What I missed on our 3,750-mile road trip

Great bread.

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In 15 days on the road and in hotels, I missed the great bread I enjoy in North Jersey. Just two examples are the $2 baguette with a crackling crust from Balthazar Bakery in Englewood (this is a living crust that softens in humid weather) and the fresh pita from Fattal's in Paterson that allows you to turn every meal into a pocket-bread sandwich.

Even in New Orleans, what they call French bread is this large, doughy loaf with no crust to speak of, suitable for soaking up the juices from the overstuffed po' boy sandwiches. It reminded me of the water bread used in Cuban sandwiches, but that crust is compressed and heated in a press before serving.

About the closest thing to a great-bread experience is the yeasty southern biscuit, sometimes served soaked in gravy. I loved the biscuits served at Lil' Dizzy's Cafe in New Orleans and in a Cracker Barrel Store in Alabama. Driving back to New Jersey, we found a Panera Bread in Hagerstown, Md., where I had a Mediterranean vegetable sandwich -- a salad between two slices of good wheat bread. And the baguette served with the terrific chicken soup, though doughy, was excellent.

Where every meal is a great meal

On our road trip, we drove for 12 hours to reach New Orleans and the first room our historic B&B showed us was a dump, but we were restored by our meals. Despite the destruction still evident nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, the restaurant scene inside and outside of the French Quarter is vibrant.

We pigged out for lunch at Cochon, a Cajun restaurant that buys whole hogs and butchers them in-house (our waiter said all the food is raised naturally within 90 miles). Our feast included a platter of cold cuts, pulled pork topped with cracklings, ribs, and a beautifully seasoned redfish fillet with crispy skin (but the scales were left on, ruining the skin). I always stop at the Acme Oyster House in the French Quarter for a dozen of Louisiana's extraordinary oysters on the half shell, and they didn't disappoint. My wife and son shared two pounds of crawfish boiled in a spicy broth (they are about three inches long and you'd swear they were miniature lobsters).

We're crazy about po' boy sandwiches and headed over to fill up at the lively Parkway Bakery & Tavern, which overlooks a bayou. My French bread was overstuffed with fried catfish and fried oysters, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, hold the mayo, and I had sweet potato fries on the side. Cooks were doing Cuban sandwiches pressed under foiled-wrapped bricks on a sidewalk grill. Other highlights were the fresh spinach salad with moist chicken breast, pizza, and spaghetti and meatballs at Mona Lisa Restaurant and curry goat and braised oxtails at Boswell Jamaican Grill.

Our breakfasts included a huge portion of nut-and-banana pancakes at Betsy's Pancake House and shrimp with grits at Lil Dizzy's Cafe. The gravy, fresh tomato and crunchy wild shrimp elevate the bland hominy into a tasty, rib-sticking breakfast (a daily, off-menu special). Don't forget to order a homemade biscuit to sop up the gravy. Both these breakfast places are filled with locals.