Thursday, October 23, 2008

22 Oct – Louisiana

Today was 10 hours riding and 1,000km knocked over. Nothing special except it bucketed down between Biloxi and New Orleans and of course my tyres are on their last legs. There are a number of things I like about the US and one is their BBQ ribs. Had a bunch last night at Sonny's – yum. While on food for a moment some things I am not sure about. Scrapple (to piggy), grits and yes they were from East of the Mississippi – a little to salty but shoveled onto eggs and bacon in lieu of salt they work well, chips are crisps and catch me out every time. Scones are biscuits and about as bland as can be but with sausage as in biscuits and sausage that you get from Hardee's are great but skip the gravy which is a white sauce. White sauce needs cheese and parsley and should be poured over poached fish. Hot cakes made with butter milk are excellent. Any “pie” is good but go for the key lime if you can. Not sure about peanut butter and jelly – it really is jam on top of a peanut butter sandwich. Turned down that offer. Eggs over easy, crispy bacon and hash done till nearly crisp will see you right for the day. Filled rolls are called subs unless they are hoagies, some burgers are called sandwiches and sandwiches are called sandwiches also. Beats me. You will love any “pulled” meat sandwich but processed meat tends to taste all the same irrespective of its name and colour. They can do a million and one things with ground beef but try the “meat loaf” especially if it comes with brown gravy and mashed potatoes. Cheeses have funny names such as Pepper Jack but don't worry they all taste the same. Greens are apparently in short supply throughout the whole country – you never see them. Same goes for fruit. Fizzy drink is called soda unless you are Canadian when it's called “pop”. It comes in 1 litre size buckets commonly known as “large”. Tea is cold and sweet – the other stuff is called hot tea and is totally unknown to the person behind the counter. At best you will get a paper cup of warm water and a tea bag of undetermined vintage. English breakfast is an early morning meal you get in the UK. Coffee is usually good but don't develop a liking for half and half (milk with cream which is truly excellent) because the moment you do they will substitute something called creamer which may be either liquid or powder but bears no relationship to a dairy product. Milk is called cream and so is cream. Ice cream is called ice cream and tastes like it to but you might get it presented in a small paper cup instead of a cone. Jam is called jelly even if it has jam written on the packet. Jelly is called jello and they sometimes put it with their meat dish. Other things: Petrol is called gas and so is gas unless it's called propane. You buy gas at a gas station as well as beer. Their 5 cent is bigger then the 10, one is a nickel, the other a dime – never did figure which was which. They have a 1 cent piece they call a penny and apparently nobody knows what to do with them. There is always a little collection in a jar next to the cash register. Posted speed limits are only suggestions – no one sticks to them not even the cops. And so it goes – there is never a dull moment in this country.

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