Saturday, May 14, 2011. Fried Oysters With Roast Beef Gravy Fails.
The Corps of Engineers opened a slot in the Morganza Spillway today, and a torrent of water began flowing through pastures, swamps, small towns, and the Atchafalaya River, heading for the Gulf and away from New Orleans. They had to do it, or run the risk of major flooding in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other spots--to say nothing of possible levee breaks and crevasses. But I'm more concerned about the Old River Control Structure, which keeps the main flow of the Mississippi from shifting to the Atchafalaya, with terrible consequences for the future of New Orleans. Not many news reports have so much as mentioned this matter.
I wouldn't have brought this up had not the high river wiped out my radio show today. WWL, being the leading radio news outlet hereabouts, felt the need to cover the spillway's opening live, which occurred more or less at the time when I would have been on the air. Oh, well.
Instead, I went with the Marys to the Acme Oyster House, where we have not been since well before Mardi Gras. The choice was motivated by Mary Leigh's desire for a wedge salad with blue cheese, preceded by a lot of bread dunked in the sauce on grilled oysters. The oysters themselves were on my mind too.
I was also thinking about an oyster poor boy, but for a weird reason. A few days ago on the radio show we got into a discussion about how well oysters and steak went together. The "carpetbagger steak"--particularly in the style they used to do at Christian's--was the apotheosis of that combination. A close second was the short-lived beef and oyster pie Arnaud's used to have on its lunch menu.
Then someone called as said that he liked roast beef gravy on a fried oyster poor boy. At first thought, that didn't sound good at all. But then I started wondering. Could the natural affinity between beef and oysters make a good combination on a sandwich?
The waitress thought the idea was nutty, but added that it wasn't the first time she'd served that combination. I should've known. If you think your server hasn't heard everything, think again.
The oysters were titanic, both in the grilled dozen and on the poor boy. The amount of gravy was exactly as specified: enough to dampen the two pieces of French bread, but not so much as to make a mess. (I am not in agreement with those who believe that the sloppier a roast beef poor boy is, the better it tastes.)
Well, fried oysters with roast beef gravy proved to be a loser. The problem was that the gravy takes all the crispness out of the fried oysters, saturating the cornmeal crust. In other words, frying is the problem. Maybe the sandwich idea is, too.
I had some bread pudding anyway. I have not been eating desserts much--less than once a week. I do still have the hunger, though. The Acme's bread pudding is in a style that is becoming rare: it has raisins in it. Although people who dislike raisins are in a distinct minority, they have forced almost every restaurant to omit the raisins. Isn't that how it always is? The least common denominator effect is always bringing everything down, from food to literature to music to movies.
I ate too much for my adjusted appetite. I learned that overnight, when for the first time since my ankle-breaking elevator ride ten weeks ago, I had an episode of indigestion. I have been very happy to be rid of that problem. But clearly all it takes is one good gorge to trigger it again. I am ecstatic to be learning these lessons and gaining these aversions. I've lost so much weight that my pants are falling down.
Acme Oyster House. Covington: 1202 US 190 (Causeway Blvd). 985-246-6155.
It has been over three years since a day was missed in the Dining Diary. To browse through all of the entries since 2008, go here.
