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Nola Stop in January Don and I finished up our January road trip with stop at my brother and sister-in-law's, in New Orleans.
They already had Mardi Gras decor on the porch. We celebrated our reunion on Friday night, with Sazeracs! Off to Middendorf's On Saturday, we were up for a little Louisiana food adventure. We steered away from the French Quarter and drove about 40 miles northwest to Manchac, for a catfish feast.  We pulled off of old US-51 and spotted a mighty worn restaurant, with "80+ Years" written on the roof. A New Look  Luckily, just next door was a fresh looking building, with bright red doors and windows. Decorations and a View We were welcomed right away and led towards a cute upstairs space. On our way, I peeked in the larger dining room and noticed some fun things... a large tree growing up to the ceiling... gators? I love that Louisiana stuff.
We passed a door, covered with green, purple and gold masks and feathers. Mardi Gras wasn't until March this year, but it's never too early to decorate! Since 1934 I have no photos of our cute room and table, but here is one of our window view. We could see the bridge we had just crossed, over Pass Manchac.
We read a little history in our menu about the hurricanes that have flooded the iconic restaurant, that Josie and Louis Middendorf opened in 1934. The Middendorf family still owned the restaurant until a year after Hurricane Katrina. Luckily they passed along Josie's recipes for Original Thin Fried Catfish, to the new owners! Catfish! I am not a big fan of catfish, but I'm a huge fan of trying regional specialties!
I actually really enjoyed the catfish, but have little to compare it to. The fried shrimp was yummy and the soupy, pickle-topped slaw was too!  Our table also enjoyed some turtle soup and broiled shrimp. We were all pretty amused by the big, 20-cent price jump, for ordering broiled over fried! Exploring A trip to the restroom added a little entertainment. The gator door handle was mighty fine!
Then I spent some time looking at old photos in the hallway. Issac Middendorf's survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, but took in 4 feet of water, with Ike in 2008.
These photos from 2012, show the old Middendorf's building and the newer one, where we ate. Issac was 200 miles away in 2012, but the storm surge caused more flooding and damage. Ponchatoula - Strawberry Capital of the World We were too full for dessert when we finished our platters of catfish. We headed over to Ponchatoula for a little antique shopping.  We could have made our feast day complete, if only the Strawberry Capital of the World... had some strawberry desserts for us! We found none. King Cake! Actually we didn't really look for any strawberry desserts. We were saving our appetites for this fabulous King Cake, back at the house.  My sister-in-law made sure to pick this up from their fave king cake baker! It was indeed fabulous!
What a wonderful catfish and king cake day!
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
May 2025
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