Eating out in New Orleans can be a unique experience. |
There was no menu at Tujague's Restaurant on Decatur Street in New Orleans. Everything the round Cajun man in the kitchen cooked was better than anything else I had ever eaten. First came a dark chicken and sausage gumbo, followed by shrimp salad. My stomach was already fuller than it had been all vacation. The final appetizer was a beef brisket with horse radish. Most of my days have less calories than this meal warm up. I was already full and hadn't even started dinner. A breeze blew through the open doors and windows, bringing a Jazz tune from the saxophonist on the corner. A hansom cab horse stamped at flies as he awaited a fare. The French Quarter Thursday Night outside was just warming up as I had another $5.40 Dixie Beer. The main course, thick fillet mignon with potatoes and broccoli came piled high, deep, and cholesterol laden. My full belly made room, and awaited the bread pudding with thick chocolate sauce that was dessert. My cell phone vibrated, and I reached for it, amid empty beer bottles. "Hey" "Hey, what are you doing?" "Just finishing dinner." "Where?" "Tujague's." "Holy crap, do you know how much it costs?" "No there are no menus, but it doesn't seem expensive." Two more beers, $114.00 and a generous tip later, my stomach wanted to knot at the thought of my nearly empty wallet. I staggered off to Bourbon Street, meeting Monica at Club Oz, to sing and dance with the party boys. I thought how much better off I would have been to wait to eat until she got off from work. I wonder if I would have been that full if I had accepted her offer to buy me all the Famous Franks hot dogs I could eat from Ted the pushcart vendor, who sets up next to the monument in Jackson Square. |