Because I like Tuesday better when it’s Fat

Yes, it’s Fat Tuesday, which leaves me wishing I had realized it earlier so I could do something fun for it. I have grand plans to someday find the motivation and energy to start a Fat Tuesday celebration with my kids, whipping up some Cajun grub, donning masks and exchanging beads and doubloons, like we did a few years ago. Someday. The best I can muster up for this Fat Tuesday is to repost a love letter I wrote to New Orleans years ago after a brief visit and share a link to one of my favorite NOLA bands, The Subdudes. Happy Fat Tuesday!

The Subdues – Poor Man’s Paradise

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First posted on Fat Tuesday of 2009

I devoured the beignets. Savored the jambalaya. Swooned over the gumbo. Stuffed myself with po’ boys. Met the deliciousness that is milk punch. Experienced the birthplace of Bananas Foster. Discovered that green beans are best when coated in a crisp batter and that I do, indeed, like dill pickles, but only when they’re deep-fried. I have just returned from New Orleans and I have fallen in love. And this isn’t a silly schoolgirl crush. It’s a serious case of “I get excited every time its name is mentioned and ache to see it again,” kind of love. Being in New Orleans was like being swaddled in my most favorite things – great food, great music, great people and great old buildings. I have fallen head-over-heels for the food, the incredible architecture, the music that fills the streets and the history that surrounds every inch of the city.

Now, old buildings are one thing–every community has some. But in New Orleans, they become an integral part of the experience and you can’t help but admire the unique and colorful beauty of every structure, many of which have been staring back at people for close to 200 hundred years. They stand quietly and proudly, reminding you that your presence is fleeting. You are simply one of the millions who have crossed their thresholds. The tourists and residents will come and go, but the buildings will remain, making them the true inhabitants of the city.

On to the music. It’s impossible to venture outside and not hear singing or horns playing. The music flows out the doors and windows, snaking through the allies to become the soundtrack of your day. Admittedly, I am not a jazz fan. I do not know about jazz and can’t pretend that I appreciate it in the way so many others do. But after one trip down Frenchman Street, which is home to famous clubs like Snug Harbor, that changed. I needed to have jazz in my face-its sounds swirling about me-to feel its energy and understand its appeal.

I once heard Emeril Lagasse say “New Orleans is a city that seeps into your soul and gets under your skin,” and it truly does. I returned home and immediately sought out ways to have New Orleans in Wisconsin. I scoured itunes for jazz from local New Orleans bands and bought myself a 6-pack of Abita Ale. I start each morning with chicory coffee from Café du Monde and have a list of all the Cajun restaurants in the area. My recipe collection now includes milk punch, etouffee and rice and beans.

I’ve been asked why this city has captivated me and I can’t quite explain it. I loved how modern life blends with one from centuries ago. They coexist in a way where one does not separate from the other, turning the city into its own unique world. The energy from 200 years of celebrations, sorrows and solidarity hangs in the air, and is kept alive by the residents, who have, with their own form of tenacity, held on to their roots by honoring them. As urban sprawl tumbles across the landscape, erasing the green space and unique characteristics that once distinguished communities from each other, the uniqueness that is New Orleans becomes even more pronounced.

New Orleans was on my “Top Five Places to Visit” list and I don’t think I can make it through the rest of my life without going there again. Though I consider myself to be NOLA’s latest lover, I am willing to have an open relationship. I encourage you to gather your favorite friends and venture to the Big Easy. You’ll understand why as soon as you arrive.

Should you be interested in whipping up some New Orleans-style grub tonight, here’s a great website to check out. If you want to read a great blog about remodeling and more in New Orleans, read this.

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