Evangeline -- Portland, ME

Great things come from places that embrace the pig as a symbol. Braised Pork Belly. Fried Capon Wings. Alagash Curieux. Evangeline --

Maine IceFishing

It was -10 when we opened up the cabin -- outside and in. Fish were plentiful. Firewood sparse, but enough to get us through. Yep -- they still make Jiffy Pop. Cuckoo.

Maplelag, Minnesota: -39 degrees on arrival!

Escape to the Big Easy

We slipped away the day after Christmas to New Orleans for a little "research". Pim's Cups, Soft-Shell Crabs, and enough Oysters and Dixie to wipe me out. Last trip to NOLA landed me in the hospital for 3 days with a nasty case of food poisoning/salmonella and a morphine drip in my arm. The morphine was the only thing that saved me. With a built up immunity I was bullet proof this go 'round. Dinner at Antoine's -- think what you want -- but it was a real highlight of the trip. Sometimes I wish I lived in another era, and from what I can figure, Antoine's put me somewhere around the 1920's for those 3 hours.

Pre-Holiday Prouvé