Chow Fest 2012-Day 2

Still in Biloxi and decided to save our appetites for the po-boy we salivate over every time we talk about it. So we ate blueberry muffins and coffee from the hotel lobby. Again, this was just to tide us over and keep us alive until the real meal. No ratings for this one.

Tuesday, Day 2 Lunch: One of the benefits of Tadd's many travels for work is he learns about many good restaurants. He could have his own show on Food Network as he travels through the South. Rena's Deli is no exception.

Tadd found this little gem a few years ago, and every time we are in the area, we MUST stop for a roast beef po-boy. Fresh french bread, tender roast beef with gravy, lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles on the side. Zapps chips make it extra special (salt and vinegar are my favorite). They have daily specials, and Tuesday's was red beans and rice. Everyone else in there ordered this, so I'm sure they are fantastic, but we couldn't sway from our old favorite. We both agreed that this time, the beef was a little dry. That didn't stop me from eating every. Single. Crumb. It was yummy! Rating: Tadd-7.5 Holly-8 **Note: We normally would rate this a 9 or 10. This time they were a little off. Still check it out if you find yourself down here!

Day 2 Dinner: Our family's favorite show is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. We love seeing regular people working hard to run their small restaurants, and serving good food! We saw this dive on the show awhile back, and inserted it in the line-up of stops. The Blow Fly Inn!

Honestly, I think we were much too excited about this and ended up underwhelmed. For appetizers, we ordered shrimp bisque and crab cakes. The bisque was not good at all. We each took one bite. No seasoning in it, and it tasted like flour. The crab cakes were tasty though! Very little filler and lots of lump crab meat. The remoulade sauce on top was good too, but could've used a little more spicy kick.

For the main course, we shared the BBQ shrimp. For those who don't know, BBQ shrimp is just called that. It's not really BBQ. It's a ton of butter and lots of spices sauteed in a pan. They serve it with crusty french bread to dip in the sauce.

I enjoyed this dish, but am going to take a moment to brag on my husband. He makes, hands-down, the best BBQ New Orleans style shrimp you have ever put in your mouth. He adds a touch of heavy cream at the end that really takes it to the next level. So in all fairness to the Blow Fly Inn, there was really no competing with the talents of Tadd Moore (he's not reading this before I post it, or he wouldn't let me say all of that. He's very humble!). Ratings: Tadd-5 Holly-6.5

We are off to New Orleans!