Life of Steve

Steve Visits LSU Tigerland (Baton Rouge) Part I (Food)

As some of you know I have been "On Tour" with my current project. After spending the first two days of this week in H-Town (Houston) I packed up the car and drove 270 miles east into Bayou Country to a client site near Baton Rouge, LA. My Hotel is located only a couple of miles from the LSU Campus.

I am a big fan of Cajun and Creole food so as I checked in I asked the hotel receptionist to recommend a good local restaurant to eat. Once she understood my taste in food she recommended a place called "Parrain's Seafood" which was supposed to have some of the more authentic Cajun and Creole Food around. When I pulled up into the parking lot I could see that the place did have the right look. Sort of how "House of Blues" tries to fake being an authentic Blues Cajun Soul Food type place but this place was the real deal.

It was a tough choice since everything on the menu looks excellent. I finally decided on the Andouille Encrusted Fresh Fish with Dirty Rice as a side instead of Potatoes. It was an excellent choice. Recently I tried a similar type restaurant in Tulsa for Cajun food but Parrains blew it away. I practically licked the plate clean and when my server returned he mentioned that it must have been "Okay" for me. I would highly recommend Parrains if you are in town.

I did a quick drive by of the LSU campus today but tomorrow I think I am going to try to have dinner and walk around a bit to explore the area in more detail. I have selected a couple of places to eat that are literally just outside the gates of the LSU Campus to try a "local student favorite" and to see if the town area near the LSU campus can compare to the State College, PA downtown that I know and love so well. Part II to follow!

Best Potato Chips Ever

Is what my wife called them while she was placing the online order from Dieffenbach's Web Site. That is quite a claim and I like Potato Chips so I told her to go ahead and order some for us to eat too. They are made on the other side of the State (Womelsdorf, PA) and aren't sold in Southwestern PA which is why we were ordering them from the website. So we placed the order and anxiously awaited delivery of these high potential chips (High potential from Steve's point of view.)

I just tried some for the first time this past week or so and I was impressed. They were very tasty. So I flipped to the back of the bag and the ingredients is a purist's dream. Potatoes, 100% Lard Shortening (Yes you read that correctly. LARD SHORTENING), & Salt, and double the Trans-Fat (Ok. I made up the Trans-Fat part.)  Gotta love the fact that they don't even try to be healthy, just tasty. I do suppose the tasty vs. healthy demographics are pretty different anyways. Very good chips and worth a try if you get a chance. Enjoy!

Pie Hole Pizza????

This is so not right.

http://www.pieholepizzeria.com/

I am in town though. Should I eat there?

Kill it and Grill It

Disclaimer: I totally admit that I am imitating "Fresh Pepper's" pics of food. However, imitation is the best form of mockery right?

Since it was such beautiful weather today (75 and Sunny) I decided to kick off my Outdoor Grilling Season. In preparation I pulled out my stainless steel grill tools set (or as Brian like to call them the "Tongs of Death."

I had some "pre-slain" chicken breasts in a Mesquite Marinade (Since I am a little too busy working 11 hour days to actually butcher the chickens myself) which cooked up just perfectly! I used to grill (literally) every day when I lived out in Las Vegas. Maybe I will come close to my old habit. Not a bad thing at all!

Couldn't resist Primanti Brothers

I was at the Primanti Bros in Oakland yesterday waiting for the buyer for my final regular season Steelers tickets and had decided previously that I would NOT eat lunch there (because of my current diet.) Yet, when I got in there and saw (and could smell) the succulent sandwiches topped with mounds of fresh cut fries, I was doomed.

I lasted seven minutes from arrival to ordering.

Frownie Brownie? (The Angry Desert)

Most people are familiar with the McDonald's Happy Meals (for kids). You may have also heard of the "Happy Ending" Sundaes at Friendlys. People from my part of the country are familiar with the Eat N Park Smiley Cookies.

I wasn't ready for an "Angry"  Desert.

While driving around town the other day I saw a Billboard advertising the "Frownie Brownie" at Kings Family Restaurants. The brownie really does have a big frown on it's face (in Whipped Icing.) My real question is this: "How bad of a day was the person having who dreamed this Menu Item up?"

I don't need a reason for Red Meat Part II

Gave in to my cravings and made a trip down to Ruth's Chris Steak House in PPG Plaza. As someone I once knew said "One of the tricks to making an awesome steak is to drench it in butter first" (and she was right.) Having Friday off this made the perfect start to my weekend. Glass of red wine, perfectly cooked Ribeye and a Cherry Cobbler desert were my choices this time and it was excellent! It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it! My "Steak" craving is satisified for now.

I don’t need a reason for Red Meat

Recently I was expressing my craving for a good Steak since I haven’t had one in quite sometime. (My last good steak occurred on June 28^th. Sorry Brian, I’m not giving credit to Wolfgangs during the NYC visit on July 16.)

The conversation went something like this:

Steve: “I need some kind of special occasion so I can go out to get a good steak. I have really been craving it lately”

Girl: “Why do you need an occation?”

The girl had a point. I have made the plans already. Delicious, succulent, wonderful red meat, here I come.