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June 8-14 2021 Volume 42 Number 23

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CONTENTS

JUNE 8 — JUNE 14, 2021 VOLUME 42 || NUMBER 23 NEWS

IS IN

OPENING GAMBIT

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CLANCY DUBOS

9

REST IN PEACE BUNNY MATTHEWS

ADD COLOR TO SOMEONE’S DAY!

10

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 13 FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5 EAT + DRINK

31

MUSIC 39 FILM 42 PUZZLES 43 EXCHANGE 43

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EVERY WEDNESDAY 1/2 OFF BOTTLES OF WINE & $10 CARAFES OF SANGRIA

Dancing, Drag Shows & Dive Bars Despite shifting attitudes and apps, New Orleans gay bar scene is here to stay.

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2021 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Finish line Comedian Shane Torres returns to New Orleans for Broad Theater show

BY JAKE CLAPP COMEDIAN SHANE TORRES IS CALLING his string of 15 show dates mainly

scattered through May and June the “Oh So Close Tour.” With the poster, designed by comedian and illustrator Geoffrey Tice, featuring two hands reaching for a rope just past the fingertips, there’s a feeling of elusiveness familiar to a lot of us this last year.

Right before the pandemic hit, Torres was working on several projects, including being featured in “This Joka,” a stand-up comedy series hosted by Will Smith and planned for the short-form — and short-lived — streaming platform Quibi. Along with the pandemic pulling the rug out from under his plans for the year, Quibi launched and then folded before “This Joka” could air.

“I was in this point I had two big things coming out and taking good steps forward, and then the pandemic hit, so none of them happened.

And I was like, ‘Aw, so close,’ ” Torres says from Brooklyn, where he lives.

“And now, I’m so close to being back out on the road again — or I have been — so that’s part of it. And we’re all so close to maybe getting back to some kind of normal. I just got to start back out there and do it again.”

Torres will be in New Orleans on Saturday, June 12, for a show at The Broad Theater, hosted by It’s Good Comedy.

“This time last year, I couldn’t imagine stringing together six dates in the South on my own, because I didn’t have the budget or the draw to do a giant fucking drive-in theater,” Torres says.

“Last year, I was thinking, ‘Will that ever happen again?’” he adds with a laugh. “This year, I’m like, ‘Oh, thank God, it’s happening again.’ And now I’ve gotta be like, ‘Jesus Christ, I hope I sell some tickets.’ ” Torres in 2017 released his debut hour-long album, “Established 1981,” which included a hilarious defense of Guy Fieri — a defense he performed on “Conan” that went viral and may have helped shift the online world’s attitudes toward food TV’s Ed Hardy Emeril. Since then, Torres has performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” hosted a

P H OTO B Y S C OT T T H R E L K E L D/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball of Tank and the Bangas releases her poetry collection on Tuesday, June 8, with an event at Garden District Book Shop.

Tarriona “Tank” Ball IN HER DEBUT POETRY COLLECTION “VULNERABLE AF,” Tank and the Bangas lead singer Tank Ball writes about love, heartbreak, discovering self-worth and more.

There’s a limited-admission in-person event as well as virtual access to the celebration at Garden District Book Store at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 8. Find information at gardendistrictbookshop.com. mini-series for Comedy Central called “Shane Torres Conquers Fears,” where he helped other comedians literally face their fears, and toured across the country.

When the pandemic kept him off the road, Torres took part in a number of live-streaming comedy events and steadily worked back up to occasional, physically distant in-person shows — a gig in Austin in November was titled “Shane Torres works out his fart jokes in a safe way” — and in June, he got back on the road, opening for Bert Kreischer at several drive-in shows.

The spottiness of gigs and uncertainty with how venues for comedy could reopen and comedians viably do their work took a lot out of him, Torres says, “so scaling back up and getting back to normal has been fucking awesome. And I’m hoping people in audiences and club owners and everybody else want to be back out enjoying everything.”

Torres is now working on his next special, and he’s recording a new podcast with Kyle Kinane that will premiere this year. The two comedians have been asking people via Instagram to call and chime in on things like wellness culture, weed culture and mixed martial arts.

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y S H A NE TO R R E S

Comedian Shane Torres performs at The Broad Theater on June 12.

Torres has a lot of love for New Orleans. He has performed here frequently over the years and filmed a half-hour special for Comedy Central at the Civic Theater in 2017.

And on “Established 1981,” Torres recounts the time he drunkenly tried to talk to Jerry Jones at Pat O’Brien’s. Torres, who is originally from Fort Worth, tried to tell the Dallas Cowboys owner how much the team meant to him and his father, who had recently passed.

The moment didn’t go over as he’d hoped.

Last summer, between stops on Kreischer’s tour, Torres took an off day and stopped in the city. He snapped a photo at Big Lake in City Park, one of his favorite spots, he says.

“One of the images that stuck with me last year was being [in New Orleans] and it being so quiet,” Torres says. “When I think of New Orleans, I think of what a beautiful place it is and like how much fun I have, but it’s also filled with resilience. So I’m excited to see it back and swinging.”

GrrlSpot Pride GRRLSPOT, which coordinates several lesbian-centered events in the city each year, is putting on its Pride event at Crossing at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 12. Burlesque dancers Jeez Loueez and Lola Van Ella are slated to perform, and DJs Gage, Vaughndutch and Staycation will provide tunes. For more information, visit grrlspot.co.

Mark Dresser with Big Sam Williams and Herlin Riley GRAMMY-NOMINATED BASS PLAYER MARK DRESSER’S roughly 50-year career has taken him around the world, whether as a bandleader, as part of iconic saxophonist Anthony Braxton’s quartet or performing alongside musicians such as trombonist Ray Anderson, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and avant-garde stalwart Tim Berne. For Dresser’s first show in New Orleans, hosted by Scatterjazz, he’ll be joined by trombonist and Funky Nation leader Big Sam Williams and drummer Herlin Riley. At 7 p.m. Sunday, June 13, at the Broadside. Tickets are $15 at broadsidenola.com.

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Bastion, a community in Gentilly

for returning military veterans, will use a $96,000 grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation to launch a new, resident-driven food program and expand access to healthy meals. Bastion is collaborating with chef Nina Compton and nutritionist Kathie Swift to train three resident chefs and upgrade their kitchens. Those chefs will then host weekly super clubs, giving healthy cooking lessons to residents, and large-scale monthly events for the community.

Louisiana lawmakers re-

moved language from two pieces of legislation that would have protected transgender people, the Illuminator reported. Both the proposal for a “bill of rights” for youth in the foster care system and a bill dealing with licensing social workers originally included language barring discrimination based on gender identity — and both recently have been amended to remove those protections.

Republicans on the House Criminal Justice Committee voted down a bill allowing those jailed following a split-jury decision to seek a new trial. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that non-unanimous jury verdicts, a Jim Crow law, were unconstitutional, but the Court did not make its ruling retroactive. The bill by Rep. Randal Gaines, D-LaPlace, would have given roughly 1,500 incarcerated people a chance to seek post-conviction relief. It would have been up to prosecutors to then consider those applications.

The percentage by which air travel jumped over Memorial Day weekend at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, compared to a similar time frame the previous month.

S C R EEN S H OT O F G O O G L E M A P S S T R EE T V I E W

Ruston police have arreted Michael Ausbun in connection with their investigation into sexual assault allegations at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.

SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH LOUISIANA CENTER FOR THE BLIND ASSAULT ALLEGATION

The airport saw more than 93,000 individuals go through the security checkpoint between May 27 and June 1, according to The Times-Picayune.

Passenger traffic was still down by a third compared to the holiday weekend in 2019, but aviation director Kevin Dolliole said MSY has been in the top tier for recovery among mid-sized airports as Covid restrictions ease and travelers get vaccinated.

RUSTON LAW ENFORCEMENT TOOK MICHAEL AUSBUN INTO CUSTODY

Wednesday in connection to an ongoing police investigation into a sexual assault allegation that occurred at the Louisiana Center for the Blind.

Deputy Chief Chad Hamlin told Gambit Thursday morning that Ausbun, 25, had been arrested for the charge of “molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability.”

“We went to Mr. Ausbun’s residence where he was taken into custody without any kind of incident,” said Hamlin, a spokesman for the Ruston Police Department.

The survivor, whose name Gambit is withholding to preserve her anonymity, also confirmed to Gambit that the arrest was related to alleged abuse she reported by Ausbun to Ruston police back in January.

The alleged abuse occurred in 2018. At the time, Ausbun was an employee at the Louisiana Center for the Blind’s summer program for high school students. The survivor was a student attending the program and a minor at the time.

Hamlin told Gambit on April 8 that the department was in the early stages of an investigation into the woman’s reports of alleged abuse.

He said since then, the case investigator interviewed the woman via Zoom, several witnesses and LCB Director Pam Allen. He said LCB cooperated with the investigator.

Hamlin said from there, police attempted to speak with Ausbun but he referred the investigator to his attorney, who never arranged a time to speak with police.

“They were supposed to set up something, and that never happened,” Hamlin said. “We were left with just going ahead and giving it to the DA’s office, who referred the investigator to go ahead and seek a warrant, and that led us to yesterday.”

According to online records, Ausbun is being held at the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.

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Ausbun had not given a statement to police as of Thursday morning, which Hamlin said was not unusual for a suspect who had already obtained a lawyer. He said investigators have turned the case over to the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office, who will work to determine a court date.

“As of right now, everything from this point on is strictly in their hands,” he said.

Hamlin said if Ausbun decided later to give a statement to police or if an additional witness came forward, Ruston PD would take the statement and interview the witness “but everything would also be pushed back up to the DA’s office.”

Many former attendees of the Louisiana blindness center have also come forward since December with their own stories of abuse by then-employee and students at LCB. But Hamlin said in April the department was not investigating LCB and that the department would only expand the scope of its investigation to the center itself if they found evidence of staff mishandling abuse claims in this case.

Hamlin said, to his knowledge, the investigator had not found reason to investigate the center.

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Louisiana lawmakers today dropped state legislation that would have both restricted the qualified immunity defense and expanded the definition of “malfeasance” for law enforcement and other state officers.

Specifically, HB 609, authored

by Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Brusly, sought to limit the ability of “peace officers” — defined as police, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, marshals, correctional officers, constables, wildlife enforcement agents, state park wardens, probation and parole officers, and others — to use qualified immunity as a viable defense from civil lawsuits claiming they have used excessive force and violated other individual rights.

Some state lawmakers like Jordan and dozens of others, mostly Democrats, have made it a priority to expand protection from police brutality a year after the George Floyd protests galvanized the nation and sparked discussions on how to dismantle systemic racism, particularly in law enforcement.

As is the case in other parts of the country, in Louisiana police brutality

disproportionately impacts Black people, and several high-profile cases of it have made national headlines. The death of Ronald Greene at the hands of Louisiana State troopers in 2019 has sparked outrage in recent weeks after footage was released of Greene being tormented by police before they killed him.

Under “qualified immunity,” upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, law enforcement accused of violating constitutional rights can be protected from lawsuits in civil courts if the officer didn’t have previous knowledge their behavior was unconstitutional.

It does not affect criminal liability, but Reuters has pointed out it is a “highly effective shield in thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold cops accountable for using excessive force.”

The bill received House approval earlier this session.

State Rep. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who supported the bill, told Gambit Tuesday evening the failure for it to pass is “deeply disappointing” and said “true accountability in police brutality cases is extremely rare. Without this measure of accountability, and we cannot build public trust.”

He also called it a “common-sense” measure, pointing out it was a bipartisan measure recommended by a task force.

“No one, especially a state actor, should be able to violate someone’s constitutional rights with immunity,” he said.

Republican Sens. Cameron Henry of Metairie, Ronnie Johns of Lake Charles, Mike Reese of Leesville and Kirk Talbot of River Ridge struck the bill down, according to the Associated Press.

Several police officers also spoke Tuesday against it, according to The Advocate. Michael Carter, Shreveport Police Association president, said, “I’m simply not going to work without qualified immunity. I don’t make enough money to pay malpractice insurance. Doctors do.”

The Louisiana Black Caucus, which supported the legislation and is led by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, issued a statement saying the group is “disappointed, but rest assured that we will keep fighting and seeking out deeds over words.”

Duplessis added, “We will continue to push for this change and combat the false narrative that supporting police reform makes you anti-police. If you’re pro-police, you should want this. Unfortunately, good changes take time and persistence.” — SARAH RAVITS

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CLANCY DUBOS

WTF? Cantrell urges ‘support’ of convicted grifter Mayfield

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P H OTO S B Y DAV I D G R UN F E L D AND SOPHIA GERMER / THE T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Mayor LaToya Cantrell and trumpeter Irvin Mayfield

TO PARAPHRASE THE LATE ART LINKLETTER , politicians say the

darndest things. The latest example: Mayor LaToya Cantrell was recently caught on video telling a crowd at Magnolia Mansion Hotel, “Let’s continue to support a true son of the city of New Orleans, Irvin Mayfield.”

Huh? Mayfield, a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter and bandleader, pleaded guilty in federal court last November to conspiracy to defraud the city’s nonprofit library foundation. Joining Mayfield in that plea was his musical collaborator, Ron Markham. Both men led the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) and the New Orleans Public Library Foundation. Each, in fact, chaired the foundation’s board and wielded significant influence over its finances.

In their plea, Mayfield and Markham admitted to diverting more than $1.3 million from the foundation to NOJO — and into their pockets.

The feds alleged in a 2017 indictment that they used foundation money to buy Mayfield a 24-karat, gold-plated trumpet; to subsidize both men’s $100,000 salaries; to finance NOJO’s operations, including a performance at Carnegie Hall; and to pay for luxury hotel stays for Mayfield. Both men also admitted trying to cover up the grift.

Mayfield and Markham now face up to five years in jail. Their sentencing has been delayed, and they no doubt hope U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey will cut them some slack in light of their offer to pay $1.1 million in restitution to the foundation. Restitution likely would be part of any sentence, and one has to wonder how a guy who qualified for a public defender now

has access to $1.1 million. Perhaps Zainey will seek to ascertain that at the pair’s sentencing hearing.

Meanwhile, Mayfield and Markham have begun performing at the Magnolia Mansion boutique hotel, which, coincidentally, was raided by the feds days after Cantrell praised Mayfield in that very venue. The raid reportedly is part of an investigation into possible art fraud and there’s no evidence it is connected to Cantrell or Gusman — but the optics sure ain’t good.

So let’s unpack all this: Heronner ran for mayor, in part, on a platform of staunch support for the city-run libraries — and she initially kept that promise. But, last December, she pushed a property tax renewal that gutted library funding. Voters rejected it overwhelmingly. (Gambit endorsed that proposition, then apologized to readers after we learned the administration had misled us about its impact on library funding.)

Facing re-election in the fall — with a City Council-drafted full renewal of library funding on the same ballot — Cantrell ought to be reaching out to library supporters.

Instead, she attended a sold-out performance by the disgraced Mayfield and heaped praise upon him.

Exactly how we are supposed to “support” Mayfield is not clear — and Cantrell refused to clarify her remarks when asked by WWL-TV’s David Hammer.

That leaves citizens to assume the worst.

After all, Cantrell just as easily could have asked us to support the city’s many selfless culture bearers.

Or, for that matter, the libraries.

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IN MEMORIAM

Bunny Matthews: Feb. 15, 1951 — June 1, 2021 THROUGH HIS ICONIC CHARACTERS VIC AND NAT’LY BROUSSARD, better

known as the “Nint’ Ward” bar and po-boy shop owners “Vic N Nat’ly,” Bunny Matthews spoke to and about New Orleans, and became a beloved local personality.

After an extended battle with cancer, Matthews died June 1. He was 70.

A cartoonist, artist and former music reviewer, Matthews spent most of his career talking about local life and casting it in his signature vernacular.

“Vic N Nat’ly” ran in The Times-Picayune, Gambit and elsewhere and became larger than life.

Will Bunn “Bunny” Matthews III was born Feb. 15, 1951, in Monroe, Louisiana, and at an early age moved with his family to Metairie, where he grew up. He enrolled at the University of New Orleans but left to become a freelance writer. He loved the local music scene, and was involved in it for many years, from working at record stores to managing performers.

As a music critic, he interviewed local legends including Allen Toussaint, Professor Longhair and James Booker and chronicled the music scene. He was insightful and, as always, unafraid to speak his mind.

P H OTO B Y S H E R R I M I L L E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Bunny Matthews’ iconic Vic and Nat’ly graced the poster of French Quarter Festival in 2016.

He once promised to eat his cassette player if the Neville Brothers’ “Fiyo on the Bayou” sold a lot of copies nationally — not that Matthews didn’t like it. That didn’t please Aaron Neville, but Matthews’ prediction was correct.

Matthews also drew cartoons and began to focus on his art. He launched his series “F’Sure: Actual Dialogue Heard on the Streets of New Orleans” in Figaro, the predecessor to Gambit.

Vic and Nat’ly were introduced to New Orleans in a cartoon in The Time’s Picayune in 1982. Vic, usually depicted unshaven, and Nat’ly with

F I L E P H OTO B Y K E I T H S P E R A / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY UNE

Bunny Matthews was a cartoonist, artist and music critic. He was photographed at his home office in Abita Springs on Thursday, March 31, 2016.

her cat’s eye glasses and martini glass frequently in hand, ran a bar and po-boy shop and commented with distinct candor and humor about local life. Over his career, the strip appeared in many area publications, including Gambit, New Orleans Magazine and OffBeat, which Matthews edited from 1999 to 2005.

Matthews’ work wasn’t confined to newsprint, and he showed his work in local art galleries and the Contemporary Arts Center. Vic and Nat’ly made a splash in the fine art world in a show at Arthur Roger Gallery via a large-scale painting on a banner. Inspired

by Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” a response to the bombing of a Spanish village, Matthews’ “NintWardica” mirrored the onslaught of violence in the Spanish Civil war in the destruction wrought on Louisiana by the BP oil disaster.

Vic and Nat’ly became part of New Orleans life, and the couple still adorns delivery trucks from Leidenheimer Bakery.

Though he championed a love of New Orleans and a sort of y’atty voice and take on daily life, Matthews lived in Abita Springs since the late 1980s.

In 2015, Matthews was treated for a brain tumor, and he was open about his battle with cancer via social media.

Matthews loved Carnival, and he was chosen as the monarch of Krewe du Vieux in 2017, but he was not able to ride in the parade.

Matthews is survived by his sons Jude and Noah Matthews.

BUNNY MATTHEWS

O R I G I N A L C O M I C S B Y B UNN Y M AT T H E W S

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Photo of 1401 Cleveland Ave. as it is today.

E. Verges restored the building into a medical office building called the McMahon Clinic. “It was a fine old structure that we realized could be effectively restored in a contemporary vein,” Verges told THE TIMES-PICAYUNE in June 1980. He restored the Art Deco façade and Moderne relief sculptures depicting stylized flowers.

In the 1980s, the building and the adjoining property at 147 S. Liberty Street housed the Clinical Research Center, conducting clinical trials and medical research studies.

Tulane University now owns the building and operates several medical facilities there.

BLAKEVIEW SINGER TOM WAITS REFERRED TO IT AS “SACRED, HALLOWED GROUND,” while

The New York Times called Preservation Hall a “mecca and sanctuary of traditional New Orleans jazz.” The French Quarter landmark at 726 St. Peter St. opened 60 years ago this week.

Preservation Hall grew out of informal jazz sessions held in the gallery of art dealer E. Lorenz “Larry” Borenstein. According to writer and clarinetist Tom Sancton (who performs regularly at the hall), two young and idealistic jazz fans, Ken Mills and Barbara Reid, later persuaded Borenstein to let them hold nightly concerts there.

They and other friends formed the New Orleans Society for the Preservation of Traditional Jazz, with the hope of reviving the native art form which had nearly died out. They hoped to support the aging musicians who would perform at the hall and collect tips thrown into a wicker basket.

According to author William Carter’s history of the hall, other names for the venue were considered, including “Authenticity Hall” and “Perseverance Hall,” before it opened as Preservation Hall on June 10, 1961. The surroundings were intentionally spartan and remain that way — a single room with worn floorboards, some wooden benches and no air conditioning.

By September 1961, Borenstein had decided to rent the hall to young Pennsylvania newlyweds and jazz fans, Allan and Sandra Jaffe. They ran the club and Allan played tuba in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

The Jaffes’ son Ben now plays tuba with the band, is the creative director of Preservation Hall and a board member of its Preservation Hall Foundation. In recent years, the band added other musical styles to its repertoire, performing with Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Dave Matthews, Beck, Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket.

While Preservation Hall remains closed, this Saturday, June 12, the band will play its first gig in more than a year, with two shows at Tipitina’s.

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First, for readers who may be wondering about the Lafcadio Hearn house you mentioned, it is at 1565 Cleveland Avenue. While the noted author lived there from 1882 to 1887, he wrote “La Cuisine Creole,” an early collection of New Orleans recipes. He is remembered for his quote about New Orleans, saying that despite its many problems, “It is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio.”

As for the building at 1401 Cleveland, it dates to the 1920s.

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Despite shifting attitudes and apps, New Orleans’ gay bar scene is here to stay

PH OTO BY CH E RYL G E RB E R

Arthur Severio performs in drag as Reba Douglas at the Golden Lantern Bar.

BY KAYLEE POCHE RAMPART STREET LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT since Ken GrandPre

moved to New Orleans nearly three decades ago to work in the city’s gay bar industry.

Back then, he estimates there were probably around 10 gay bars on the street alone.

“Rampart Street used to be the gay street in New Orleans,” he says, listing them off from memory and gesturing to each location. “Bar Tonique, that was T.T.’s … Voodoo was a gay bar, Black Penny was a gay bar. There was another, Jonathan’s, right next to Voodoo … Where Mary’s Hardware was, that was a huge gay complex. Down here, where French Quarter Courtyard is, that big, huge building, that was a big gay bar. It was all gay bars.”

Now, his bar GrandPre’s is one of the few gay bars remaining on the street. He bought and opened the bar in 2014, but he says the space has been a gay bar since at least the 1970s. New Orleans still has more than a dozen gay and queer bars, but several have closed their doors for good over the years. This mirrors a national trend of the overall number of gay bars declining in the last decade.

The city’s gay bar scene is not disappearing, but it is changing. In cities across the country, shifting attitudes toward LGBTQ people, the proliferation of dating and hookup apps, and gentrification changing city demographics have all been contributing to both the overall decline in the number of gay bars and the way they function in their communities.

And a global pandemic, resulting in city restrictions that have often hit bars the hardest, has only intensified the strain on local gay bar owners, managers and workers. They have had to work together to fundraise for their communities and navigate

Covid restrictions that have been anything but stable since last March.

“Basically, right now, it feels like we are all building a plane while it’s in the air going through a hurricane,” says Oz general manager Sarah Manowitz.

THE NUMBER OF GAY BARS IN THE UNITED STATES declined 18.6%

between 2012 and 2017 and fell another 14.4% from 2017 to 2019, according to business listings compiled by Greggor Mattson, a sociology associate professor at Oberlin College. In his report, he notes inferring rates of bar closures from business listings alone is not a perfect system, but it does confirm a pattern many have been observing for years.

For one, technology has also played a role in not just the decline of gay bars, but also how they function in society generally.

Before, gay bars were some of the only spaces queer people could go to meet other queer people in a safe environment. Dating and hookup apps now allow LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people to find partners without specifically visiting queer spaces in person, just as they allow straight people to meet each other without going out.

Both Tracy Deroche, who owns The Phoenix in the Marigny, and GrandPre say even when people come to their bars now, they’re often on their phones. With so many entities vying for people’s attention, bar owners and event planners have had to adapt and organize events that draw people in.

“You don’t have to go out and buy drinks — you can just pick up your phone,” says poet and social observer Saeed Jones. “So that’s a major change: that now if people go to

a bar or a club, they’re looking for something different,” adds Jones, who served as the editor of BuzzFeed’s LGBTQ vertical for three years.

Jenna Ard of GrrlSpot understands that well, and she’s been organizing pop-up nightlife events specifically aimed at lesbian women for years. It started in 2006 when she’d randomly text her lesbian friends to show up at the same bar one night.

“Eighty lesbians would show up unexpectedly at a straight bar,” Ard says. Eventually, they started coordinating more formal events with bars so they wouldn’t overwhelm the staff.

Plus, “there was never enough toilet paper,” she adds.

Now, GrrlSpot plans events every

S TA F F P H O T O B Y SOPHIA GERMER

People gather outside the Phoenix Bar before the 2016 New Orleans Pride parade.

few months for special occasions like Pride, Decadence and Mardi Gras, and they go all out. Their past events have included RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants, burlesque dancers, fire artists and aerialists.

“What I try to do is, I’m like OK, there is no lesbian bar, but I’m going to try to make this the coolest, most interesting and beautiful lesbian bar you’ve ever been to just for tonight, one night,” Ard says. “I just try to do the coolest, weirdest things because it’s not what you’d expect at a lesbian bar.”

It’s the closest thing the city has to a bar specifically catering to lesbian

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DaNCING, DRAG SHOWS & DIVE BARS

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16

women. Though there have been some throughout the years — most notably Charlene’s which used to be across from The Phoenix — there aren’t any remaining in the city. Lesbian bars have never been as common as bars primarily serving gay men, and many have closed down nationally in recent years. (Again, the pandemic didn’t help the situation.)

Both Ard and Jenelle Marlbrough, a lesbian woman and bartender at the Black Penny, say they think the lack of lesbian bars both in the city and nationally could be because there is less of a demand for them. Because of the wage gap, women generally have less money than men. “(Men) have a lot more money to throw around and have fun with, to vacation and party and whatever,” Marlbrough says. “That’s a really big part of that equation that I feel like is constantly overlooked.”

AS SOCIETAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY become

more accepting, the line between gay bars and bars not specifically labeled as such is blurring.

GrandPre says he lived in a lot of “gay-friendly” cities before he moved to New Orleans, including San Francisco and Key West, Florida. But he says New Orleans is the “gay-friendliest city” he’s ever been in.

“When I moved here in the early ‘90s, the gay bars had their doors open onto the street,” GrandPre says. “You didn’t see that in San Francisco but you saw it here.”

It was a welcoming experience, particularly for a community that has been constantly targeted for violence and abuse. Now, because many LGBTQ people no longer only feel safe in gay bars, they have more options to choose from for a night out and may not end up at a specifically gay bar.

“When I go out, I’m just as likely to want to go to a gay bar or club as I am to go to a ‘straight’ bar or club, if I like it as well,” Jones says.

“I no longer feel like those are my only options.”

Straight people are also feeling more comfortable hanging out at gay bars. While bar owners welcome the business, the presence of straight people in bars can change the vibe of the space.

“I can tell you every queer person has a story of being at a drag show and seeing a bachelorette party kind of takeover,” Jones says.

“I don’t think bachelorette parties are to blame for whatever trends are going on, but there definitely is a phenomenon where I think these spaces are kind of being blurred.”

When GrandPre thinks about some of the gay bars on Bourbon Street, he cringes thinking of rowdy bridal parties full of screaming women. He wants his bar to function as an alternative to that scene.

“There will always be a need for other bars like mine that are out of the way, that don’t attract the bridal parties,” he says.

Marlbrough says often customers will come into the Black Penny asking if the bar is a gay bar, to which she likes to reply, “We’re not not a gay bar.”

“We don’t cater to anybody, so everybody is welcome here, like nobody cares,” she says. “As long as you’re not an asshole … then we don’t give a fuck ... I think that in itself — supporting people’s intuitions and just who people are — is a big part of why New Orleans is such a special place.”

Not only are straight people becoming more accepting of the LGBTQ community, but gay bars and spaces are becoming more inclusive of lesbian, bisexual and TGNC people.

“We want acceptance, we want inclusivity in these spaces, so sure you’re seeing more diversity in these spaces,” Jones says. “And that also means, I hope, not just straight people feeling invited into these spaces but trans and gender-nonconforming people feeling comfortable in these spaces.”

Manowitz, who is a bisexual woman, says she’s noticing this happening in New Orleans. She

S TA F F P H O T O B Y C H R I S G R A N G E R

The bar at Oz on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in 2019.

says she’s Oz’s first female general manager and that in the last several years the bar hired its first openly transgender bartender.

Manowitz says she’s noticed the gay bar scene has gone from mostly cisgender white males to a mixture of women and gay, trans, straight and polyamorous people — and that it’s only gotten more diverse after the pandemic.

“The world is changing, and thankfully we are changing with it,” she says. “Historically, New Orleans has always been ahead of those trends.”

Jones says with the lines blurring and queer bars becoming more inclusive, he’s beginning to see even the term “gay bar” itself as outdated.

“Because that’s not actually what I envision,” he says. “I envision a space where queer people are just centered, and I can get a good cocktail, and there’s good music … It’s not just necessarily a room full of men. I want queer women to feel welcome there. I want trans people to feel welcome there.”

ANOTHER REASON THE GAY BAR SCENE IS CHANGING is because

many cities themselves are changing, with increasing property values and gentrification.

“If you think about where a lot of gay bars would be located, gentrification often is going to impact them,” says Jones. “We see that consistently across the country … Real estate in those places is becoming more and more expensive.”

That’s true in New Orleans, where rents have risen while wages have stayed roughly the same.

GrandPre says the pandemic was the breaking point for many LGBTQ people working in the city’s service industry. Some who were out of work and still saw the bills stacking up were priced out.

“A lot of those people moved because they couldn’t afford to live here with no work,” he says.

“The rents here have gotten to be so high.”

The city’s changing Covid restric-

“People are traveling, and New Orleans has always been a big destination. So I think it’ll be a good summer.”

Gay bar owners and event organizers are already seeing an increase in demand for LGBTQ-centered events as pandemic restrictions loosen just in time for Pride month. While there isn’t going to be a parade or big block party this year, organizers are arranging for smaller decentralized events at gay bars throughout the month of June.

Many plans are still in the works, as organizers scramble to plan according to the latest ease of restrictions.

Deroche and Manowitz say they’re hoping this will encourage people to support the city’s LGBTQ businesses all month, and that it will give them the opportunity to have events that support different segments of the community.

Deroche is planning a June 26 event at The Phoenix that will have a clothing drive for trans people going on job interviews and might evolve into a small job fair. GrrlSpot is putting on an event on June 12 at Crossing with burlesque performers Jeez Loueez and Lola Van Ella.

And on June 10, GrandPre’s is having a 1920s-themed speakeasy event.

“It really has given us an opportunity to really, really be inclusive, because we can plan events to include everyone,” Deroche says, “where in the past, it was just whoever showed up at the block party and whoever showed up at the parade, and that was kind of it.”

ALTHOUGH A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE PINNACLE OF GAY BARS,

they’re still important and almost sacred places for many in the LGBTQ community.

For Arthur Severio, who performs drag in the city as Reba Douglas, the New Orleans gay bar scene is the reason he was able to see his first drag show in the ‘80s.

Gay bars are still places LGBTQ people can go to find fellowship

17

S TA F F P H O T O B Y CHRIS GRANGER

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 8 - 1 4 > 2 0 2 1

tions have made navigating the pandemic both complicated and expensive for bars.

Deroche says when The Phoenix was closed for months in the early pandemic, most of his product expired. In June, the city allowed his bar to reopen in a limited capacity, so he had to repurchase all the supplies, only to have to close down weeks later when restrictions tightened again.

Still, he says support from the community helped keep the bar going.

“Everybody came out to support us,” Deroche says. “Even if they were running to the grocery store to pick something up, they would just come in and order a drink, just so that they could tip the bartender.”

Starting May 28, Mayor LaToya Cantrell lifted the 1 a.m. curfew for bars. The city is allowing full capacity for large indoor gatherings with the stipulation that they either require customers to wear masks or to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test. If they do neither, capacity is limited to 50%.

The loosened restrictions have been a relief to the city’s gay bar owners, and they’ve seen a warm welcome as they’ve been able to resume operating again. Memorial Day weekend was the first time they’d been able to operate without curfews in over a year, and business exceeded expectations at The Phoenix, Deroche says.

“Usually Memorial Day weekend is very slow for us. Everybody goes to the beach,” he says. “When [Cantrell] announced that she was going to lift curfew, I said, ‘Oh, it’s going to be slow. People probably already made their hotel reservations. They’re not going to cancel it.’ But it was very good. I was pleasantly surprised.”

Bar owners are hoping business continues to keep up throughout the summer, which is a traditionally slow season for the city.

“The summertime’s always the slow time in New Orleans, and I don’t think that’s going to be the case this year,” GrandPre says.

Sarah Manowitz, Oz’s first female general manager, stands in the doorway at the Bourbon Street bar.

with people like them and feel comfortable being themselves.

“It’s like being with your family, like being deep in your culture and with your tribe,” Marlbrough says. “[It’s] just about being with your people that you identify with and have a ton of things in common with just by default. That’s just a valid experience.”

Additionally, gay bars continue to be venues for performance art and self-expression — whether that be in the form of drag, burlesque performers or experimental shows. “[Those performances] are still incredibly special, and I both have a good time and I laugh, and it does something for my heart,” Jones says. “That’s special, and that requires a certain kind of space where these artists can do their thing.”

New Orleans has always been a city known for its culture of celebrating individuality and expression, one that can’t be separated from the LGBTQ community and gay bars. Queer spaces play a role not just in the local LGBTQ community but in entire cities.

“When you say we need these bars, it’s because it’s like it’s hell outside of them,” Jones says. “It’s more like recognizing that if you like food, you realize you want different kinds of restaurants in your community because you want to be able to enjoy those different experiences. I think we should recognize that if you want to have a rich community, a rich cultural experience in your city, then having queer spaces is just a part of that.”

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18

CURB APPEAL

OUTDOOR DINING HAS HELPED A LOT OF RESTAURANTS get through the

pandemic shutdowns, but outdoor seating has also been a lifeline to bars, particularly by turning stretches of street into “parklets.”

For bars that didn’t have courtyards or balconies, the city has allowed them to apply to takeover parking spaces for parklets. Bars like The Kingpin and 45 Tchoup in Uptown have tables surrounded by city-provided orange and white plastic parking barriers. The extra space helped some bars cope with previously low occupancy restrictions.

“At 25% capacity, we could only seat 13 people,” says Kait Wurth, who with her husband Sam owns Pepp’s Pub on Franklin Avenue in Bywater.

“Having another 20 outdoors has been amazing.”

But while the parklets have helped bars seat customers outside in spring, it’s not clear how much longer they’ll be around. The city has allowed free use of the metered parking spaces through June 30, and so far it’s unclear what will happen come July 1. Officials did not respond to requests for comment from Gambit.

The city originally introduced a parklet pilot program last fall to help restaurants during the pandemic, and “curbside dining” tables popped up around the CBD and Warehouse District. Some bar owners, including the Wurths, contacted the city to see if bars also could be eligible for the program. When they were allowed, the Wurths applied on the first day, Kait Wurth says.

The Wurths bought the business in January 2020 and were barely open a couple months before the pandemic shut down bars. At first, they took the time to renovate the dive bar,

but then they tried to pivot any way possible to get open. Setting up a kitchen to get a conditional restaurant permit, like many bars did, was too costly. They arranged to get a special menu served by The Franklin, a restaurant across the street, but that wasn’t sufficient to get a license.

The bar reopened in October 2020 and around the new year set up tents in parking spaces like an unofficial parklet.

When the city made bars eligible for the program, they applied, and they even got a $2,000 grant to set up. The grants have been used by bars to buy tables, chairs, heaters and other equipment. In Pepp’s case, they built out their own wooden bar and seating. Bar regulars even pitched in to help construct it.

Most of the parklets are in the French Quarter and CBD, according to a city online map plotting approved parklets. There also are several parklets in Bywater, Marigny and Uptown.

On Magazine Street, Brothers III Lounge applied to open a parklet, but it ended up fixing up a backyard space and outfitting it with tables and seating before the space in front was up and running.

“It ended up being too little, too late,” says bartender Danielle Druilhet.

With the relaxing of coronavirus restrictions, bars and restaurants can seat customers at full capacity indoors under certain conditions.

But some businesses and customers still see the use of parklets and outdoor spaces.

“At first, everyone wanted to belly up to the bar,” Kait Wurth says. “But a lot of people aren’t really comfortable drinking inside yet.”

— WILL COVIELLO

P H O T O P R OV I D E D B Y S A M W U R T H

Pepp’s Pub built wooden table tops and added space heaters to its parklet on Franklin Avenue in Marigny.

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Laura Settlemyer and Jackie Dadakis have a drink in the parklet in front of Pythian Market.

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Happy Hour Mon-Friday 11am-7pm, Small Plates, Live Music Thu-Sat. 3100 19th St. • Metairie • 504-834-8583 andreasrestaurant.com

Katie’s

2.5 oz Western Son Lemon Vodka .5 oz orange liqueur .5 oz fresh lime juice

For this and other Western Son Cocktails visit westernsondistillery.com

8 RASPBERRY SAMKA • Starlight Lounge Stop by Starlight Lounge and enjoy a Raspberry Samka. Singani 63 is a Bolivian spirit distilled in the Andes from Muscat grapes and new to this area.

817 St. Louis St. • NOLA • 504-827-1655 starlightloungenola.com

7

WESTERN LEMON MARTINI Western Son Vodka

8

RASPBERRY SAMKA Starlight Lounge

9

THE SAZERAC COCKTAIL Sazerac House

9 THE SAZERAC COCKTAIL • Sazerac House The official Cocktail of New Orleans. It features the simple combination of Sazerac Rye Whiskey, Herbsaint, Peychaud’s Bitters and a touch of sweet sugar.

101 Magazine St. • NOLA • 504-910-0100 sazerachouse.com 10 MIMOSA • Mid-City Pizza $1 Mimosas with purchase of food every Saturday & Sunday at the Mid City location only.

4400 Banks St.• NOLA • 504-483-8609 midcitypizza.com 11 SUMMER’S EVE • Kingfish Cider Summer’s Eve - a refreshing blend of Kingfish Cider Prohibition Perry, Sugarfield Satsuma liqueur and orange pomegranate sparkling water with a blood orange slice for garnish.

355 Iris Avenue, Suite A • Jefferson 504-273-7868 • kingfishcider.com

10

MIMOSA Mid-City Pizza

11

SUMMER’S EVE Kingfish Cider

12

MARGARITA Rivershack Tavern

12 MARGARITA • Rivershack Tavern Enjoy $3 Margaritas every Thursday starting at 5pm. Our bartenders pride themselves on their mixological wizardry.

They can put together any drink you can name, and about a dozen, you can’t.

3449 River Rd, • Jefferson • 504-834-4938 rivershacktavern.com 13 BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS • Joey K’s On Sundays we enjoy brunch from 10am to 3pm. But we also really enjoy champagne!

Each Sunday you can count on us for your bottomless mimosas (and Sangria for those wine lovers)!

3001 Magazine St. • NOLA • 504-891-0997 joeyksrestaurant.com 14 GINGER JALAPENO MEZCALRITA Bywater Brew Pub BBP features a Viet-Cajun menu, five beer brewing tanks, and a full bar. Come to Bywater and enjoy a Ginger Jalapeno Mezcalrita - Montelobos Mezcal, ginger, lime, azucar, orange liqueur. Happy Hour Thurs. – Mon. 4-6 pm, Closed Tues. & Wed.

3000 Royal St. • NOLA • 540-766-8118 bywaterbrewpub.com

13

BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS Joey K’s

14

GINGER JALAPENO MEZCALRITA Bywater Brew Pub

15

BELLE EPOQUE Restaurant R’evolution

15 BELLE EPOQUE • Restaurant R’evolution Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Seasonal Ratafia by Chef John Folse and topped with Sparkling Wine, you’re sure to enjoy this delightful cocktail at Bar R’evolution. Happy Hour WedSun 4:30-6:30 p.m.

777 Bienville Street • NOLA • 504-553-2277 revolutionnola.com

SUMMER DRINK GUIDE

7 WESTERN LEMON MARTINI Western Son Vodka

SUMMER DRINK GUIDE

16 LITTLE BOY BLUE • Victory Little Boy Blue is a crowd favorite Carefully crafted with vodka, blueberries, sage and lavender. The spirit of Victory is in its team’s pledge to preserve the elegance of a past era when cocktails were fashioned with pride and artistry. Here you are not a customer, but our guest of honor.

339 Baronne St. • NOLA • 504-522-8664 victorynola.com 17 WILL’S SPICY BLOODY MARY The Phoenix Bar Bartender Will has the hair of the dog you need to get Sunday Funday started at the Phoenix. $3 Korbel Mimosas and $5 Absolut Spicy Bloody Mary’s, every Sunday ‘til 5pm.

941 Elysian Fields Ave. • NOLA • we don’t answer the phone • phoenixbarnola.com 18 Watermelon Paloma Bar 1908 at the Pythian Market Come by for a delicious craft cocktail at Bar 1908 in the Pythian Market. The Watermelon Paloma is the prefect summer cocktail. A slightly tart, but sweet, blend of tequila, Campari, and fresh watermelon, grapefruit, and lime juices.

234 Loyola Ave. • NOLA • 504-481-9599 pythianmarket.com 19 WITMAKER • Wit’s Inn Any day is a good day for a Wit’s Inn original cocktail. Monsoon, Long Island Iced Tea or the Witmaker – made with Vodka, Peach nectar, Orange juice and topped with Champagne! Happy Hour Wed. – Fri. til 7 pm.

141 N. Carrollton Ave. • NOLA 504-486-1600 • witsinn.com 20 PISCO SOUR • Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco Peruvian Pisco (Peruvian Spirit), lime, simple syrup, egg whites, garnished with bitters. Peruvian cuisine. Inside and outdoor seating.

5015 Magazine St. • NOLA • 504-267-7612 titoscevichepisco.com 21 PETITE BÉTISE • Bar Marilou A beautiful French-style bar serving up small plates and creative cocktails like the Petite Bétise, made with Byrrh, Salers, lavender, and bubbles.Bubbly, refreshing and floral. A perfect low ABV summer spritz!

544 Carondelet St. • NOLA • 504- 814-7711 • barmarilou.com 22 EXTENDED LAYOVER • Ace Hotel Lobby Vodka, Grapefruit and Rosemary make up this refreshing any season cocktail. In the heart of the Warehouse District – the Lobby Bar in the Ace Hotel is open Friday and Saturday from 3:00pm-11:00pm.

600 Carondelet St. • NOLA • 504-900-1180 acehotel.com 23 WINE WEDNESDAYS Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza You just can’t ask for a better deal than half-priced Wine! That’s what you get at Theo’s! Half-priced bottles of wine with a food purchase every Wednesday. Pizzas, sandwiches, salads & more in 5 Metro locations: Magazine St., Mid-City, Elmwood, Metairie, and Covington theospizza.com 24 LEMONDROP • Royal Frenchmen $5 Happy Hour daily 3-8 PM Lemondrops, Martinis, Cosmos, Manhattans. Live music on the patio Thu-Sat. 700 Frenchmen St.• NOLA• 504-619-9660 royalfrenchmenhotel.com

16

LITTLE BOY BLUE Victory

17

WILL’S SPICY BLOODY MARY The Phoenix Bar

18

WATERMELON PALOMA Bar 1908 at the Pythian Market

19

WITMAKER Wit’s Inn

20

PISCO SOUR Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco

21

PETITE BÉTISE Bar Marilou

22

EXTENDED LAYOVER Ace Hotel Lobby Bar

23

WINE WEDNESDAYS Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza

24

LEMONDROP Royal Frenchmen

26 WINE • Nephews Ristorante Nephew’s Ristorante is all about good times and authentic Sicilian and Italian Creole family style meals. Whether you’re pairing a nice dinner with wine or you’re finishing it off with a nice cappuccino your taste buds will thank you.

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JUCIFER Gnarly Barley Brewing

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WINE Nephews Ristorante

27

LIMONE SPRITZ Red Gravy

27 LIMONE SPRITZ • Red Gravy The food is part traditional Italian, part family recipes and all created with love, including the cocktails. The Limone is inspired by our visit to the Italian town of Limone, with ancient groves of lemon trees-made with Limoncello, Prosecco, sparkling water and fresh herbs.

4206 Magazine St. • NOLA • 504-561-8844 redgravycafe.com 28 504HIBISCUS LEMONADE • Happy Raptor 504Hibiscus rum, locally handcrafted by Happy Raptor Distilling with 100% Louisiana molasses and infused with real limes, whole hibiscus petals, and spices. Simply mix 2oz. of 504Hibiscus rum with 8oz. of your favorite lemonade.

1512 Robert C. Blakes Sr. Dr. • NOLA 504-654-6516 • happyraptor.com

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504HIBISCUS LEMONADE Happy Raptor

29

EXPANDED WINE LIST Venezia

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LA STRADA Pal’s Lounge

29 EXPANDED WINE LIST • Venezia You know Venezia’s for classic New Orleans inspired Italian Cuisine. Now you can enjoy all of your favorites with more selections from their expanded wine list. By the glass or the bottle, the wine selection has something to pair with every dish that will be sure to please every palate.

134 N. Carrollton Ave. • NOLA • 504-488-7991 venezianeworleans.net 30 LA STRADA • Pal’s Lounge Montenegro Italian amaro, rosemaryinfused hibiscus-orange aperitivo, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Join us at Mid-city’s best neighborhood bar serving up delicious seasonal drinks, specialty cocktails, beer and wine.

949 N. Rendon • NOLA • 504-488-7257 facebook.com/palslounge

SUMMER

Drink Guide

SUMMER DRINK GUIDE

25 JUICY HAZY IPA • Gnarly Barley Brewing Our new seasonal Juicy Hazy IPA has a major focus on tropicality. Featuring a soft and light body with a firm backbone of Citra and Mosaic for some major citrus tones. We dry hopped the heck out of it with Pacific Sunrise, a New Zealand hop that provides a huge tropical juicy punch.

1709 Corbin Rd. • Hammond • 985-318-0723 gnarlybeer.com

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710 VETERANS MEMORIAL BLVD. | METAIRIE DORIGNACS.COM | (504) 834-8216 Open 7am-8pm Everyday

Catching on Seafood Sally’s is a new casual spot on Oak Street

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O SEAFOOD SALLY’S OPENED ON OAK STREET a month ago, and it’s already

serving 300 diners on a busy night.

For life and business partners Marcus Jacobs and Caitlin Carney, it’s taking a moment to get used to that kind of volume. Their first restaurant, Marjie’s Grill on South Broad Avenue, might serve 120 people on a slammed Saturday night. There’s a big difference between a restaurant that seats 40 people and one that seats 100.

“It’s definitely an adventure,” Carney says. “This is a new neighborhood for us for starters, and we’ve never had a real bar and bar program or had so many staff. Marjie’s has been around for four years, and our crew there just crushes it. We aren’t there yet (at Sally’s).”

Carney calls Sally’s their Pensacola paradise, and it radiates a shabby chic beach vibe — all that’s missing is the sand between your toes. An inviting wraparound porch and patio are set up for outside dining, and inside, there’s a wavy blue bar, rattan furniture, seafoam-colored walls and scattered bistro tables.

For the menu’s inspiration, Jacobs looked to popular places like the Crab Trap in LaPlace and seafood restaurants along the East Coast. Last summer, the couple went on a road trip to see family in New England and took a coastal route south before heading home.

“We must have stopped at just about every seafood shack along the way,” Carney says.

The resulting assemblage of bivalves, crustaceans and finny goodness holds broad appeal. Raw oysters — available for a buck a shuck during happy hour — are drawn from Gulf waters in Louisiana and beyond. On a recent evening, sweet, plump oysters from Apalachicola Bay in the Florida panhandle were a special, served

with Jacob’s signature nuoc cham mignonette. His SoutheastAsia-meets-Southern style shows up in sauces and pairings across the menu.

Fans of boiled seafood can get shrimp, blue crabs from Lake Pontchartrain and crawfish with sides like turkey necks and corn. The chef’s chili butter sauce can be tossed with any menu offering and is very much worth the extra $5. A jumbo shrimp cocktail with seafood sourced from Larry “Mr. Shrimp” Thompson comes with classic horseradish cocktail sauce and lemon.

Sauteed crawfish tails are given the Louie Lipps treatment: A mound of tails arrives slathered in Lipps’ famous barbecue butter — one of the Crab Trap’s calling cards — served with half a roll for sopping up every juicy bit.

Fried seafood, served on or off a bun, ranges from wild-caught Des Allemands catfish to P&J oysters and sweet shrimp. Carnivores can tuck into a hot sausage sandwich or a marinated fried chicken thigh, both served on a Bunny Bread bun. There’s also a smoked spare rib plate with cornbread and a side, with choices ranging from herbed potato salad to coleslaw, hushpuppies, tomatoes and onion or marinated cucumbers.

Turning Tables founder Toure Folkes and advisor Geoffrey Wilson are behind the bar program (and the jamming playlist) and cocktails with names like Memories in the Beach House, Mistakes Were Made and Pirate Queen conjuring day-drinking at the beach. There’s also a drink with a seafood boil theme. A frozen bushwhacker is on the horizon — once a back-ordered frozen drink machine is in the house. Turning Tables advisor Roxy Eve Narvaez consulted on a wine list to pair with seafood, and it’s rife with crisp whites and chillable reds.

Jacobs and Carney have exhibited a passion for their community, which

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

NOWFE uncorks 2021 events THE NEW ORLEANS WINE & FOOD EXPERIENCE was technically not

canceled last year. It was postponed, and, eventually, some aspect of the event did come back in different forms later in 2020, including wine dinners at restaurants and a seated wine tasting.

NOWFE executive director Aimee Brown says that experience helped convince its board members to

P H OTO B YC H E R Y L G E R B E R

Caitlin Carney holds a tray of oysters at Seafood Sally’s.

is one reason they worked with local organizations that promote diversity and equity within the local hospitality industry. Turning Tables is a mentoring and training program for Black and Brown bartenders, and the Made in New Orleans (MiNO) foundation offers programs in several hospitality areas. Chef Joshua Blue, a graduate of the International Culinary Center in New York through MiNO’s culinary scholarship program, is running the kitchen.

Jeri Guildford, Seafood Sally’s lead bartender, is a Turning Tables graduate mentored by Folkes. Guildford is excited to bring classic New Orleans cocktails to the program, educating staff about the history behind many New Orleans drinks. “When I started with Turning Tables I thought I knew it all,” he says with a smile. “There’s so much to learn every day.”

As Seafood Sally’s has gone from planning during the pandemic into busy opening weeks, there’s been a learning curve all around.

“The systems we need to run a bigger place take some getting used to,” Carney says. “But we’ve got a good team. We’re getting there.”

?

WHAT

Seafood Sally’s

WHERE

8400 Oak St., (504) 766-8736; seafoodsallys.com

WHEN

4 p.m.-10 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sun.

HOW

Dine-in and outdoor seating available

CHECK IT OUT

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y N O W F E

bring back the festival in June.

“We’re learned a lot from the events we’ve done through the pandemic and we’re still applying those lessons here,” she says.

The group knew it could pull off the event and were compelled to make it happen to continue funding NOWFE’s beneficiaries, including Cafe Reconcile and the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute.

This year’s event unfolds over six days, June 8-13.

The Royal Street Stroll, usually the most freewheeling of NOWFE events, won’t happen this year.

Other familiar features will return though, including the Grand Tastings and the higher-end Vinola tasting; small group seminars, food and drink “experiences” and wine dinners.

Most NOWFE events returning this year are seated. The exceptions are the Grand Tastings and Vinola.

These are “walk around” events, where people stroll between tables to sample different wines. This year, they’ll also have tables and chairs where attendees can return with

A variety of local seafood in a casual spot PAGE 33

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their food and drink. Smaller total ticket sales and staggered start times also are part of the approach to manage gathering sizes. Masking is encouraged but not mandated.

More restaurants are participating in NOWFE this year than ever.

NOWFE is giving them greater flexibility and reduced the number of servings they’re asked to provide, Brown says, and the event also is paying to defray costs of participation, in recognition of the struggle these businesses have faced through the pandemic.

For many years, NOWFE was held around Memorial Day weekend, but the event date has shifted over the past few years — it was scheduled for March in 2020, just before the pandemic arrived. Now, NOWFE is looking to June as the permanent time frame for the event, and it has already staked out June 2022 for the next edition.

Brown says moving away from Memorial Day led to much higher participation by wineries.

Another change this year is the format for the group’s annual Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, which normally goes to an individual or family in the hospitality business. This time, the honors are called the Ella Brennan “Stand Up for Your Hometown” Awards, and 13 people, organizations and businesses will be recognized for their roles supporting the community during the pandemic.

The award gala begins the NOWFE week on Tuesday, June 8, and takes place at three locations: the new Galerie de Galatoire, the Rib Room and Broussard’s Restaurant. — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

This will be the third location for Pizza Domenica, which is part of BRG Hospitality, formerly known as the Besh Restaurant Group. The company also runs Restaurant August, Luke, Shaya, Cho Thai and others.

Octavio Mantilla, a partner in the restaurant group, says BRG has been looking for areas to expand Pizza Domenica, and more could be in the works for the future.

“We always wanted to take it to other neighborhoods, and we think this is a prime location,” he says.

The first Pizza Domenica opened Uptown on Magazine Street in 2014 as an offshoot of the rustic Italian restaurant Domenica in the Roosevelt Hotel. It is more casual than the original, and has a shorter menu more focused on the first restaurant’s popular pizzas.

BRG opened a second location in 2019 in Mid-City, taking over the former location of Echo’s Pizza on Banks Street.

The Mid-City location has a smaller dining room and bar and does more of its business with takeout and delivery, Mantilla says. The new Lakeview location will be modeled more closely on the Uptown pizzeria, with a larger dining room and bar area. The interior will have a similar mix of rustic and contemporary styles, with bare wood, gleaming tile and chandeliers.

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Expanding domain BILLED AS A “SPORTS RESTAURANT,” Azul proved a short-lived

attempt to create a new family-friendly spot in Lakeview. Now, its former location is being turned into a time-tested family restaurant concept: a pizzeria.

Pizza Domenica is developing a new location at 117 W. Harrison Ave., in a corner building that was constructed from the ground up for Azul. It is slated to open in late summer, around Labor Day weekend.

It will bring the same menu as its other locations, with Neapolitan-style, wood-oven pizza, garlic knots, roasted cauliflower, smoked wings and shaved Brussels sprouts salad. It will also bring its happy hour, a popular weekday fixture for half-price pizza, beer and wine.

The building is being reconfigured with a new wood oven and a partially open kitchen to showcase it in the dining room.

P H OTO B Y I A N M C N U LT Y/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Pizza Domenica will open a third location in the Lakeview spot formerly occupied by Azul.

Azul was pitched a family-friendly take on the sports bar, with sports memorabilia on display between many TVs and a mix of tavern fare and Creole flavors. It opened in August 2019 and shuttered by January 2020.

Part of a cluster of small businesses along West Harrison Avenue, the property is situated along Pontchartrain Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare that connects it to other neighborhoods.

Mantilla believes this Lakeview location will draw from a radius reaching into Old Metairie, Bucktown and parts of Mid-City. — IAN McNULTY/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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35 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 8 - 1 4 > 2 0 2 1

3-COURSE INTERVIEW

Jack DaVia Chef CHEF JACK DAVIA MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS FROM DETROIT six years

ago to be part of the local restaurant industry and has worked at MoPho, Paladar 511, Gianna and Palm & Pine. During the pandemic, he started Dough-Town pizza as a pop-up and recently moved it to a regular spot inside Mardi Gras Zone in Marigny. It focuses on Detroitstyle pizza, a variation of Sicilianstyle pies with crispy edged, thick crusts — often made in square pans — and he makes everything in house except the pepperoni.

What is Detroitstyle pizza?

JACK DAVIA: Detroit-style pizza is something I grew up with in the Detroit area. It came from 1946 at Buddy’s Rendezvous — a popular Detroit-style pizza place. The wife of the original owner was Sicilian.

She missed the Sicilian-style pizza that wasn’t really available at the time. The pans that were originally used were oil pans for automotive line work. They baked the pizzas in that. They make Detroit-style pizza pans, but that blue steel is still what’s used.

It’s everywhere (in Detroit). When I moved away to college in Baltimore, I ordered a pizza and I was like, “They didn’t ask if I wanted round or square? What are they going to bring me?” And I think someone was like, “What do you mean square?”

How do you make it?

D: You use higher hydration of dough, so it’s a lot like making focaccia. Mine is on the fried side.

I use some nicer olive oil. I dip the dough balls completely in the olive oil and let that proof. I’m going for three textures: A really hard crunch on the bottom where the dough is like it’s fried. Soft in the middle, and then along the edge where the cheese is pushed out there is this nice line of crust — a chewy, crispy bite at the end.

You put the cheese down first.

In Detroit, they use Wisconsin brick cheese. But here, I use a mix of low-moisture mozzarella and Muenster, which is a common variation for Detroit pizza. Some places put all the toppings down and the sauce on top. I think it works better to have the toppings on top of the sauce.

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y J AC K DAV I A

How did you develop Dough-Town?

D: The pop-up started through experimentation during lockdown.

I was cooking at a restaurant in the French Quarter, Palm & Pine. I decided to take some time off for precaution and started cooking a lot at home. I had toyed with the idea of trying to make (Detroit pizza) at home, but it’s pretty unique in its preparation. I can’t say the first one came out amazing, but through constant tweaking, it landed on something that I was like, “Maybe I can serve this at a pop-up.” I was working as a server at Manolito before the pandemic. I reached out to them because they were doing pop-ups.

I literally started the pop-up off an Amazon credit card. I bought these little pans and they were terrible — all my pizza crusts at Manolito stuck. So I turned those pans into my signs. I spray painted the letters on back of them and bought nicer pans.

From there I did a short stint at Okay Bar. Then I went to Zony Mash (Beer Project) and it went well, so I was there for several months until I found a semi-permanent place at Mardi Gras Zone. I got a good deal on a Blodgett pizza oven. There’s a perfect hooded spot for it at Mardi Gras Zone.

Keeping up with everything and making sure everything is (high) quality is my major focus. I make a specialty pie every week. It’s a growing thing. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it.

— WILL COVIELLO For more information, visit dough-town.com.

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TO

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159 C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers.

Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11 to $20 $$$ — $21 or more

Notice: Due to COVID-19, dining at restaurants is impacted. Information is subject to change. Contact the restaurant to confirm service options.

CARROLLTON Mid City Pizza — 6307 S. Miro St., (504) 509-6224; midcitypizza.com — See MidCity section for restaurant description.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie.

Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

CITYWIDE Breaux Mart — Citywide; breauxmart.com — The deli counter’s changing specials include dishes such as baked catfish and red beans and rice. Lunch and dinner daily. $

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 3834328; kebabnola.com — The sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Mon. $

FRENCH QUARTER Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu features Gulf seafood in traditional and contemporary Creole dishes, po-boys and more. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan, herbs and butter. Reservations recommended.

Takeout available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; theospizza.com — There

is a wide variety of specialty pies and toppings to build your own pizza. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 2842898; thebluecrabnola.com — The menu includes sandwiches, fried seafood platters, boiled seafood and more. The Blue Crab platter has fried shrimp, oysters, catfish and crab claws and either fried stuffed crab or soft-shell crab. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Tue.Sun. $$ Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers coffee, pastries, desserts, sandwiches and salads. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. Breakfast and lunch daily. $

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; andreasrestaurant.com — Chef Andrea Apuzzo’s speckled trout royale is topped with crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce.

Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in cream sauce. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop.com — The Seafood Platter comes with fried catfish, shrimp, oysters and crab balls and is accompanied by fries and choice of side. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 888-2010; koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

Lunch Sun.-Thu., dinner Mon.-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. Lunch Tue.-Sat., dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Nephew’s Ristorante — 4445 W. Metairie Ave., Metairie, (504) 533-9998; nephewsristorante.com — Chef Frank Catalanotto is the namesake “nephew” who ran the kitchen at his late uncle Tony Angello’s restaurant. The Creole-Italian menu fea-

MID-CITY/TREME Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; brownbutterrestaurant.com — Sample items include smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sat., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic and scallions. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Mid City Pizza — 4400 Banks St., (504) 483-8609; midcitypizza.com — The neighborhood pizza joint serves New York-style pies, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. Signature shrimp remoulade pizza includes spinach, red onion, garlic, basil and green onion on an garlic-olive oil brushed curst. Dine-in, takeout and delivery available. Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Thu.-Mon. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes New Orleans favorites such as red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as grilled or fried seafood plates, po-boys, raw or char-grilled oysters, pasta, salads and more. Dine-in and takeout available. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer features chicken breast, spinach in red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

NORTHSHORE Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

UPTOWN CR Coffee Shop — 3618 Magazine St., (504) 354-9422; crcoffeenola.com — The

selection includes Coast Roast coffees made with beans roasted in antique roasters, and the sweet vanilla cream cold brew is a signature item. There also are pastries and snacks. Indoor and outdoor seating, online ordering and delivery available. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. $ Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 8910997; joeyksrestaurant.com — The menu includes fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and red beans and rice.

Sauteed trout Tchoupitoulas is topped with shrimp and crabmeat and served with vegetables and potatoes. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Red Gravy — 4206 Magazine St., (504) 561-8844; redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with chocolate. The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more.

Takeout available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — The Peruvian menu includes a version of the traditional dish lomo saltado, featuring beef tenderloin tips sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, and served with fried potatoes and rice. Dine-in, outdoor seating and delivery available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in Creole, Cajun and Southern dishes.

Fried oysters and skewered bacon are served with meuniere sauce and toasted French bread. Reservations required.

Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$$ NOLA Caye — 898 Baronne St., (504) 302-1302; nolacaye.com — The menu features Caribbean-inspired dishes and Gulf seafood. Seared ahi tuna is served with mango, avocado, mixed greens, citrus vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Takeout, delivery and outdoor seating available. D daily, brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$

WEST BANK Asia — Boomtown Casino & Hotel, 4132 Peters Road, Harvey, (504) 364- 8812; boomtownneworleans.com — Restaurateur Tri La’s menu serves Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The Lau Hot Pot for two comes with choice of scallops, snow crab or shrimp. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Fri.-Sun. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant. com — This family-style eatery serves shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumbs and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Paneed chicken piccata is topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

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OUT EAT

tures dishes like veal, eggplant or chicken parmigiana, and Mama’s Eggplant with red gravy and Romano cheese. Reservations required. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Short Stop Po-Boys — 119 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, (504) 885-4572; shortstoppoboysno.com — The menu includes more than 30 po-boys along with other Louisiana staples. Fried Louisiana oysters and Gulf shrimp are served on a Leidenheimer loaf with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $

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FATHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE

IN THE JUNE 15TH ISSUE!

CALL NOW! All 1/4 page ads and larger receive a free product feature in our Father’s Day Gift Guide.

To advertise, contact:

Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

MONDAY 3:00PM - 10:30PM THURSDAY - SUNDAY 11:00AM - 10:30PM

MUSIC

“Inertia”

Oscar Rossignoli (Self-released) Pianist Oscar Rossignoli has become a well-recognized name in the New Orleans jazz community for his part in the brilliant contemporary trio Extended with Matt Booth and Brad Webb as well as leading his own quartet and joining other musicians like Herlin Riley and Quinn Sternberg on stage. With his debut solo album, “Inertia,” Rossignoli is alone behind the piano on this

captivating, intuitive outing.

The 11-track “Inertia” features a collection of originals, save for “Recuerdos de mi Infancia,” an adaptation of a song Rossignoli grew up singing in his native Honduras. Rossignoli delicately composed most of the tracks over time, but the pianist demonstrates his improvisational prowess on a trio of spontaneous recordings, the opener “Pendulum,” the song “Preludio for Chick,” and the album’s closer “Perpetual Motion.”

Rossignoli started learning classical piano at an early age but fell in love with Latin jazz after hearing pianist Michel Camilo while Rossignoli was studying at a conservatory in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The pianist came to Louisiana to study music at LSU. And Rossignoli incorporates all of that background across “Inertia.” The track “Vamonos!” showcases Latin jazz influences while

the listener may hear his classical foundations on the song “Tableau.”

Rossignoli celebrates the release of his album at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 8, at former church space at the St. Peter & Paul Hotel. Tickets are $20 at eventbrite.com. — JAKE CLAPP

”Heavy Lifting” Loose Cattle (Low Heat Records) “Jolene” is one of Dolly Parton’s better-known songs, and in it she pleads with another

woman not to steal her man — painfully acknowledging that Jolene easily could do so. In a newly arranged version titled “F*ck You Jolene,” Loose Cattle keeps Parton’s heartbreaking lyrics, and also tells Jolene to get lost — in more colorful terms. It’s the final song on the group’s latest album, “Heavy Lifting,” released June 4.

Grounded in country and folk, the album mixes somber and upbeat tunes.

Now more than a decade old, Loose Cattle started as a personal project between actors and musicians Michael Cerveris and Kimberley Kaye, going from playing in friends’ living rooms to recording original songs and performing in their twin capitals of New York and New Orleans and elsewhere.

This album was completed early in 2020, but in tone and lyrics, several of its songs reflect the difficult times of the last year. It opens with hushed vocals on a cover of Vic Chestnutt’s “Aunt Avis,”

which asks how one can be good when tempted otherwise. Kaye takes the lead on two dour tunes about feeling trapped in harsh conditions, “West Virginia” and “Down.”

The album also has some raucous honky-tonking as on the fun take on a spirited romance, “Gasoline and Matches,” written by Buddy and Julie Miller. The original tune “Tenth Grade” is gleeful if not a little corny in its confession of affection. The folksy take on political wisdom in “Redneck Blue Collar” feels forced, but the dip into the blues on “Sidewalk Chicken” comes off feeling more natural. “He’s Old, She’s High,” written by Paul Sanchez, is a humorous take on an imperfect relationship.

The album hits a lot of different moods, and it’s a polished collection of tunes that highlight less conventional stories and voices in the world of alt-country and Americana.

— WILL COVIELLO

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Album reviews

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40 UNDER 40 2 0 2 1

C ALL FOR NOMINATIONS NOMINEE REQUIREMENTS:

Must be 39 years of age or younger on July 27, 2021 Live in the New Orleans area Be worthy of distinction (elected officials are not eligible) Tell us about your nominee’s background, accomplishments and future plans and be sure to include their exact DOB. If you know someone who fits these requirements, please fill out the nomination form at

www.bestofneworleans.com/40under40

SPONSORED BY

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS:

JUNE 28, 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

World Naked Bike Ride THE LOCAL EDITION OF THE WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE is a free-form event. Participants are welcome to dress “as bare as you dare” and ride bikes, skateboards, roller blades or any non-motorized vehicle. The event is meant to support cycling, protecting the environment and comfort with one’s body. The ride starts at 4 p.m.

Saturday, June 12, at Markey Park.

Find information on the event’s Facebook page.

Oscar Rossignoli PIANIST OSCAR ROSSIGNOLI CELEBRATES THE RELEASE OF HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM, “Inertia,” at the church at St. Peter and Paul Hotel. Rossignoli performs at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, June 8. Find tickets on eventbrite.com.

Micah McKee & The Lonesome Wild MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST MICAH MCKEE, who has led a number of New Orleans bands including Little Maker and Empress Hotel, spent part of last year’s quarantine writing and recording “Abundances,” a solo album under his own name. At 8 p.m. on Friday, June 11, McKee will be joined onstage at Gasa Gasa by a new backing band, The Lonesome Wild, for a set including his recent solo material. Tickets are $12 at ticketweb.com.

Sun Ya Bunz featuring SNBRN THE LAST FEW SUMMERS, Republic NOLA has hosted an outdoor concert series at another location around town, like The Drifter Hotel and The Chateau Hotel. This summer’s monthly series, Sun Ya Bunz, will take place at White Sands Volleyball Courts in Elmwood and features a volleyball tournament while the electronic dance musicians perform. Sun Ya Bunz will kick off at 10 p.m. Friday, June 11, with a performance by house artist SNBRN at Republic and continues Saturday at White Sands. SNBRN also will headline at the outdoor show, which begins at 2 p.m. and includes DJ G, Emmy Sue, Concourse and more. Volleyball tournament starts at 10 a.m. Tickets start at $15 for one-day passes and $20 for both days at republicnola.com.

Live and in Vivid Color BURLESQUE PERFORMER, astrologer and psychic Ariana Amour will host a new burlesque and variety show at Gasa Gasa every other

Wednesday, and it debuts at 9 p.m.

Tuesday, June 8. Burlesque dancer GoGo McGregor and drag extraordinaire Laveau Contraire kick off the “Live and in Vivid Color” series featuring Amour and a rotating cast of performers. Tickets can be purchased by emailing lvcnola@ gmail.com.

Astral Project NEW ORLEANS’ LONG-RUNNING MODERN JAZZ QUARTET, featuring saxophonist Tony Dagradi, guitarist Steve Masakowski, bassist Jim Singleton and drummer Johnny Vidacovich, plays an outdoor show on Frenchmen Street. At 8 p.m.

Friday, June 11, at Palace Market.

Tickets $25 on eventbrite.com.

Sweet Crude LOCAL BILINGUAL POP GROUP SWEET CRUDE recently released a pair of songs in its Dualite II series.

“Saint Patrick Park” is inspired by orchestral pop and features lyrics in English. “Verite” has more electronic-sounds and lyrics in French. The band performs at 8 p.m. Friday, June 11, at Zony Mash Beer Project.

Find tickets at zonymashbeer.com.

Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand PIANIST TOM MCDERMOTT, a master of everything from Louis Gottschalk to Jelly Roll Morton and more recent New Orleans piano work, and multi-instrumentalist Aurora Nealand return to Buffa’s Lounge, a pre-pandemic home to weekly collaborations. At 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday, June 10.

A Cultural Renaissance R&R: Reunion and Regeneration THIS DANCE AND MUSIC EVENT MARKS THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY of Lula Elzy New Orleans Dance Theatre and honors Ellis Marsalis and Carol Sutton, who both died due to COVID-19. Performers include Jason Marsalis, Derek Douget, Trumpet Mafia and more. At 2 p.m.

Sunday, June 13, at the Broadside.

Find tickets at broadsidenola.com.

Piety Market in Exile THE MARKET FEATURES LOCAL CRAFTS, art, vintage clothes, flea market finds, food and drink vendors and more. There’s music by Dave Rebeck and Friends. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at the corner of Spain Street and St. Claude Avenue. Find details on the event Facebook page.

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FILM

Taking the high road

BY WILL COVIELLO

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“THE PERFECT CANDIDATE” gets off

to what might look like a provocative start to some viewers. Dr. Maryam Abdulaziz al Saffan drives her car to the health clinic where she works. The first patient she sees is an elderly man who does not want to be treated — or even touched — by a woman doctor. He prefers excruciating back pain and the care of male nurses.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive beginning in 2018, saying it was in accordance with Shariah law. In the opening minutes of the film, it seems that Maryam is set on breaking gender barriers. She wants to get a better job in the capital of Riyadh, though she’ll have to overcome the sexism of everyone in charge of hiring.

To improve her chances, she wants to network at a medical conference in Dubai, but she’s stopped at the airport because her travel permit is close to expiring. She needs her father, an acceptable “guardian” according to then-Saudi law, to grant her permission. (Saudi women were granted freedom to travel without the permission of a male guardian in 2019.)

Maryam ends up running for local government, but her campaign isn’t about feminism or fighting gender restrictions. Maryam stakes her candidacy on old-fashioned retail politics. The road to her clinic is broken and floods. She tells people to vote for her so she can fix the roads. To reach some male audiences, however, she has to address them remotely via video conferencing equipment to avoid the taboo of speaking to them directly.

But reaching women isn’t easy either. One woman who comes to a head scarf fashion show fundraiser says, “I’d love to vote for you, but my husband would kill me.”

Director Haifaa Al-Mansour made the first feature film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia, 2012’s “Wadjda.” Here, her story focuses on one determined woman, played by fiery Saudi TV star Mila Al Zahrani, but it’s also about Saudi women in general. The movie offers a small education in various head and face coverings (hijab, niqab, etc.), but Al-Mansour wants to show what Saudi women are like behind the veil — and dispense with

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y M U S I C B OX F I L M S

stereotypes of them as being excessively meek or deferential. Scenes of women gathering together are lushly imagined, especially contrasted with the broken roads and arid environments outdoors.

Maryam’s father also faces the pressures of traditional factions in the Kingdom. He plays the oud and sings, often about love, and some religious fundamentalists view art as unacceptably immodest or blasphemous.

Al-Mansour, who attained degrees in Egypt and Australia, takes an optimistic view of change in Saudi Arabia. “The Perfect Candidate” debuted at film festivals in 2019, and some of the progressive changes for women are recent. But many female activists for women’s rights remain imprisoned.

Al-Mansour isn’t heavy handed, but the people who help Maryam are very conscious of the boundaries of religious law and custom, as the candidate finds modern ways to reach voters. In an amusing dig at another democratic nation, Maryam and her sister model a political ad on a onetime YouTube phenom Basil Marceaux, a rambling buffoon who ran for governor of Tennessee in 2010. Maryam also has to endure the silliness of chatty interviews on morning TV shows.

Though the film revolves around a political campaign, it’s more of a light comedy-drama about people trying to improve their own lives, not the greater world. In this film, Al Mansour seems to think that’s enough.

“The Perfect Candidate” opens at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge on June 11.

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE INITIAL WORDS

By Frank A. Longo 64 Tuskegee University founder steeping beverages?

71 Kitten’s call 72 Gal pal, in Paris 73 Receptacle in a kitchen sink 75 Trees with very light wood 78 Performed 79 Car parker 82 Road runner 83 Fruit drink 84 “Hidden Figures” actress growing podded vegetables?

87 Placed in a carafe 91 “Point taken” 92 — Lanka

93 Sci-fi writer going on cruises?

98 Split-off religions 102 New Hampshire city 103 Quiet spells 104 Govt. aid for a start-up 106 Ballet dancer’s rail 107 Lamarr of old films 108 Coup — (overthrow) 110 Rosemary player Farrow 111 “SOS” quartet 112 “Gone With the Wind” producer piling up debt?

116 Hog’s food 117 “Is” pluralized 118 One ousted 119 Have a strong desire 120 Voluptuous 121 Have a strong desire 122 Deep bows of respect 123 They precede omegas DOWN 1 Many an alimony recipient 2 Sports domes 3 Haul in 4 Old Egypt-Syr. alliance 5 Year, in Paris 6 Pilsners, e.g.

7 Arena section 8 Mined metals 9 “Ni-i-i-ice!”

10 Spurs’ gp.

11 Website for finding homestays 12 Lazy or useless 13 Refuses to 14 Table support 15 Old Testament prophet 16 Steam locomotive, in old lingo 17 Listen supportively 18 Dawdles 24 Show clearly 25 Heap affection (on) 30 Swung sticks 32 Generational treasures 33 “— talk?” (Joan Rivers catchphrase) 34 Prefix with discrimination 35 — -cone 38 Europe-Asia border river

39 “Don’t — didn’t warn you!”

40 Runner or writer Packer 41 Conifers with red arils 43 Israelites 46 Old TV’s “— Na Na” 47 Basil or sage 48 Sailor’s saint 49 Razz 50 Tibetan monk 51 Pair for the slopes 52 Sacred vow 57 Summits 58 Assns.

59 Novelist Hawthorne 61 Big furniture retailer 62 She baas 65 “And there you have it!”

66 Muslim ruler 67 Verdi opera 68 It’s a thought 69 Musical work 70 Post-WWII alliance 74 Prefix with discrimination 75 “Ali — and the Forty Thieves” 76 Cutely nerdy, in slang 77 Format for presenting films in video form

79 Stamps on passports 80 Copycat 81 Onion relative 84 NFL goals 85 Jack’s hill-climbing partner 86 Counterfeit 88 Remedial regimen 89 Debussy’s “Clair de —” 90 Before, to Browning 94 High dice roll 95 Quattro carmaker 96 Astronomer Tombaugh and aviator Cessna 97 Value highly 99 Funnies 100 Meditative Chinese martial art 101 Some reptiles 105 Cubes of hay 106 Perch’s kin 107 Rabbit’s kin 108 Ten: Prefix 109 This, in Spain 112 24-hour span 113 Lab eggs 114 Actor Wheaton 115 Short snooze

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 2

PUZZLES

35 “Da Ali G Show” star — Baron Cohen 36 Taken in food 37 Women’s suffragist keeping an apiary?

42 I, to Freud 44 Speak wildly 45 “Absolutely not!”

46 “Dallas” actress fancying blue birds?

53 Lumber tool 54 Underworld 55 Disprove 56 Otherwise called, in brief 57 Some city planners 60 Big, ornate cupboard 62 Send off 63 Historic time

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