My friend Tom has a deadline and I've taken it upon myself to help him. No, it's not a work deadline, but a "leaving New Orleans" deadline. Originally from Chicago, Tom moved down here to take the position as an executive chef at a local restaurant. Now that the restaurant has closed, he'll likely be leaving in October. The only problem is that he hasn't had the opportunity to experience New Orleans like he should have, so I've accepted the task of helping him scratch off as many activities of his list that is humanly possible.

If you were leaving the city in which you live, what would be on your list?

While I don't know the extent of Tom's list, we accomplishe d a few things this past Saturday. Shortly after noon, we jumped in the car to venture to the west bank (of New Orleans) to try our luck at the Westwego Shrimp Lot. We scored some nice shrimp at great prices. He bought 5 lbs. of beautiful 9-12's to bring back to Chicago and impress those who aren't shrimp-priveledged, and I bought a pound and a half that I earmarked for pasta (see the entry below), as well as three pounds to boil that day. I think Tom was generally impressed at the set-up of the whole thing; a horseshoe shaped, white shell parking lot, the perimiter lined with booths full of fresh shrimp of all sizes at super-reasonable prices. Much better than what we are used to at the local Sav-A-Center!

Our next stop was to Martin Bros. seafood (also on the Westbank) for some boiled crabs. I had never been there, but my Dad has been buying from them for years with great results. We pulled up to a small discreet building that looked like a small house, except that it was preceded by a tall chain-link fence and a white shell parking lot that also held a sno-ball stand. From the nondescript look of the place, they could've just as easily been selling industrial cleaning supplies. But careful directions guided us into the door with the "open" sign, where we found a gentleman with a big white beard, wearing the obligatory white shrimp boots, who informed us that he just finished boiling a batch and it would be about 15 minutes until they finished soaking. Who can beat boiled crabs that fresh?

Tom and I strolled across the parking lot to cross off yet another experience on his list - a sno-ball. To those readers not from New Orleans, a sno-ball is essentially the N.O. version of a sno-cone, except the ice is shaved a bit finer and it is always served in a cup to be eaten with a spoon and a straw. Of course I got my favorite flavor, ice cream, and Tom had Grape. By the time we finished the icy treats, the crabs were ready. We bought one dozen for $15 and began our journey back uptown.

The afternoon came to a close with the ultimate culmination of seafood buying; eating it! The crabs were already boiled, so they were fair game. We pulled a couple chairs and tray tables out to the porch, cracked up the music and opened a beer before attacking the crab shells with anxious energy. While eating the crabs, I filled a stock pot with water and set it to boil, added CajunLand crab/shrimp boil and threw in the three pounds of shrimp and some potatoes. After eating the allotted six crabs each, the boiled shrimp became our next victims.

Two sno-balls, one dozen heavy boiled crabs, three pounds of shrimp, potatoes and quite a few beers later, we sat on the porch enjoying the breeze and overcast sky. Not bad for an ordinary Saturday - it was good eatin' and definitely something that everyone should experience before leaving New Orleans.