PrintEd Levine's Serious Diet, Week 13: Pray for Me; I'm Going to New Orleans (and Dallas)
I'm hitting the road this Sunday for almost a week, and the signs of caloric danger are everywhere. First, I'm headed to Dallas to take in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. One hundred finalists vying for the $1,000,000 first prize are baking their best stuff in portable kitchens. I'm not judging, but I'm sure I will get to taste lots of elaborately constructed creative desserts using an array of everyday products.
But the bake-off is not what I'm most worried about. I'm much more worried about all the food I want to taste in Dallas, a city I have never been to before. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your vantage point), I am very likely to meet up with my friend Robb Walsh, restaurant critic for the Houston Press, who has spent the last 20 years eating his way through Texas one perfect bite at a time. Robb is a splendid fellow and a fine writer, but as far as I'm concerned, he's trouble with a capital T.
The man loves to eat everything I do, from barbecue to Tex-Mex (both of which he's written excellent books about) to burgers to pizza. Robb, if you're reading this, listen up: I'm willing to eat five meals a day in Dallas with you, but don't start giving me a hard time when I only take a bite or two of what's put before us.
What's even more problematic is the next stop on my weeklong road trip.
The Big Easy May Not Be So Easy
I'm off to New Orleans. Talk about literally going from the frying pan into the fire.
I am going to be spending three days and three nights in New Orleans with many of my favorite eating buddies at the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Conference. I'm giving a talk at the conference on a panel on the future of food media, but in reality I am going to be eating an untold number of duck and shrimp and roast beef po'boys, oyster loaves, barbecued shrimp, gumbo, oysters Mosca, and fried boudin balls, along with many other heretofore undiscovered items of extreme deliciousness.
So I need strategies and tactics to get me through this difficult (and delicious) period. I am not bailing on those of you who have embarked on this treacherous diet/living regimen with me. I thought about taking the week off but in the end decided not to.
I figure you're either down with the program or you're not, and I am.
The Game Plan
So here is the advance planning I've done to help me get through this coming week:
It's going to be BYOS, Bring Your Own Scale Week. Yup, I'm bring my scale with me, a sleek little black number known as the Thinner that easily fits into my knapsack or suitcase. I'm thinking about weighing myself every day. It can't hurt, right?
I'm bringing my workout clothes and my swim trunks and goggles. One way or another I'm going to work out once a day in both cities. Both hotels I'm staying in have gyms.
I'm going to try to just taste everything. One fried boudin ball at Cochon is plenty, and besides, I've had these incredibly delicious not-quite-round spheres of crazy crunchy deliciousness before. But if I'm confronted with, say, 30 delicious things a day, won't a mere taste of everything put me into the calorie intake stratosphere? We'll find out, I guess.
Hopefully, my semipublic diet will encourage my fellow eaters to support this most worthwhile of endeavors.
I'm going to keep telling myself that I have been to New Orleans many, many times before, and if I miss a bite or two of delicious food this time around I will be back. But in the wake of Katrina, those of us who love New Orleans can no longer say with certainty that the city isn't going anywhere. Because a part of it did.
If any serious eaters have any other suggestions for me, this is the time and the place to offer them.
The Pound Count So Far
In preparation for this trip I did try to really watch my caloric intake this week. The only bump in the road was my ramen exploration last weekend. Let's see if that little adventure adversely tipped the scale. Yup, I don't know if it was the ramen or not, but I gained a pound this week. Ouch! Well, on to my personal Battle of New Orleans. Pray for me.
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10 Comments:
IMHO, taking a week off is likely the most realistic course of action. While you might be able to tell yourself early-on "Everything in moderation", unless you have the willpower and metabolism of that damn skinny-ass Bourdain that makes everyone look bad no matter what he eats and how much, it just ain't gonna happen.
Honestly Ed, you should be able to enjoy this trip and its food, knowing that even if you fall off the wagon into a pothole the size of a truckload of Hummers, you'll be back on course once you get back home.
LunaPierCook at 9:59AM on 04/10/08
Ed, LunaPier is absolutely correct. Why make yourself nuts? There is a happy medium.You don't have to pig out on everything NO has to offer.
Eat, taste, enjoy by all means and most importantly don't weigh yourself on this trip!! Besides if you're obsessing about every forkful you're going to spend this trip feeling guilty.
As far as Bourdain goes...have you ever seen him actually finish anything?
RichardCrystal at 10:30AM on 04/10/08
Good luck, Ed. One word of advice about New Orleans, you can pretty much walk every where. That's what I do when I visit and it really helps. I've walked from the CBD to the French Market and from the French Quarter to the Warehouse district. If I can do it, so can you!
Library Lady at 10:30AM on 04/10/08
Completely agree with what's been said so far, and with the plan you've already laid out, Ed. PLAN to include exercise in addition to as much walking as you can do, PLAN to taste (not eat) whatever you really WANT (imo the Pillsbury bakeoff is a great place to SAVE your calories, esp since you're not a judge!), and don't beat yourself up--just know that you'll get right back on your program the minute you leave NOLA. Oh, and lean towards protein and vegetables wherever possible; it's the carbs that will get you (physiologically) most off-track. Eat lots of BBQ in Dallas, but just taste the cornbread/potatoes, etc. Finally, do enjoy whatever you're having. Savor it. It's all about balance!
Curlz at 11:19AM on 04/10/08
Ed, if you get the chance in Dallas, I recommend the very authentic Mexican (note: NOT Tex-Mex) at La Valentina and the very American cheese fries at Snuffer's (multiple locations to serve you).
Mizbee at 11:25AM on 04/10/08
Good luck!! Don't beat yourself up too much.
As to this week, don't forget about Monday's Pizza Party! I know I had a shock on the scale following that night!
eoporto at 11:43AM on 04/10/08
I can't speak too much for Dallas, but here in NOLA I definitely recommend trying to walk everywhere as much as possible. Since you'll be based at the convention center, there's TONS of places within walking distance.
Speaking of, I recommend trying MiLa, a newish restaurant from Slade Rushing and Alison Vines-Rushing. It'll be in the neighborhood.
milaneworleans.com
Also, if you get a chance, give bacchanal wines a call on sunday (they open at 2) and see who's cooking for chef sunday ion the back courtyard. It's a great way to get good cheap eats from some local kitchen luminary. always a great time as well.
bacchanalwine.com
most of all, enjoy yourself and spend some money while here.
nowonmai11 at 1:41PM on 04/10/08
Ed congrats on only gaining 1 lb. As far as your wonderful upcoming walk through temptation, dont forget you have to live not just survive! enjoy the food and flavors, dont obsess, and follow the wonderful advice from above Walk Everywhere! Forget the scale too, weighing in everyday is sometimes just setting yourself up for disaster! On a personal note I'm celebrating this week I finally broke the 100 lb mark!
huney_bumper at 3:10PM on 04/10/08
Good luck Ed! I'm envious of your upcoming trip...I am wondering however if the Dessert Truck may have helped contribute to that pound??
jcrisco at 3:12PM on 04/10/08
YAY FOR DALLAS!
We welcome you with open arms...full of brisket and enchiladas. ;-)
Is there any way you can give us a preview of the places you'll be hitting up here in Dallas? Should I throw a bit more in the smoker for you?
Safe journies!!!!
JethroSpanks at 4:36PM on 04/10/08