Hey New Orleans: I Can't Believe I Ate All That

That's comedic actor Will Ferrell dining behind my left shoulder.

Our Autodesk vacation policy for employees in the United States is 2 weeks per year. Unlike other American companies, we don't earn additional vacation as we work more years with the company. What we get instead is a 6-week sabbatical every 4 years. I am enjoying mine right now. For April, my wife and I are renting an apartment on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. New Orleans is a unique place. It has its own cultures (Creole and Cajun) and music (New Orleans style jazz). But most importantly, it has its own unique food.

Regardless of the city you are in, how many of these have you eaten?

• Alligator sausage
• Banana's foster
• Barbecue shrimp
• Beignet fries with banana's foster sauce
• Blackened Louisiana Drumm fish
• Blackened catfish with crawfish topping
• Blackened chicken covered with crawfish etouffee
• Boiled crawfish
  
• Buffalo-style frog legs
• Callas and grits
• Char-grilled oysters
  
• Chicken and sausage gumbo
• Chicken and sausage jambalaya
• Chicken grillades with cheesy grits
• Chocolate praline
• Collard greens with bacon
• Cornbread and tasso stuffed rabbit roulade
  
• Crab Cakes
• Crawfish Louisiane
• Crawfish bisque
• Crawfish bread
• Crawfish eutoffee
  
• Crawfish boudin
• Crawfish omelet
• Crawfish pie
• Crispy smoked quail salad
• Debris Po Boy
• Debris Po Boy with fries
  
• Double-cut pork chop in habanero barbecue sauce
• Fried bow-tie pasta with spinach dip
  
• Fried fish
• Fried shrimp
• Fried oysters
  
• Garlic crusted Louisiana Drumm fish
• Gnocchi stuffed with crab meat
• Lobster Eggs Benedict
• Muffuletta sandwich (hot and cold)
• Original Praline
• Oyster pasta
• Oysters brochette
• Pasta bolognese
• Pasta jambalaya
• Pasta with shrimp
• Pork boudin
• Pork cheek boudin balls
• Red beans and rice
• Roast beef Po Boy
• Seafood gumbo
• Shrimp boudin
• Shrimp/ground meat stuffed bell pepper
• Sno-balls drizzled with condensed milk
  
• Southern-style creamy polenta
• Stuffed crab
• Sweet potatoes
• Veal grillades

We are thankful for the time we are spending in New Orleans. Our families and friends are making it a month to remember. But here's a huge shout out to the chefs, hostesses, and waiters/waitresses who play such a vital role.

Normal food will all too soon be alive in the lab once again.