QUARANTINE LIFE: EATS

 

After all these years, I’m still chasing the taste of the first fried shrimp I ever ate. 

As a child, my parents would take us to the Aces and Deuces Officer’s Club on Bolling Air Force Base. (My big sister and I affectionately called it the Acey Doocy Club).

Going out to restaurants was one of the components of “The Speech”. It was important to know how to comport oneself in public and not embarrass your people. Those skills and manners were honed at the dinner table at home. You know: Use the right fork, no elbows on the table, napkin in your lap, don’t reach across someone else’s plate, no spilling…

You never wanted it to be said of you, “Can’t take you nowhere!”

I remember the waiter passing by our table with a tray, on which were plates of something that was so golden brown that I was fascinated. When I was asked what I wanted to eat, I pointed and replied, “That!” 

My father asked the waiter what was on the tray. “Fried shrimp, Sir”, he replied. 

“Are you sure that’s what you want”, my father asked. 

“Yes sir!”, I said.

I knew what that meant. Whether I liked shrimp or not, I’d asked for it and once the plate was in front of me, I would have to eat it. I’d only recalled shrimp in gumbo, but never as beautiful as what I’d seen on those plates.

My eyes hadn’t been bigger than my stomach. I didn’t regret my choice. I ate all of my delicious shrimp that day, and was hooked. I preferred catsup to the tart cocktail sauce, and even enjoyed it plain. Every time we went to the “Acey Doocey Club”, I was happy—and I ordered fried shrimp. 

There’s only a few places with fried shrimp on the menu that come close to reminding me of that first taste. One is Brown’s in Brusly, Louisiana. Another is Copper Canyon—The chef fried it especially for me since it wasn’t even on the menu. A third place is Fat Boys in Crofton, Maryland, and another is SoBe Restaurant in Glenn Dale, Maryland.

As much as I like fried shrimp, I’m surprised it isn’t something I cook often. I usually buy it for gumbo or the quick pasta dish I prepare when I don’t feel like cooking. 

Today, I looked at the 6 shrimp left in the bag in the freezer, and decided to see if I could recapture the taste I enjoyed in childhood. 

It wasn’t it, but it wasn’t bad! With only 6, it was a tease, so I think I’m going to follow my big sister’s suggestion and purchase some Louisiana Shrimp Fry, and try again. I may even follow the Cajun bayou shrimp recipe I found— after I was all done. It calls for mustard. 

Instacart or Amazon, here I come.