Road Food: Monroe, LA

I'm not going to go into detail about what I ate in Monroe this week since it's not Lincoln and most people probably don't care much about where to eat in places they'll never be. Suffice it to say that it sure was nice to be in a place where fresh oysters, shrimp, crawfish, soft shell crab and the like were cheap and plentiful. Finding un-fried veggies was kind of a challenge, though.

One local dish worth a mention: green bean wraps. Take about 8 or 9 fresh par-boiled green beans, wrap a strip of bacon around them, poke a toothpick through the bundle and throw on a grill for a minute or so on each side. It's a great twist on the traditional green beans 'n' bacon side dish.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Phoenix for a few days and if I have a chance to eat at any local restaurants there I'll probably write about them since some of you might wind up in Phoenix someday, even if it isn't for another 30 years.