Shrimp Bombe

On Sunday the Rodeo Queen (in recovery) and the Great & Powerful Oz (so true) invited us to a Shrimpfest fundraiser feast -- with special guests the White Boot Brigade ( "a group of Louisiana shrimpers working to preserve the Gulf's culinary heritage through sustainable shrimping and alternative marketing.") It only took us two seconds to yell "YES" and give up all our money to those slow food shrimpers. Lots of other people were also interested in shrimp (go figure!) and when we arrived it was a bit of a mad house, with people who were told to wait out on the patio deciding to fend for themselves and returning with big plates of boiled wild shrimp and giant mounds of corn and green beans (my favorite). We were taught tricks by the determined women at the patio table next to us and then we passed those tricks on to others (and we all ended up happily well-fed.)


The Chef will be the first to tell you that I don't like shrimp. I especially hate those frozen pink blobs that are served over the holidays with red sauce and presented on iceberg lettuce like it's some kind of special treat. Is this a sad, we-live-far-away-from-the-ocean, Midwestern tradition? Blech! However, this shrimp was so wild it jumped out of the water with tail and tentacles intact. I still can't say I enjoy the messy decapitation part and then there is the uh, other thing, that middle bit that shall not be mentioned. (I still feel queasy.) However, listening to New Orleans Jazz and surrounded by good hearted people, I leapt right into the shrimp eating fun. I know that the Great & Powerful Oz felt the same way because she started eating corn, until the Rodeo Queen (in recovery) reminded her that she was allergic.


Afterwards we convinced TRQ (IR) and TG&PO to join us for ice cream at ICI because we were in the East Bay and felt like it was something we had to do since we DROVE ALL THAT WAY ACROSS THE BRIDGE and we had never been there. We had only see pictures of their fancy ice cream sandwiches in the newspaper. We faced another long line, this one of east bay ice cream eaters. I followed the Rodeo Queen (in recovery)'s "OMG THE APRICOT! THE APRICOT!" suggestion and (of course) she was so right. ICI also served giant fantasy meringue ice cream "bombe" things, which made me go all ice cream heaven hysterical frenchie "Bohmb, Bohmb, Bohmb"until the Great & Powerful Oz countered with her ice cream heaven hysterical American "Bahm! Bahm! It's Bahm!" Then we doubled dared each other to blog about it. Do I win? hee hee.

This it NOT your neighborhood ice cream parlor. Bombe (looks like just a section of it) in upper right hand corner.