV’s had taken up the prime free parking spots downtown. When we finally reached Fulton Street, we could already here some tunes echoing throughout the tall landscape of the CBD. After wandering through the festive tunnel of lights and getting pelted by the hourly “snow”, we spotted the Macy’s Christmas tree, which probably required a Bumble to hang the festive fleur-de-lis atop.
With snow falling, Sam Adam’s Winter Lager flowing, the sounds of Rockin’ Dopsie & The Zydeco Twisters filling our ears, and live reindeer, well, doing what reindeer do, Christmas time was here. Apparently all this holiday merriment was enough for Santa too, as he dropped off brunch the next morning. I recall him referring to it as Bovina Benedict- a smoked gouda grit cake, praline bacon, and a brown butter fried egg, all atop a homemade pepper jelly sauce.
I polished off the last few bites of Erin’s gyro (as usual), and then 
Once the official shower merriment had concluded, the agenda slowly shifted to a true Christmas party. Fortunately, the ending wasn’t like the last time this group got together for Christmas. No Christmas trees were powerbombed, all doors were still on their hinges, and my 