Tuesday, April 19, 2011.
Hot And Sour Soup.
The advent in New Orleans of Chinese hot and sour soup was very exciting for me and a lot of other New Orleans diners. Not only was there a soup on Chinese menus that had some real flavor (what could be blander than egg drop soup?), but it was totally different from anything else out there.
It helped that the first places to offer hot and sour soup were excellent restaurants: the Dragon's Garden and the original Ding's, both in Metairie. The broths were thick, riddled with pork strings, carrots, tofu, exotic mushrooms, and red pepper flakes. It was one of those dishes that tastes better with every succeeding spoonful, with the best flavor of all coming from the last of them. You were always tempted to have another cup of the stuff. Or a whole bowl as an entree.
This was back in the 1970s. It wasn't long before hot and sour soup was on every Chinese menu in town, whether the restaurant could make it credibly or not. For me, it became (and remains) an automatic order every time I go to a Chinese restaurant.
And it was on my mind today. As she usually does, Mary Ann ate her fill for the day--a salad topped with grilled chicken, which seems to be something she could eat every day. She slung some of the past-its-prime salad greens my way, but that wasn't going to tide me over. She volunteered to pick something up for my supper while on an errand to Mandeville. How about a bowl of hot and sour soup from Sesame Inn? I asked.
It was waiting for me right after the show. I think that's the first dish I ever ate in the good Szechuan-style café near the Causeway, and even if I don't ask for it Steve, the owner, usually gives me a cup of it anyway. I like everything about the way he does it: the color, thickness, pepper level (although I goose that up a bit with red pepper oil) and ingredients. The mushroom component is especially fine. The perfect light supper.
Today's milestone in the restoration of my normal functioning was particularly welcome. Although a lot of splashing at the washbasin has kept me from smelling up the joint, I had not taken a bath or a shower since March 7. Forty-three days. I finally feel confident enough to get into the tub, and I sat in a plastic chair under the shower for fifteen minutes or so. Very refreshing. I was nervous about slipping as I got in and out, but made it okay.
Sesame Inn. Mandeville: 408 N Causeway Blvd. 985-951-8888.
