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APRIL 4 — APRIL 10, 2023 VOLUME 44 || NUMBER 14

CONTENTS

SPRING BAR ISSUE The Boilada!.....................................12 Meet your bartender! ..................13

NEWS Opening Gambit ...............................6 Commentary.....................................8

Clancy DuBos....................................9

Blake Pontchartrain.....................10

PULLOUT Details...................................................

ooo!! k BBo un mD am nk la Sl Du aS

FEATURES Arts & Entertainment ....................5 Eat & Drink ...................................... 17

BY PHOTO BY RANDY SCHMIDT, PROVIDED BY PALACE CAFE

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The Spring Bar Issue

A place where everybody knows your name

S TA F F EDITORIAL

COVER PHOTO BY R ANDY SCHMIDT COVER DESIGN BY DOR A SISON

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS

BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

Editor | JOHN STANTON

Advertising Inquiries (504) 483-3150 Advertising Director |

Political Editor | CLANCY DUBOS Arts & Entertainment Editor | Staff Writers | JAKE CLAPP,

ADVERTISING

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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) 486-5900. 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 2023 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

5

Bittersweet

‘Where the Suga Still Sweet’ premieres at We Will Dream Festival | by Will Coviello WHEN BRIAN EGLAND STARTED AN ARTIST’S RESIDENCY LAST SUMMER at

the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production in Utica, Mississippi, the program challenged participants to do a project that centered on rural life in the South. At first unsure what constituted a project representative of the broader South or rural life, he decided that anything in his experiences growing up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, must be relevant.

“All the things from my life must be Southern,” he says. “My life was going to church every Sunday. I grew up around a lot of sugarcane.

Going to the library was part of my life. My mom used to hang clothes on the clothesline. Everything that was part of my life — I found a way to put in there.”

The play, “Where the Suga Still Sweet,” premieres April 8 at the We Will Dream Festival. It’s one of four plays by emerging Black playwrights with ties to the South that are part of the festival presented by No Dream Deferred theater at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice.

“Where the Suga Still Sweet” centers on Runna, a young man who is often lost in his own thoughts and reliving the past. At a young age, he lost his close friend Sondelo.

Runna’s great aunt, Nanny Mae, has raised him, and she still brings him to church, where the preacher, Vern-Mayor, is intent on saving Runna, who has not yet decided to be baptized into the church. VernMayor is an insistent and thundering presence, and he’s driven by his own quest for redemption.

“Everybody in this play is trapped in some way,” Egland says.

“Runna, in his own mind. Nanny Mae is trapped in never having been able to live. A lot of people need religion as a way to heal their past wounds or past transgressions. Vern-Mayor wants to help people, but his greatest driving force and need is redemption.”

Nanny Mae has raised Runna, but since a young age, she’s had to raise younger siblings and other family members’ children. She’s barely had a chance to focus on her own life, and sticking close to the church has helped her. In an unguarded moment, she taps her feet to music emanating from the nearby Suga Shack, a night spot where she and other church members would not go.

Los Tigres del Norte

JUST SEVERAL YEARS SHY OF ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, Los Tigres del

Norte is one of the best-known bands playing norteno music. The California-based band of Mexicanborn musicians won its seventh Grammy Award at this year’s ceremony and is now on the “Siempre Contigo” tour. Los Tigres del Norte plays the Smoothie King Center at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8. Tickets are $49 via smoothiekingcenter.com.

‘Moulin Rouge!’

THOUGH THE STORY OF A YOUNG BRITISH COMPOSER FALLING FOR A PARISIAN PERFORMER and courtesan is still

The church is the primary setting of the drama, which treats the audience like the congregation. At times, Nanny Mae addresses congregants, and sometimes Runna sits with the audience. Some of the preaching could sound familiar or age-old.

But the setting is contemporary, and the show reflects more modern elements Egland grew up with, like movies and comic books.

Runna tells the congregation that he has superpowers. It’s one of the ways he tries to cope with the past and with the pressures of the church.

Runna’s friendship with Sondelo was not viewed innocently by some.

“Homosexuality is brought up,” says director Lauren Turner, who founded No Dream Deferred theater.

“Nanny Mae brings it up and tries to pray it out of Runna. It speaks to the way we interpret gender expressions and what that means as it relates to sexuality. There are so many assumptions. Even in the church, there are things Runna is doing, the way he embraces people is viewed as feminine, and therefore he must be gay, and ‘We need to pray the gay away.’”

Though Sondelo died young, the bond still resonates for Runna.

As with some of the scripture that Vern-Mayor cites, many things can be interpreted in different ways, and Runna is viewed askance by some.

“This is part of their beliefs,” Egland says. “This is what has been given to them and ingrained in them. Maybe they won’t be able to

Gwendolyne Foxworth, Donyaè Asante and Justin William Davis star in ‘Where the Suga Still Sweet.’

PROVIDED PHOTO

shake it out in their lifetime. They’re not bad people. They might be the most loving people. You might love them dearly. That’s the intersection where this happens.”

“Where the Suga Still Sweet” is one of two premieres for Egland.

He’s also an actor, and has appeared on local stages, including in Goat in the Road’s immersive drama “The Uninvited.” Egland has been doing more film work, and he appears in “Renfield,” the horror comedy starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula that’s about to open nationally.

Egland is currently a resident artist with National Black Theatre. He’s working on a new play that also reflects on his experiences living in Breaux Bridge.

“Where the Suga Still Sweet” runs through May 21 at the We Will Dream Festival. It’s in rotation with “Drapetomania: A Negro Carol,” which runs through April 30. A third full production, “The Defiance of Dandelions,” opens April 28 and runs through June 17. The festival hosts the HBCU Theatre Summit April 13-16. The festival concludes with a gala celebrating Juneteenth.

For tickets and information about shows and other festival events, visit nodreamdeferrednola.com.

set in bohemian sections of turn of the century Paris, the musical is lavish and glitzy and based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film. The score is filled with many pop hits from the disco era to the present. The touring Broadway production is at Saenger Theatre from Wednesday, April 5, to Sunday, April 16.

Showtimes vary. Visit saengernola. com for tickets and information.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Crescent City Classic

RUNNERS FROM THE COMPETITIVE TO THE COSTUMED FOLLOW A SIXMILE COURSE that starts near the

Caesars Superdome, heads to the French Quarter and ends in City Park. The 10k is followed

by Racefest with music, a race costume contest, inflatables and more. There’s also a two-day Health and Fitness Expo on April 6-7. The race begins at 8 a.m.

Saturday, April 8. To register and for information, visit ccc10k.com.

The Residents

MYSTERIOUS AVANT-GARDE, EXPERIMENTAL, WEIRDO ART ROCK — name

your genre — band The Residents are celebrating 50 years as an PAGE 23

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OPENING GAMBIT NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

Always tip your bartenders often and well! Without them we’d all be way too cranky to deal with

# TC HO UE N T

T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

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CalceaJohnsonandNe’Kiya Jackson, two seniors at St.

Mary’s Academy, are believed to have done something mathematicians thought impossible for 2,000 years: proving the Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry without circular logic — the assumption that you couldn’t prove the theorem using trig because the theorem is itself the foundation of trig. The two recently gave a presentation to an American Mathematical Society chapter meeting in Georgia and are now being encouraged to submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal.

The City of New Orleans has secured $24.6 million in funding to redevelop Lincoln Beach, the important New Orleans East amusement park used by Black New Orleanians during segregation. Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration started raising funds for redevelopment in 2020 and performed a site assessment, which said the 15-acre site could be safely redeveloped. The city hopes to start later this year.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell boy-

cotted a public meeting on the NOPD consent decree scheduled last week at Loyola University and banned city employees from speaking at such public meetings without her permission. The action prompted the federal judge overseeing NOPD reforms to cancel the meeting. It’s the latest move by Cantrell to try to force the termination of the consent decree.

THE NUMBER OF JEFFERSON PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT WOULD CLOSE UNDER A PLAN BEING CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD. Council President JP Morrell listens to public commit on short-term rentals during a council meeting on Thursday, March 23.

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Council could ban residential STRs if new rules don’t work AS THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL INDUSTRY THREATENS LAWSUITS against

the City of New Orleans over new rules the council passed last week, City Council President JP Morrell is sending a message to STR platforms: Cooperate with the law or face a total ban on residential STRs. In an interview with Gambit, Morrell doubled down on comments he made at the March 23 council meeting, saying that should the industry fight or refuse to comply with the new rules, the Council could attempt to outlaw residential STRs altogether.

“This is the last best offer for STRs to exist at all” in New Orleans,” Morrell said. “I know I speak for probably a solid majority of my colleagues in that we’re not going to nibble at STRs for the next three years. If this deal is undone, or if it is substantially compromised, the only thing left for the Council to do, and I will certainly lead that effort, is to just ban residential STRs completely.”

Morrell cited two potential instances where the Council could try to ban STRs: STR platforms not cooperating with the city to ensure only legal STRs are listed on their sites, or the courts striking down a major part of the new rules, including a requirement that the city only give STR permits to people, not business entities.

However, whether the Council would actually vote to ban residential STRs in these cases remains unclear. When asked by Gambit, most of the other council members were far less committal than Morrell, though none ruled out the idea altogether.

Council Member Freddie King told Gambit he agreed with Morrell, and Council Member Joe Giarrusso said he “would certainly consider a residential ban given that the rules have progressively become more restrictive and residents want to live in neighborhoods and want enforcement.”

Council Member Oliver Thomas did not directly answer the question of whether he’d vote for a residential ban, saying the council would need to consult city attorneys and the community before making any further decisions because “your nuclear option can’t be your first option.”

But Thomas also said the courts striking down the new rules would force the council and the community “into a position that offers us very little, if any, other choice.”

Council Members Lesli Harris and Helena Moreno declined to answer the question, and Council Member Eugene Green did not return a request for comment as of press time.

The city, Morrell said, has identified thousands of illegal STRs

A consultant hired by the board has recommended a shakeup to make schools in the state’s largest school district more “efficient” and cut back on resources that are deemed wasteful, such as empty classrooms and campuses that are too large for the student body, as enrollment has declined. If adopted April 5, it would affect thousands of school students on both sides of the Mississippi River. According to The Times-Picayune, changes would take place next year at the earliest.

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operating in New Orleans, which are typically listed online on STR platforms. But after a court decision last year forced the Council to quickly rewrite the city’s STR rules, Morrell said the Council is giving regulating residential STRs one last shot for the fraction of STR owners who are operating legally.

The first test of the new laws will be when they go into effect July 1. Under the rules, at first the city will permit one residential STR per square block, or four sides of a city block. The city will use a lottery system to select which owner or operator will receive the permit.

After the city gives out licenses under the lottery system, the new rules allow the Council to permit up to two more STRs per square block on a case-by-case basis, a process that would involve neighborhood input and could take months. King proposed the exception, and only Green and Thomas voted against it.

“At some point housing advocates and workforce advocates need to know that at least somebody politically hears and understands how important this issue

is,” Thomas told Gambit. “So that’s all my vote represented.”

The city’s Safety and Permits office will need to work out the details of the lottery system and regulations by then. Currently permitted STRs can remain permitted until the new rules kick in, but once they do, Morrell said, STR platforms should be ready to immediately remove all existing listings in New Orleans and to share data with the city to ensure they are only listing permitted STRs. “If we have the rules and regs ready to go for that July deadline and the platforms can’t commit to be in compliance, then the Council is going to have to weigh in again because we’re certainly not going to give the platforms an extra month or two months or four months to do their job,” he said.

The sheer number of illegal STRs in the city proves the existing system, which has the city’s Safety and Permits office identify illegal STR listings one-by-one and ask the platforms to take the listing down, isn’t working. The city has increased staffing at the office but is still short

on hearing officers to decide cases.

After that, platforms are taking a week to delist a rental after the city notifies them, according to Morrell.

“The lack of urgency in Airbnb and other platforms in complying with the existing law really calls to question whether or not they’re going to comply with the new law,” he said. “The other thing that would trigger a total ban is that after we’ve let this new regime be in place for a year, if we’re still seeing 3,000-4,000 illegal STRs and our poor permit office that is actually doing a good job right now has to continually play whack-a-mole while Airbnb other platforms allow illegal people to host, then there’ll be no more STRS because that’s not fair to the city.”

Another nonnegotiable from the council, Morrell said, is the new rule requiring the city only give permits to individuals, not business entities, and limiting STR permits to one per person.

At the council meeting, Council Vice President Helena Moreno said the city had already been threatened with a lawsuit over

that piece of the law but that it was essential for making sure no one receives more than one permit since ownership of a business entity can change.

“At the end of the day, I think if there are going to be STRs in residential neighborhoods, then they should be operated by people who live in the neighborhood,” Moreno said.

Morrell told Gambit should courts strike it down, that would be “crossing the Rubicon” and could prompt a full ban from the Council.

“If we can’t limit it to natural persons, then it makes it almost impossible to regulate them,” he said.

As the city’s permitting office prepares for the rules to go into effect in July, Morrell said the future of residential STRs in New Orleans still remains up in the air.

“We really all have to wait and see how the platforms and the operators react,” he said. “If there is a wholesale revolt and attempt to circumvent the law, they really aren’t going to give the council any choice but to shut the whole thing down.” — KAYLEE POCHE

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C O M M E N TA R Y

As GOP authoritarianism spreads, the kids are NOT alright THE DECISION BY BEN FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO WALKOUT

ON VIE V EW W THROUGH TH ROU GH M MAY AY 7

on March 31 and lead a citywide protest against right-wing Republicans’ dangerous attacks on human and civil rights was the latest in a number of similar protests in other states dominated by the racist, transphobic faction of the Grand Old Party.

Children not yet able to vote in Florida, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and now here in New Orleans have watched in horror as adults in charge of their education and well-being have either joined the GOP rampage against them or failed to stand up to it. Their trans classmates have been stripped of their right to access life-saving medical care and of their basic dignity and humanity.

Authoritarian Republican officials from Jefferson Parish to south Florida also seek to pull library books about the LGBTQ community, America’s ugly history of racism and discrimination and other topics that discomfort them — ostensibly to “protect children.”

Meanwhile, many of those same Republicans are busy attempting to erase the histories and cultures of Black Americans, Asian Americans, First Nations Peoples and other minority communities by scrubbing textbooks — as they wage relentless war against women.

Is it any wonder the students of Ben Franklin, seeing all of this, took the difficult and brave step to stand against Republican authoritarianism and for the basic principles of fairness, justice and common cause promised by this nation’s founders?

Some well-meaning adults will look at the protest and nod their heads with a paternalistic smile.

“The kids are alright,” they’ll say, their spirits lifted by the hope these brave young people instill.

And then those same adults will go back to doing nothing about the problem.

The fact of the matter is the kids are not alright. Far from it.

High school students shouldn’t have to risk arrest or face difficult, potentially family-rending political arguments with their parents. They should just be kids — going to school, playing sports

Trans rights are human rights.

IMAGE BY CHEIKAT / GETTY IMAGES

and inventing new ways to have fun, not leading the fight for this nation’s soul.

We adults, tasked by nature and history with raising this generation, have failed our primary responsibility: protecting them from harm. Too many of us have spent too much time yearning for a return to some fairy-tale “before.” Before the pandemic. Before the January 6 Insurrection. Before Trump. Before well-meaning people, particularly well-meaning white people, blithely dismissed the grotesque attacks against our democracy from within our nation’s borders.

Adults in New Orleans and across the country must pull their heads out of the sand and take up the hard, brutal work of turning back the tide of hatred and authoritarianism that is sweeping across America. Without us, our youth will fight a courageous but ultimately unwinnable war.

We hope that, when this long and difficult fight for the soul of America is over, today’s youth will not only find that their efforts have restored some measure of progress and peace, but also that they can forgive the adults who, instead of joining and protecting them, abandoned them.

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CL ANCY DUBOS

cut loose . . . come and get it!

@clancygambit

Let’s find a better way to fill legislative vacancies THE RECENT SPECIAL ELECTION IN HOUSE DISTRICT 93, which

encompasses some prime real estate in downtown New Orleans and surrounding neighborhoods, produced one of the lowest voter turnouts in memory, maybe ever in Louisiana. Barely 6% of the eligible voters turned out for the Feb. 18 primary. In the March 25 runoff, less than 10% voted.

Businessman Alonzo Knox won the bitterly contested runoff against criminal justice reform advocate Sibil “Fox” Richardson.

Knox will have to run again in October to keep the seat.

District 93 also occupies a special place in Louisiana history, which makes the dismal turnout so disappointing.

In 1967, voters in that district elected Louisiana’s first Black state legislator since Reconstruction — Ernest “Dutch” Morial. Ten years later, Morial was elected New Orleans’ first Black mayor.

Morial’s successors include civil rights advocate Dorothy Mae Taylor, the first Black woman to serve in the Louisiana Legislature; and Rev. Avery Alexander, a labor and civil rights leader who served 24 years in the House and died while in office.

With so much history to carry forward, it’s shameful that so few voters turned out to choose a new rep.

That’s no knock against Knox or Richardson. The biggest impediment was probably timing. When then-Rep. Royce Duplessis won an earlier special election to the state Senate, House Speaker Clay Schexnayder timed the special election to succeed Duplessis to make sure the district would be represented when the annual session begins April 10.

Unfortunately, the Feb. 18 primary fell on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, when the wildly popular Krewe of Endymion rolled through the district and, no doubt, distracted many voters. Another explanation for the low turnout may be voter fatigue. Folks are tired of politics and elections.

Barely 6% of eligible voters turned out for the Feb. 19 primary in House District 93.

7732 m a p l e 865 . 9625 mon - sat 10 - 5:30

PHOTO BY MAX BECHERER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Is there a better way to fill a legislative vacancy?

Maybe. In fact, there’s a template already in place.

In 2008, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the House Speaker or the Senate President to appoint an interim replacement when a member of their respective chamber is called away to active military duty.

The amendment allows the temporarily absent lawmaker to nominate three district voters to serve in the interim. The nominees are vetted by the House or Senate governmental affairs committee, and the chamber’s presiding officer chooses one.

If the seat comes up for election in the interim, the temporary lawmaker cannot qualify to run.

The amendment was proposed by then-Rep. Nick Lorusso of New Orleans, who served in the U.S. Army Reserves and was called to active duty throughout 2009.

In Lorusso’s absence, attorney Gregory Ernst did a fine job as the interim rep.

Why not use a similar approach to fill all legislative vacancies? Let interim appointees (who would be barred from running) serve through the ensuing fall elections so voters could elect new legislators when turnout is relatively high.

There’s no perfect way to choose leaders in a democracy.

But we shouldn’t have to choose between Mardi Gras and voting.

We already know which one loses that contest.

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BLAKE PONTCHARTR AIN™ @GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

Hey Blake,

A recent local obituary mentioned someone was a graduate of the Touro School of Nursing. I didn’t know Touro had a nursing program. What can you tell me about it?

Dear reader,

TOURO INFIRMARY, ESTABLISHED IN 1852 , opened its nursing school in

1896. It was originally called the Touro Infirmary Training School for Nurses. With 15 students enrolled, classes were held in a few rooms on the bottom floor of the hospital.

The school’s first director was Frances Quaife, a New York native who also helped establish the first nursing school in Canada.

Once here, she would also help establish and serve as the first president of the Louisiana State Nurses’ Association.

“Our aim is to be up to the highest standard. We will stop at nothing short of the best and highest,” she said of her Touro assignment in a Sept. 6, 1896, article in The Daily Picayune. “We expect to draw our pupils from the best families and educate the young women down here in the South to the advantages and nobility of the work of the trained nurse.”

She explained that in addition to being provided with room and board, nursing students would be paid $6 per month for the first year and $12 per month for the second year of the two-year program.

According to a 2014 University of New Orleans doctoral dissertation by Paula Fortier, in 1915 a new

Miss Patricia Elzey, president of the graduating class at Touro Infirmary School of Nursing, receives her cap in a capping ceremony at the hospital.

PHOTO BY H.J. PATTERSON / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ARCHIVE

three-story building designated for nursing students opened on Coliseum Street behind the hospital.

It was named in Quaife’s honor. A February 1921 article in The New Orleans Item listed the 29 graduates that year and said “student nurses are … given a pleasant home. There is a roof garden, sleeping porches, a piano and phonograph.”

In 1947, the nursing school boasted an enrollment of 200 students. It graduated its first male student, Andrew Truxillo Jr., in 1969.

In a 1977 article marking Touro Infirmary’s 125th anniversary, The Times-Picayune reported that the school had graduated more than 2,400 nurses by that year.

The nursing school closed in 1987.

BL AKEVIE W THIS WEEK, EASTER BASKETS HERE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL BE FILLED WITH SWEET TREATS from the Elmer Chocolate company, based in

Ponchatoula. One of those favorites — the Heavenly Hash Egg — celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

Elmer is the oldest family-owned chocolate company in the U.S. It was founded in New Orleans in 1855 as the Miller Candy Co., named for owner Christopher Henry Miller. When Augustus Elmer married Miller’s daughter, the company name became the Miller-Elmer Candy Corp., then eventually just the Elmer Candy Corp., run by Elmer and his sons.

In addition to chocolate and candy products, the company also introduced a cornmeal-based cheese curl snack called CheeWees in 1936.

That product was spun off and is now made by a different local company, called Elmer’s Fine Foods.

In 1923, Elmer Chocolate acquired its Heavenly Hash recipe from a small New Orleans confectionery shop. It was added to the Elmer product line, which includes two other local favorites, Gold Brick and Pecan Eggs. This Easter, the company says it produced 6.2 million eggs in all three varieties.

The Nelson family has owned Elmer Chocolate since 1963. The company moved its operations to Ponchatoula in 1970. Besides Easter, it also does a huge Valentine’s Day business and is the country’s second-largest manufacturer of heart-shaped box chocolates.

11

AP l

The reopening night at the Intracoastal Club included a live performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TONY BERGERON

BY JOHN STANTON | Gambit editor

IT MAY BE MUCH MALIGNED by bitter white Republicans these days, but the idea of having a “safe space” — that is, a refuge where you can not only relax, but feel accepted for who you are and act accordingly — is an integral part of being a human.

In fact, safe spaces have been a part of New Orleans since its founding.

From its earliest pirate residents, the Crescent City has always been a haven for the outcast, the shunned, the onthe-run and the unwanted. It’s even built into the very heart of the city’s music, thanks to the drums of Congo Square where enslaved Africans and free people of color congregated on Sundays to make music.

For many people, finding a safe space is obvious: It’s their immediate family, their neighbors or religious community. But for many of us, discovering a place we belong has never been that easy. For whatever reason, we either don’t fit in or are made to feel like we don’t, even by those who may love us.

For decades, New Orleanians have found those sorts of spaces in bar rooms across the city. As local author L. Kasimu Harris has eloquently documented with his words and pictures, beginning in the late 1800s, bars became safe spaces for Black residents — a place where they could laugh, dance, play music, interact and be completely and authentically Black, free from the harsh stare and harsher fist of Jim Crow-era white citizenry.

Likewise, the city has long been a refuge for LGBTQ people, in particular bars like Cafe Lafitte in Exile, which since 1933 has provided an environment in which they could safely be themselves. In the 1960s, the old Quorum Club on Esplanade was not only interracial and opening to gay men and lesbians, it was one of the first spaces in the South — and possibly much of the rest of the country — where trans people could be themselves.

That instinctual drive to find and commune with others like yourself is why we have neighborhood bars, punk bars, karaoke bars and college bars. We even have “way too drunk and wooooing too much tourist” bars thanks to Pat O’Brien’s. So it can be easy to forget that most everywhere else, people who don’t fit the straightforward, white, “traditional” American stereotype don’t have a space to call their own.

But travel a short distance outside the metro area, and it gets really obvious, really quickly. In these places, when a refuge comes along, the people there cherish it fiercely.

Like the Intracoastal Club in Houma.

IT MAY BE ON A MAIN ROAD, but the Intracoastal’s nondescript building can be easy to miss — unless, that is, it’s where you’re meant to be.

I went in March to see Dai Kaiju — a surf rock/punk/sci-fi kaiju attack force band — play. It was the first time I’d ever been there, but I felt like I’d never left. The staff and patrons were outgoingly friendly and it had the sort of inherently lived in, comfortable feel of the bars I’ve called home my entire adult life.

“This is the only place in Houma I feel safe, where any queer people feel safe,” one young woman explained to me recently while she waited for drinks at the bar. The city’s strip of bars and restaurants is only a mile or two up the street, but she says most of the time it’s a no-go.

“Only during Mardi Gras when everybody is down there and nobody cares, then I’ll go to places over there,” she says. “But this is home.”

In its seven-year history, the bar has been a rare welcoming space for LGBTQ people, Black people, artsy weirdos, roughnecks, rednecks and anybody else who has a hard time fitting in in the conservative, rural bayou

There’s always chill vibes at the Intracoastal Club, even when Dai Kaiju is mid-attack.

P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N / G A M B I T

parishes. The club hosts an assortment of music, from hip-hop and punk to surf rock and drag shows. And as long as you’re of age, not a bully or otherwise a dick, you always have a spot at the bar.

“I love this place. It’s just really welcoming to everyone, everybody’s nice.

It’s great,” a big, bearded white man with his girlfriend explained.

It wasn’t easy, to be sure. The bar had previously been a popular hangout for bikers, and when Tony Bergeron and his wife Whitney Loupe Bergeron opened the bar in 2016, there was friction, to say the least.

“There’d be nights when I’d be like, ‘Oooooh boy, this is gonna be bad,’” Bergeron said.

THE COUPLE EVENTUALLY GOT THE MESSAGE ACROSS THOUGH, thanks to a combination of patience, persistence and the genius decision to ensure the collected solo works of The Smiths’ front man Morrissey were on heavy rotation.

After some uncomfortable standing around questioning their hyper macho self-image, the bullies cleared out permanently, Bergeron says.

That’s not to say the bar isn’t an equally friendly or comfortable space for old line roughnecks. Far from it.

Bergeron’s father, a burly, retired oil worker who looks able to give as good as he gets, is not only part owner, he’s a regular feature at the bar — and a vocal supporter of its inclusive mission.

Tony Bergeron understands that to some, his father’s background and ap-

pearance might signal he’d be, at the least, uncomfortable around trans and nonbinary people. But in fact, it’s just the opposite: His dad’s basic sense of fairness and understanding made the idea that trans people, queer people and the varied and assorted weirdos that hang out in the bar a simple matter of common sense. So much so that he’s even been known to mentor folks who are having a tough time with their families coming to terms with who they are.

When Hurricane Ida hit the “home for misfit toys” — as New Orleans musician and noted weirdo Quintron refers to the club — there was a lot of worry. The roof was basically destroyed, and the building was badly damaged. But thanks to their devoted community, the Bergerons were able to re-open, albeit partially at first.

They’re still working on the upstairs where the club hosts drag shows, and on occasion the building’s plumbing is out of whack thanks to lingering storm-related issues. But Bergeron says he expects to be back to full operations in the coming weeks. In fact, the first drag shows since the re-opening are scheduled to take place at the end of April.

At a time when so much of the country is seething with hatred toward queer people, and trans and nonbinary Americans in particular, it can feel like there’s no place in the world that’s safe for them — and understandably so. That’s what makes not only maintaining but protecting spaces like the Intracoastal so important.

Because until the rest of world stops being dicks, we all need a place we know we’ll find our community.

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AND A SHOT

BY JOHN STANTON | Gambit editor

FOR SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE BECOMING THE EDITOR OF GAMBIT, I covered the U.S.-Mexican border, primarily the western half in Juarez, Nogales and Tijuana. It’s an amazing part of the world, and has a lot more in common with New Orleans than you might think. There are tamales, of course, but also like New Orleans, the region has its own musical traditions in Corrido and Banda music.

While our region gave the world gumbo, a taco stand owner in Juarez purportedly invented the burrito during the Mexican Revolution. And public art like murals and ornate graffiti are a vital part of the cultural landscapes of these two seemingly different places.

It can get pretty hot over there, what with so

with a cold, refreshing Chilada. Don’t confuse it with

Recipe

the Michelada most Americans are familiar with.

BOILADA

much of it being high desert and all. And in bars across the region, you’ll find Mexicans combatting it

That’s made with beer, tomato juice and lime juice over ice. But the Chilada favored in border bars from Club Quince (RIP) in Juarez to Tijuana’s Dandy del Sur is a simpler, more refreshing drink. Take a glass, salt the rim, drop some ice in, add the juice of half a lime and finally beer, keeping wedges of lime on the side to add while you drink. It tastes amazing, and in addition to being refreshing and going great with spicy food, it fights scurvy and helps replenish electrolytes lost to the heat. So really it’s a health drink when you think about it.

(makes six, because come on, ya know you’re gonna drink that many): 1 six-pack of beer, preferably a cheap Mexican beer like Tecate red, Pacifico or Corona.

A lot of Mexicans like to use Victoria, but I find it to be a little too heavy. Regardless, nothing fancy or dark.

6 to 8 limes Louisiana brand dry boil mix Salt Ice Pint glass

P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N / G A M B I T

Cut the limes in half, then cut half of those into wedges. Mix equal parts salt and boil seasoning and place on a small plate. Rub lime juice along the rim of your glass, then dredge it in boil mix until its coated.

Add ice, then, the juice of half a lime. Pour beer over.

Put lime wedges in a bowl to be added as needed when pouring more beer.

The Boilada is a Louisiana spin on the Chilada.

It’s more or less the same drink, but instead of a straight salt rim, you use boil seasoning mixed with salt. It’s perfect for drinking while eatin’ crawfish in the sun, I promise. As for the shot, well, having a beer without one is like wearing a suit coat with no pants: It just don’t make no sense.

SHOT One bottle of tequila. I like Fortaleza Blanco, or if I can get it, a bottle of sotol, a spirit native to the state of Chihuahua.

Pour a shot, unchilled, in a glass. Drain it. Repeat as needed.

13 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > A P R I L 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 3

M

eet You r

BY JOHN STANTON | Gambit editor

Joshua Comegys

Peter Bogren

P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N / G A M B I T

PROVIDED PHOTO BY R ANDY SCHMIDT

PEP’S PUB

Where’d ya go to school/ where ya from?

St. Louis, Missouri

How long have you been a bartender?

25 years

PALACE CAFÉ

Where’d ya go to school/ where ya from?

What’s your favorite bar when you’re not working?

Bud Rip’s. The greatest bar in the city barring none.

What’s your favorite soundtrack when working a shift?

Depends on the shift. More mellow during the day…blues, soul, Americana.

More up-tempo selections at night… garage, punk, Motown.

Spring cocktail recipe:

Beer and shot. Current picks are Gnarly Barley Skater Aid Pilsner and Jeppson’s Malört.

SNEAKY PICKLE / BAR BRINE P H O T O B Y J O H N S TA N T O N / G A M B I T

Where’d ya go to school/ where ya from?

I grew up in Central Illinois, moved to New Orleans in 2002.

I’m from New Orleans, but I moved away due to Katrina. The last school I went to out here though was McDonough 15!

How long have you been a bartender?

How long have you been a bartender?

23 years

What’s your favorite spirit?

Besk/Bäsk AKA Malört. Yes, I’m serious.

Kimani Smith

What’s your favorite spirit?

I’ve been bartending about 3 years now

What’s your favorite spirit?

Bourbon

Favorite spirit would be Rum, like a smooth dark rum.

What’s your favorite bar when you’re not working?

What’s your favorite bar when you’re not working?

Finn McCool’s

What’s your favorite soundtrack when working a shift?

I have a killer Talking Heads playlist

Spring cocktail recipe:

“The Seeker” 1.5oz Frigate Reserve 15 Year Rum, .75oz Mathilde Pêche, .5oz El Guapo Orgeat Syrup, .5oz fresh lime, .5oz fresh lemon. Shake and strain into a Collins glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and Luxardo cherry.

I got a couple for sure but you can catch me at Cane & Table and Bud Rips more often than not.

What’s your favorite soundtrack when working a shift?

It’s gotta be ‘Get Busy’ by Sean Paul.

Thank me later.

Spring cocktail recipe:

Here’s a little gimlet variation of mine called “First Impression” 2oz Mezcal, 3/4oz Lemon, 1/2oz Banana Liqueur, 1/4oz simple (optional) but I’d do it. Up or on the rocks Cheers!

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17

Tempting barbecue

FORK + CENTER

Devil Moon BBQ focuses on Louisiana flavors | by Beth D’Addono WHEN THE BREEZE IS BLOWING JUST RIGHT BEHIND THE ODEON BUILDING IN THE CBD, the aroma of roasted meat

perfumes the air. It wafts from the smoker behind Devil Moon BBQ at 1188 Girod St. There, juicy briskets emerge dark and crusty with just the right balance between chewiness and tenderness.

Louisiana-born chef Shannon Bingham knows his way around smoked meat, and he believes South Louisiana doesn’t get the credit it deserves for its smoked meat traditions.

“Our food culture has smoked meat at its heart,” says the chef, partner and pitmaster, who opened Devil Moon BBQ just after Mardi Gras, and the adjacent Brewery Saint X on March 28.

If house-made sausage, smoked over a fire until the skin crackles and snaps, isn’t barbecue, then Bingham doesn’t know what is. “We just don’t call it barbecue, like Texas and Tennessee do,” he says.

Creating a sense of place for Louisiana’s smoky heritage is one of the overarching goals of both Devil Moon, the more casual eatery, and Brewery Saint X, a sit-down restaurant that serves the same low-andslow-cooked barbecue along with house-made craft beers. There’s also a full bar with plenty of whiskey and bourbon on the shelves.

Devil Moon’s name was pulled from generations of blues songs, and the menu features many traditional items, ranging from barbecue plates to hefty versions of barbecue sandwich classics.

The pulled pork has an edgy chew, and as with all the sandwiches, it is served on a potato roll dressed with coleslaw, pickles and sauce. Sandwiches come with a choice of side, such as potato salad and coleslaw. Bingham also prepares an excellent dirty rice, and red beans and rice, collard greens and mac and cheese all ooze Louisiana flavor.

Platters are built around brisket, offered lean or fatty, smoke-reddened pork ribs, house-made

sausage and fancy-tasting smoked turkey.

Platters come with two sides. There are three barbecue sauces. The house sauce is flavored with root beer and cane syrup. Creole mustard informs the Carolina-style sauce, and the vinegar sauce has pickled apricots.

Starters include pimiento cheese with crackers and a smoked onion dip with chips. A $79 party platter rounds up all the meats and sides and feeds four to six people. A recent daily special was a smoked roast beef po-boy topped with gravy and horseradish cream.

Brewery Saint X is perfect for a carnivore’s date night, with a menu that invites sharing. New Orleans-based architecture firm Bell Butler designed the bright and welcoming space, and the walls are covered with vintage photos — black-and-white images of family-owned meat stores and local camp parties.

Main dishes include roasted Gulf fish with New Orleans-style barbecue sauce, confit beef cheeks with salsa verde and grilled pork collar with pickled mushrooms and mustard jus. There also are sandwiches, salads and snacks like beef fat fries and spicy fried green tomatoes.

The beer list will have 16 selections, with many German- and British-style drafts. Beyond beer, guests can expect an array of inventive house-made bottled cocktails, ranging from the classics to creative and locally inspired riffs. There also

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Beard shaves list

TWO NEW ORLEANS RESTAURANTS RECASTING THE IDEA of the chef’s

tasting menu and one neighborhood institution are in the running for this year’s James Beard Foundation awards.

The foundation announced the finalists for this year’s awards, drawn from the much larger list of semifinalists released last month.

Chef and restaurant awards winners will be named during a gala event in Chicago on June 5.

These awards are closely watched across the hospitality industry and many New Orleans restaurants, chefs and bars have taken home the honors in different categories.

Like last year, this slate of finalists reflects changes the foundation conducted following an audit of its award program, focusing on diversity, equity and accessibility. The contenders announced for national and regional award categories show

Shannon Bingham focuses on traditional barbecue and Louisiana flavors at Devil Moon BBQ. PHOTO BY CHERYL GERBER / GAMBIT

are wines and an impressive selection of nonalcoholic offerings.

The Neighborhood Restaurant Group, a hospitality company based in Washington, D.C., known for its beer, is behind both restaurants.

NRG was founded by Baton Rouge native Michael Babin, so Devil Moon and Brewery Saint X mark a homecoming of sorts for him.

Devil Moon signed up for this spring’s Hogs for the Cause, an event that Bingham has supported going back to his days as part of the opening team for Blue Oak BBQ. “There’s a real family culture in barbecue,” he says.

?

WHAT

Devil Moon BBQ

WHERE

1188 Girod St.; devilmoonbbq.com

WHEN

Lunch Tue.-Sun.

HOW

Dine-in

CHECK IT OUT

Barbecue drives two new CBD spots

Chef Serigne Mbaye is nominated for a Best Emerging Chef award from the James Beard Foundation.

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

a broader range of restaurant styles, price ranges and cuisines.

In 2022, five New Orleans restaurants and chefs were named finalists, and none came away with awards. It was the first shutout for New Orleans in a decade, though chef Melissa Martin of Mosquito Supper Club won a media award for her cookbook.

Here are New Orleans finalists by category.

PAGE 19

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19

O U T T O E AT

Emerging Chef: Serigne Mbaye. The

chef opened his modern Senegalese tasting menu restaurant Dakar NOLA after hosting pop-ups and communal dinners for the past few years.

Outstanding Bakery: Angelo Brocato. The old-school, Old-World

Sicilian bakery and gelato parlor was founded in 1905 and is an integral link to the city’s Italian heritage.

The award category is new for 2023.

Best Chef: South: Ana Castro.

Lengua Madre’s tasting menu is informed by the chef’s own lens on Mexican culture and heritage.

This regional award covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico. — IAN McNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Jazz feast

THERE WILL BE CRAWFISH MONICA AND VAUCRESSON CREOLE HOT SAUSAGE

po-boys and trout Baquet. There will be yakamein and the gumbo with pheasant, quail and andouille and cochon de lait po-boys. There also will be some new additions to try, as well as some absent favorites.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last week shared details for events scheduled for April 28 to May 7 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. In addition to the music schedule and the news that the festival this year is going cashless, Jazz Fest announced the food vendors.

Jazz Fest vendors do not change over much, with most continuing with the same booths and largely the same dishes year after year for decades running. But in March, Panorama Foods, maker of the popular Jazz Fest staple crawfish bread, revealed it is bowing out after 35 years as a vendor.

Another one that’s missing will be Jamila’s Cafe, a family-run Tunisian restaurant that traditionally serves lamb tagine, merguez sausage and its unique crawfish, zucchini, spinach bisque.

Moncef Sbaa, who runs the Maple Street restaurant with his wife Jamila, says the decision to miss this year was a combination of staffing shortages and an issue at their Broadmoor home.

Road work on their block of Vincennes Place has stalled out, leaving the roadway torn up for months.

The Jazz Fest effort is such a big lift, the family uses equipment and refrigerated storage at their home in addition to their small restaurant.

But given the state of his street, Sbaa determined he wouldn’t be able to maneuver the rental trucks he normally uses to move supplies for Jazz Fest. He says Jamila’s intends to return in 2024.

African restaurant Bennachin will miss this year, so its jama jama (sauteed spinach) and plantains and grilled chicken skewers will be off the menu.

Also not returning is Canseco’s Market with its Cuban sandwiches (though this small local grocery has a location just outside the Jazz Fest gates that serves this sandwich year-round).

Barbecue oysters are making a new appearance in Food Area 1 from TCA Brocato, a vendor that debuted in 2022 with an eggplant stack, gumbo and street corn, all dishes returning in 2023.

One vendor that missed the 2022 Jazz Fest, Palmer’s Jamaican Cuisine, will return this year with its Jamaican chicken, Caribbean fish, curry chicken patties and steamed vegetable and rice plates.

Another returning vendor that missed 2022 is CCI Catering (previously called Crescent Catering).

This year it will serve a duck and shrimp pasta and a turducken po-boy (in place of its previous Cajun duck po-boy).

Others that missed 2022 and are also absent for 2023 are: Fatty’s Cracklin’ (cracklings and sweet potato chips), Creole Lunch House (Creole stuffed breads) and Marie’s Sugar Dumplings (sweet potato turnovers). Creole Lunch House intends to return in 2024. So does Marie’s Sugar Dumplings, whose owner Yolanda Casby says she is in treatment for cancer and is focused on her health this year.

“Jazz Fest understands, and they’re behind me,” Casby says. “It’s too much for me to do the whole thing this year.”

Warehouse District restaurant Carmo became a vendor last year, and this year returns with two booths: one for shrimp, fish and vegetable tacos, and a second in the Cultural Exchange Village, serving foods aligned with Jazz Fest’s celebration of Puerto Rican culture this year.

For that booth, Carmo is partnered with FOWLMOUTH, a local pop-up that draws on Puerto Rican street and beach food traditions.

They’ll serve trifongo with pork, shrimp or vegetables and pastelillo savory hand pies.

One new vendor this year is Keyala’s Pralines, bringing key cake with bourbon pecan sauce, chocolate mocha cupcakes and mixed nut brittle.

Owner Keyala Marshall served samples at the Jazz Fest press preview.

“I’m excited and terrified, but mostly excited,” she says. “I’ve done festivals before, but this is the major leagues.” — IAN McNULTY

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20

WINE OF THE

WEEK

3 COURSE INTERVIEW

Alex Flores

Brewer

by Will Coviello ALEX FLORES STARTED HOMEBREWING WHILE HE WAS IN SCHOOL AT LSU.

After several years working at breweries in San Diego, he moved to New Orleans, where he worked at NOLA Brewing Company and Urban South Brewing Company.

He’s now the head brewer for Brewery Saint X, which opened at 1100 Girod St. last week. For information, visit brewerysaintx.com.

How did you get into homebrewing?

La Crema

Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc

Vibrant, and exotic, this wine combines fresh aromas of citrus bloom, lemon grass, and passion fruit, with subtle wet stone, and flint.

In the mouth, flavors of ruby grapefruit, KIWI, and white peach are accompanied by tropical notes of mango and guava. Barrel fermentation brings volume, and texture to the wine while crisp, and vibrant acidity drives a juicy lingering finish.

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ALEX FLORES: I started homebrewing in college and fell in love with the creative side of it, using different ingredients — pretty much the way people get into cooking.

I was always the one seeking out different beers. At that time, it was really hard to find them in Louisiana. We were behind the curve on craft beer, except for Abita. I’d find these random beers, and I was like, we should try to make one. So I bought a little kit and we did it on a friend’s stovetop. The first two batches were terrible, but we drank them anyway.

Eventually we got it down and started having fun exploring ingredients. The first beer I made was an English pale ale. Then we started Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clones and messing around with hoppier styles. The first out-of-the-box beer I made was a chocolate rosemary porter. I actually had gone to a farmers’ market in Baton Rouge and there was a chocolatier who had these unbelievable rosemary chocolates. I was like, I should replicate this into a beer, so I bought some baker’s chocolate and got some fresh rosemary and started playing around. People were like, I don’t know if I want to drink that.

But it was cool experiencing these herbs and spices in a beer with this really chocolatey character.

What was it like going pro?

F: After LSU, I moved out to San Diego to see if I liked working in the beer industry. Like a maniac, I called every brewery in the county.

That was like 45 breweries. I got the same answer from a lot of people, which was you don’t have any professional experience, and there are a lot of experienced people out here. This one guy who was opening up this very small

brewery said I can’t pay you, but if you want to volunteer and get some experience, I would be happy to teach you. I took it and was doing everything from recipe design to cleaning kegs.

They were making true West Coast IPA, your more bitter style. They were famous for their brown ale, which is not a very popular style.

They did a lot of hoppier styles, IPA, double IPA, a brown ale and they did a saison with goji berries.

That was popular. That’s where I developed my first recipe that I put out to market. It was a jasmine saison. It was a great experience.

Then I went to Mission Brewery in downtown San Diego and worked there from 2012 to 2016, when I moved back to New Orleans.

I had been looking for a way to get back to New Orleans. NOLA Brewing was hiring and I reached out to them. I became a cellar manager for NOLA. I was managing fermentation and running their sour beer program for about a year and a half — so all the funky stuff and the barrel-aged program. We won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup. It’s one of the two most prestigious beer awards. We won for Sauvage.

I went to Urban South to do research and development brewing. They brought me in to help diversify the portfolio. We came up with Lime Cucumber Gose and Paradise Park.

The pandemic was an interesting time. We were releasing six beers a week. I think I made 250 unique recipes that year.

What are you brewing at Brewery Saint X? F: We are doing more classic styles.

We have some buzzword beers, like hazy IPAs and fruited sours. But we are brewing a lot of lager and English styles. We are doing some classics you don’t see everyday, like true-to-style German beers.

We have cask beer, which you don’t see much in New Orleans. It’s a traditional English hand-pump style beer. It’s naturally fermented.

It’s got natural carbonation, and we’re serving it at proper temperature. Starting off, we’ll have an ordinary bitter and a dark mild on cask. Ordinary bitter is brewed with a malt that’s a little sweeter than typical pale malt, a little

PROVIDED PHOTO BY RANDY SCHMIDT

nutty. It’s brewed with Challenger hops, so it has the classic English earthy, grassy, aromatic character.

Whenever people hear ordinary bitter, they think it’s going to be bitter, but it’s actually not. It’s balanced. It’s earthy, fruity. There’s a nice floral character from the hops.

There’s bread and biscuit notes, like a multigrain character.

The dark mild is creamy, and it’s got notes of dark chocolate.

It’s got a little bit of roast coffee character. It’s really light. It’s only 3.5% (ABV). That one leans heavy toward the malty side.

We’re going to have a lot of proper German beers. We have these horizontal maturation tanks.

So once the beer is done fermenting, we remove a majority of the yeast and put them in these tanks to properly lager at cold temperatures for a long time. They develop like a lager should. A lot of big brewers age their beers for eight to 12 weeks before they release them to get that clean, crisp character. That’s what we want to replicate, the true German way of brewing these beers, letting them rest and settle.

Everything we’ve brewed so far is on the lighter side with spring and summer in mind. We are focusing on the lagers and lighter styles, low ABVs and sessionable beers. We have a milk stout with coffee and mole spices with vanilla bean and cacao nibs. In the colder months, we’ll throw in more stouts and maybe a barley wine.

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C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S A T 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 for New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: Email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

8 Fresh Food Assassin — 1900 N. Claiborne Ave., (504) 224-2628; Instagram, @8freshfoodassassin — Chef Manny January’s menu includes grilled lamb chops, T-bone steaks, salmon, crab cakes, deep fried ribs, fried chicken and seafood-loaded oysters. No reservations. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Acorn — 12 Henry Thomas Drive, (504) 218-5413; acornnola.com — The cafe at the Louisiana Children’s Museum has blackened shrimp tacos topped with arugula, radish, pineapple-mango salsa and cilantro-lime sauce. No reservations. breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sun. $$ Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and more. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant.com — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in dishes like Gulf Drum Yvonne, served with brown butter sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts.

Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$ Banana Blossom — 500 9th St., Gretna, (504) 500-0997; 504bananablossom. com — Jimmy Cho’s Thai dishes include smoked pork belly and pork meatballs in lemon grass broth with egg, green onion, cilantro and crispy garlic.

Reservations accepted for large parties except weekends. Delivery available.

Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ The Blue Crab Restaurant and Oyster Bar — 118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, (985) 315-7001; 7900 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 284-2898; thebluecrabnola.com — Basin barbecue shrimp are served over cheese grits with a cheese biscuit.

Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lakeview: lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. Slidell: lunch Fri.-Sat., dinner Wed.-Sun. $$ Broussard’s — 819 Conti St., (504) 5813866; broussards.com — Rainbow trout amandine is served with tasso and corn macque choux and Creole meuniere sauce. Reservations recommended.

Outdoor seating available. Dinner Wed.Sat., brunch Sun. $$$ Cafe Normandie — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The menu combines classic French dishes and Louisiana items like crab beignets with herb aioli. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola. com — The central kitchen for Dickie Brennan restaurants offers grab-and-go dishes and a dine-in menu with a house-smoked turkey breast sandwich with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. No reservations.

Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.Sat. $$ Curio — 301 Royal St., (504) 717-4198; curionola.com — The creative Creole menu includes blackened Gulf shrimp served with chicken and andouille jambalaya. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up

Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 586-0300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — The menu highlights Gulf seafood in Creole dishes. Char-grilled oysters are topped with Parmesan and herbs.

Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse.com — The seafood restaurant has a raw bar and a large selection of bourbon. Redfish is served with lemon buerre blanc. Reservations accepted.

Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse — 716 Iberville St., (504) 522-2467; dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com — A 6-ounce filet mignon is served with flash-fried oysters, creamed spinach, Pontalba potatoes and bearnaise. Reservations recommended. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$ Dragonfly Cafe — 530 Jackson Ave., (504) 544-9530; dragonflynola.com — The casual cafe offers breakfast plates, waffles, salads, coffee drinks and more. Braised rib is served on greens with cornbread. Delivery available.

Reservations accepted. Breakfast and lunch Wed.-Sat. $$ El Pavo Real — 4401 S. Broad Ave., (504) 266-2022; elpavorealnola.com — Pescado Vera Cruz is a sauteed Gulf fish topped with tomatoes, olives, onion and capers and served with rice and string beans.

The menu also includes tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas and more. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and early dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar — 739 Iberville St., (504) 522-4440; 7400 Lakeshore Drive, (504) 304-4125; felixs. com — Louisiana oysters are served raw or char-grilled with garlic, Parmesan and breadcrumbs. The menu includes seafood platters, crawfish etouffee, po-boys and more. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Frey Smoked Meat Co. — 4141 Bienville St., Suite 110, (504) 488-7427; freysmokedmeat.com — The barbecue spot serves pulled pork, ribs, brisket, sausages and more. Fried pork belly poppers are tossed in pepperjelly glaze. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Froot Orleans — 2438 Bell St., Suite B, (504) 233-3346; frootorleans.com — There are fresh fruit platters and smoothie bowls such as a strawberry shortcake and more using pineapple, berries, citrus and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available.

Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Juan’s Flying Burrito — 515 Baronne St., (504) 529-5825; 2018 Magazine St., (504) 569-0000; 4724 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-9950; 8140 Oak St., (504) 897-4800; juansflyingburrito.com — The Flying Burrito includes steak, shrimp, chicken, cheddar jack cheese, black beans, rice, guacamole and salsa. The menu also has tacos, quesadillas and nachos. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — A Cajun Cuban has roasted pork, ham, cheese and pickles on buttered bread.

The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, onions and

garlic. Delivery available. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Kilroy’s Bar — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The bar menu includes sandwiches, salads and flatbreads, including one topped with peach, prosciutto, stracciatella cheese, arugula and pecans. No reservations.

Dinner Wed.-Sat. $$ Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches, salads and more. A NOLA Style Grits Bowl is topped with bacon, cheddar and a poached egg.

Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 513-2606; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes filets mignons, bone-in rib-eyes and top sirloins, as well as burgers, salads and seafood dishes. Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available.

Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$ Martin Wine Cellar — 714 Elmeer Ave., Metairie, (504) 896-7350; 3827 Baronne St., (504) 894-7444; martinwine.com — The deli serves sandwiches and salads such as the Sena, with chicken, raisins, blue cheese, pecans and Tabasco pepperjelly vinaigrette. No reservations.

Lunch daily. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. The menu also has noodle dishes, teriyaki and more. Reservations accepted.

Delivery available. Lunch Sun.-Fri., dinner daily. $$ Mosca’s — 4137 Highway 90 West, Westwego, (504) 436-8950; moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery serves Italian dishes and specialties including chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca. Reservations accepted.

Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant. net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Delivery available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Neyow’s Creole Cafe — 3332 Bienville St., (504) 827-5474; neyows.com — The menu includes red beans with fried chicken or pork chops, as well as seafood platters, po-boys, char-grilled oysters, salads and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$ Nice Guys Bar & Grill — 7910 Earhart Blvd., (504) 302-2404; niceguysbarandgrillnola.com — Char-grilled oysters are topped with cheese. The menu also includes wings, quesadillas, burgers, sandwiches, salads, seafood pasta and more. No reservations. Lunch daily, dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$ Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro — 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar’s menu includes Creole pasta with shrimp and andouille over pappardelle in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$ Palace Cafe — 605 Canal St., (504) 523-1661; palacecafe.com — The contemporary Creole menu includes signature crabmeat cheesecake topped with mushrooms and Creole meuniere

sauce. Outdoor seating available.

Reservations recommended. Lunch Wed.-Fri., dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Sat.-Sun. $$$ Peacock Room — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3073; peacockroomnola.com — Black lentil vadouvan curry comes with roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and basmati rice. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$ Rosie’s on the Roof — Higgins Hotel, 480 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 5281941; higginshotelnola.com/dining — The rooftop bar has a menu of sandwiches, burgers and small plates. No reservations. Dinner daily. $$ Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 934-3463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, littleneck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended.

Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$ Tacklebox — 817 Common St., (504) 8271651; legacykitchen.com — The seafood restaurant serves oysters, seafood, burgers, salads and more. Redfish St. Charles is served with garlic-herb butter, asparagus, mushrooms and crawfish cornbread. Reservations accepted.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Tavolino Pizza & Lounge — 141 Delaronde St., (504) 605-3365; tavolinonola.com — The menu features thin-crust pizzas, salads, meatballs and more. A Behrman Hwy. pizza is topped with pork belly, caramel, carrots, radishes, jalapenos and herbs. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 733-3803; 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; 70488 Highway 21, Covington, (985) 234-9420; theospizza. com — A Marilynn Pota Supreme pie is topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. There also are salads, sandwiches and more.

Delivery available. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $ Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco — 1433 St. Charles Ave., (504) 354-1342; 5015 Magazine St., (504) 267-7612; titoscevichepisco.com — Peruvian lomo saltado features beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, soy sauce and pisco, served with fried potatoes and rice.

Outdoor seating available on Magazine Street. Delivery available. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. $$$ The Vintage — 3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144; thevintagenola.com — The menu includes beignets, small plates, sandwiches and flatbreads. The veggie pressed sandwich has avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper, pepper jack cheese and lemon. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Zhang Bistro — 1141 Decatur St., (504) 826-8888; zhangbistronola.com — The menu includes Chinese and Thai dishes. The Szechuan Hot Wok offers a choice of chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu with onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, jalapenos and spicy Sichuan sauce.

Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Thu.-Tue. $$

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Animal of the Month: Audubon’s spider monkeys enjoy visitors and always eat their fruits and veggies

By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Audubon Nature Institute If you hear the Audubon Zoo staff talking about blondes and brunettes, there’s a good chance they are discussing the spider monkeys that call the zoo home. Six spider monkeys live at the zoo, with three having darker fur (aka the brunettes) and three with lighter fur (aka the blondes). The reason for the different fur colors is largely unknown, although researchers believe it may be because of genetics and sunlight exposure.

We spoke to Dominique Fleitas, assistant curator of the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit and Jaguar Jungle at Audubon Zoo, to learn more about the spider monkeys and what is being done to protect them in the wild.

Tell me about the spider monkeys at Audubon.

Brock is our only male. He is 30 years old and has lived here since 2018. The other five are females. Topaz is also 30 years old and has lived here since 1997. Tazo is 36 years old and has lived here since 2010. Teresa and Tille are both 27 years old and have lived here since 1997. Tea is our youngest at 17 years old and has lived here since 2010.

How would you describe their personalities?

The brunettes are very chill and easygoing. They enjoy training and spending time with their keepers. The blondes are always checking things out and are a little more willing to get into monkey antics. Tea will sometimes start doing alarm calls, which are high-pitched calls to get the other monkeys’ attention, either for no reason at all or for very trivial reasons. When that happens, Brock will come running to take care of things. Since he is the only male, he is the dominant and protective one.

What kind of food do they eat?

Their diets include greens, fruits and vegetables. We change it day to day so they don’t eat the same thing all the time.

One day, they might get a lot of spinach.

The next day, it might be leafy greens like kale and romaine. It’s usually a rotation of things like green beans, corn, carrots, apples, pears, peas, sweet potatoes and peppers. We also give them specially formulated biscuits with protein, vitamins and nutrients. We also have high value items for them like yogurt, peanut butter or plain Cheerios. Those are used for enrichment or training.

What kind of training does the Audubon staff conduct with the spider monkeys?

We do a lot of activities that let them participate in their medical treatment.

Being able to ask them to come to us and stand on a scale is really important because we like to track their weights.

Brock in particular likes to steal food, so we make sure his weight is not getting too high. We also work with them on receiving hand injections. Every animal here gets a big physical at least every two years. Whenever possible, we work with them to take an injection to make that process easier.

How would you describe their habitat at Audubon?

They have an island in Jaguar Jungle with palm trees and big columns that are designed to look like a Mayan temple. This allows us to change the configuration of their ropes every so often so it doesn’t get boring for them. There is a little water in front of the lagoon and they like to hang out at the edge. Like most primates, spider monkeys are afraid of water, so they will drink the water or put two feet in and leave two feet on the land, but not submerge

themselves. Their habitat also includes a building with multiple dens. They go into that at night quite a bit and sometimes during the day. During bad weather, we’ll move them in there.

Their habitat is actually getting an upgrade. We’ve been working hard on erosion control and the expansion will aid with that and provide them a good area to explore.

Dothespidermonkeysenjoyvisitors?

They don’t try to get attention, but they like knowing they are being watched and people are interested in them. If a big group stops by them and then walks away, they’ll look in their direction to see where they went. Whenever we go for an extended period of time without visitors, like after a hurricane, we’ll see them peeking around a lot because they are looking for people.

What is the status of spider monkeys in the wild and what kind of conservation work is Audubon doing in this area?

They are considered endangered. Their habitats are experiencing deforestation and degradation, so they are feeling those effects. Here at Audubon, we are fortunate

to partner with the Max Planck Institute on a project to do regular studies to see how primates use their native habitats, what they are foraging for, how their diets change as they lose land, and how they are utilizing their space. That helps us understand what we can do with our own spaces and share the message more broadly about preserving those spaces in the wild.

Want to visit?

The spring is a great time of year to visit the spider monkeys at Audubon Zoo. The Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from now through Labor Day. Check audubonzoo. com for information on tickets, free parking and planning your Zoo trip.

The best value if you plan on visiting the Zoo more than once or are planning on visiting Audubon Aquarium and Audubon Insectarium later this year, is purchasing an Audubon Membership. In addition to unlimited visits, Members enjoy discounts at Audubon gift shops, concessions, special events such as Zoo-To-Do and Zoo-To-Do for Kids, Zoo Camps, and much more. For a full list of benefits and to find out how you can become a member, visit audubonmembership.com and save.

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entity with a U.S. tour, during which they’re also screening their first feature film, “Triple Trouble.”

The purposefully low-budget film follows a former priest-turnedplumber who gets sucked into a conspiracy involving a fungus that could threaten humanity. The Residents stop in New Orleans at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at the Broadside. Tickets are $25 advance via broadsidenola.com and $28 day of the show.

Xiu Xiu

EXPERIMENTAL ROCK BAND XIU XIU HAS NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM SHOCKING THE LISTENER — either

sonically or lyrically — but always with purpose, as a way to process life’s traumas. On its recently released new record, “Ignore Grief,” the band draws from both real-life tragedies and imagined scenarios. Xiu Xiu plays Gasa Gasa at 9 p.m.

Sunday, April 9. Tickets are $18 via ticketweb.com.

Rory Scovel

THE COMEDIAN AND ACTOR HAS RELEASED HIS OWN COMEDY SPECIALS and his own series

“Robbie.” He also wrote for “The Eric Andre Show.” He performs standup at 8 p.m. Friday, April 7, at The Howlin’ Wolf. Find tickets via thehowlinwolf.com.

Hell

HELL, THE SOLO PROJECT BY OREGONBASED MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST M.S.W., IS APTLY NAMED: devastat-

ing doom metal that marches the listener into hopeless, unrelenting despair. Hell plays with New Orleans doom band Fauns at 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, at Gasa Gasa. Tickets are $15 via ticketweb.com.

Evenings With Enrique

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING CONCERT SERIES IN THE NEW ORLEANS BOTANICAL GARDEN begins with

harpist Patrice Fisher and a small ensemble on April 5. The series highlights Latin sounds, in part in honor of its namesake, sculptor Enrique Alferez, whose work is spread throughout City Park. Admission to the garden is free for Louisiana residents on Wednesdays courtesy of the Helis Foundation. The events are 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

Visit neworleanscitypark.org for information on the garden.

Built to Spill

BUILT TO SPILL JUMPED INTO THE INDIE ROCK SCENE FROM IDAHO in the

early 1990s and has been through numerous changes over the years. Frontman Doug Martsch is

the sole remaining original member, and now changes the lineup around him, which included a Brazilian backing group on tour in South America. In the current coed lineup, he’s joined

by Melanie Radford and Teresa Esguerra. Disco Doom and Orua also perform at 8 p.m. Monday, April 10, at Joy Theater. Find tickets via thejoytheater.com.

Easily cash out equity in your commercial or investment property.

LPO at the Jazz Museum

COMPOSER AND LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CREATIVE PARTNER COURTNEY BRYAN

has curated and will host a concert of her own works and pieces

by New Orleans bassist Brian Quezergue on Thursday, April 6, at the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

“Sounds of Freedom” will feature a string quintet of LPO players along with poet Chuck Perkins.

The concert begins at 6 p.m., and tickets are $25 general admission, $35 reserved and $10 students at lpomusic.com.

• Maximum loan to recently appraised value amount of 65% • Must be owned by a corporation • Can not be an owner-occupied residence • Typically close within 3 days of appraisal’s completion • Cash out or fix and flip funding

Swingtime in Springtime

THE NORTHSHORE TRADITIONAL MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS A CONCERT

featuring trumpeter Wendell Brunious, percussionist Jason Marsalis, banjoist Don Vappie, clarinetist Ben Redwine and bassist Richard Moten. At 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 6, at the Greater Covington Center Fuhrmann Auditorium. GA tickets $20 via bontempstix.com.

Harry Mayronne with Yvette Voelker

PIANIST HARRY MAYRONNE HAS BEEN HOLDING DOWN WEDNESDAY NIGHTS

at The Bombay Club, performing with a featured vocalist each week. On Wednesday, April 5, he’ll be joined by Yvette Voelker, one of the co-founders of the trad jazz vocalist group The Pfister Sisters. Music starts at 8 p.m. in the club at the Prince Conti Hotel.

‘Music with Changing Parts’ A GROUP OF NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS ON SATURDAY, APRIL 8, will

present a program of works by minimalist composer Philip Glass, anchored by his now-rarely performed “Music with Changing Parts.” The concert also will feature Glass’ “Music in Similar Motion” and a new Glass-inspired work, “Music in Sweet Motion,” composed by musician and concert organizer Neal Todten.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. at Happyland Theater. Advance tickets are $15 via eventbrite.com and $20 at the door.

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MUSIC F O R C O M P L E T E M U S I C L I S T I N G S A N D M O R E E V E N T S TA K I N G P L AC E I N T H E N E W O R L E A N S A R E A , V I S I T C A L E N D A R . G A M B I T W E E K LY. C O M To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

TUESDAY 4 BAMBOULAS — 504 Goodies, 1:15 pm; Tiffany Pollock and Co., 5:30 pm; Andy J. Forest Blues Band, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Water Seed , 8 pm ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC — Freddie Blue & the Friendship Circle Band, 6:30 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Colin Myers Band, 5 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 8 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM — Arrowhead Jazz Band, 2 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars, 5. 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm ROGERS MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT TULANE UNIVERSITY — Versipel New Music Presents Chaos Cultures, 8 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — The Amazing Henrietta, 6:30 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Rebirth Band, 10 pm

WEDNESDAY 5 BAMBOULAS — Giselle Anguizola, 1:15 pm; Swingin’ with John Saavedra, 5:30 pm Roule and the Queen, 9 pm BLUE NILE — New Breed Brass Band, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Bourbon Street Stars, 5 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 8 pm GASA GASA — Hell with Fauns, 9 pm LAFAYETTE SQUARE PARK — The Suffers, Trumpet Mafia, 5 pm MADAME VIC'S — Britney Chantae & Tres, 8 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM — Naydja CoJoe, 2 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Branden Lewis, 5, 6:15, 7:30 &8:45 pm SIBERIA — Turquoise, Meeka, Hey Thanks!, 9 pm THE BOMBAY CLUB — Harry Mayronne and Yvette Voelker, 8 pm THE BROADSIDE — Residents, 7 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Funkin' It Up with Big Sam, 7:30 pm THE PARISH AT HOUSE OF BLUES — Church Of The Cosmic Skull, 7 pm

THURSDAY 6 BAMBOULAS — Sigrid and the Zig Zags, 1:15 pm; Cristina Kaminis and the Mix, 5:30 pm; Wolfe John's Blues Band, 9 pm BEAUREGARD-KEYES HOUSE — Betty Shirley, 6 pm BLUE NILE — Where Y'at Brass Band, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Doyle Cooper Band, 2:30 pm; John Saavedra Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 8 pm GASA GASA — Early Day Miners, 9 pm

GREATER COVINGTON CENTER FUHRMANN AUDITORIUM — Wendell Brunious, Jason Marsalis, Richard Moten, Ben Redwine and Don Vappie, 7 pm HOUSE OF BLUES — Peter Murphy, Adrian Belew, Scrote: Celebrating David Bowie, 7 pm JOY THEATER — Big Wild, 7:30 pm MADAME VIC'S — Gloria Turrini, 8 pm PAVILION OF THE TWO SISTERS — John Boutté, 6 pm PEACOCK ROOM, HOTEL FONTENOT — Da Lovebirds with Robin Barnes and Pat Casey , 8 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Wendell Brunious, 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm REPUBLIC NOLA — Subdocta, 10 pm SIBERIA — Julie Odell, Gina Leslie, Sabine McCalla, 9 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Brass-AHolics, 7:30 pm THE PARISH AT HOUSE OF BLUES — Saliva, 7 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — Flow Tribe, 8 pm

FRIDAY 7 BAMBOULAS — St. Julien x Band, 11 am; Walker and the 3 Finger Swingers, 2:15 pm; Les Getrex N Creole Cooking, 6:30 pm; Bettis +3rd Degree Brass Band, 10 pm BLUE NILE — The Caesar Brothers, 7 pm BLUE NILE BALCONY ROOM — Trumpet Slim & Brass Flavor, 10 pm; Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, 11 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Sam Friend Band, 2:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 9 pm GASA GASA — Mike with Slauson Malone 1, Sideshow, 9 pm HIDEAWAY DEN & ARCADE — Blackwater Canal w/ Sinner's Revival & Nothing Sacred, 8 pm HOUSE OF BLUES NEW ORLEANS — Lorna Shore, 7:30 pm MADAME VIC'S — The Emerald Trio, 4 pm; Kitty Baudoin, 8 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK IN DUTCH ALLEY — Sidiki Conde and Wowo Souakoli, 2 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud, 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm PUBLIC BELT AT HILTON RIVERSIDE — Phil Melancon, 8 pm REPUBLIC NOLA — Ghengar, 11 pm SIBERIA — EYEHATEGOD, Goatwhore, Abysmal Lord, Morbid Torment, 7 pm SIBERIA LOUNGE — Helen Gillet, 9 pm SIDNEY'S SALOON — DarkLounge Ministries, 7 pm THE GOAT — Paladin, Witch Burial, Void, 8 pm THE PARISH AT HOUSE OF BLUES — Eric Hutchinson, 8 pm

THREE KEYS AT ACE HOTEL NEW ORLEANS — Water Seed, 8 pm ZONY MASH BEER PROJECT — The Brightsides - Strokes Tribute, 8 pm

SATURDAY 8 BAMBOULAS — Youse, 11 am; New Orleans Swinging Gypsies, 2:15 pm; Johnny Mastro Blues, 6:30 pm; Paggy Prine, 10 pm BLUE NILE — George Brown Band, 7 pm; Kumasi Afrobeat Orchestra, 11 pm BLUE NILE BALCONY ROOM — The Marigny Street Brass Band, 10 pm; Kumasi Afrobeat Orchestra, 11 pm CHEMIN A LA MER AT FOUR SEASONS — Amanda Shaw, 12 pm DEW DROP SOCIAL & BENEVOLENT HALL — J. Monqué D Blues Revue, 6:30 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12:30 pm; Steve Detroy Band, 2:30 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band, 9 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 6 pm GASA GASA — Doctors, 9 pm HOUSE OF BLUES NEW ORLEANS — Skinny Puppy, 8 pm MADAME VIC'S — Dayne Kurtz, Robert Maché, 8 pm OLD ARABI LIGHTHOUSE RECORDS AND BOOKS — Carlo Ditta, 3 pm PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation All-Stars feat. Shannon Powell, 5, 6:15, 7:30 & 8:45 pm PUBLIC BELT AT HILTON RIVERSIDE — Phil Melancon, 8 pm SIBERIA — Fantasy Non Fiction, Zach Smallman, Letrainiump, 8 pm SMOOTHIE KING CENTER — Los Tigres del Norte, 8 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — The Nayo Jones Experience, 7:30 & 9 pm WILD BUSH FARM + VINEYARD — Debbie Davis and the Mesmerizers, 6:30 pm

Water Seed plays Tuesday the 4th at Blue Nile and Friday the 7th at Three Keys PHOTO BY JOHN STANTON / GAMBIT

SUNDAY 9 BAMBOULAS — Secret Six Jazz Band, 1:15 pm; Midnight Brawlers, 5:30 pm; Ed Wills Blues 4 Sale, 9 pm BLUE NILE — The Baked Potatoes, 7 pm; Street Legends Brass Band, 10 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Seva Venet Band, 12 pm; Joe Kennedy Band, 2 pm; Marla Dixon Band, 5 pm; Fritzel's All Star Band, 8 pm GASA GASA — Xiu Xiu with Coral Mercy, 9 pm PEACOCK ROOM, HOTEL FONTENOT — Easter Brunch!, 9 am PRESERVATION HALL — Preservation Legacy Band feat. Will Smith, 2:30 & 3:45 pm THE JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Glen David Andrews Band, 7:30 pm

MONDAY 10 BAMBOULAS — The Four Horsemen of Jazzfest, 1:15 pm; The Melatuan's, 5:30 pm; Big Soul Band, 9 pm FRITZEL'S EUROPEAN JAZZ CLUB — Matinee All Star Band, 12:30 pm; Lee Floyd and Thunderbolt Trio, 5 pm; Richard "Piano" Scott and Friends, 8 pm GASA GASA — Skweezy Jibbs with Adam Pasi, 9 pm JOY THEATER — Built To Spill, 7 pm PRESERVATION HALL — The Preservation Brass, 5, 7:30 & 8:45 pm

SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

25 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > A P R I L 4 - 1 0 > 2 02 3

MUSIC

Doomsaying

by Jake Clapp

ANARETA’S “FEAR NOT” IS BEAUTIFUL AND FULL OF TERROR. Intertwining chamber

music and crushing doom metal, the New Orleans band’s debut album, out April 8, plays with contrasting dynamics — harsh and soft, intimate and epic, bleak and lush.

“I find those elements in both classical and metal, at least in the songs I really like in those genres,” says lead vocalist and bassist Sarah Jacques. “We’re just pushing it a little bit further in metal.”

The six members of Anareta — Jacques; violinist Louise Neal; violist Mackenzie Hamilton; cellist Sam Hollier; guitarist Cary Goforth; and drummer Boyanna Trayanova — formed the band in 2018. Each musician has a unique musical background, playing in a number of projects, from punk and Eastern European folk to classical, trad jazz and brass band music. Still, they’ve known one another for years, and found common love in heavy music once they started writing together.

Anareta spent a year writing before hitting stages at venues like Santos, The Goat, Gasa Gasa and Siberia.

The group cut a two-song demo early on, and in mid-2020 recorded the sweeping six-track “Fear Not” at House of 1000Hz in Bywater.

The band will now celebrate its new album with a release show at 9 p.m.

Friday, April 7, at Saturn Bar with Slowhole and Cultwife.

“Our vision of our music is expansive,” Hollier says. “We are really looking out at the different influences that we find and the different things we find inspiring. That’s really also how we’ve talked about how to interact with the music scene as well. We don’t see ourselves as just a metal band. There are parallels between our music and all these different genres and sounds. I think a lot of different people who wouldn’t necessarily want to go to a metal show will see something they appreciate.”

It isn’t unusual for bands to incorporate orchestral elements into heavy music, but for Anareta, it’s fundamentally intertwined. Hollier’s cello and Jacques’ electric bass work together to set a dark atmosphere for Neal and Hamilton’s venomous strings, Goforth’s chugging guitar and Trayanova’s pounding drums. Jacques distressed howl flies above like its own instrument.

The songs on “Fear Not” glide through movement-like transitions, while the band’s punk ethos helps keep the music accessible.

When the members of Anareta started writing together, they

New Orleans orchestral metal band Anareta releases its debut album ‘Fear Not’ on April 8.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY BOBBY BONESY

discussed groups like black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room, Swedish death metal band At the Gates and stoner/doom trio Sleep.

But composers like Vivaldi also came up — and in another time, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev might have been intrigued by “Fear Not.” Anareta also found influences in literature, human nature and the natural environment. “Locality,” the band’s despairing debut single released earlier this year drew from a scene out of Dante’s “Inferno,” where the poet and Virgil cross the Gates of Hell into an area filled with shades following a black banner and angels barred from both heaven and hell.

The opening “Frozen Wasteland” and relentless “Unforgiving Sun” find oppressive cold and heat punishing human arrogance. And on “Black Snake” — named for a Lakota prophecy about a black snake poisoning waters — Anareta laments the destruction humans are causing the natural environment.

“That’s probably our most politically minded song because around the time we were writing it, there was a lot of activism happening with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Atchafalaya Basin pipeline,” Jacques says.

Along with its unique approach to its music, Anareta wants to build inclusivity in New Orleans metal.

“We want to have metal shows where people can feel like they can come if they’re not that straight, white dude,” Hamilton says. “More queer people, more people of color — everyone feels more comfortable where they’re in an environment where they see people like themselves and it’s fun.”

Admission for Anareta’s April 7 release show is $10. Find “Fear Not” starting April 8 at anareta. bandcamp.com.

2023

ISSUE DATE

APR

18

FILES O R P L o O H C IN-DEPTHchS ool to College Pre-s Help parents find the right school. Highlight your mission, programs, & philosophies. List important dates and open houses.

RESERVE SPACE BY APR 7 Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

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26

FILM

Brush with fame

by Will Coviello OWEN WILSON PLAYS VERMONT’S TOP PUBLIC TV PAINTING INSTRUCTOR , Carl

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SUDOKU

Nargle, in “Paint.”

Every week, he tells viewers that he wants to take them “to a special place.” In a whispering voice filled with wonder, he’s part breathless naturalist, part mystic teacher as he renders a painting of a landscape, with a tree or creek in the foreground and Vermont’s towering Mount Mansfield in the background.

With his tight curly perm and beard, Nargle is meant to look like Bob Ross, who hosted the PBS show “The Joy of Painting” from 1983 to 1994. Wilson also speaks in a perpetual whisper, which is part of the gentle charm that endears him to both viewers and some women staff at the station.

In a bid to improve its sluggish ratings, the station wants to give its audience more of the painting instruction it seems to love.

The vivacious young Ambrosia arrives to freshen up the canvases and, unavoidably, shake up Nargle’s world.

Ross died in 1995 and seems to have become more iconic in the age of the internet. Nargle resembles him, wearing his open collar button-down shirts and cradling his palette while talking to the camera. But “Paint” is not about Ross. That’s more of a jumping off point that captures Nargle’s peculiar fame. He’s a big fish in a small pond and, in an entertainingly understated way, sort of a prima donna as the station’s lone star.

Nargle is accustomed to his well-worn fame, and he’s conspicuously not changed in years. He drives a brightly colored custom van equipped with a CB radio and sofa bed in back. He smokes a pipe, dines at a fondue restaurant, and seems oblivious to the arrival of technology as recent as smartphones and as ancient as telephone answering machines.

The soundtrack underscores the time capsule with songs from the 1970s by John Denver and Gordon Lightfoot.

Ambrosia is the face of a new generation. Broadway and TV star

PHOTO PROVIDED BY IFC FILMS

Ciara Renee has a huge smile, and Ambrosia delights in impulse and artistic freedom. She adds surreal imagery to her paintings, though that can be hard for some older viewers to embrace.

Nargle is accustomed to staff attending to his whims and fawning over him. He’s dated several of the women at the station, and a new young staffer, Jenna (Lucy Freyer), is the latest to swoon at the chance to become his muse.

But “Paint” isn’t about Nargle as a quick-painting Casanova. His small-denomination fame and comfort seem to have distracted him. As much as the paintings, the competition for attention makes him re-evaluate his stature.

Director Brit McAdams sticks to a patient pace that reflects Nargle’s tranquil canvases and the small town’s polite mores. But he doesn’t confine the story to a postcard image of Vermont’s leaves changing colors. There’s plenty bubbling under the surface, and the film gets a lot of mileage out of abrupt revelations, innuendo and modernity crashing in on Nargle. The contemplation of what constitutes art is sweet and nicely rendered.

As in many of his roles in Wes Anderson movies, Wilson may be typecast as a man suddenly forced to confront his limitations and delusions, but he’s perfect for the job. A couple of other roles would have benefited from more development, especially Ambrosia. She could be more deeply considered, and Renee is certainly capable of doing much more with it.

The almost-over-the-top ’70s references are fun, but “Paint” is a sweet comedy about taking a fresh look at what’s been sitting in plain view all along.

“Paint” opens April 7 at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.

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55 Series-ending abbr.

56 “Yes, Yvette” 57 “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” poet 62 Jeff Bridges sci-fi film 65 Glockenspiel relative 66 Frosty film 67 Planet’s path 68 Trying Jenny Craig, e.g.

70 Stands up 71 Midday time 72 Treaty result 74 Impacts 77 Apt retail establishment for 57-Across to own?

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83 Moose kin 84 These, in Spain 85 Alternative to laser tag 88 — buco 89 Apt item for 44-Across to keep files in?

92 Chief Cochise, e.g.

95 Garlic mayo 97 Principal 98 Apt business for 33-Across to have on the stock exchange?

101 Mimicking a crow’s cry 105 Sci-fi princess 106 Alias letters 107 Pal, to Yves 110 Former chief justice Roger 111 Carrier based in Tehran 114 Apt ingredient for 23-Across to make a jiggly dessert?

119 Guevara called “Che” 120 Exhibit A, say 121 Assistant 122 Court period 123 Like the Zax and the Lorax 124 Gleeful cries DOWN 1 Less refined 2 Au courant 3 Top medals 4 Valved brass instrument 5 Make a gaffe 6 California wine valley 7 Have — with (be favored by) 8 Lady’s title 9 Assn.

10 “Norma —” 11 Writer Umberto 12 IHOP competitor 13 Prefix with -lithic or -zoic 14 — -lacto vegetarian 15 “Wham!”

16 From which a name is taken 17 Reebok rival 18 Made over 19 Au courant 24 Tourist destination that’s “green” 29 Golf rarity

T LIS

GARDEN DISTRICT OFFICE 2016, 2017 & 2020

ABR, CRS, GRI, SFR, SRS

32 Ho-humness 75 Many a monk 34 Cruel Amin 76 Some unofficial 35 Many an heir sci-fi stories 36 Pan Am rival 78 Two-gender pronoun 37 Travel origin, generically 79 Prefix with center 38 Virtual money 82 Camera variety, briefly 40 “— vincit amor” 86 Swiss mount 41 Heavy drinker 87 Bowled over 44 Bar brew 88 Gas ratings 45 “It’s go time!”

89 Floor cleaner 46 Almanac, in large part 90 Styled after 47 Ship’s diary 91 Writer Anaïs 48 Trent of Mississippi 92 Partners 50 Slushy drink 93 Capital of South Dakota 51 — Rica 94 Laotians and Thais 52 Accessory near a mouse 95 Just dandy 53 Real estate transaction 96 Likenesses 54 Individuals 99 Leslie of “Lili” 58 “It’s too hard for me” 100 “The Deep” 59 Brought on director Peter 60 More crafty 102 Delhi’s land 61 Comic Idle 103 Very poor 63 “— I a stinker?”

104 Whirls around 64 “I’d rather — there” 108 Short skirt (“That topic is off limits”) 109 Old Peruvian 67 A while ago 112 “Do — say!”

69 Loch — 113 Skater Midori 70 Ketchup ingredient 115 Adam and — 72 Belittled, informally 116 Actress Lucy 73 Study of insects, 117 TV pitches informally 118 Signing tool

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 26

PUZZLES

30 Japanese wheat pasta 31 Filmed again 33 American Ballet Theatre principal dancer beginning in 2015 39 Double Stuf cookies 42 Look for water with a divining rod 43 “Juno and the Paycock” playwright Sean 44 He played Otto Octavius in “Spider-Man 2” 48 Truth bender 49 Shifts body weight against 50 Pics to click 52 Which person

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