Weekend with Makenzie

One thing that I have not yet done since I started this blog is write non-recipe posts about our life here in Louisiana and our new adventures. So, since our families and friends (except our new ones) live elsewhere and we are fortunate to get to experience a new place while we are young and without kids, so I think that I'll start sharing some of our adventures with you.

AND, since this is technically a food and recipe blog, I will share with you our thoughts on restaurants we go to. After all, New Orleans is known for having some of the best restaurants in the world and we definitely do our part to contribute to their patronage!

Fortunately, I have perfect opportunity to begin this new little blogging endeavor as my very best friend, Makenzie, came to visit Steven and I this past weekend. Makenzie and I have known each other since we were 11 years old when we met in Mrs. Reeves' fifth grade class. We were instantly best friends and have been ever since. We were even born one day apart. Needless to say, I was so happy when she said she was booking a flight to come visit!

One thing that is funny about me and probably not surprising to anyone is that when people say they are coming to visit, I get a little stressed and start planning and thinking of all the things we are going to do and every single time I realize there is no need to stress because it is so much more fun when you just go with the flow and see where it takes you. That is definitely what we did with Makenzie and it was sooo much fun!

Friday night, we took the suggestion of my friend, Casey, and went to Jacques Imo's . Jacques Imo's is located in the Uptown area of New Orleans and is such a cool place. Very funky and totally reminded me of something you would find in Austin (for all you Texans reading this). The food was amazing! They started us off with what I'd consider one of the best parts of the meals and that was the corn muffins. Oh. My. Gosh. They were like heaven on a plate. I pretty much always love corn bread, but these were on another level! For dinner, I got grilled Mahi Mahi which was prepared with a sweet Asian sauce and served with asparagus and pistachios. Such an odd combination, but so good. Makenzie got the blackened Red Fish, which is one of their specialties and most popular dishes. For someone that had not really had much Cajun cooking before, I'd say that Jacques Imo's won Makenzie over. Thanks Casey for the great suggestion, we loved it and we will definitely go back again!

The next morning, we took Makenzie to our favorite breakfast place on the Northshore, The Broken Egg. Now, if you're thinking, "Oh, I've been there in (fill in the bank)." You probably have, however, the one in Mandeville is the original and, in my opinion, the best one! From the spicy bloody marys to the extra large selection of breakfast favorites and cajun specialities, The Broken Egg is a winner in our book. It is a staple in every Patterson visitor's itinerary. (I don't actually write one, but you get what I mean.

After brunch, we had a terrific day of New Orleaneans' favorite pastimes--drinking and eating. We hit the Abita Beer Brewery, the Pontchartrain Vineyards and then we were off to Friends for a drink on the patio (after a stop home to change, recharge and let Lily out!) Makenzie loved Friends, as everyone does, because it is in the best location and it is so great to sit outside and have a drink right on the river. So relaxing. We had a casual dinner at Morton's and then called it a night after one last drink at Friends (again).

Makenzie's mom was coincidentally in New Orleans with a friend the same weekend, so the next morning, we drove into the city to pick them up for brunch. We decided to try Camellia Grill. We had never been there and I knew next to nothing about it, so I was a little nervous as to how it would all turn out since as I mentioned, I like to impress my guests. ha ha

Well, worry no further because Camellia Grill is delicious. It is definitely not your typical fancy New Orleans Jazz Brunch ala Brennan's, but it very tasty and a fun New Orleans type experience. You have to wait outside in line because it is pretty small and the seating is all counter-seating where you can watch them whip up your breakfast/brunch. But fear not, the waitstaff if pretty entertaining and the wait goes by fast. We got there fairly early so we didn't have to wait too long. I'll tell you one thing though, bring a sweater. It was like an icebox! Everyone else got omelets of varying styles while I decided on a french dip style roast beef sandwich since I don't like eggs (that eliminated about 95% of breakfast foods for me!) The omelets were huge and fluffy since they beat their eggs in a milkshake maker! What a great idea! Then came the best part of any meal...dessert. Even though it is breakfast, it is a necessity to get dessert if you go to Camellia Grill. It should be a rule. I'd read on the Internet (in my pre-visit planning, of course) that they had the best chocolate pecan pie. Now I don't really love pecan pie all that much, but since I had read about it, I decided to give it a go. And boy am I glad that I did! You see, they put the pie on a buttered grill to heat it up so that all the ooey gooey goodness can start to ooze out. Then they plop a grapefruit-size scoop of Blue Bell (made in Texas!) homemade vanilla ice cream on top. Again, I was in heaven. Just like with the corn muffins.

All in all, the weekend with Makenzie was terrific. I probably gained five pounds, but it was worth it. Five pounds and all. Thanks for visiting Mak, please come back soon! Love you!

P.S. Can anyone tell me how to upload pictures into posts (using a Mac) in the spot you want? I clearly can't figure it out but want to put pictures up!