Blackened Out Gets Invited to a Party

The invitation arrived not only by snail mail but also by web enabled mail. It said: "Please join us for a Grand Fete celebrating the opening of Cochon BUTCHER and Calcasieu." After confirming with Peter that this was not a joke, we hired a Frog to translate Grand Fete for us. Then we fasted for a good 4 hours before the party.

The party was divided into two spaces. The upstairs Calcasieu, a private event space, is a brick walled oasis to partying with class. There was a Methuselah of Bourdeaux, oysters, whole pigs, and fur coats. In the BUTCHER shop downstairs, sandwiches, salamis, and olives passed around the room in a more casual vibe. Both areas were rad (to use the popular parlance of our time). The party grossed thirty-five people shy of the House of Representatives. We will start with downstairs.

This full-frontal nudity shot of the Salami case will make your heart sing, if you like that sort of thing. You see those two whole leg hams? Peter called dibs on the one on the left. Yeah, the whole thing.
A side view. Does that not look like the Divine Light of Heaven? Or it could be a spot on the lens.

An up close view of the Salamis hanging in a temperature controlled, humidity regulated environment. I asked to spend the night in the case to see if it would cause me to age gracefully, but management handed me a cupcake instead.

Look at the cayenne infused Andouille. It is as big around as as a baseball bat. Each one of those batons weighs about 2 pounds.

Ahhh, oysters. They were shucked by the pros from ACME Oyster House. They shocked the senses with the cold, explosive flavor of the sea. A lot like being thrown into the ocean with a pair of cement shoes.

We have no idea how this lucky S.O.B. got the job of carving a pig as succulent and perfect as this beast, but next year we are definitely working on our essay skills.

I've kissed a lot of pigs in my life but none of them were this pretty.

All photos courtesy of The Folk Singer.