BLOCHO'S TACOS

As a kid I never ate seafood.  The smell and look of salmon, lobster, swordfish, or whatever ocean / river / fish tank dweller my mom brought home disgusted me.  I used to get bribes to taste the fish -- $1 for a bite of salmon, $5 for a lobster claw -- but nothing seemed to work.  Except mayonnaise, carrots, and celery.  I loved Bumble Bee Tuna out of a can and mixed up into the most delicious tuna salad in the world -- my mom's. With years came maturity and adventurousness and I started eating seafood.  I took the $5 bribe and realized I liked lobster claws, but not the tails.  A tuna avocado roll doused in soy sauce (now gluten-free tamari) and loaded up with pickled ginger was quite delicious. Two sticky situations led me to try shrimp and salmon* and my expected reactions -- immediate hurling -- was dwarfed by the pure enjoyment. Tuna salad will always hold a dear place in my heart at my fish-eating gateway drug.  Combining tuna salad ...

Clementines were our appetizer! Meals from the Heart Cafe Ordered: Poached Egg and Crab Cake Passion, Cheese Grits, Vegan Power Smoothies. Some great things about this place: It's located in the French Market and there's plenty of seating either at their counter or in an area with lots of tables/chairs. Because the French Market seems to be a bit of a tourist destination, the crowd is buzzy.  This place, however, gets visits from lots of locals! They give you clementines after you order Everything can be made gluten-free I had my first crab cake at Meals from the Heart Cafe and I would return again and again for that crab cake.  It was light.  It was tasty.  It came with a sauce/aioli that was finger-lickin' good.  The cheese grits were delicious, but I needed to add hot sauce to bring out the depth in flavor.  The Vegan Power shake was huge and extremely satisfying. Into one smoothies they pack fruit, walnuts, flaxseeds, almond milk, hemp mi...

The United States is filled with lots of cool cities that have lots of cool things.  I feel very fortunate to have spent and be spending a large portion of my formative years in New York City where it seems like you can have any type of experience you want at any hour of the day. I love New York.  And, there are many other cities I have a passion to explore. One of those cities is New Orleans. Similar to my obsession with Austin, TX,  my fascination with New Orleans sprang up out of nowhere.  I don't think it has to do with Mardi Gras, but maybe I can attribute it to Jazz Fest?  Whatever it is, New Orleans has been in the Top 5 of my "Places to Visit in the US" for a while now. Feeling spontaneous one dreary winter afternoon, I started looking up flights (and hotels) for Jazz Fest 2014.  Clearly, I was too late in the game as all the decent places had been booked and flight fares were astronomical.  I spoke to my mom about this and asked h...