Welcome to Louisiana

After getting our Montana sticker back in June, we finally made it to lucky state number 13, Louisiana!  We stopped at a rest stop right after entering Louisiana, where we saw an alligator in the water.  We celebrated with an alligator po'boy sandwich from Steamboat Bill's in Lake Charles.  Currently camped in Chicot (chee-koh) state park.

 

State number 13!

 

Welcome to Louisiana!

 

Gator in the wild

 

Gator on a roll

 

New Mexican Food

The food scene in New Mexico is awesome.  We have enjoyed many good meals during our stay in Albuquerque.  New Mexican cuisine borrows heavily from Mexican food, but there are several items we have found that are unique to New Mexico. 

The sopapilla is an unassuming fried bread that is part pita, part donut. It puffs up when cooked so can be filled.  It is used to make both savory and sweet dishes.

Sopapilla

 

Inside a sopapilla

  

Carne Adovada is pork, slow roasted in a red chili sauce.  It is not terribly spicy but is definitely delicious. 

 

New Mexican breakfast of potatoes with Carne Adovada and a fried egg.

 

Hatch Chiles are a staple of New Mexican food.  We had been to Hatch our first time through NM (https://wallihan.blogspot.com/2025/02/hatch.html).  The chiles are green when they are picked and turn red as the dry out.  In NM you will be asked if you want red or green, meaning which chile sauce you prefer.  Green is spicier than red, but they are both tasty.  If you can't decide you can ask for "Christmas" and you will get a mix of red and green.

 

Red and green chile sauces

 

Which brings me to what may be the ultimate New Mexican dish.  Take a Sopapilla, stuff it with carne adovada and smother it with chile sauce and cheese.  This is a uniquely New Mexican dish and is quite delicious. 

 

Sopapilla stuffed with carne adovada and smothered in green chile sauce and cheese.

 

For dessert you can enjoy a biscochito, a cinnamon dusted sugar cookie.  Flaky, buttery and slightly sweet.  If you like cookies (I do) you'll like these cookies.

 

And for a nightcap Ponderosa Whiskey is a good New Mexican whiskey. 

 

Biscochitos and whiskey.  A classic dessert.

 

 

Beef Burgundy and Salmon

For the main course I had the Beef Burgundy.  Everyone else had the Salmon.  Rebecca and I enjoyed a bottle of Burgundy (Pinot Noir).  It was delicious.  All while sitting at a bistro on a cobbled street in Montmartre.

Escargot

More goodness.  Escargot is a favorite of Jacob (and me).  They have the texture of squid and taste like butter, garlic and parsley.

French Onion Soup

Mmm, good.  French Onion Soup is a favorite of Jessica (and me)

Primanti Bros

Primanti Bros is a sandwich shop in Pittsburgh. You can ask for whatever protein or combination of protein you want, but the rest is as you get it.

Good sandwich, great atmosphere.

If you ever get there order the Capicola Ham and Egg sandwich.

Fat Smitty's

Mmm, burger good. This burger joint, located at the intersection of
Hwy 101 and Hwy 20 near Port Townsend, serves up a burger that won't
leave you hungry for more. But in a good way.

Christmas Dinner

The Wallihan Christmas dinner in Port Townsend.

Vermillion Wildlife

Perhaps these are native inhabitants of the Vermillion Cliffs.
Perhaps not. At any rate they found refuge from the rain and ate
their lunch. Later on I spotted them in the motorhome...