I’ll have the Gator

In Jessie and I, Just For Fun, Travel by David54 Comments

Actual conversation in Louisiana, somewhere on the bayou. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and suspect- just maybe – the human brain doesn’t do well on the toxic combination of gator, frogs and deep-fry. I do love it here, and the people are great, but this one was too funny not to pass along.

Me: I’m not from around here, what’s in the gator basket?

Long silence…

She: Gator.

Me: Uh huh. And is there anything else in the gator basket?

She: I guess you can have fries or onion rings or baked potato.

Me: Onion rings please. Do you have beer?

She: Yes.

Long silence.

Me: What kind of beer do you have?

She: You know. The usual.

Yet another long silence as I plumb the depths of this woman’s intellect realizing I’ve already seen the bottom far too quickly.

Me: And what might the usual be in these here parts?

She: Oh you know, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Li…oh, wait, we’re out of Miller Light.

Me: And do you have anything without the LIGHT in it?

She: Oh, you mean like Bud WISER instead?

Me: Yes. Yes, I do. I will have (in the absence of any real beer) a Bud WISER please.

Comments

  1. Author

    @Trinonym – I am polite but those manners are mandated as a condition of my Canadian citizenship. But if I implied that I didn’t laugh, I apologize.

  2. This is a really good way to get to know America – beside the movies. I guess I would have had the gator. And for sure I would have started to laugh, I think you are really polite 🙂
    Looking forward to follow your way across.

  3. Sounds like a fun restaurant! I’m glad to note that Karl Grobl is a far better photographer than a beer critic…to return from a long overseas trip and want Bud Wiser – uggh! The genuine Budweiser Budvar from the Czech Republic is a beautiful brew, the fizzy pop is a poor alternative. Glad you enjoyed the Gator!

  4. I don’t think I could survive without Steam Whistle or Guinness. On rare occasion, I’ll nurse a Labatt Blue, but not without longing for something tastier.

    Light beer is a pile of travesty with a suitcase of “how could you?” tossed upon it.

  5. Ok, that’s cool. Glad you found some beer to wash it down. Just tried gator this past weekend at a fish/wildlife dinner. They had every kind of meat (elk, rabbit, moose, muskox). Can’t say I liked the gator, a little too flavorfull!

  6. Classic story, and really hilarious! I agree with you on Bud…definitely not one of my favorite beers, that’s for sure. But, like the ol’ saying goes, “different strokes for different folks.” 🙂

  7. Just watch out down south that you don’t order a “coke” or they’ll ask you what kind… 7 up, Cola, Mountain Dew…? 😉

  8. Great exchange, David! I’m glad that you got some local flavor while passing through my part of the country. Those prices on the shrimp and oyster baskets tell you what the oil spill has done to the local economy. Were you able to follow the coast road all the way from Galveston? I checked into it a little more after your email and was told that the Louisiana coast road is now open but a part of the road east of Galveston is still closed. Enjoy the rest of your ride through the South!

  9. I think a tall bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale would go great with the frog! Shame they didn’t have it!

    Really enjoying following your travels David!

  10. Okay, stop the “pity party” about beer! Abita Beer! True Louisiana deep south beer! Run out and get it now, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

    Also, look for Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company out of Kiln, MS (prounounced “kill”, just so you won’t stand out too much as a non-local). Very good beer there too.

  11. haha, I imagine the scene.

    I had some dried snake in cambodia, and wished I could get a beer with it, even a bud, as long as it was chilled 🙂

  12. As a native Mississippian, born on the Gulf Coast (Bay St. Louis), nothing above surprises me! Those of us from the deep south find it hard to believe that non-Southerners would have to ask these questions. It’s a gator basket…it’s gator! Be sure to get an Abita Turbo Dog beer! It’s true deep south beer.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler!

  13. Galina, gator tastes like a strange mix of fish, pork, and yes, chicken. I had alligator last in Peru years ago. Love it! I guess there’s not much of it in San Fran! 🙂

  14. Great exchange! Gotta love the middle of nowhere in SW Louisiana.

    Brews: Abita. While in NO, ask what Abita’s they have when out for a meal. I’m a little partial to the Golden. And the seasonal strawberry may still be found.

  15. I’m guessing that your line “I’m not from around here” wasn’t really necessary…

  16. Great story. Reminds me of the time that I returned to my hometown in Ohio after many years away. In the bar of the bowling alley whee I met up with my friends I asked for a beer.

    Me: What kind of beer do you have?
    Bartender: We have everything.
    Me: Everything?
    B: Yeah. Bud, Bud light, Coors, Coors Light, Miller, Miller Light. Everything.

  17. Hillarious…I’m always disappointed when I can’t find something a little interesting to order….er on the beer side that is. Gator is plenty interesting.

  18. Author

    Karl – Agree to differ. But then if I’m real honest I suppose Bud’s not much worse than almost anything I’m profoundly grateful to pour down my throat in Africa or SE Asia. 🙂 I’m not much for lager of any variety, but pared with fried gater and the right ambiance, who’s to complain? 🙂

  19. You MUST try the Alligator Sausage Cheescake at Jacques-Imos Uptown on Oak St. It’s actually an Appetizer and Delicous despite it’s name and ingredients. Fantastic Mojito’s Too!!!

  20. Reminds me of a Gretchen Wilson song….
    “I’m one bud wiser than I was a week ago…”
    Sure she said yes… and not “ah hun”…

    and what… no perogies or poutine???

  21. Whoa.. go easy there David….Budweiser is real beer! Bud’s a good ‘ole American-style lager introduced way back in 1876 by Adolphus Busch, it’s one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and although it’s not some chic micro-brew; us mid-western born, uncultured, unenlightened, barbaric, NGO shootin’ photojournalists happen to like the taste of it! After a long foray overseas, one of the first meals I have upon my return is an Angus beef burger and a much too cold Bud!

    Stay safe on the road, good luck on the next leg of your journey, and watch out fer-them-there fried gators!

    Cheers, Karl Grobl

  22. You have to get something Cajun there. I have always wanted to go there and just eat spicy all weekend.

  23. Funny, thanks. If you’re passing thru New Jersey stop by… just tapped a keg of Arrogant Bastard. Can’t say for sure it won’t last more than 2 weeks, but there will be other micro brews following it.

  24. Cracked me up. Thanks for the laugh.

    Did you like the gator? Tried it once in Florida, and was surprised at how tasty it was.

    About the Bud WISER, I’d rather not know.

  25. Ha, ha!!! Perfect dialogue for your road trip flick!

    Mine:
    “So, what are you doing here?”
    “I am driving across the U.S. taking photos.”
    “What do you take pictures of?”
    “Here is one I just took.”
    “All I see is a big truck.”
    “Well, you know I liked the light. I look for everyday beauty. Colors, lighting, moods, stuff around us we sometimes overlook that’s right here to see…”
    “When you leaving?”

  26. Make sure you get eat some crawfish (also known as crayfish or crawdads in some places) while you’re in the south. Also, for a great “on the road” snack, pick yourself up some boiled peanuts! You should be able to find a place that serves warm boiled peanuts just off the road.

  27. I’m even more intrigued by an entry in the Dinner column – I wonder what a plate of “Stuff” is (second from the top under dinner). Glad to see you are getting the full American experience.

  28. So, does that mean that in the shrimp basket there is only a shrimp? That’s an expensive shrimp. I think the frog is much better value (assuming you get a whole frog).

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