The stay in Metairie has been much nicer than in Baton Rouge. Instead of a freeway view, this time Miss G got a lake view. As many times as Miss G has stayed in the Marriott in Metairie she has always had the city view, and this time she got the lake view, right at the foot of the Causeway. Stunning!The rest of the regional team ditched her ass this afternoon and headed back to H-town early, so the ever resourceful Miss G called her oldest and dearest friend John, and we had dinner at a New Orleans institution, Casamento's Restaurant.
Casamento's is an amazing place that everyone simply must visit in their lifetime. It is so cool! The place is over 80 years old, but it is so spotlessly clean you would think is was built yesterday, except for the art deco bent to the decor. You see, it was built in the days before refrigeration, when the likelihood of contracting ptomaine or something even worse from improperly handled seafood was much greater than it is today. So the folks that built Casamentos covered virtually every conceivable surface with porcelain tile, which was quite pricey in the day. This way, it could be effectively cleaned and disinfected to prevent contamination. Also, because there was no source of shellfish outside of the Louisiana oyster season back then, Casamento's simply closed during the summer months, and reopened with the oyster season again in September. Casamento's still follows the tradition to this day, even though they could easily have oysters flown in from other parts of the world. The heritage in Louisiana is that one only eats oysters in months with the letter "R" in the name, which means you don't eat oysters in May, June, July, or August- the hot summer months when the water was too warm and cholera, ptomaine, and other microorganisms could too easily contaminate the shellfish. Today, the Louisiana seafood industry has discovered ways to pasteurize shellfish to prevent contamination, but Miss Ginger prefers to follow the tradition- it just seems to make them taste better!
Casamento's is an amazing place that everyone simply must visit in their lifetime. It is so cool! The place is over 80 years old, but it is so spotlessly clean you would think is was built yesterday, except for the art deco bent to the decor. You see, it was built in the days before refrigeration, when the likelihood of contracting ptomaine or something even worse from improperly handled seafood was much greater than it is today. So the folks that built Casamentos covered virtually every conceivable surface with porcelain tile, which was quite pricey in the day. This way, it could be effectively cleaned and disinfected to prevent contamination. Also, because there was no source of shellfish outside of the Louisiana oyster season back then, Casamento's simply closed during the summer months, and reopened with the oyster season again in September. Casamento's still follows the tradition to this day, even though they could easily have oysters flown in from other parts of the world. The heritage in Louisiana is that one only eats oysters in months with the letter "R" in the name, which means you don't eat oysters in May, June, July, or August- the hot summer months when the water was too warm and cholera, ptomaine, and other microorganisms could too easily contaminate the shellfish. Today, the Louisiana seafood industry has discovered ways to pasteurize shellfish to prevent contamination, but Miss Ginger prefers to follow the tradition- it just seems to make them taste better!
8 comments:
I always heard the 'R' thing, but didn't know what it meant.
Thanks for the education.
There's always something new to learn in blogland!
Ms.Ginger, I have always went to Acme Oyster House in Metairie for seafood. We are headed to Hammond as I blog, and I cannot wait to try this place out. Thanks. My all time favorite place to grocery shop/grub is at Zuppardo's in Metairie.
You are one informative ho, and I love you for this.
xoxoxoxo
You know how much Nutwood Beth loves her history! This is very cool and interesting. We've never been to Casamento's, but I'll make sure I remember it for next time we're in NOLA. I bet the interior is ultra cool!
Hugs, Beth
As always, I have learned something else that I must now seek out and experience for myself. Safe trip back to us my dear!
I love oysters and hope to visit New Orleans one day. Do you think Miss Ginger would be our tour guide?
Have a great trip home! "Casamentos" is an interesting name for a restaurant. It means "weddings" in Portuguese. It must be someone's last name. Have fun! Julie
Wow, great tip about Casamento's, we will definitely try it :o)
While reading this....gues what was playing on the radio???????
Emmylou Harris' 'Crescent City'
OMG....
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