Summer Smells Like Fried Green Tomatoes

The dog days of summer have arrived. Nothing says summer to me more than fried green tomatoes. They are a beautiful green color, almost the color of a granny smith apple, and their firm flesh only gets juicy once they are cooked up.

I sliced the tomatoes and dredged them in cornmeal and flour with a little salt and pepper thrown in. Fry them in a good bit of vegetable oil and the aroma smells of summer. Eat them alone or pile some shrimp on top and you have an easy summertime meal.

The best fried green tomatoes I ever had were in a restaurant called Bouchon (pig!) in New Orleans. They were crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. Piled on top were grilled shrimp and a remoulade sauce that was to die for. It was a dish of opposites: hot tomatoes versus cold shrimp, spicy and mild mixed together, and crispy and soft co-mingling together all in one bite. It was a study in contrasts that I have never had before or since.

That was a magical dining experience that stood out, even among the famed restaurants of New Orleans.

I bet you are wondering what this has to do with design. And you are right; nothing really. I just wanted to share the quick summertime meal I whipped up late last night and hope it will inspire you to find some green tomatoes at your farmer’s market and fry ’em up. Or better yet, take a trip to Bouchon and walk around New Orleans, probably my favorite among American cities. You will find plenty of design inspiration there and then you will thank me. Especially while you are waddling around after eating some of the best food of your life and looking at some of the best scenery this country has to offer.

© copyright 2012 Mariam d’Eustachio.