Iced coffee verses hot coffee? Or what about frapuccinos? I was just sitting in my university's Starbucks thinking of the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Ice blended coffee drinks are very popular now, I first noticed it about 4 years ago and through casual observation I've noticed they're very popular at my university. A cold icy drink does have its advantages when you live in south Mississippi. But you know what I'm seeing a lot less of these days? Snowcones. All the good snowcone places are small mom and pop joints on the side of the road or by the beach, but I've been seeing a lot less of them lately. In fact I specifically remember the very last time I had a snowcone; it was June 2004. I was on a kick to make the most of my last summer before college so I was systematically taking all of my nieces and nephews to the snowcone shop on Deadeaux road, the little brown building with the two snowcones overlapping each other painted on it, with a shaded area for sitting. Unfortunately they didn't reopen after Hurricane Katrina. To be fair I've noticed a handful of snowcone stands but I have to admit that I'm partial to three snowcone stands, two of which are on Deadeaux road and one is by the beach. They've all been in business since I was a kid, but none of them made it through Katrina. This blog wasn't suppose to be about Katrina, it's suppose to be about coffee.
I learned today in my French class that a common French breakfast is buttered toast (baguettes) and that the French will dip the buttered toast into the cafe au lait. As I sat there listening to Madame Rowland describe this, I almost immediately went into a reminiscent daze. My mother, who is from New Orleans, eats her toast like that! I had memories of when I was a babe and I would sit on my mother's lap and we would both help ourselves to buttered toast dipped in coffee. I haven't had that combination for years, so after my French class I went to Starbucks and got a cafe au lait and a buttered croissant and tried to recreate the experience as best I could. Mind you, that a buttered croissant isn't exactly buttered bunny bread but I made do. The taste of the coffee soaked bread transported me back to Mock street, back to our old trailer with the holes in the floor, with sheets for doors, and the commode that had to be flushed by slowing pouring a five gallon bucket of water in it. I was there and it was wonderful.
You can think what you want of my mother, and I do, but it's is kind of cool that's she's a creole Jew from the big easy with street smarts and a mishmash French/Spanish/
