NOLA: The American Sector

To have chosen my first visit to New Orleans to coincide with beginning this blog project was not a bad idea. At all.

The history and appreciation of food in this city, and the culture surrounding it, is, simply put, phenomenal. The reality of this was woven through literally every meal with had.

Walking into the The American Sector was like entering the scene of a movie. After a riveting, very informative and even emotional tour of the WWII museum, entering the museum's restaurant to a scene of many Marines in uniform surrounding the bar and waitress in 50's style dress was a bit surreal.

Starting off with drinks at just about any restaurant in New Orleans is a nice prelude to the meal, as well as a chance to dialogue with the knowledgeable bartenders about the city. The service industry in New Orleans is truly one of the major backbones to what makes this city what it is: flavorful, conversation rich and interesting.

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo

Shrimp in a cup with spicy aioli

Biting into one of these battered shrimp pieces to savor the tender meat coated with spicy aioli was a treat. If I lived in New Orleans, I could probably cope with simply feasting on appetizers when I went out. As became a trend through our meals in NOLA, the appetizer was distinct and satisfying. A dish I will likely try to replicate at home.

I've always loved wooden dishes so I appreciated seeing the sandwiches of our fellow diners on these wooden platforms.

Stuffed crab- I didn't realize until the last bites that there were little bits of pork in the stuffing. I guess my food awareness needs tremendous work and is by no means honed. Alas, yet another great reason for setting off on this food project of a blog.

There will rarely to never be any pork featured in this blog. I'm not Muslim or Jewish. I just don't do pork.

All of that said, the stuffed crab was pretty delicious.