It’s been a few days since we had a post, because both Dena and I have been MIA. She was at a conference in San Antonio, and I was lucky enough to have district meeting in New Orleans. I was beyond excited to get down there and soak up some of the culture. I very quickly learned that there is all sorts of culture to be soaked up in the state, not just in NOLA.
I was scheduled to meet up with my partners in crime, Kelly and Natalie in Pineville, but before I got all the way there, I did a little detour into Natchitoches, home to world famous meat pies (and an amazing Christmas festival). I knew that anywhere I stopped that wasn’t a fast food place would have a meat pie of some variety, and I rolled into an Exxon that did not disappoint. It advertised boudin balls, meat pies, and fresh cracklins. Not the hard kind you find in your local grocery store, but the real kind, which are a staple in Louisiana.
the cracklins stand
I went in and discovered that this is apparently a fairly popular place, with a long line of people waiting for some of the fried goodies in the deli case, which had a constantly rotating flow of all things greasy and delicious. There were corn nuggets, and whole fried corn on the cob, meat pies, and crawfish pies. However, the big deal in that particular gas station appeared to be…………..gizzards.
various meat filled dough products
I don’t eat gizzards, and after I get done with this post I am probably going to have to get on Google and see just exactly where a gizzard is located on a chicken (at least I think it comes from a chicken). Every person in the line besides me ordered gizzards, and one woman even yelled, “IS THAT FRESH GIZZARDS???!!!!” when a new tray came out. I played it somewhat safe and got a crawfish pie, which was like an empanada stuffed with crawfish, rice, celery, and onions. It was kind of like a thick gumbo encased in a crispy fried pie shell. So I left Natchitoches with my crawfish pie and a serving of corn nuggets, and headed to Pineville, where Kelly and Natalie would lead me on to further food adventures in New Orleans. Come back tomorrow and read about all the delicious food (and cocktails) we filled up with in the French Quarter!
