This past Saturday, we celebrated Mark’s birthday in NOLA, one of the food capitals of the world (and his hometown).

First stop: the Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs. I love this small town—it reminds me of Bon Temps (from HBO’s True Blood) sans vampires, of course.

Mark enjoyed one of the select beers, a Roggen Weizen, while I had a Wheat, one of my summer favorites. We began with a cup of chicken and andouille gumbo (good, but a little heavy on the salt and black pepper—and I love pepper!) and split a combination po-boy with fried shrimp and fried oysters. The oysters were fried to perfection—not at all chewy—and were pretty large, too. The shrimp were so-so, but of course we gobbled it up.

Though we hadn’t planned, we traveled down the road to the brewery for a tour. If you’re ever in Louisiana, take this tour. It’s free—and you can sample any of their entire selection of beers. I stuck with another favorite, Purple Haze.

After the tour, we crossed Lake Pontchartrain & stopped to enjoy some beignets and café au lait at Morning Call. It’s similar to the famous Café du Monde, and they serve their beignets “naked,” allowing you to add as much powdered sugar as you like. Yummm…

We spent some time walking through the French Quarter and market—enjoying an unseasonably cool breeze, since it rained a good part of the day.

For dinner, we stopped at Bud’s Broiler at City Park. Quaint—and probably filthy—this hole in the wall has the best hot dogs. It’s probably just nostalgia, but served on hamburger buns (the dogs are sliced into thirds, flattened on the bun) with their own hickory sauce, the “broiler puppies” are really the best.

Heading home, we stopped in Bay St. Louis to visit Granny—and sample a delicious homemade dark chocolate birthday cake. This lady can cook—man, can she cook—and she can also bake like a pro.

Hopefully next time we’re visiting, we will visit some upscale favorites: Luke, Mr. B’s Bistro, Ralph’s on the Park, or some place we’ve never tried. ‘Till next time, NOLA.