I'm off to see the MUFFULETTA Store, the Wonderful Muffuletta Store of New Orleans

Check out my post from last week...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I am Eating a MUFFULETTA Today thanks to -
SMOKEY MOUNTAIN CAFE

My dear blogging buddy, Katherine from the SMOKEY MOUNTAIN CAFE blog wrote a marvelous guest post on the sandwich and the origins of this uniquely NEW ORLEANS treat! Today, I want to talk a little about my Muff experience, and a lot about blogdom...

OK, if you have not read Katherine's post, please take a second and drop on over. She gives you an easy to follow recipe to recreate the sandwich if you don't have the good fortune to visit N'Awlins. Thanks to being pre-armed with Katherine's information...

Here's what I did...

It was a bright beautiful day in the Big Easy. My wife and I made the journey to the edge of the French Quarter, 923 Decatur Street (across the street from an open air street market, which is the site of the very first farmer's market in the nation... but I digress). This is the home of the Central Grocery Company. It is an incredible old world store. I imagine the look has not changed in 50 years. And that is it's charm. Hey, in researching this post, look what I found... CENTRAL GROCERY has it's own wikipedia listing (click HERE). I have visited New Orleans many many times, but thanks to Katherine, this was my first time in this marvelous land of Muff...

A place out of time that I hope never changes. The history of the sandwich ties into the history of the city. Many immigrating Sicilians ate this sandwich while doing the delivery grunt work that made the city run. It is truly a locally created New Orleans product, available in a storefront that created it and for the most part has not changed in decades. this is living history.

My first Muffuletta sandwich was bought several trip back. I have gotten them for lunch when I was seated with tablecloths and silverware on the table. Central grocery has a few community tables, and the back is lined with a wonderful old counter top and stools.

But no service... pony up to the counter, order a whole or a half (anyone who can eat a whole is just showing off). They come cut in quarters.

We were incredibly blessed with perfect weather. Highs everyday we were there were in the upper 70's, low humidity and blue skys (only rained for a few hours one evening, out of 5 days!). Much as I was tempted to eat at the counter, we chose to take our sandwich and take the short three block walk to Jackson Square.

And dig in...
Here's our view as we ate...

And the verdict... Everything I love about New Orleans. The smallest thing has an incredible history. Dig a little deeper and that history comes alive. Dig just a little under that and you find a part of living history. Imagine, in a city filled with the sauces of the French and the spices of the Spanish, a creation for the hard working Italian immigrants still exists in it's original form today.

Everyone knows about Cafe Du Monde and Beignets. In their place, wonderful. But the Cafe has changed over the years to accommodate tourist expectations. Central Grocery and their Muffuletta has not changed in 50 years. Here's hoping it never does.

And oh yeah, Central Grocery is just a short walk to Jackson Square, and Jackson Square is just a short walk to...

Pat O'Briens, home of the hurricane drink (named for the glass, not the big wind)... and they make a mean Sazarac as well. So, a uniquely New Orleans lunch, a picnic, drinks and a little jazz... sounds like a good afternoon to me!

So, here's what I want to say to wrap up my tale of Muffs...

Bloggers - what an amazing bunch. I learn everyday things I didn't know the day before. I am comparatively new to blogdom, only 4 months. But in that time, I have met some wonderful people. Always willing to share, always positive and always wanting the best for others. Katherine, willing to share her knowledge led me on a wonderful journey for the afternoon. It sounds like such a simple thing, just a sandwich review, but this was my best afternoon of my vacation. Lots of history, lots of fun... but I also got to have a picnic with my wife. I LOVED every bit of this day. had I not met Katherine, got to know her back story and had she not volunteered to help, I would have had a pleasant enough Muffuletta sandwich at your basic boilerplate tablecloth and silverware lunch place. I have done this several times, and enjoyed it each time. But, because I blog, because bloggers share, I had a perfect afternoon.

So, next time you are going away... let us all know where... Maybe we can direct you to something unexpected... something wonderful.

Thanks Katherine, and do me a favor... Return to Katherine's site, take a look around and thank her for me...

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN CAFE she is worth getting to know!