Lazy Magnolia

Alrighty, y'all... last throwback post, I promise.  At least for awhile. Or until tomorrow when I get a stray hair and decide to post about Salem Academy or something. You never know what I might get into!

Anyhow, when my husband and I were in Biloxi, Mississippi, a couple months ago, we randomly (again, you never know!) ended up driving 30 minutes away to Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company one Friday afternoon to take a tour.

We'd seen their beer at a couple of restaurants in the area, so we made our way to Kiln (known as "the Kill" to locals, apparently) to check it out.

We each got a pint glass as part of the tour. They are both filled with "Southern Pecan", which is their signature brew.

When we pulled up to the brewery, we were slightly skeptical of a few things:

1) They shared/split a warehouse with the Coast Guard?

2) The parking lot was not paved, and it was very muddy due to recent rains.

3) We did not see another living soul.

However, we had come this far, so we made our way through the mud, through the production area of the open-air brewery, and into the office to check in for the tour (we gathered these directions from a rain-streaked handwritten poster at the 'entrance).  I am very glad that we persevered. Neither of us had ever been on a brewery tour before, and our tour guide, Ginger, was as sweet as honey from start to finish.

We sampled and asked questions and walked around for about an hour before leaving the down home brewery, which was breaking ground on a massive expansion the following week.  I wholeheartedly recommend stopping by the brewery if you're ever in the vicinity, and keep a lookout for their beers that are distributed throughout the southeast!

Commander's Palace

On our brief Friday trip over to New Orleans, we made special lunch reservations at Commander's Palace at the recommendation of his attending. Oh Commander's Palace... easily in my list of top 5 restaurants ever visited!

The thing that made Commander's a refreshing fine-dining experience was that we went for lunch, not dinner.

This was completely key for several reasons:
1) Less pretentious dress code (Jackets are required for men at dinner)
2) 25¢ martinis
3) More reasonable menu prices

I'm tasting the creole bread pudding soufflé... what a treat!

Happy guy all finished with his crawfish grilled cheese and roasted corn and tomato bisque.

Everything was truly perfection. The meal, the drinks, the service, and the atmosphere were all superb.  Everyone in the packed restaurant seemed to be imbibing the 25¢ martinis (there was a limit of 3, thank goodness) and celebrating something or another.  It was a really fun energy for a fine dining establishment.  I guess I should have expected nothing less from NOLA!

The French Quarter

When my husband was assigned to Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi, for the month of April, he had every other Friday off. He was excited for an extra day of studying (woo hoo! right?), but I convinced him on one of those Fridays to go to New Orleans with me.  It's only an hour or so away from Biloxi, and I drove so he could study on the way there/back.  Have I mentioned lately that I am REALLY good at the whole medical-student's-wife thing ;)?

My first priority in NOLA was to go to Cafe Du Monde.  I don't care that it is always jam packed and touristy.  I could eat their beignets and drink their cafe au lait every day.  We grabbed ours to-go and sat overlooking the canal as we had the healthiest, most nutritious breakfast in the world.

Part of the joy of beignets is the powdered sugar that ends up everywhere- pants, shirts and hair included.

After getting loaded up on carbs and caffeine, we walked around the French Quarter shops. My favorite find was Santa's Quarters because I have an unhealthy obsession with rather expensive Christmas ornaments. Michael preferred the open air French Market where he purchased an actual alligator head. Yikes! His only reassurance to his freaked-out wife? "The eyes aren't real, they're black marbles." What a relief. 

These pictures were taken in Jackson Square Park which overlooks the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral. All of this is in stark contrast to the activities a few streets over on Bourbon. We walked through (briskly because of the smell) for the heck of it, but found to need to linger in a bar at 10 am to drink Hurricanes and Daiquiris.  We were saving our day drinking for lunch at Commander's Palace!

We also caught the St. Charles Streetcar to take us to lunch, and I don't think there is a better or more picturesque way to travel into the Garden District!

Our day in NOLA was absolutely lovely... everything from the weather (70's and sunny) to the food was perfection.  Except for the silver dollar sized blisters I got on the BOTTOM of my feet from all the walking. Worth it!

The Shed

We went to a BBQ place called The Shed when we were down in Biloxi, Mississippi, about a month and a half ago.  We knew we were in for a treat when we saw this parked right outside.

For a little perspective, I'm about as tall as one of those tires.

The entire restaurant, which is surprisingly sprawling and next to a large creek that connects to the Back Bay of Biloxi, is constructed out of scraps: spare windows, sheet metal, plywood, and random doors are attached together precariously.  The 'floor' inside and out is gravel, and, of course, there are no temperature controls aside from a few fans scattered across the 'ceiling' in places.  The seating is wooden picnic benches, and the napkins come in the form of a roll of paper towels on each table.  I'm terribly sorry I did't take a picture of this scene, but I think the BBQ that I consumed took all of my attention.

The first time we went (yes, we went more than once during our four week stint in Biloxi), we tasted a little bit of everything: brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, and sausage.  The chicken was the hands down favorite, with the BBQ smoked sausage coming in second. The mac salad and sweet potato fries were also things I would go back for... just not in the summer. I think I would cook right along with the BBQ if I sat in that un-air conditioned building in July!