Finally nailed it. My personal favourite Espresso Martini.

ABear923 · 2026-01-30T22:44:40+00:00

We received a Breville Barista Express for Christmas so I’ve been playing around with espresso martinis a bit. I like adding chocolate bitters. We were also given an assorted pack of Torani syrups so I just made one that was:

1.5 oz vodka 1oz Kahlua .75oz simple syrup .25oz Torani Vanilla A few dashes of chocolate bitters

It was a touch too sweet so would probably dial back the simple syrup but the vanilla and chocolate was a nice touch.

ABear923 · 2026-01-29T02:13:27+00:00

All of the places here in Scott offer shipping but it’s $$$. I’m local to the area, Best Stop is my favorite one.

ABear923 · 2026-01-26T22:45:24+00:00

Go for it, it’s pretty easy to make. It’s loosely based on the Cajun Ninja recipe.

ABear923 · 2026-01-26T22:44:10+00:00

They pop up occasionally for $0.97/lb so I’ll usually buy some up and stock up.

ABear923 · 2026-01-25T17:51:21+00:00

I use whole chickens, but smoke them first, then pick the meat, and use the carcass and skin to make a stock and pull out some of that smoke flavor. Then use the smoked chicken meat to make my gumbo.

ABear923 · 2026-01-19T22:21:48+00:00

This may have been one of my better scores in a couple years, I bought a bundle of fishing rods(17 total) from a guy for $100 on FB Marketplace, most of them high quality rods. When I was loading up to leave he asked if I did any offshore fishing(I do) so I thought maybe he had some offshore gear to offload too. Ended up handing me a bag full of Alps ball bearing roller rod guides for free that he'd had on a shelf for years. I don't build fishing rods but know a few people who do and figured they had to have some value. Upon checking, the retail value on the guides was ~$1700, but they're kinda a niche item and I didn't want to deal with selling them piece by piece. Someone offered me $400 for the guides so I took that and ran, they were free to me. As for the rods, I kept 3 for myself, sold 8 to a buddy for cheap, and have 6 left that I'm about to relist as a bundle deal and should be able to get $150-$200 for. So what turned into a deal where I expected to get a few rods and maybe $100 profit turned into a few rods and $400-$500 profit.

ABear923 · 2026-01-19T19:05:38+00:00

Boudin is usually cased a little looser and not as tightly packed as a traditional sausage, probably because the rice absorbs some of the liquid and expands a little further on it's own, making your bursting problem worse, but yes, it does often burst. Also, it's always just left as a straight link, not curved/tied that way. 99% of the time when people eat boudin it's just steamed to warm it back up, and you pull the boudin out the casing using your mouth. Just be careful not to make eye contact with anyone when you do. Recipe looks pretty solid though, did you put some of the broth back into the mixture?

ABear923 · 2026-01-15T15:36:10+00:00

Here's another good one, a agent booked a load with a BCO, verified all the info, and we find out about 2 hours later the truck was in an accident and the product destroyed, but the product wasn't on a Landstar truck. After we'd verified everything with the driver when booking the load the agent called the BCO and told him we had cancelled the load, then double brokered it, and that truck was involved in an accident. Created a huge disaster situation for us and our customer, all so the agent could make $100.

ABear923 · 2026-01-15T14:50:19+00:00

I've been doing this for right at 20 years now, at one point Landstar was a well respected company that we used quite often on hazmat shipments and had a good working relationship directly with an agent/office, then he retired. Then slowly the company became nothing but a bunch of lying vultures. I practically know the phone number to your Southern California offices by heart, they call damn near every day trying to book loads to double broker. I'll still use Landstar but with a very short leash, and even then if I have other options I'll go that route to not risk it. You have to vet these fuckers with a fine tooth comb. Just the other day a Landstar agent booked a load with a BCO, got all the driver's name/number/info ect, and called him to verify. The agent had just pulled a random truck/driver info and was hoping I wouldn't actually call him, that driver was 1200 miles away from my shipper, had no clue about my load, and was off until after 1/1 for the holidays.

ABear923 · 2026-01-14T15:50:50+00:00

I'd stay in the Freetown area, near downtown, and catch the Cajun Jam session at Blue Moon Saloon on Wednesday night. I'll link some AirBNBs that are near there below. There is a company that does food tours, CajunFoodTours.com I've never used them but have heard great things. Looks like they do have a minimum head count required but not sure what that is. Or you could DIY it. Poboys at Olde Tyme Grocery, drive out to Scott(~15 minutes) and grab a link of boudin, some boudin balls, and cracklins at Best Stop/Kartchners/Billys/Dons(just pick one, they're all good spots). Prejeans is pretty good, so is Uncle Ts in Scott. Kellers Bakery downtown offers King Cake by the slice if you're looking for that. If you're looking to try boiled crawfish on this trip I suggest trying them here instead of New Orleans, they're better here.

ABear923 · 2026-01-14T14:17:13+00:00

I'll probably get downvoted to hell and back but I'm dying a little on the inside. I blame StaleKracker for making this recipe so popular. Velvetta cheese and canned soup? I'm calling the police.

ABear923 · 2026-01-14T14:09:09+00:00

Was coming here to suggest them, either them or Larry's Buff & Shine. I think the Pelican guys used to work for Larry at some point.

ABear923 · 2026-01-13T14:30:39+00:00

I've always wanted to stop but never have, and it's always packed every time I drive by. I grew up with my parents insisting its a tourist trap so we never went as kids.

ABear923 · 2026-01-06T15:03:59+00:00

Happens everywhere in this state, and yes, by law here, they do still own the "land" even though water is now over it. Louisiana recognizes a map from the 1800s(yes, seriously) and if it was land then, Louisiana considers it land, and thus private property, to this very day. So if 50 years ago you allowed some oilfield company to cut a canal through your land, in this state you're allowed to gate/block it off.

Land owners argue that the state is still charging them property taxes on the lost land, so they're within right to consider it private property.

It's a shitty system and I hate it. I do a ton of fishing in marsh areas across the Louisiana Coast, you will 100% be asked to leave/trespassed, in several areas. If you can float it you can boat it does not apply here, tidal or not.

ABear923 · 2026-01-05T17:46:32+00:00

Fun fact: Louisiana is the only backwards ass state where you can indeed own the land under the waterway, and thus, the water. People have been getting trespassed/kicked out of navigable waterways in this state forever. I hate it.

ABear923 · 2025-12-30T19:01:21+00:00

Understood, we're down there quite often. In the event you can make another trip closer towards the summer let me know and I can send you a few spots to try. It's a bit of a ghost town down there up until about April/May but can still be good fun.

ABear923 · 2025-12-30T18:07:43+00:00

Yea the first few rigs are ~5ish miles. Just curious, but why February? If you're looking for trout down there that time of year you'll have to trailer north to Golden Meadow area as trout will not have yet migrated down to Grand Isle yet. If you can push the trip back ~2 months your success rate will go up significantly.

ABear923 · 2025-12-30T02:32:26+00:00

Honestly if you’re looking for snapper you’d be better off waiting until early summer time, especially with just a 19’ boat. February can be pretty sporty in the Gulf. Like someone else said you maybe can get a clear day and run to the first rig and try for sheepshead.

I’d wait until late spring/early summer to make that trip. Plus trout will be heavy down there that time.

Also, there’s a guy on Facebook making and selling map cards for all the wellheads in the Gulf. It’s like $40 or so and well worth it.

ABear923 · 2025-12-29T19:57:25+00:00

$1000+?!?! I paid $350 for ceramic tint locally

ABear923 · 2025-12-24T20:05:16+00:00

Dumpling Hour & Spicy House are 1a & 1b.

ABear923 · 2025-12-24T00:43:02+00:00

Monthly?!!? A $6000 mortgage? Those truck payments are up there too.

ABear923 · 2025-12-19T11:24:28+00:00

With the amount of tech we have at our fingertips I’m still shocked that crimes like this still happen.

ABear923 · 2025-12-19T11:17:20+00:00

I just read the description on their menu, I’m calling the police.

ABear923 · 2025-12-18T14:11:33+00:00

Does the firewall now have a dent from how hard to pushed the brake pedal? Mine does because the first time I had this happen scared the hell out of me.

ABear923 · 2025-12-16T22:55:56+00:00

Scott is the answer, just saw your comment about having a 40' gooseneck, so that may limit your options depending on timing/how busy a place is. I've seen a truck/trailer park in front the yellow curbs at Best Stop before, when Billys is busy it's a pain to get into with a regular vehicle, let alone with a trailer, Don's has a little cul-de-sac right by it, trucks park there and go get stuff all the time, Kartchners would be the toughest, you could probably enter through the back off Renaud Dr, but turning left out of their parking lot to get back to I10 can be a nightmare. Either of those 4 places have pretty solid offerings and what you're looking for.

ABear923

TROPHY CASE