5 types of places to eat in New Orleans for less than $20 (as recommended by New Orleans: City Guide

List by Tosca

"Great restaurants are, of course, nothing but mouth-brothels. There is no point in going to them if one intends to keep one's belt buckled."
- Frederic Raphael

This book right here? This book - New Orleans: City guide by Adam Karline and Lisa Dunford - is going to be my food bible over the next two weeks! Big words? Well, yeah, very possibly so. True words, though. On my first trip to New Orleans I did the usual tourist-y thing and visited all of the usual foodie places that came highly recommended (by, well, books, websites, tv shows, etc.). Over the weekend, though, I kinda thought I'd like to do the places that maybe tourists don't really know about, only I wasn't quite sure how to go about finding these places. Luckily (?) I'd requested a whole heapload of books about the city, and one in particular - THIS ONE! - got me thinking that maybe I turn this in to a challenge, instead. And so, being a complete dork about lists, obsessed over coming up with a process. Of sorts. What I ended up with, instead, was writing down everywhere people could eat a meal for up to $20 (lunch, breakfast or dinner). I'm not entirely sure how do-able this list is, but I'm darn sure going to have fun finding out. OH! I don't intend to try them all because, hey, impossible, but I figure I'll do as much as I can (one dish at each, even if it's just a coffee, or a beignet, MMM BEIGNET!) and, at the end of my trip, choose the 5 best. Bon appetit!

Warning: I'll be kinda/sorta posting while away (recommendations from the book, my impressions and photos), so I hope this'll be okay, otherwise you might want to avoid the blog for the next few days

Honourable mention:

Deli: Verti Marte, 1201 Royal Street - meals $3.50 - $8.50

Fried chicken: McHardy's, 1458 N Broad Street - chicken pieces per box $5

Grill: Clover Grill, 900 Bourbon Street - dishes $3-$8

Takeaway: Cajun Seafood, 1479 N Claiborne Ave - take-out meals $3-$5

West African: Bennachin, 1212 Royal Street - mains $8-$16

Italian: Central Grocery, 923 Decatur Street - sandwiches $7-$10

Italian: Fiorella's, 1136 Decatur Street - mains $7-$15

Italian: Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, 95 French Market Place - mains $8-$16

Italian: Mona Lisa, 1212 Royal Street - mains $9-$14

5 spoilers for books, tv, film and life I'm not upset to have...umm...spoiler-ed

List by Tosca

"Here is the perfect book for everyone who reads the last page of a book first."
- Robb Pearlman, Spoiler alert : Bruce Willis is dead and 399 more endings from movies, tv, books, and life

SPOILER ALERT! If you do not enjoy spoilers of any kind then AVOID THIS POST!

If you're more like me, and you live for spoilers, then stay a little longer. It sounds strange to say that I live for spoilers, but it's true. I quite happily nip into libraries and bookstores and flip to the last page of a book to see how it ends. And yes, I still take it home/buy it. I get so impatient for weekly episodes of any one of my current favourite shows, and jump online and read ahead. And by 'read ahead' I don't just mean finding out what happens next. I also look out for reviews, fandom opinions (haters and all), debates (that usually turn into flame wars), fanvids (some truly terrible and most really good) and, if I'm lucky enough, even cast interviews. And yes, I do the same for movies, too. I have no hang-ups whatsoever about my inability to wait and be surprised. Truth be told, even if I have read ahead/looked ahead, I am surprised when events unfold, and squeal, cry, clap and chortle as if I knew nothing. (Mostly because half the time I've forgotten what I'd read, anyway). Imagine my absolute delight, then, to find that we have a book that is all about the spoiler and nothing but the spoiler. The spoiler book to end all spoiler books. Spoilers, in fact, for everything I could ever wish to have spoiled. And, for this post, I get to pick which ones I liked/laughed at/was surprised by the most. Yay me!

Honourable mention:

#240 It's Pocahontas. In space. And blue. (Avatar)

#62 You will not want to look at what's going on in the attic. (Flowers in the Attic)

#63 They look in the attic. (The Diary of Anne Frank)

#46 Bella marries Edward (The Twilight Saga)

#27 Strippers are nice to everyone

#15 You will like him more when he's angry (The Incredible Hulk)

#132 Laura Palmer was killed by her father (Twin Peaks)

#83 The swan dies (Swan Lake)

Natalie Portman dies (Black Swan)