Yeah, I went back to restaurants that maybe I hadn't been to 15-20 years or something, and excited to have a specific meal that I remember growing up as a kid having. Pretty lackluster on some occasions. There's definitely nostalgia element.
I think the last one was traveling through Slidell headed back home, and stopped at Copeland's. I don't even remember what I had,maybe it was crab meat au gratin. Just wasn't memorable enough, I remember very specific things when it comes to cooking and meals and stuff over the years. That was my favorite restaurant growing up as a kid. Not that location but the one there in Gretna when was growing up in New Orleans.
It wasn't bad, but not near as wonderful as memory serves. If I recall, Al Copeland was The Mastermind behind Popeyes, and had his name sake restaurant in different areas in New Orleans. I think he went bankrupt or something and only ended up keeping one or two locations or selling all of the franchises back and maybe the 90s.
There used to be a super Popeyes that was close to downtown New Orleans, and I'm not sure how he wasn't sued because it was literally Popeye in a Superman suit for the logo. Only ate there once but it was essentially an all you can eat Popeyes fried Chicken buffet, kind of like a Hartz, except awesome.
I guess a good question would be do you guys remember different restaurants or specific meals you grew up eating that aren't what they used to be? There are still some simple goofy meals my mom used to make because it was cheap and easy but I get to hankering for and make to this day. Good example would be cube steaks with green onions mushrooms, steamed broccoli, and either instant mashed potatoes or boxed macaroni and cheese. That's the taste of childhood to me, back one cube steaks were actually cheap, and what you bought if you didn't have money.
/Dear diary ( talk to text)
Lanx , now I want duck. I think maybe it's been a year since I made it, but it really is one of my favorite things to cook on special occasions.
