This post is near and dear to my PSU Blue & White heart. In 1982, Joe and I traveled to and spent a week in NOLA. Penn State was playing Georgia for our First National Championship! There are many photos in my files, memories in my mind and crazy tales to tell. From a Penn Stater's perspective, this trip was "the bomb". From a foodie's perspective, this trip was my 24-year-old-at-the-time, "ah ha, life-changing moment"...

Right after we got checked into the Fairmont Hotel and unpacked our bags, we got dressed up and headed to Galatoire's... the grand dame of old-line New Orleans restaurants. It's a noisy, "coat and tie", "heels and hose" establishment which serves a shrimp remoulade that remains etched permanently in my mind (and is now affectionately referred to as "SUGAR BOWL SHRIMP REMOULADE" in our close Penn State/Happy Valley Circles:

I'm not going to lie to you, we had dinner in a very notable, high-end restaurant every night, but what I most enjoyed about this trip (from a foodie standpoint) was my love affair with po' boy sandwiches. I think I ate one everyday for lunch for a full week, and, the deep-fried shrimp po' boy made my Penn State shrimp lovin' heart skip a beat with each and every bite. Shrimp po' boys are traditionally served with remoulade sauce, so these two recipes go hand-in-hand together:

When it comes to the electric atmosphere for all of us Penn Stater's in this very special city that week, there are no words to describe it. We ate, drank and partied, literally, 24-7 (I know, because the only reason I didn't get a hang-over was because I never stopped drinking), then, we went to the best game ever played to that date in Penn State's history (under the best coach that ever lived anywhere)! WE WERE... THERE!!! Which makes me not mind being fifty-something quite so much!

For the glory,

Mel.

For these recipes and more commentary: Jessedotsmom's Foodie Blog