A Long Car Ride, My Ipod and Some Newports

For four days during Spring Break, Hiram, Patricia, Alec and I went on a road trip to Jacksonville, Florida. One night, we had an overwhelming urge for some local seafood and drove around town looking for somewhere authentic. Hiram went into a gas station asking locals where we could find a great, down-to-earth fried seafood restaurant. After hearing several people praise “Outback Crab Shack” as a fantastic, cheap, “Po-dunk” seafood restaurant, we drove 30 miles down the coast and had a great meal and a memorable experience. Together, the four of us ordered $120 worth of fried seafood, completely absurd considering the low prices. I was also able to have a soft shell crab sandwich, which I had been talking incessantly about all day. Patricia and I split a 1/2 pound of fried shrimp while Alec and Hiram shared a motherload of fried seafood brought out on a cafeteria tray piled a half-foot deep with oysters, clams, aligator, shrimp and catfish. The waitress returned shocked at the sight of empty plates and cocktail sauce containers. After we finished, we let the meal settle while we played tetris, pinball and other video games out in the waiting area, watched by a fleet of mounted aligators. Viva taxidermy.

Smilin While I'm Sippin on this Hennessy

I just asked Duke for $4000 to fund me writing a book on dining. I'm not holding my breath. An excerpt from my introduction:

Cognac is a type of brandy, an alcohol produced from grapes grown in the eponymous region, double-distilled in large copper pots and aged two and a half years in oak barrels. In the United States, Cognac is largely known for its presence in Hip-Hop culture, where it has been name-dropped in songs by industry stars such as Tupac and Lil’ Jon. In Hip-Hop, Cognac is seen as a declaration of wealth and a form of escapism from urban life. It is estimated that between 60 and 80 percent of the American market is African-American, most of whom have indicated in polls that Hip-Hop’s endorsement of Cognac is a major influence in their purchases. By contrast, Cognac’s main audience in France is very different: older, more affluent and white. Although expensive, by virtue of the French take on food and drink, the average French man or woman will sacrifice other needs to enjoy Cognac on special occasions. With Cognac’s supporters coming from such different demographics, the drink serves as an interesting introduction to the interplay of class and culture in the study of food and drink.