Monday Munchies: Oysters and Blue Cheese

All in all, yesterday was a pretty cool birthday – laidback and stress-free – and even better, I was able to spend it with two of my favorite “creatures”: the hubby and the kitty.

Although I relished my first official tarot-card reading at Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, my fondest moments naturally involved some of my favorite foods. In lieu of a fancy birthday dinner, in fact, Dan and I decided to eat at two of our favorite casual restaurants in the French Quarter – Oceana Grill and Yo Mama’s Bar and Grill – both of which I’ve raved about on my American Nomad blog.

At Oceana on Conti, we opted for two beers and two dozen raw oysters, which are truly some of the largest, freshest, cleanest, and least expensive oysters in the Quarter. Needless to say, we go there a lot for our oyster fix. (And while my cell phone’s camera doesn’t really do them justice, I couldn’t pass up a chance to share them with you.)

Later, following my private tarot-card reading in the back room of Marie Laveau’s, Dan and I strolled over to Yo Mama’s on St. Peter, which offers some of the best burgers in the city. And I’m proud to say that, though it was a special occasion (and reason enough to indulge), we decided to share a blue cheese burger, a salad, and a loaded baked potato – in lieu of ordering two full burgers with the requisite side dishes. Of course, we did swig several Abita beers between us, but we could hardly help ourselves. We were, after all, watching the New Orleans Saints kick the New England Patriots’ collective arses... which I like to think they did in honor of my birthday. Hehehe.

As an aside, I know it might seem as though Dan and I never stop eating, but, well, what can I say? We both appreciate the diversity of cuisine on this planet – and New Orleans alone has oodles of yummy treats – which is, of course, going to make the diets we started today that much tougher.