MrKurtNielsen.com

What a time! What a week! Listen and learn, my friends.

A lot of people have been wondering where I have been lately, and why the site has slipped a tad. It’s nothing serious, folks — just going through a little shift in my life. It’s all positive, though… as my latest video will attest to!

The books I will suggest to you, in order to give you inspiration and encouragement during these bumpy times:
The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol (also on audio book)
Too Much is Not Enough by Orson Bean
The Artist’s Way (and ensuing books in the series) by Julia Cameron
The Art of Eating by M.F.K Fisher

Be happy! Be well!

Back from my trip to Mobile, Alabama, I’m in quite a silly mood.

And while we are on the subject of my upcoming Mobile trip (now just hours away), here’s a film I did featuring several friends that I will get to see down there: Percy, Les Thatcher and Charlie Smith.

I finally got around to having the sound re-mixed — makes all the difference in the world! I hope you all like it. Please let me know what you think, too!

As many of you know, one of my closest friends in the wrestling business is Percy Pringle, a.k.a. Paul Bearer. For the fifth year in a row, I will be staying with him at his lovely home in Mobile, Alabama as we attend the Gulf Coast Wrestlers Reunion. It is always a highlight of my year. The event is for people involved in the wrestling business only. As a professional wrestling fan for over 30 years, I’m thrilled to be welcome, as I am rubbing elbows with true giants of the business.

Sadly, Percy lost his dear wife, Dianna, one month ago. I was lucky enough to get to know her. What a grand lady she was! I spent countless hours talking to her, eating her wonderful home cooking, and getting treated to her true southern hospitality. Being from the West Coast, I never had the opportunity to have homemade fried chicken — it’s not something a lot of people out here make themselves. Dianna was kind enough to make me her special fried chicken a few years back, and I will never forget how terrific it was.

So, it will be bittersweet going to Mobile this year. Dianna will be on my mind all the time, as you might imagine. But there’s so many good memories, and so many good friends out there for me to visit, I won’t be able to stay down for too long. And don’t forget all that wonderful food! I’m going to eat like a horse. Diet be damned! I will stick my head in a trough full of banana pudding and won’t come up for hours!

And, of course, I will do my annual visit to the grave of Stan “Plowboy” Frazier in Biloxi, Mississippi. Yes, I might just wear overalls (just like I did last year). I pick up all my overalls in Pascagoula, MS, where Frazier lived most of his life. He’s a strange role model, I won’t deny… but he’s mine!

Now, those of you who want a letter from me, you better raise your hand now cuz I’m going to be out for a short while. But if you do request it, I will gladly mail you from somewhere along the Gulf Coast… I swear!

Okay, I had best pack. We’ll be back next week!

In honor of my upcoming trip to Mobile, where the food is abundant and glorious, here’s one of the finest eating stops on the West Coast: the world famous Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax.

If you ever come down here for a visit, please be sure to stop by. Heck, give me a call and I’ll show you where to go!

www.farmersmarketla.com

It’s the simple pleasures of life that really do it for me. But sometimes I’m a bit naughty…

I would have to say that New Orleans Square might very well be my favorite section in all of Disneyland. From the eerie grandeur of the Haunted Mansion to the minute details throughout that evoke the jewel of the Gulf Coast, there’s real life, drama and class in every corner. All the space is perfectly proportioned, too, without an ounce of fat. Everything makes sense. Here, it seems, no corners are ever cut. Magnificent!

Happily, all of the food establishments in New Orleans Square are just as quality-driven. I can’t list one place there that is even average, not even the food carts. What brings out this special magic? It’s hard to say. Maybe because people associate New Orleans with food excellence, the park felt morally obligated to step up their game. It does not make sense that a section only a few feet away (like Frontierland) can produce food of such a different quality, but I swear it’s true, folks.

I don’t think you can do better in the park, for price, value and overall appeal, than the French Market Restaurant. Located attractively by the train station, facing the Rivers of America, this is a wonderful establishment that is considered casual dining, moves like quick service, and gives you the feeling that you are truly somewhere special. The Blue Bayou has all the reputation (and prices to match!), but I honestly feel this is the gastronomic heart of New Orleans Square.

In the open-air dining area, you can watch people casually strolling by as you listen to live jazz and sip a (non-alcoholic) Mint Julep. No matter how harried things can be, this festive environment has a way of soothing the mind, even in the dead heat of summer. All of the elements that make the park so great meld here in this one spot: the trees, the architecture, the smatterings of kitsch, the whimsy, the charm. You could ask for no better backdrop for a meal, I can assure you!

The food is just great. Given the constraints of food service in this capacity, they do some really amazing things. The jambalaya is not your typical Cajun style (this is Disneyland, after all, so they don’t really over-spice), but I really love it. They spoon a large ladle of tomatoey rice with vegetables, make a deep well and top it with a generous portion of shrimp and chicken. Flanked by cheddar cornbread and perfectly cooked tender-crisp vegetables, it’s a marvel. I had this very meal outside in the pouring rain, underneath a small cloth cover, and had one of the most pleasant eating experiences in my life.

Every time I have come here, either with a group or by myself, I have been nothing but satisfied. Some of the food isn’t always tip-top — it can happen, and it’s understandable. On one visit my Roast Beef Royale’ had somewhat gummy potatoes, and the beef seemed a bit over-tender (if that even seems possible), but it was all still highly edible. The consistency of the French Market still tops that of the other restaurants in the park by a wide mile.

They also have lovely desserts. I had a mini cheesecake with raspberries and a Jack Skellington head perched atop — it was something you would expect to see at only the fanciest of cafes, and was available here for a modest fee. Again, just magic.

Overall Grade: A
If you really want to put a big exclamation point of your Disneyland experience, I would strongly suggest you eat here. It is everything the park should be, and if I didn’t already vow to eat at every restaurant in the park, it would be the only place I’d ever dine.

Cuisine: American, Cajun-Creole, Healthy Selections
Service Type: Casual Dining
Price Range: $$ ($10-$20 per person) *
Meals Served: Lunch, Dinner, Snack
Location: New Orleans Square