Apr 2nd, 2023 Sunday Cloudy
The most exciting destination on our Mississippi river trip was undoubtedly New Orleans, a city known for jazz and blues music, Mardi Gras and parades, voodoo culture, and the flavorful food distinct from the rest of the country.
Over ten years ago, as a graduate student, I was lucky to visit New Orleans for a conference. It was my first time traveling for a conference – needless to say, I was so excited! I made detailed plans for each day, including all the fun places to see, and the restaurants I wanted to try. I packed up my luggage and arrived at 2:30 a.m. in front of the union where a bus would take me to the O’Hare airport.
Well, either I mis-read the schedule of the bus, or the bus driver just left a tad bit early since no other passengers were waiting, the moment I got to the union, the bus was already pulling away. To add to the confusion, the signal board on the bus did not say ‘O’Hare’, so I did not realize that was the bus I needed, until it was too late. ?
As a consequence, my sweet boyfriend (now my husband) drove me to the O’Hare airport in the middle of the night, and then drove my car back… I was able to make it there in time to catch my flight. Phew!
After this little interlude, the trip was smooth. I eventually found myself settled into the bed and breakfast lodging and wrapped up in two blankets – to my surprise, even in New Orleans it was not warm enough in February to do without heating, but the in-house heating power was negligible. I had to ask the landlord for an electric heater and extra blankets – at least I could sleep comfortably!
The next few days of conference went by uneventfully. I carried out my interspersed sightseeing plans faithfully as well, although some parts did not work out exactly as planned (e.g. I got up early to take a walk along Mississippi river, hoping to admire the sunrise on Mississippi – it turned out rainy and the sun was nowhere to be found…). On the day I finished my poster presentation at the conference, I rewarded myself with a “fancy” dinner at this cute restaurant, and I ordered eggplant napoleon pasta, breaded & fried eggplant medallions stacked with fried shrimp topped with crawfish cream sauce over angel hair pasta.
The moment I tried it, my mind was blown away. I had never tasted something so rich and savory! The eggplants were crunchy on the outside yet soft and creamy inside, and the pasta soaked up the essence of the sauce packed with shrimp and crawfish, delivering the gift of the ocean right into my mouth. Yummy! ?
I made sure to write down the name of this dish in my journal entry, hoping that someday, when I revisit the Crescent city with my husband, I will share this delicacy with him.
And that day finally came. With a little search, I found the same restaurant from ten years ago – it is still open today! This time, we ordered to-go since the restaurant had a long waitlist for tables.
Back in our hotel room, I assembled the dish as best as I could, and took a bite. Was it the same taste?
Yes and no. The flavors did not change – the richness of the sauce and the texture of the eggplants did not disappoint. However, in the past ten years and more I have been to numerous conferences, and I dined at many good restaurants from everywhere. While this dish is unquestionably still tasty, it would not impress me today the same way it impressed the younger me over ten years ago. The dish did not change – I did, with more years of life experiences shaping who I am.
Cherish every moment of life today, because you may never experience the exact same feeling of being moved again.