Gambit July 7,2020

July 7-13, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 25

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The Museum is now open again to the public and our priority remains the health and safety of visitors and the entire Museum family.

We are currently operating at reduced capacity while enacting new safety measures, including advance online ticket purchases, social distancing guidelines throughout pavilions and galleries, and enhanced sanitizing and cleaning protocols.

To help further ensure public safety and to avoid crowds, timed ticket purchases will be required. Spots are limited for each time so book your tickets online in advance to guarantee yours! We are requiring the use of face coverings for all staff, volunteers, and visitors. Free masks will be available at the Museum entrance if you do not have one.

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CONTENTS

JULY 7-13, 2020 VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 25

HAVE A HEART FOR VOLUNTEERING?

NEWS

CALL US AT CANON HOSPICE & AKULA FOUNDATION

OPENING GAMBIT

WE NEED YOU!

6

COMMENTARY 8 BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 9

FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5

Call Brenah at 504-881-0545 • 24/7 Grief Hotline 504-418-0791

EAT + DRINK

Beautiful Blooms on a Budget

13

MUSIC 21 GOING OUT

22

PUZZLES 23

EXCHANGE 22

@The_Gambit

ROSES $8 / DOZEN CASH & CARRY

@gambitneworleans @GambitNewOrleans

Slide Summer

10

PRESUMED INNOCENT? City Council President Jason Williams prepares to run for DA while under federal indictment.

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INTO

STAFF

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS FOSTER

EDITORIAL

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Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO

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Staff Writers | JAKE CLAPP, SARAH RAVITS

Senior Sales Representative

Contributing Writers | IAN MCNULTY

PRODUCTION Creative Services Director | DORA SISON Pre-Press Coordinator | JASON WHITTAKER Web & Classifieds Designer | MARIA BOUÉ Graphic Designers | CATHERINE FLOTTE, TIANA WATTS

JULY 9-12

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2020 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Adult time out

Online Borders SOUL, FUNK AND R&B SINGER MIA BORDERS has revisited past albums in recent livestream performances. She streams another show at 6 p.m. Tuesday on her Facebook page (www.facebook. com/miabordersmusic), also available via The Fillmore New Orleans’ Facebook page’s (www.facebook.com/thefillmorenola) events.

Tank and the Bangas stay busy during the age of physical distancing

BY JAKE CLAPP IN JANUARY, TANK AND THE BANGAS INVITED A SMALL CROWD of their

friends to Marigny Studios to record their take on “What the World Needs Now is Love.”

PJ Morton, Anjelika Joseph, Maggie Koerner, Sweet Crude’s Alexis Marceaux and Sam Craft, Sha’Condria Sibley and Rahim Glaspy are among the 20 or so performers who take turns with phrases or help with group vocals. It’s a warm rendition of the song with a touching, affectionate video.

“It just turned out to be so special,” says singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball. “And if the video looks special, it’s because it was special. I mean, everybody cried almost every couple of minutes. You can tell it was pre-corona because everybody was hugging and touching each other so much.”

Yahoo commissioned the song and video months ago — Ball credits drummer Josh Johnson for the idea to ask their friends for some help — but the June 15 release felt well-timed amid the nationwide movement against racism and police brutality and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With the video release, Tank and the Bangas made a call to support the Black Lives Matter Global Network and the Equal Justice Initiative.

The group wanted “to get that mix of beautiful voices,” Ball says. “You want to get that mix of good energy and you want to definitely make sure that you’re reaching out to different ethnicities of New Orleans artists, so that everybody could truly know that love doesn’t come from a certain country or a certain background.

That love really is a universal thing, just as music is.”

“What the World Needs Now” is just one of the more recent things Tank and the Bangas has been up to during the pandemic months.

The band started live-streaming its own small performances soon after the stay-at-home order was put into place and has taken part in numerous virtual festivals, including the

Southern style

504LIFE telethon, Band Together, the national Justice Comes Alive festival and the first weekend of the virtual Essence Festival of Culture.

In late March, NPR Music posted a new Tiny Desk (Home) Concert with Ball; the next month, SaxKixAve — a new collaboration between Bangas sax player Albert Allenback and emcee Alfred Banks — released its debut EP; the Bangas in May released a new single, “For Andre,” a love letter from Ball to Andre 3000 timed with the hip-hop icon’s birthday; and just last week, Fantastic Negrito (another NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner) released his song “I’m So Happy I Cry,” a collaboration with Ball.

Tank and the Bangas kick off a drive-in style music series at the UNO Lakefront Arena on Friday, July 10 — Galactic will perform July 17 and The Revivalists perform July 24. The series is sold out.

“We’re the type of band that’s toured so much, so this adult time out was needed for us to literally get some projects in order, to do some things that we’ve always wanted to do and just to kind of reprogram our systems,” Ball says. “We really needed it, and we’ve been making so much music in our time off together.”

The touring, of course, has stopped during the pandemic, but “if anything, work has been more than usual” because of the band’s positivity and motivation, Ball says. Event and program organizers are “looking

P R OV I D E D B Y G U S B E N N E T T J R .

Tank and the Bangas

for people like that to help push certain initiatives forward, whether that be me writing a poem about how the coronavirus is affecting people and my people, and what’s going on in the frontlines of equality and equal justice. Promoting music, love, togetherness, all of that, we’ve always been those people.”

The move to small live-streaming shows and recording segments for online festivals felt easy for Tank and the Bangas — the group went viral with its stripped-down Tiny Desk Contest submission after all — but “it’s not something I want to do forever. I really love live shows and experiences.”

Ball says one thing she hopes people will realize from this era is the important role musicians and artists — many of them unemployed and struggling from lost work — have played while people have stayed home and that they need support.

“The first people that was back on [Frenchmen Street] was the brass band, and I saw people coming from everywhere, just coming outside — standing 6 feet apart, of course — but standing outside, enjoying this music and feeling alive and feeling like there is hope. I saw who was in charge of bringing the culture back, and it is the musicians.”

THE SOUTHERN FOOD & BEVERAGE MUSEUM REOPENS TUESDAY. It’s been home to food pop-ups by chef Serigne Mbaye in recent weeks, and founder Liz Williams has been talking about food topics on the Tip of the Tongue podcast. The museum’s reopen hours are 1:30 p.m.5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment on weekends. Visit www.natfab.org for info.

Bounce back BOUNCE STAR BIG FREEDIA HAS POSTED WEEKLY HOMEGROWN COOKING SHOWS on her website and social media pages during the pandemic. Freedia is cooking for live and online audiences on Thursday nights through the end of July. Guests at the New Orleans Botanical Garden’s Kitchen in the Garden get a cocktail hour meet-and-greet, a cocktail in a souvenir cup and a three-course meal prepared by Freedia and staff. A cash bar also is available. Tickets are $75 per person (available on Eventbrite.com). The cocktail hour starts at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Spill the wine SAN FERMIN IN NUEVA ORLEANS IS KEEPING THE ROLLER BULLS IN THE PEN THIS YEAR and going with a make-your-own-sangria virtual party via Zoom. Pope Andrew, aka Andrew Ward, will deliver the convocation and there will be guest performers and check-ins from remote locations.

Visit www.nolabulls.com for information. The party is at 9:30 a.m. July 11.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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OPENING GAMBIT N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

+

V I E W S

Louisiana abortion rights advocates claim a cautious victory

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

.2% The percentage that Louisiana has reduced its prison population during the pandemic.

Jose Torres, an immigrant from El Salvador who found sanctuary in a Mid-City church, can remain in the United States. Torres was facing deportation in 2017 when he sought shelter at First Grace United Methodist Church for eight months, gaining local support and national headlines.

Torres, who has a wife and two daughters here, has been granted a special visa for survivors of labor trafficking, which also gives him a path to citizenship.

P H OTO B Y B I L L C H I Z E K / G E T T Y I M AG E S

Beyonce gave Stella Jones Gal-

lery recognition on Juneteenth in a national directory of Blackowned businesses hosted on the performer’s website. The gallery at 201 St. Charles Ave. has been receiving “calls out of the blue” after being featured in the directory, owner Dr. Stella Jones said to WDSU. Beyonce rolled out the “Black Parade Route” directory (www.beyonce.com/black-parade-route) with the release of her latest single, “Black Parade.”

Sewerage & Water Board

has not adequately explained why it denied multiple requests to turn on more pumps in Gentilly during a storm on June 10 that flooded that area. Operators of Drainage Pump Station 4 made four requests across an hour to turn on one of its main pumps after another pump had failed. It wasn’t until the middle of the storm that they were given permission.

The front of the U.S Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., where justices recently overturned a Louisiana law restricting abortion access.

U.S. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN RESTRICTIVE ABORTION LAW THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, IN A 5-4 RULING on June 29, struck

down a Louisiana law that would have placed strict limitations on a dwindling population of abortion providers and forced two of the state’s three abortion clinics to shut down. While celebrating the decision, abortion rights advocates say their work is far from over.

State lawmakers approved Act 620 of 2014 by state Sen. Katrina Jackson (D-Monroe), and then-Gov. Bobby Jindal signed it into law. It never took effect, however, because of ensuing legal battles in federal district and appeals courts.

The law required physicians who perform or induce abortions to have admitting privileges — an agreement between a doctor and a hospital that allows a doctor’s patient to go there if they need urgent care — within 30 miles from the location where the abortion takes place.

Many hospitals in the state are religiously affiliated and don’t allow abortions at their facilities, which limits the number of doctors who can carry out the procedure. And because of the difficulty in acquiring admitting privileges, the state would have been left with just “one clinic with one provider to serve the 10,000 women annually who seek abortions,” as noted in the Supreme Court case, known as June Medical Services v. Russo.

Proponents of the law said it was designed to make abortions safer. But the American Medical Association, American Public Health Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all have argued that the admitting-privileges requirement is not necessary because abortion is a safe PAGE 7

In April, the Department of Corrections formed a review panel to decide if about 1,100 nonviolent, non-sex offender inmates could be granted early release to help mitigate vulnerability to COVID-19.

The Advocate reported June 30 that officials reviewed roughly 600 cases before suspending the program, during which 63 prisoners received approval for release. That represents about 5% of the population deemed eligible, 11% of the population that was reviewed and just .2% of the state’s overall prison population. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the country.

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OPENING GAMBIT procedure, and complications and hospitalizations stemming from it are rare.

Melanie A. Linton, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, called it an attempt to “decimate abortion access and keep essential health care out-of-reach for those who need it most.”

Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion, which held that the requirement does not provide any real health benefits for women, while at the same time rendering it impossible for abortion providers to get admitting privileges “for reasons that have nothing to do with the state’s asserted interests in promoting women’s health and safety.”

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Breyer. Chief Justice John G. Roberts voted with the high court’s four-member liberal wing but did not agree with their reasoning. Instead, he said respect for precedent compelled his decision. The court in 2016 overturned a nearly identical law passed in Texas after it heard arguments for and against Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights , which litigated the Louisiana case as well as the one in Texas, said the decision is a “big win that vindicates what we’ve said all along, which is that the Louisiana admitting privileges law is unconstitutional.”

But Northup also said that without a clear majority opinion, the waters could be muddied when “clarity is needed to protect abortion rights” in future cases.

“The fact that we had to fight so hard again goes to show that nothing should be taken for granted when it comes to protecting abortion rights,” she said.

Sen. Jackson, who identifies as a pro-life Democrat, expressed her dismay over the ruling and said that “unelected justices have substituted their policy preferences over the clear will of the people.”

The president of the nonprofit Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Alexis McGill Johnson, issued a statement calling the court’s decision a “relief,” and said the fight for women’s reproductive rights will continue.

“While today is a victory for Louisianans, we must remember that we are in a world where politicians have pushed basic health care almost out of reach for millions of Americans,” she said.

“Your ability to access abortion is still determined by where you live, how much money you make, and in this country that effectively also means the color of your skin,” she added. “We need more access to health care — not less. We will not let politicians interfere with our ability to control our own bodies, lives and futures.”

The Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom also points to a number of restrictions still in place. Waiting periods that necessitate multiple clinic appointments, mandatory ultrasounds and required counseling “are unnecessary burdens placed on people seeking abortion care,” the organization said.

State Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat who has criticized the law, said it was “total nonsense” and that the law would harm, not help women.

“This has nothing to do with pro-

tecting women,” Landry said. “It’s a lie. If [politicians] wanted to protect women and girls, they’d let them seek out the care they need.”

Landry also said anti-abortion lawmakers who claim they are “pro-life” should examine why Louisiana has the second-highest maternal mortality rate — which disproportionately affects Black women. “But they don’t seem to be worried about that,” she said.

The need for abortion in Louisiana, she added, is “interconnected” with the need to improve education, raise the minimum wage and reduce incarceration.

And with the COVID-19 pandemic still spreading and causing thousands of job losses, Landry noted that it’s a particularly difficult time for women to deal with unplanned pregnancies.

“Women seek out abortion care for family and economic reasons,” she said. “It’s dangerous to have a kid in Louisiana.”

Had the Supreme Court arrived at a different decision, said Landry, “it would have hurt pregnant people throughout our entire country.”

— SARAH RAVITS

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COMMENTARY

E R AT E D .

F A M I LY O P

ned.

F a m i ly O w

Cantrell should bring Metro, strikers to the table

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SINCE EARLY MAY, A LABOR DISPUTE BETWEEN STRIKING HOPPERS AND METRO SERVICE GROUP has threat-

ened to disrupt sanitation services across large swaths of New Orleans.

The hoppers are employees of PeopleReady, a labor staffing contractor that provides workers to Metro and many other area companies.

The strikers and Metro have several areas of disagreement — including differences over the fundamental facts relating to the strike.

From its inception, the strike has played out over social media and, more recently, in the local news media. Frankly, it’s difficult to tell which side has the facts to support its case. We do feel, however, that the dispute has reached a point at which it’s appropriate for City Hall — in particular Mayor LaToya Cantrell — to get directly involved.

We’re not asking the mayor to pick a side. Her duty is to the citizens of New Orleans who pay taxes and fees to have their garbage picked up regularly and on time. As mayor, Cantrell appoints the director of the city Sanitation Department, which contracts with Metro and other local companies to provide trash pickup.

She has a political stake — and a responsibility, in our view — to help resolve this matter because it affects more than 66,000 homes in New Orleans East, Gentilly, the Lower Ninth Ward and Lakeview.

As someone whose politics are grounded in neighborhoods, Cantrell also has the moral authority to bring both sides to the table and push for a resolution. She can demand proof of the assertions made by each side — and press the case of citizens who simply want to see a vital service continue uninterrupted.

P H OTO B Y MA X BECHERER

Sanitation workers gather outside of the Metro Service Group office in May.

We recognize that the mayor already has a lot on her plate, particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we hope she will make an effort to press both sides of this dispute for a speedy resolution. She alone has the standing to command both sides’ attention.

VOTE THIS SATURDAY! This Saturday, July 11, is Election Day across Louisiana, though it’s difficult to tell by the lack of campaigning. It was never supposed to be this way.

The election is actually the postponed spring presidential preference primary for Democratic and Republican candidates for the White House.

That election was initially set for April, but it was delayed — twice — by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also on the ballot are elections for the local and state Democratic and Republican party governing bodies.

Those party races are “closed.”

They are limited to voters registered as Democrats or Republicans. However, another race on the ballot in New Orleans is open to all city voters: the special election for judge of First City Court. This is a very important election because First City Court has jurisdiction over evictions, which are spiking in the wake of the economic fallout from the COVID pandemic. We hope voters will wear masks, practice physical distancing, and turn out in large numbers this Saturday.

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BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™ Hey Blake, I’m glad to see the Circle Food Store back in business. In addition to the Circle name on the outside of the building, it also has lettering that says “St. Bernard Market.” Can you explain?

Dear reader,

While the Circle Food Store has been a landmark at St. Bernard and North Claiborne avenues since the 1930s, it was built on a spot where a public market served the 7th Ward and Treme neighborhoods nearly a century before that.

The St. Bernard Market opened there in 1854, as one of three dozen public markets operated by the city at the time. According to a Times-Picayune story by Ian McNulty, one of the market’s produce vendors, Herbert Gabriel, eventually bought out his fellow vendors and consolidated the market as a full-service grocery store. The distinctive Spanish mission-style building that sits on the site today was designed in 1931 by architect Sam Stone Jr. It opened as Circle Food Store in 1938.

The store took its name from the traffic circle that used to exist at the intersection. In addition to

$

24 - $34

P H OTO B Y DAV I D G R U N F E L D

This side of the Circle Food Market bears one of the space’s former names, St. Bernard Market.

@ gaetanasnola shop with us on instagram & facebook

selling groceries, the store had a wide range of products and offered the services of a pharmacy, doctor, dentist and chiropractor.

The store was one of the most prominent of the many Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood, which drastically changed with construction of Interstate 10 above Claiborne Avenue in the 1960s.

In the 1990s, the Boudreaux family bought the store, which in 2005 was inundated by Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters. The store reopened in 2014 but closed in 2018.

Last year, developer Sidney Torres IV and a partner, Rick El-Jaouhari, bought the property at a foreclosure auction for $1.7 million. They spent another $1.2 million to reopen it as Circle Food Market in February.

BLAKEVIEW THIS MONTH MARKS WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE 80TH BIRTHDAY of Paul Prudhomme, the superstar chef and restaurateur who brought new life to Cajun cuisine and popularized it around the world.

Prudhomme was born on July 13, 1940, the youngest of 13 children who grew up on a farm near Opelousas, Louisiana. He developed a love for cooking while helping prepare family meals.

Prudhomme came to New Orleans in the 1960s and became executive chef at Commander’s Palace in 1975. There, under the supervision of Ella and Dick Brennan, Prudhomme earned local and national praise for his cooking.

In 1979, he and his wife Kay opened K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter. The tiny Chartres Street eatery was a near-overnight sensation, earning the attention of food writers nationwide. Described by The New York Times as a “bear of a man” who once weighed 500 pounds, Prudhomme’s joyful personality also made him a “walking advertisement for the joys of Cajun cuisine,” the newspaper wrote. He became a national celebrity, making TV appearances, writing nine cookbooks and hosting five PBS cooking series, produced locally by WYES-TV. At K-Paul’s, Prudhomme introduced blackened redfish, setting off a nationwide craze which made the fish so popular it threatened the species. Prudhomme also is credited with introducing the turducken, now a mainstay.

After requests from diners for samples of the spices used in his cooking, Prudhomme established Magic Seasoning Blends in 1982. The company manufactures and distributes a line of spice blends in all 50 states and 37 countries.

Prudhomme died in 2015. His restaurant remains a French Quarter fixture and his spice products are popular sellers.

THE JULY BIRTHSTONE

RUBY

CHRISTMAS IN JULY!

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PRESUMED CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT JASON WILLIAMS TAKES ON DISTRICT ATTORNEY LEON CANNIZZARO AND FEDERAL TAX FRAUD CHARGES. IN THESE STRANGE TIMES, IS HE ASKING TOO MUCH?

BY CLANCY DUBOS

P H O T O B Y B R E T T D U K E N O L A . C O M | T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams listens to public comment during a New Orleans City Council meeting.

THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE in a court of law is a cornerstone of American justice. But does that presumption matter in the court of public opinion when a candidate for major political office stands accused of federal crimes?

New Orleans City Council President Jason Williams, the only announced candidate for Orleans Parish district attorney in the Nov. 3 primary, is about to find out.

Williams, who officially announced his candidacy in March (after blurting it out at a film screening in October 2018), must face city voters and rival candidates for DA — including, presumably, incumbent Leon Cannizzaro — while also facing an 11-count federal indictment for conspiracy, tax fraud and failure to file required IRS forms regarding cash transactions in excess of $10,000.

The indictment alleges that Williams, who practices criminal defense law, improperly wrote off more than $700,000 in personal expenses as “business expenses” on his tax returns from 2013 through 2017, thereby reducing his cumulative tax liability by more than $200,000.

The charges collectively carry a maximum sentence of 45 years, though it’s highly unlikely Williams would get anywhere near that much time even if convicted on all counts. He vows to fight the charges and run for DA. Still, the prospect of a new district attorney landing in prison casts a pall over Williams’ campaign as well as his current status as council president and chair of the council’s criminal justice committee. The committee chairmanship has given Williams a bully pulpit to rail against Cannizzaro’s controversial — and increasingly unpopular — tough-on-crime policies.

Now, the tables are turned. Williams himself has become a political target.

“It’s a major distraction, professionally and personally, for a candidate to run while under indictment,” said pollster and Xavier University professor Silas Lee, who has polled for local as well as national candidates since the 1980s. “You can’t get around the fact that voters will be talking about it during the campaign. … Even if he wins, this is still hanging over his head.”

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The Orleans Parish DA’s race is already strange, even by Louisiana standards. As of three weeks before qualifying opens for one of the most powerful political offices in town, only one candidate had officially announced his candidacy — Williams — and he’s under federal indictment.

Williams’ indictment, the COVID-19 pandemic, voters’ heightened skepticism toward officialdom, and widespread protests against police abuse and racism combine to make this a volatile political season.

In addition to Williams, at least two others are presumed to be running for DA — Cannizzaro, who has major political problems of his own; and former Criminal Court Judge Arthur Hunter, who retired from the bench in February. Hunter is expected to announce his candidacy before the three-day qualifying period begins July 22. Cannizzaro has given no clues as to whether he’ll seek a third term.

In the wake of Williams’ indictment, which landed like a bombshell on June 26, at least two more names have surfaced: former state Sen. JP Morrell, who led the charge for recent criminal justice reforms in the Legislature; and Criminal Court Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson, who earned high marks while serving as interim DA from 2007 till she won her judgeship in 2008.

That list will grow if Cannizzaro announces he’s not running. As of press time, the two-term DA was still mulling his options.

Even before his off-the-cuff announcement in October 2018, Williams positioned himself to run against Cannizzaro. He and the DA exchanged barbs during contentious budget hearings, and he was among the loudest local officials condemning the DA’s use of “fake subpoenas” as well as the DA’s policy of arresting “material witnesses” to compel their appearances in court.

Voters seemed to agree with Williams’ position. While no polls pitting the two men against each other have surfaced, the biennial UNO Quality of Life survey in 2018 showed Cannizzaro’s standing among voters had plummeted after revelations about the fake subpoenas and material witness arrest policy.

The DA’s approval rating fell from a high of 55% in October 2016 to just 42% in October 2018.

Cannizzaro’s disapproval rating, meanwhile, rose from 31% in 2016 to 44% in 2018 — giving him a net negative job rating in 2018. A former trial court and appellate judge, Cannizzaro consistently won elections with significant support among Black voters. The fake

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Strange race, strange times

P H OTO B Y S A R A H R AV I T S

City Council president Jason Williams addressed a crowd protesting the city’s response to the Hard Rock Hotel collapse in January 2020.

subpoenas and material witness arrest scandals ended that. Going into this political season, the DA looked eminently beatable.

Now, it appears, so does Williams.

When news broke on June 3 that Williams was under federal investigation, the councilman tried to deflect attention toward Cannizzaro by accusing the DA of triggering the federal probe — and by blaming his tax preparer for filing discrepancies.

Cannizzaro scoffed at the idea that a local prosecutor could control the course of a federal tax investigation, and the indictment makes it plain that Williams’ tax preparer is cooperating with the feds.

Doubling down Immediately after the indictment, Williams doubled down in a fundraising email, stating, “I have boldly proclaimed war with an unfair and broken criminal legal system. And I knew that would come with risks.”

The email blasts Cannizzaro and his “inner circle” for the fake subpoenas, for arresting material witnesses, and for interfering in the last mayoral election. In that election, Cannizzaro backed former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet and referred a criminal complaint to the state Attorney General’s office regarding thenCouncilmember LaToya Cantrell’s alleged misuse of a city credit card.

No charges were brought against Cantrell, who went on to win the mayor’s race.

“Now he and that same inner circle have used that same power and influence to come after me in an effort to scare me away from running for district attorney and interfere with yet another election,” Williams’ email states. He adds, later, “I want you to know directly from me that I am not backing down. I will continue to serve the people of New Orleans as a City Councilman and I will be the very first person to qualify for district attorney.”

Cannizzaro responded in kind, saying in a statement that Williams’ legal troubles “are strictly of his own making.”

“Blaming others for his criminal charges, or arrogantly seeking to fundraise off them, are but desperate attempts to divert attention from an 11-count indictment that details a compelling case against a corrupt politician,” Cannizzaro’s statement continued. “It tells of someone who allegedly derives a large portion of his income from taxpayers, even as he conspires to falsify documents and defraud the United States of his fair share of federal tax liability.

This is a serious criminal matter, one which could result in a federal prison sentence and the loss of his law license.”

In contrast to Williams and Cannizzaro, Hunter offered a terse “no comment” on the councilman’s legal troubles. Hunter, who earned his law degree while a New Orleans policeman, served 23 years on the Criminal Court bench.

Jacques Morial, a campaign advisor to Hunter, said this year’s contest for DA “is going to be a different kind of race. It will be difficult to raise money

P H OTO B Y I R V I N G J O H N S O N I I I

Pollster and Xavier University professor Silas Lee

“It’s a major distraction, professionally and personally, for a candidate to run while under indictment.”

— POLLSTER SILAS LEE

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PRE SUMED INNOCENT ?

“Blaming others for his criminal charges, or arrogantly seeking to fundraise off them, are but desperate attempts to divert attention from an 11-count indictment that details a compelling case against a corrupt politician.”

— DISTRICT ATTORNEY LEON CANNIZZARO

because people have less to give.

Plus, candidates can’t do events because of COVID-19. Candidates can’t even go stand on corners and shake hundreds of hands. They will have to devise ways of effectively campaigning in the COVID era.”

Former UNO political science professor Ed Chervenak, who directed the UNO surveys, said Williams’ indictment “motivates someone else to run.”

“Williams is weakened,” Chervenak said. “When you run for office you have to put your hand out and ask for money. Something like this will make people pause. … Meanwhile, Cannizzaro was under water in the last UNO poll. This indictment gives an opening to Hunter and anyone else who might run.”

As a sitting judge, LandrumJohnson is barred by the Canon of Judicial Ethics from commenting on political matters. She likewise is barred by the Louisiana Constitution from announcing her candidacy for any non-judicial office without first resigning her judgeship. LandrumJohnson faces a politically existential choice: her judgeship, like the DA’s office, is up for grabs on Nov. 3. She also is said to be more interested in a federal judgeship.

Morrell, a former public defender and author of the landmark constitutional amendment ending non-unanimous jury verdicts in Louisiana, said he has “gotten a lot of

P H OTO B Y S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro

calls from community leaders across the spectrum, encouraging me to take a look at the race.”

Like Hunter, Morrell did not comment on Williams’ indictment — but he did fire a shot at Cannizzaro.

“We need new leadership in the Orleans District Attorney’s office,” he said in a statement to Gambit. “We need an experienced district attorney who values social justice as well as the rule of law.”

As Morial noted, this will be a different kind of election because of COVID-19 and other factors. Still, money matters — and on that score Cannizzaro has a decided edge if he opts to run.

The DA’s latest campaign finance report, which covers all of 2019, showed him with more than $300,000 on hand. Williams and Hunter filed reports covering the period through April 27. Williams’ campaign account had less than $67,000, and Hunter’s had just over $50,000. Morrell had less than $200 at the end of last year — and Landrum-Johnson had zero as of late May.

Council conundrum

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y N V I S I O N S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S & C O N S U LT I N G

P H OTO B Y B E R N I E S A U L / P R OV I D E D B Y ARTHUR HUNTER

Criminal Court Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson

Former Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter

In addition to handling the indictment and difficulties on the campaign trail, Williams also must conduct a difficult balancing act as City Council president and chair of the council’s criminal justice committee.

In both capacities, he has grabbed the council’s reins in speaking out about police abuse, Black Lives Matter, building accountability into the district attorney’s budget and criminal justice reform. How does he continue to do that with a requisite measure of moral authority while accused of tax fraud?

Council members have another conundrum in District D Councilman Jared Brossett, who was arrested on

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y J P M O R R E L L

Former state Senator JP Morrell says new leadership is needed in the DA’s office.

DUI charges June 14 after crashing his city car into another vehicle.

Brossett made a public apology and promised to seek treatment, but he showed up for public meetings less than two weeks later.

Both Williams and Brossett attended the council’s July 2 meeting. Publicly, the meeting proceeded as usual, but behind the scenes the indictment was a distraction.

“The timing of this could not be worse,” District B Councilman Jay Banks told Gambit on June 29.

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and the fact that we are finally in a position to work on the systemic racism in this country, to have real discussion about how to make positive changes, this is a distraction that we don’t need. I wish that neither of my colleagues was in this position … but it’s going to be a distraction against us doing some good things about racial disparity.”

Lee, who polled for Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry after the mayor was caught on video smoking crack, said Barry survived that scandal because he “asked for forgiveness, demonstrated contrition, and had strong political capital that he had built up over decades.”

Can Williams do that?

“Voters can be forgiving,” Lee said, “but this is a different political environment. Right now people have survival anxiety — they’re facing economic and health insecurities with COVID. The social safety net has been removed, and because of that they are very critical of government and political leaders. There’s a high level of cynicism right now.

“How that cuts with Williams is anybody’s guess. We’ll see how forgiving people are.”

Tropical tastes

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Magazine Mediterranean SAJ, A NEW MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT, opened July 1 at 4126

Magazine St., a space formerly occupied by Mona’s Cafe.

The menu includes small plates of hummus, baba ghanoush, muham-

Queen Trini Lisa serves Trinidadian food at Portside Lounge

BY B E T H D ’A D D O N O OF ALL THE ISLAND-KISSED HOMESTYLE FOOD Lisa “Queen Trini”

Nelson makes — now at the kitchen of the reopened Portside Lounge — she’s especially proud of her doubles.

“Doubles is a kind of street food that you buy in town,” she says. “You don’t really make it at home.”

Nelson taught herself how to make the spongey turmeric flatbread that encases stewed curried chickpeas with notes of coriander and tamarind.

“I couldn’t get anybody to share the real recipe, so I kept working on it until it tasted right,” she says.

Nelson draws from her Trinidadian roots to serve “Trinbagonian” (a word that incorporates Trinidad’s sister island Tobago) island soul food in what is sometimes called the northernmost Caribbean city. From oxtail soup and jerk shrimp to rice and peas, she cooks the flavors from her childhood, often using the recipes she learned in her mother’s kitchen.

She took over the kitchen at the tiki-themed Portside Lounge in early March, two weeks before the city shut down due to the pandemic. While the bar was closed, she was tapped by the Krewe of Red Beans’ Feed the Frontline NOLA program to provide catered meals to health care workers, and she branched out with food delivery apps to stay busy. Recent takeout meals from Portside have featured meals like a coco bread fish sandwich with Caribbean-style spinach on the side and a cup of hibiscus tea.

A self-taught chef, Nelson, 43, first started selling clamshell containers full of jerk chicken, curried chicken and Caribbean-style spinach out of a Bywater corner store that she ran with a partner on St. Claude Avenue in 2016.

“I was working long hours and

P H OTO B Y W I LL C OV I E LLO

Saj is a new Mediterranean restaurant at 4126 Magazine St.

started seeing my kids eating unhealthy food, so I cooked meals for them at the store,” she says.

It wasn’t long before customers started asking about the aromas emanating from the tiny kitchen. When Nelson gave them a taste, they’d often want to buy a plate of food.

“One day I sold all the food I made for my family, so I started cooking on the weekends, then five days a week,” she says.

Her food drew a loyal following and media attention. But problems with the rented space, a robbery and some financial bumps in the road closed her down in 2017. Nelson then started catering, working festivals and popping up at places including Portside Lounge for West Indian Wednesdays as well as stints at The Drifter, The Domino and The Revolution on Thalia Street.

Pop-ups are fun for customers, but can be exhausting for chefs, with all the hauling, set up and breaking down that’s entailed. She was offered a spot in the now-shuttered Roux Carre business incubator space on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, a food stall hub that included Johnny’s Jamaican Grill. “That’s where I created my barbecued jerk chicken,” Nelson says. “I wanted it to be differ-

P H OTO B Y C H E R YL G E R B E R

Lisa “Queen Trini” Nelson serves a coco bread fish sandwich, barbecued jerk chicken and doubles at Portside Lounge.

ent from the jerk he was making.”

Her business blossomed but Roux Carre, created by the nonprofit Good Work Network to assist female- and minority-operated start-ups, closed in December 2018.

Nelson adopted the Queen Trini moniker as a catchy way to note her Trinidad roots and stand out from the crowd. Soft spoken and warm, she says she’s not a “queen” type of personality, “But people remember it and that’s what matters on social media.”

Nelson is excited about the new start at Portside and doing what she loves, bringing the food of her multicultural home to her adopted home of New Orleans.

“We’re a blend of cultures, ethnicities, people and spices,” she says.

“Our pelou is close to jambalaya, our rice and peas like red beans and rice here. I feel at home here. And I’ll just keep pushing through.”

?

WHAT Queen Trini Lisa

WHERE Portside Lounge 3000 Dryades St. (504) 503-0990; www.portsidenola.com

WHEN 4 p.m.-10 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday

CHECK IT OUT Trinidadian-inspired cuisine

mara dip, eggplant tapenade, falafel, beetroot tahini, vegetarian dolmas and cucumber with yogurt and dill.

A section of grilled items features lamb kebabs, Lebanese sausage, gyro meat, shrimp, fish and chicken shawarma. There also are wraps, salads, fried Halloumi cheese and jebna, a house-made cheese with olives, basil, thyme and sumac.

For dessert, there’s tiramisu and baklava with orange blossom ice cream. Beverages include sparkling and frozen fruit drinks, iced teas and Turkish coffee.

Saj is open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily. — WILL COVIELLO

Surrendering Dixie ON SUNDAY, JUNE 28, two days after

New Orleans learned the name Dixie Beer soon will go away, visitors to the gleaming Dixie brewery (3501 Jourdan Road, 504-867-4000; www.dixiebeer.com) in New Orleans East were drinking its brews like the beer was going out of style.

The Dixie label will continue for at least a few more months. For Dixie general manager Jim Birch, the main goal is ensuring the new brewery built beneath the Dixie name will be making New Orleans beer for a long time to come.

The first steps are taking shape as the company absorbs waves of support and backlash for the name change decision Dixie owner Gayle Benson announced on June 26.

“What we want people to know is that we’re retiring a brand, not re-writing history,” Birch says. “We’ll continue to tell the story of Dixie

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Beer from 1907 to 2020, but going forward it will have a different name.”

“If we’re going to be around for another 113 years, if we’re going to continue making a beer New Orleans can call its own and reach the potential of this brewery, that has to change,” he says.

A new name has yet to be decided.

Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans franchises, says input from the public will help determine a new name that “will best represent our culture and community.”

Birch says the process to select a new name should last through the summer. Designing new packaging and marketing materials will take time too. He invited people to share feedback through the brewery’s web site (www.dixiebeer.com/contact) or at the brewery taproom itself.

“We want this process to have their perspective,” he says. “We don’t want to do this partially, we want it to be clear why we’re doing this and what we’re about, which is being inclusive.”

The decision to change the Dixie name comes as people across the country have been calling for the removal of symbols associated with racist figures, movements and groups.

While the origins of the term Dixie as a nickname for the South reach far back into history, its affiliation with the Confederacy has made it divisive in modern discourse.

In her announcement, Benson wrote that she recognized “that our nation and community are currently engaged in critical conversations about racism and systemic social issues that have caused immeasurable pain and oppression of our Black and Brown communities.”

Gayle and the now late Tom Benson bought the beer in 2017.

The brewing facility that debuted in New Orleans East five months ago was modeled to look like the original Dixie Brewery, which first opened in 1907 on Tulane Avenue. But the new 85,000-square-foot brewery is designed for modern consistency and efficiency and to produce beer for a broad regional market beyond New Orleans. As the company had begun expanding to other states this spring, wholesalers raised red flags about the name, Birch says.

“That was a wake-up call,” he says. “We don’t want it to be an impediment for what we can do in the future.”

Birch underscores the Bensons’ decision to build the new facility and taproom in New Orleans East, a part of town that has seen little high-profile investment and few visitor attractions.

“Is there anything more inclusive than getting together to drink some beer and enjoy yourself?” he asks.

“We’ll have people who will be disappointed with what we’re doing, but I think we’ll bring in new people too. I don’t expect everyone to agree with us but I hope they’ll understand and give us a chance once they see what we’re doing.” — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES PICAYUNE | NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Gone fishing BARROW’S CATFISH (8300 Earhart

Blvd., 504-265-8995; www.barrowscatfish.com) debuted two years ago as a new restaurant bringing back the legacy of a very old one.

Barrow’s way with fried catfish goes back generations to Barrow’s Shady Inn, one of the city’s longest-running Black-owned restaurants. Navigating the past few months, however, has taken skill and intuition that go past the kitchen, and Barrow’s has been thriving.

“Our customers have not slowed down at all, and we’re getting new customers,” says Deirdre Barrow Johnson, who runs the restaurant with her husband Kenneth Johnson Jr. and their children.

The family has reshaped the business for the times. They felt compelled to reopen, Deirdre Johnson says, but also are determined to minimize risk for staff and customers.

The dining room is closed but the restaurant’s parking lot has become the center of a takeout operation with touchless payment systems, online ordering and staff serving people through their car windows.

“We try to take just as good care of them for pick-up as we do in the dining room,” Johnson says. “Some people eat right there in the parking lot. I tease them, saying I can bring a candle for the dashboard if that’s what makes them feel at home.”

The main setback for Barrow’s has been putting a hold on expansion plans. The family had planned to open additional locations on Manhattan Boulevard in Harvey and on Poydras Street, in the former Hurt’s Donut location. Barrow Johnson grew up in the restaurant her grandfather Billy Barrow Sr. started nearby on Mistletoe Street in 1943. A business founded by a Black family in the era of segregation persevered through the decades that followed.

It grew into a neighborhood institution that drew loyal customers from beyond its own neighborhood. For many years, fried catfish was the only dish Barrow’s served.

With issues of race and social justice spurring more people to seek out Black-owned businesses, they’ve heard from new customers trying out Barrow’s Catfish, Barrow Johnson says.

“We feel that love,” she says.

“We’re very proud to be a Black business, but we’re definitely about making sure everyone feels loved.

Our brand welcomes all.” — IAN McNULTY/THE TIMES PICAYUNE | NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

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IT WAS JUST LAST FALL WHEN chefs

P H OTO B Y I A N M C N ULT Y

Louis Brown II and Sam Faciane opened their Southern Charm BIstreaux & Bar (2020 Belle Chasse Highway, Gretna, 504-302-7776; www.southerncharmwb.com), turning a former steakhouse into a modern Creole restaurant. Today, that grand opening feels like it happened in a different world.

“We were just getting going,” Brown says. “Then it was like someone pulled the plug.”

The business has been starting to come back, but now there’s a new dynamic. While the economic hardships brought by the coronavirus continue, more people are showing up specifically to support Southern Charm Bistreaux as a local Blackowned restaurant.

“We can feel the difference,” Brown says. “As a new restaurant, we just need people to know we’re here, and now more people are seeking us out.”

The fate of restaurants across the nation has been a big question through the pandemic, and independent restaurants have been particularly vulnerable. At the same time, there’s been new attention to Black-owned businesses as people speak out against racism and seek points of solidarity.

Sam Faciane (left) and Louis Brown II opened Southern Charm Bistreaux & Bar in 2019.

“We’re seeing people show up because they want to create positivity in the community,” says Phil Hare, chef and co-founder of Beaucoup Eats (2323 Canal St., 504598-5777; www.beaucoupeats. com). “There have been a lot of new faces coming in saying we want to support you.”

Last summer, Hare moved into a Canal Street location by the hospital complexes, after running Beaucoup Eats as a pop-up in a grocery store deli. His cooking takes a lighter, modern approach to local flavors through an a la carte menu, a ready-to-serve hot bar, delivery and prepared meal services.

“You have to be versatile now, but we’re getting good support,” Hare says.

Essence Fest was cancelled because of the pandemic, a setback for Black-owned businesses.

Essence normally brings the busiest days of the year for Willie Mae’s Scotch House (504-4592640; www.williemaesnola.com), making up for slower summer

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months. Catering, takeout and a satellite stand at the Pythian Market (234 Loyola Ave.; www. pythianmarket.com) are now sustaining the business. Owner Kerry Seaton-Stewart says she’ll likely wait until tourism ramps up again to reopen the dining room at the original location.

She draws strength from the family stories that run through the restaurant, founded by her grandmother Willie Mae Seaton in 1957.

“It’s knowing that anything I’m struggling with is nothing compared to what my grandmother faced, being a Black woman, opening up a business in the 1950s, with all the racial issues and trials and tribulations she had to go through,” Stewart says.

“When I think about those hardships, I think about how the hard part is already done,” she says. “For me, all I can do is be consistent and do what I’m supposed to do. Then people will come back and hopefully bring a friend. That’s the business plan.”

Some restaurants are staying closed for now, including Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe in Treme and Cafe Dauphine in Holy Cross. Both restaurants are cooking for community feeding efforts in the interim.

A hybrid approach is helping sustain others. NOLA Art Bar, which opened in February as a gallery and lounge, operates as a takeout eatery and openair patio for now. Backatown Coffee Parlour, is relying on takeout food while brewing up its coffee drinks.

Some Black-owned restaurants have closed since the pandemic began, including Cru by Marlon Alexander, which opened in 2018 in Faubourg Marigny.

In the early months at Southern Charm, Brown and Faciane saw glimmers of what their new restaurant could achieve.

People who came once would come back, for the rotisserie chicken with tasso cream sauce, for the crawfish egg rolls and for the hospitality of a new homegrown restaurant.

“It wasn’t all about the money, it’s about being part of the community and doing something in the community we grew up in,” Brown says. “We‘re going to fight until we can’t anymore. We’re just here, hoping the community supports us, so that we can be here to support the community.”

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Prices any lower, they would be ILLEGAL! 5 0 10 V E T E R A N S B LV D | M E TA I R I E | ( 5 0 4 ) 8 8 7-115 0

O P E N E V E R Y D AY 8 A M - 8 P M

www.zuppardos.com

OUT EAT TO

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18

Contact Will Coviello wcoviello@gambitweekly.com 504-483-3106 | FAX: 504-483-3159

C O M P L E T E L I S T I N G S AT W W W. B E S T O F N E W O R L E A N S . C O M Out 2 Eat is an index of Gambit contract advertisers. Unless noted, addresses are in New Orleans and all accept credit cards. Updates: email willc@gambitweekly.com or call (504) 483-3106.

BYWATER Luna Libre — 3600 St. Claude Ave., (504) 237-1284 — Carnitas made with pork from Shank Charcuterie and citrus from Ben & Ben Becnel farm fills a taco topped with onion and cilantro. The menu combines Tex-Mex and dishes from Louisiana and Arkansas. Curbside pickup is available. B Sat-Sun. $

CBD 14 Parishes — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.14parishes.com — Jamaican-style jerk chicken is served with two sides such as plantains, jasmine rice, cabbage or rice and peas. Delivery available.

Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Eat Well — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com — Phorit-

B — breakfast L — lunch D — dinner late — late 24H — 24 hours

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

to is a spinach tortilla filled with brisket, chicken or tofu, plus bean sprouts, jalapenos, onions and basil and is served with a cup of broth. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $ Kais — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (941) 481-9599; www.pythianmarket.com — A Sunshine bowl includes salmon, corn, mango, green onions, edamame, pickled ginger, ponzu spicy mayonnaise, cilantro, masago and nori strips. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D daily. $$ La Cocinita — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 309-5344; www.lacochinitafoodtruck.com — La Llanera is an arepa stuffed with carne asada, guasacasa, pico de gallo, grilled queso fresco and salsa verde. Curbside pickup and delivery available. B, L and D daily. $ Meribo Pizza — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave., (504) 481-9599; www.meribopizza. com — A Meridionale pie is topped with pulled pork, chilies, ricotta, mozzarella,

collard greens and red sauce. Delivery available. L and D daily. $$ Red Gravy — 125 Camp St., (504) 5618844; www.redgravycafe.com — Thin cannoli pancakes are filled with cannoli cream and topped with a chocolate drizzle.

The menu includes brunch items, pasta dishes, sandwiches, baked goods and more. Takeout available. Check website for hours. $$ Willie Mae’s — Pythian Market, 234 Loyola Ave.; www.williemaesnola.com — The Creole soul food restaurant is known for its fried chicken, red beans and more.

Takeout available. L and D Mon-Sat. $

CARROLLTON/UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOODS Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; www.mikimotosushi.com — Sushi choices include new and old favorites, both raw and cooked. The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado and snow crab. Takeout and delivery available.

L Sun-Fri, D daily. $$ Pyramids Cafe — 3151 Calhoun St., (504) 861-9602 — Diners will find Mediterranean cuisine featuring such favorites as shawarma prepared on a rotisserie. Takeout and delivery available. L, D daily. $$

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

FAUBOURG MARIGNY Kebab — 2315 St. Claude Ave., (504) 383-4328; www.kebabnola.com — The

sandwich shop offers doner kebabs and Belgian fries. A falafel sandwich comes with pickled cucumbers, arugula, spinach, red onions, beets, hummus and Spanish garlic sauce. No reservations. Takeout and delivery available Thu-Mon. $

HARAHAN/JEFFERSON/ RIVER RIDGE The Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, (504) 834-4938; www.therivershacktavern.com — This bar and music spot offers a menu of burgers, sandwiches and changing lunch specials. Curbside pickup and delivery available. L, D daily. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 1212 S. Clearview Parkway, Elmwood, (504) 7333803; www.theospizza.com — There is a wide variety of specialty pies and diners can build their own from the selection of more than two-dozen toppings. The menu also includes salads and sandwiches.

Curbside pickup and delivery available.

L, D Tue-Sat. $

LAKEVIEW Lakeview Brew Coffee Cafe — 5606 Canal Blvd., (504) 483-7001; www.lakeviewbrew. com — This casual cafe offers gourmet coffees and a wide range of pastries and desserts baked in house, plus a menu of specialty sandwiches and salads. For breakfast, an omelet is filled with marinated mushrooms, bacon, spinach and goat cheese. Tuna salad or chicken salad avocado melts are topped with melted Monterey Jack and shredded Parmesan cheeses. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. B, L daily, D Mon-Sat, brunch Sat-Sun. $ Lotus Bistro — 203 W. Harrison Ave., (504) 533-9879; www.lotusbistronola.com

METAIRIE Andrea’s Restaurant — 3100 N. 19th St., Metairie, (504) 834-8583; www.andreasrestaurant.com — Chef/owner Andrea Apuzzo’s specialties include speckled trout royale which is topped with lump crabmeat and lemon-cream sauce. Capelli D’Andrea combines house-made angel hair pasta and smoked salmon in light cream sauce.

Curbside pickup and delivery are available.

L, D daily, brunch Sun. $$$ Kosher Cajun New York Deli & Grocery — 3519 Severn Ave., Metairie, (504) 8882010; www.koshercajun.com — This New York-style deli specializes in sandwiches, including corned beef and pastrami that come from the Bronx. Takeout available.

L Sun-Thu, D Mon-Thu. $ Mark Twain’s Pizza Landing — 2035 Metairie Road, Metairie, (504) 832-8032; www. marktwainpizza.com — Mark Twain’s serves salads, po-boys and pies like the Italian pizza with salami, tomato, artichoke, sausage and basil. Takeout and curbside pickup are available. L Tue-Sat, D Tue-Sun. $ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 2125 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 510-4282; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

MID-CITY/TREME

WE EVENT EKE THIS ND !

Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; www.angelobrocatoice-

cream.com — This sweet shop serves its own gelato, spumoni, Italian ice, cannolis, fig cookies and other treats. Window and curbside pickup. L, D Wed-Sun. $ Brown Butter Southern Kitchen & Bar — 231 N. Carrollton Ave., Suite C, (504) 609-3871; www.brownbutterrestaurant. com — Sample items have included smoked brisket served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, Alabama white barbecue sauce, smoked heirloom beans and vinegar slaw. A Brunch burger features a brisket and short rib patty topped with bacon, brie, a fried egg, onion jam and arugula on a brioche bun. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Doson Noodle House — 135 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 309-7283; www.facebook.com/ dosonnoodlehouse — Bun thit is Vietnamese-style grilled pork with cucumber, onions, lettuce, mint, cilantro and fish sauce served over rice or vermicelli. The menu includes rice and vermicelli dishes, pho, spring rolls and more. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery are available. $$ Five Happiness — 3511 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 482-3935; www.fivehappiness. com — The large menu at Five Happiness offers a range of dishes from wonton soup to sizzling seafood combinations served on a hot plate to sizzling Go-Ba to lo mein dishes. Takeout and delivery available. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; www.katiesinmidcity.com — Favorites at this Mid-City restaurant include the Cajun Cuban with roasted pork, grilled ham, cheese and pickles pressed on buttered bread. The Boudreaux pizza is topped with cochon de lait, spinach, red onions, roasted garlic, scallions and olive oil. There also are salads, burgers and Italian dishes. Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery available. L and D Tue-Sun. $$

Nonna Mia — 3125 Esplanade Ave., (504) 948-1717; www.nonnamianola.com — A Divine Portobello appetizer includes chicken breast, spinach in creamy red pepper sauce and crostini. The menu also includes salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza and more. Curbside pickup and delivery are available. Service daily. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4024 Canal St., (504) 302-1133; www.theospizza. com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $ Willie Mae’s Scotch House — 2401 St. Ann St., (504) 822-9503; www.williemaesnola. com — This neighborhood restaurant is known for its wet-battered fried chicken.

Green beans come with rice and gravy.

There’s bread pudding for dessert. No reservations. L Mon-Fri. $$

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

UPTOWN Joey K’s — 3001 Magazine St., (504) 891-0997; www.joeyksrestaurant.com ­— This casual eatery serves fried seafood platters, salads, sandwiches and Creole favorites such as red beans and rice. Daily specials include braised lamb shank, lima beans with a ham hock and chicken fried steak served with macaroni and cheese.

Takeout and delivery available. $$ Theo’s Neighborhood Pizza — 4218 Magazine St., (504) 894-8554; www.theospizza.com — See Harahan/Jefferson section for restaurant description. $

OUT TO EAT WAREHOUSE DISTRICT Carmo — 527 Julia St., (504) 875-4132; www.cafecarmo.com — Carmo salad includes smoked ham, avocado, pineapple, almonds, cashews, raisins, cucumber, green pepper, rice, lettuce, cilantro and citrus mango vinaigrette. The menu includes dishes inspired by many tropical cuisines. Takeout and delivery are available. Mon-Sat. $$ Provisions Grab-n-Go Marketplace — Higgins Hotel, 500 Andrew Higgins Blvd., (504) 528-1941; www.higgingshotelnola. com — The coffeeshop serves salads, sandwiches, pastries and more. Takeout available. Service daily. $

WEST BANK Mosca’s — 4137 Hwy. 90 W., Westwego, (504) 436-8950; www.moscasrestaurant.com — This family-style eatery has changed little since opening in 1946.

Popular dishes include shrimp Mosca, chicken a la grande and baked oysters Mosca, made with breadcrumps and Italian seasonings. Curbside pickup available.

D Wed-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Specialty Italian Bistro — 2330 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna, (504) 391-1090; www.specialtyitalianbistro.com — The menu combines Old World Italian favorites and pizza. Chicken piccata is a paneed chicken breast topped with lemon-caper piccata sauce served with angel hair pasta, salad and garlic cheese bread. Takeout and delivery available. Service daily. $$

NEW ORLEANS SUMMER BEAD & JEWELRY SHOW! JULY 10, 11 & 12

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— A Mineko Iwasaki roll includes spicy snow crab, tuna, avocado and cucumber topped with salmon, chef’s sauce, masago, green onion and tempura crunchy flakes. The menu also includes bento box lunches, teriyaki dishes, fried rice and more. Takeout and delivery are available.

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21

BY JAKE CLAPPAND WILL COVIELLO

“SideBar Sessions, Vol. 1”

The Extended Trio vs. Brad Walker (Self-released) Mid-City jazz lounge SideBar has launched a live album series, publishing sets recorded in its small space on S. White Street. The bar also has been hosting numerous virtual concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first volume in the “SideBar Sessions” series is an exciting, free-flowing seven-song set by the Extended Trio — pianist Oscar Rossignoli, bassist Matt Booth and drummer Brad Webb — with saxophonist Brad Walker.

Each of those performers is an accomplished musician, recognized in jazz circles in and outside of New Orleans. Together, Extended is an intuitive group. Add in Walker and it’s just all on a new level. Recorded on March 11, the SideBar session is filled with feeling and improvisation that stays engaging, bringing consistent cheers and hollers from the audience. Occasionally, Rossignoli’s piano has a muted tone in comparison to other players and the rare snare hit registers off the charts, but those technical details could be easily fixed for future SideBar session recordings. — JAKE CLAPP

“Spring Clean” Curren$y & Fuse (Jet Life and 808Mafia) New Orleans’ Curren$y has been steadily releasing new music since December. The rapper followed up December’s “Back at Burnie’s” album with January’s “The Tonite Show with Curren$y,” a collaboration with producer DJ Fresh; a short EP, “3 Piece Set,” with Thelonious Martin in February;

a nine-track project with fellow New Orleanian Fendi P, “Smokin’ Potnas’ ” in March; and in April, “The Green Tape” EP with producer Cardo Got Wings. Curren$y may have broken his streak without a release in May, but he came back strong in June with “Spring Clean,” a 10-track album made in collaboration with Atlanta producer Fuse. Rappers Fendi P., Gunplay, Wiz Khalifa and T.Y. guest on a handful of tracks.

Despite the “Spring Clean” title, there’s a quality to Curren$y’s mellow style and Fuse’s production that feels right for hot, humid and heavy summer nights. — JAKE CLAPP

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”Folk Songs of the American Longhair”

Brother Dege (GolarWash Records) There’s an anthemic feel to “Too Old to Die Young,” a powerful folk blues track that helped Brother Dege find wider audiences when it was released on his 2010 album “Folk Songs of the American Longhair.” Quentin Tarantino put it on the soundtrack for “Django Unchained” (parts of which were filmed in Louisiana) and gave Dege a ringing endorsement.

For Dege, the album was a long time coming. Born Dege Legg in Lafayette, he powered a psychedelic swamp rock band named Santeria; ended that and backed CC Adcock with The Lafayette Marquis; and then settled into striped down blues for a series of solo releases. “Folk Songs” was recorded in unconventional spaces, including a shed on his property, and there’s not much beyond Dege picking and playing slide blues on a scruffy Dobro guitar.

There’s wailing slow songs as well as more driving tracks, like the attention-grabbing opener “Hard Row to Hoe,” which was chosen as a theme song for a spin-off of the reality TV show “The Deadliest Catch.” A 10th anniversary vinyl edition of “Folk Songs,” which includes downloads for lo-fi demos of some songs, was released on June 26 and marks the staying power of Dege’s best work. — WILL COVIELLO

All 1/4 page ad sizes or larger receive a FREE Menu item photo/description feature in the issue.

Coming Jul y 28th!

RATES STARTING AT $175 • CALL NOW! Ad Director Sandy Stein 504.483.3150 or sstein@gambitweekly.com

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u ly 7 - 1 3 > 2 0 2 0

Album reviews

GOING OUT

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u ly 7 - 1 3 > 2 02 0

22

Outnumbered

BY WILL COVIELLO

Weekly Tails

CLEANING SERVICE

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL AFTER CONSTRUCTION CLEANING SANITIZING/DISINFECTING LIGHT/GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING HEAVY DUTY CLEANING

AFTER 19 YEARS ,

the war in Afghanistan is still going.

The conflict isn’t in the headlines every day, though intelligence reports alleging Russia paid bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers made news in recent weeks.

American soldiers left exposed to enemies in remote regions of Afghanistan is what drives “The Outpost,” which arrived at theaters and online just before the July Fourth weekend. It’s a dramatized account of the Battle of Kamdesh, in which just more than 50 soldiers were attacked by hundreds of Taliban fighters in October 2009.

When soldiers arrive at Combat Outpost Keating in the opening scenes, they immediately recognize the camp’s vulnerability. The outpost is at the bottom of a valley surrounded by three steep mountains near the border of Pakistan.

The location invites attack and shots are fired at the base on a regular basis.

“The Outpost” has all the elements of a Hollywood war movie, including a riveting, prolonged battle sequence and a cast of budding young male stars. But the overwhelming odds faced by the American soldiers is not a Rambo-style man-versus-an-army exaggeration.

The Battle of Kamdesh made Bravo Troop 3 of the 61st Cavalry Regiment one of the most decorated units in history, including two Medal of Honor recipients (Clinton Romesha and Ty Michael Carter) and numerous Purple Hearts.

In the movie, one soldier warns a camp newcomer not to call his wife, because it’ll just make it harder to endure the conditions of their isolated location and exposure to the enemy.

Identifying their enemy is part of the hopelessness of the situation.

The camp commander meets with local village leaders to try to build some sort of peace and stability, offering to fund schools and employment in exchange for the locals not cooperating with the Taliban.

At best it’s a complicated arrangement, as the country has been beset by civil war and occupying forces for much of the time since the Soviet Union invaded in 1979.

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Caleb Landry Jones (left) plays Medal of Honor recipient Specialist Ty Carter.

Some villagers sympathize and work with the insurgents.

The film is based on a book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who also is an executive producer. It adheres to the basic facts, including the number of casualties and estimates of the size of the attacking forces. The soldiers’ real names are used, and there’s a rush of introductions before the film narrows to a smaller set.

Director Rod Lurie gets solid performances from his ensemble cast, including Orlando Bloom, Scott Eastwood and, especially, Caleb Landry Jones as Specialist Ty Carter, who raced munitions across open ground to save pinned down soldiers and carry a wounded man, Stephan Mace, to medical help. There’s plenty of gruff and vulgar talk as the men cope with the isolation and threats at the isolated camp, separated from their families and homes. A few made-for-the-trailer lines are clunky and seem unconnected to the otherwise well-constructed tension. But in many scenes during battle, Lurie finds compellingly raw emotions as the soldiers fight to support each other.

The film is narrowly focused on the battle, after the situation is set up with early skirmishes, ambushes and harbingers of an inevitable assault. The firefight is a barrage of heavy machine gunfire, mortars and clouds of dust as the camp is upended. Lurie crafted a thriller, and it’s impossible not to marvel at how the soldiers dealt with a situation that might otherwise seem unbelievable.

“The Outpost” screens at Zeitgeist Theatre & Lounge.

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PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE THREE-TO-FIVE FIRST NAMES

By Frank A. Longo

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63 Hank in the Basketball Hall of Fame 64 Floats in the breeze 67 Make a genetic replica of the star of “The Wolf Man�?

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79 In districts 81 Holy Fr. woman 82 Broadcaster 83 Rumpus 84 Stable feed

85 Pungent pizza topping 87 Quaint street lighter 90 Trample the playwright of “Travesties�?

94 “Me neither�

96 “— so sorry!�

97 “— so sorry!�

98 Extort money from the star of “The Europeans�?

103 Rational 105 Prefix related to birds 108 Helps out 109 Whirlpool site 110 Spill hot coffee on baseball’s “Iron Man�?

114 Kidnap the star of “Madam Secretary�?

118 Mil. jets’ site 119 Indistinct 120 Candy — (hospital helpers) 121 Contradict the inventor of the cotton gin?

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86 “Says You!� broadcaster 88 “Eat — Chikin�

(Chick-Fil-A slogan) 89 Pickle or cure 91 Acorn sources 92 Be inclined 93 Finished 95 Levied, as a tax 98 Droopy-eared hound 99 Diminutive 100 Channel swimmer Gertrude 101 Morales of film and TV 102 McKellen of movies 103 “On Language� columnist William 104 Even though 105 A lot like 106 Wood overlay 107 Composed and ready for printing 111 “The Alienist� novelist Carr 112 “As — care!�

113 Crooner Cline 115 Women’s Open org.

116 Hurdle 117 “Yeah, right�

122 Tall bird 123 164-nation commerce gp.

124 Au courant

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Difficulty Level

ANSWERS FOR LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE: P 22

7/05

PUZZLES

ACROSS 1 Jason’s ship 5 Categorized 12 Schoolboys 16 Actor Ayres 19 Coffee bit 20 Sea cow 21 “Orinoco Flow� singer 22 Yes, to Yvette 23 Pigeonhole the 16th president?

25 Toy-package span 27 1950s politico Stevenson 28 — -CIO 29 Cut all ties with the star of “Our Miss Brooks�?

31 Sniff the singer of

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$200 adoption

$350 adoption

• Receive (2) 1/8 page ads to give to two of your favorite small businesses.

• Receive a free Gambit tote bag

• Receive (3) 1/8 page ads to give to three favorite small businesses.

• Receive a free Gambit tote bag • Receive a $10 gift card to Coast Roast Coffee.

VALUE: $886

VALUE: $1,334

For more information visit bestofneworleans.com/shopsmall *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CHARITABLE DONATION AND DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR A TAX DEDUCTION.