New Orleans is one of my favorite food cities in the country, but traveling during a pandemic to attend AAO in person meant that some compromises had to be made. Having procrastinated on air ticket purchase until the last minute, I was stuck with a flight that arrived at midnight Friday. Fortunately, my friend Kareem got a rental car – actually a truck – which helped me escape the taxi line, cancel my Lyft, and check into our 2-bedroom suite together. On Saturday, I registered for the meeting, practiced my talk, and indulged in crispy Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken for lunch, before giving my subspecialty day presentation. After meeting with industry colleagues and attending some receptions, I joined my friend Daniel on the patio at Margie’s Grill to chat about his transition from academia to industry. I taught my OCT course early Sunday, which left me the rest of day to set out in casual wear to enjoy the city. Filling on delicious gumbo and crawfish etouffee from Oceana Grill for lunch, I relaxed at Jackson Square to local jazz musicians while reviewing NIH grants, then compared beignets from Café Beignet and Café Du Monde with my colleague Jeff, where Café Beignet’s version won by a slight margin. Dinner at Gris-Gris with UCD folks included chicken gizzards, fried oyster “BLT”, and oyster pot pie appetizers, followed by hearty shrimp and grits. I had little sleep before boarding my 7am flight back, where I had trouble keeping my eyes open as I compose this blog entry on the plane. Hopefully I will get some rest before covering a surgical case when I return.