Golden Oldies: The Fried Fixings of Old School Shreveport-Bossier

Through filming Louisiana Culinary Trails for Louisiana Travel, I found there is something to be said for vacationing within the state. I was invited to join a few other food journalists on a trip around Shreveport-Bossier with Chris Jay, a guy I met last time I was in town. This was a unique trip because Chris wanted to take us places he which he feels embody the area--and not in a touristy way that involves us hitting every "famous for..." place in town, but some places even locals don't know about. While we hit some well known spots, Chris gave us a real taste of Shreveport-Bossier in a way that spoke to the character and stories of the community. After settling in at 2439 Fairfield: A Bed & Breakfast, we kicked off the weekend at Shockley's Fish & Fixins!

Mr. Shockley

Shockley's has been in operation for over 33 years and is only marked by a hand painted sign hung up on an abandoned building about two miles from the restaurant. Mr. Shockley is still in the kitchen and there are only three things you need to know about him: he loves the Tigers, he loves Miller Lite, and he knows how to fry some catfish. While there's a little bit on the menu, you can't pass up their all you can eat whole and fried catfish!

Sweet & Tangy Coleslaw...and lots of it.

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Mr. Shockley's Whole Fried Catfish

Theresa Gullo

Gullo's Fresh Produce & Bake Shop has been handed down through the family for generations. Still family owned and operated, Gullo's provides fresh produce to the neighborhood in addition to canned preserves, local honey, frozen meals from their family recipes, and of course, Italian pastries.

While I was in the store I grabbed some of the last of Theresa Gullo's fig preserves of the season and her husband's pickled habanero's!

Fried Apple Pie

The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Visitor's Bureau set us up in a very pleasant B&B for the duration of the trip. We had the pleasure of staying at 2439 Fairfield: A Bed and Breakfast, and that Saturday morning the owner, Jimmy, made us his famous southern decadent breakfast. There was an array of tomato grits, eggs, bacon, ham, jams, breads...you name it! Don't even get me started on Jimmy's famous fried pies. That's right--dessert at breakfast and it was amazing!

Herby K's Shrimp Buster

A trip to Shreveport wouldn't be complete without a Shrimp Buster at Herby K's! Simple and delicious, the Shrimp Buster consists of four flattened, battered, and fried shrimp on a toasted poboy bun and served with a side of slaw and buster sauce (a spicy tangy sweet concoction). Everyone attacks them differently, but I like to make a little poboy taco out of mine and top it with slaw and sauce. Herby K's has been around since 1936 and the Shrimp Buster has been a part of its history for almost 70 years!


The places mentioned in this post are a little taste of old school Shreveport-Bossier...it's always cool to see where a place has been, but we also got a taste of where they're going. Check back in and see some of the up and comings of Shreveport-Bossier's food culture!

Ninja Snowballs / Bite and Booze Submit a Flavor Contest: ROUND 3

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How do you say, ah yes, Turkey Day

Turkey Day 2009 proved to once again to be a day filled with family, friends, food, and fun.  Eric and Dana, my brother and sister, went to my cousin Philip and his wife Lisa's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  The family generational gap made its presence as Granny made it to dinner with a lot of her grand children but none of her kids (our parents) were present.  They all seemed to be out of town and feasting somewhere else in the country.   Oh well, more bites and boozes for me!

Cousin Travis attended the Thanksgiving dinner with his lady friend, Lauren.  He prepared a fantastic pumpkin and pecan bread which we devoured like we hadn't eaten breakfast.  Oh yeah, I didn't eat breakfast.  I was saving room for dinner!!

Travis's Pumpkin and Pecan Bread

Travis also came to the gathering with some home-vinted vino.  He brought a bottle of Pinot Noir made from a home-fermented Pinot concentrate.  The wine was surprisingly good!  I expected it to be pretty good because I have never really known Travis to make anything bad, but this wine actually had some character to it.  It was a refreshing red wine that was fairly light on the palate and I'd say a little less complex and fruity than a typical Pinot, but still extremely drinkable, delightful, and cheap!

Home-Vinted Pinot Noir

Thanksgiving is not just an occasion for wine though.  It is also a holiday that calls for really good beer.  I started my pre-dinner beer drinking with a homebrewed porter.  This porter, which was crafted by Phil, Travis, and Eric, I believe, came out strong, rich, and spicy.  I could taste the dark-malted brew on my lips and tongue while the liquid went down my throat and into my extremely satisfied belly.

Homebrewed Porter and Stone Brewery's IPA in Frosty Third Row Mugs

Stone's IPA is a terrific, hoppy bear that went down so well after Thanksgiving dinner.  It is a beer drinker's beer for sure, and those that don't like robust hops need not give it a taste.  I, however, love strong hoppy flavors and found the Stone IPA to be a great beer for a holiday dinner.  Now, on to the meal!

Thanksgiving Dinner Plate at Phil and Lisa's House

Thanksgiving dinner was served with a marvelous spread of food that covered the entire kitchen at Phil and Lisa's house.  Granny made her signature cornbread dressing which was the only thing that I HAD to have on Thanksgiving.  There was also mashed potatoes and gravy, Dana's green bean casserole, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and, of course, turkey and cranberry sauce.  Philip smoked the turkey this year and it came out very nicely.  The bird was flavorful, moist, and tender with a smoky flavor that made the turkey extra special.  I can't say that I'd mind eating food like that all the time! 

For dessert Travis and Lauren brought over an assortment of pumpkin and apple pies.  I had a slice of each, adding a hefty scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla to the apple pie.  Man, that was a treat!  I wanted to eat it so badly that I apparently forgot to take a picture!  After hours of chatting, playing some UNO with the kids, and talking about beer and wine, it was time to leave Phil and Lisa's home.  No worries though!  The next stop happened to be Sara's house for more dessert!

Cranberry-White Chocolate-Ginger Cheesecake

I had the pleasure of swinging by Sara's house with Eric and Dana to meet Sara, Lauren, Lizzie, and Mitch for some hanging out and extra dessert.  Lizzie is a pastry chef in Minnesota and whipped up this cranberry-white chocolate-ginger cheesecake for us!  Have I said how much I love cheesecake?  This dessert knocked my socks off!  What a great way to use cranberries during the holidays!  Everything about this cheesecake made me happy, and now writing about it I want more!  If there is one thing I need to learn how to make, it is cheesecake!

Eusebio's House for Authentic Mexican Tacos and Assorted Beverages

Last week Eusebio had Brent and I over for an authentic Mexican feast.  We did a little porch sitting, cerveza drinking, and chit chatting while the beef roast slow-cooked in a ceramic dish in the oven.  I started with a Dos Equis Lager.  Famous from the "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials, Dos Equis was one Hell of a beer before its new-found ad campaign glory.  Dos Equis, or "Twenties" as I've heard them referred (referencing the Roman Numeral represented by XX), is a mexican-style lager beer that is crisp and refreshing and fairly gentle on the palate.  It most certainly is not only one of my favorite Mexican beers, but one of my favorite macro-brewed beers out there.

On a personal note: like all other Mexican beers, I prefer to drink Dos Equis WITHOUT a lime.  I know this is not normal in America, but when I drink Mexican beer, I prefer to drink it like a Mexican instead of like an American that is stereotyping Mexican beer drinkers.  It has nothing to do with being macho and "not fruiting beer", but rather I try to make a cultural statement by drinking my Mexican beers without a lime because that is how Mexicans drink their beers.  Limes were simply a method of using citric acid to disinfect the rim of a beer glass, clean the dusty lip of a beer can, or remove rust from the rim of a beer bottle back in the day, and now look what it turned into!  Oh, and another thing, much like Australians don't drink Fosters, Mexicans don't drink Corona.  Corona is about as American as pumpkin pie.  Maybe not apple pie, but pumpkin pie is about right.

When dinner came around we also drank a little wine.  Eusebio had two Zinfandels that we sipped on as we dined and then continued our consumption during our after-dinner story time.  One was from Gnarly Head and the other was from the Dancing Bull vineyard.  Both are California red wines with a little spice to go with the fantastic fermented fruit.  I realized on this day that I've long had a negative thought towards Zinfandels in my mind due to my dislike of ultra-sweet White Zinfandels, but the real thing, Red Zins, are actually fantastic wines and I need to drink more of them.

Dinner was as delicious as always at Eusebio's house.  The beef was better than fork-tender as it could be torn apart with just a little pressure of the fingers.  It was not ground beef like typical Tex-Mex tacos, but rather a beef roast that simmered in Mexican-spiced juices until it could melt in your mouth.  After being placed on a fresh tortilla, the succulent beef was topped with lettuce, cheese, a little pico de gallo, and some fresh cilantro to create an authentic soft taco that delivered mouth-watering flavor to my mouth.  The beef tacos were accompanied by some refried beans and Mexican rice.  The entire meal was phenomenal.  The spice of the Zins complimented the Mexican seasonings very well as each delightful bite came with a swallow of divine wine.  It was a great evening with some buddies, great food, and, of course, a little booze.  Life is good today.  O, en espanol, mi vida es buena hoy.