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S T IL L YO U R FAV

O R IT E

CONTENTS

r e at T l oo h c S r e t f A

AUG. 31 — SEPT. 6, 2026 VOLUME 47 || NUMBER 35

SOUTHERN DECADENCE Events ...........................18 NEWS Opening Gambit ............... 8

Summer Nights Gelato

Stanton ..........................13

Watermelon Ice

Blake Pontchartrain..........15

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F E AT U R E S Arts & Entertainment ........ 7 Eat & Drink .................... 23

Witches Brew

Music Listings ................. 29

COFFEE CO.

Music ............................ 32 P H O TO BY S C O T T T H R E L K E L D / T H E T I M E S- P I C AY U N E

Southern Decadence

Meet the designer behind some of Decadence’s extravagant looks

Comedy ........................ 33 Puzzles ......................... 35 C OV E R P H O TO BY 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 C OV E R D E S I G N BY D O R A S I S O N

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Heating up

Mermaid Parade

Southern Decadence builds on inclusivity for Sept. 3-7 events | by Will Coviello WITH TEMPERATURES HITTING AUGUST PEAKS, Sarah Manowitz may

have found the perfect solution to celebrate her birthday. On Aug. 16, she set up a dunk tank on the sidewalk of Bourbon Street in front of Bourbon Pub. It looked like a giant blue go-cup, with some fencing around the rim and a big target hanging to the side. She was dunked almost 10 times, she says. “We were dunking for dollars,” says Manowitz, who is one of the grand marshals for this year’s Southern Decadence parade. “We plan to do this every year. We had about 10-15 people that got dunked. It was bartenders from Bourbon Pub and other neighboring bars, bar owners and managers. There was a random participant from the street. It was $5 a ball, or $20 if you just wanted to push the button. We instituted bidding wars for some people who didn’t want to be dunked.” The dunk fest was one of more than 35 fundraisers held in advance of this year’s Southern Decadence celebration, which runs Sept. 3-7 in the French Quarter, Marigny and beyond. Southern Decadence is a massive event for the LGBTQ community, both locally and for tens of thousands of visitors who come for the long weekend. The centerpiece event is the Southern Decadence parade on Sunday, Sept. 6, and there will be parties, events and revelry, especially on blocks of the French Quarter and Marigny with LGBTQ bars. The parade starts at 3 p.m. Sunday and is expected to be a massive event this year, with more than 44 participating groups, ranging from Carnival dance troupes to community organizations. The lineup will include the Disco Amigos, Pussyfooters, Merry Antoinettes, Big Easy Roller Derby, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the Royal Street Ropers, dressed in caftans a la Mrs. Roper from the sitcom “Three’s Company.” LGBTQ groups include the performing group Queerly Beloved, Crescent City Leathermen and Black organization Men of ONYX. The local nonprofit Women with a Vision will have a presence in the parade, and it is one of the event’s designated charitable beneficiaries. Individuals also can costume and march. (Participation is free, but groups are asked to register for organizing purposes). The parade is led by the Southern Decadence grand marshals and their entourages. This year, there are six

Sister Magically Delicious walks in the 2025 Southern Decadence parade. PHOTO BY JOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

grand marshals, including Manowitz, Romy Thompson, Rachel Thompson, Bobby Wagstaff, Sam Smith and Milan Nicole Sherry. “It’s the first time there have been six grand marshals,” says Romy Thompson. “We cover the entire community. It’s the first time (all letters of) LGBTQ has been covered.” Southern Decadence has evolved since it started as a weekend party among friends in 1972, becoming a bar crawl, and then a long weekend of events with a parade. Attendance for the week of celebration soared after news of the event spread on the internet in the ’90s, and now it draws international visitors as well. The parade starts at the Golden Lantern and goes down Royal Street, but with construction in the French Quarter, the final route is expected to be announced closer to parade time. The route often has a few stops, and organizers this year hope to hit gay bars including Crossing, Corner Pocket and The Page, which is owned by Willie Mackie Jr., one of last year’s grand marshals. His partner is Bobby Wagstaff, one of this year’s grand marshals, along with Milan Nicole Sherry, who bartends at The Page. At the end of the parade, the grand marshals gather and walk as a united front past Rawhide, Good Friends Bar, Bourbon Pub, Oz and Cafe Lafitte in Exile. The theme is “Phoenix Rising: Together We Rise,” and some of the grand marshals’ costuming will include

feathers, images of flames and symbols of diversity. Every year, Decadence is full of independently organized events and parties, but there are a few traditional ones besides the parade. On Friday night, there’s a drag show attended by many previous and current grand marshals at the Golden Lantern, one of the city’s oldest gay bars. There also will be a city proclamation for Southern Decadence announced at the event. On the Monday after the parade, there’s a Survivors Bar Crawl starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Corner Pocket. “There are only two rules in Southern Decadence,” Romy Thompson says. “One rule is you have to do a parade, and the other rule is you have to do a formers luncheon for former grand marshals.” The grand marshals are announced in late winter or spring and are responsible for raising funds to pay for the parade, including the permit, police, barricades, sanitation and more. The fundraising events range from Manowitz’s dunk tank to drag shows, pool parties and bus trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Baton Rouge. Funds left over go to nonprofits chosen by the grand marshals. Along with Women with a Vision, this year’s beneficiaries are Black Pride NOLA, Transcending Women, STEM NOLA and Big Easy Animal Rescue. Southern Decadence has always been an inclusive event, but this year’s grand marshals have done some specific outreach. Romy and Rachel Thompson, who are married, have been reaching out to lesbian bars, which have been disappearing. They sent Decadence posters and invitations to every known lesbian bar in the country, Romy says. New Orleans no longer has any lesbian bars, but Her Haus has created monthly pop-up events, and GrrlSpot also hosts parties for queer women throughout the year. Both have organized events during Decadence. “Once women pair up, they tend to be homebodies and don’t go out,” Romy says. “They’re the opposite of men. Rachel and I are anomalies in that way. We joke that we’re gay men trapped in lesbian bodies. We’re out all the time.” For information on Southern Decadence, visit @officialsoutherndecadence on Instagram or Facebook and southerndecadence.com.

The parade is a costumed menagerie of mermaids, mermen, fish and other sea creatures. The procession also includes giant puppets, and the Mudlark Puppeteers present “Mermaid of the Magdalenes” at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5. The gathering starts at 3 p.m. at the base of Esplanade Avenue at the river, and the parade starts at 6 p.m. and follows the riverfront to the front of the Aquarium of the Americas. Krewe du Fool organizes the parade. Registration to march is $35 via krewedufool.com.

PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Cheekface

Los Angeles trio Cheekface plays artsy indie rock that’s nerdy, quirky and charming. But bubbling under the humor is social commentary about standing up for what’s right in an era of ICE raids and Flock cameras. The band released the album “Podium” in July and is on tour with ska band Catbite. Music starts at 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, at Gasa Gasa. Tickets are $24.85 via gasagasanola.com.

Erica Falls

Vocalist Erica Falls combines funk, R&B and vintage soul. She headlines the final Free Fridays concert of the summer at Tipitina’s. Blues, funk and psychedelic rockers Kota Dosa open at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Admission is first come, first served. Find information at tipitinas.com.

Culture Collision

More than 55 New Orleans area cultural organizations, performing arts companies, museums, radio stations, festival producers, arts groups and more share information about PAGE 28

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NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

Rest in Peace Dolly and Tim

# TC OH EU N T

T H U M B S U P/ THUMBS DOWN

James Mayes, the New Orleans fashion designer and owner of Emline, was recently honored by City Council for his mentorship program Designer Kids to L.A. The program, which this year had eight teenaged fellows, teaches aspiring designers how to create a business, design a product and manufacture it. Their products will be for sale at a pop-up showcase, and the group recently spent a week in Los Angeles learning about the fashion industry.

The Gulf of Mexico had a smaller “dead zone” this year than expected, researchers reported. Each summer, a large patch of the Gulf develops where there is not enough oxygen to support marine life. Scientists this year forecast a dead zone of more than 7,000 square miles, but a research vessel recently discovered it was only 1,332 square miles. Researchers credit the change to high-oxygen water pushed into the Gulf by Tropical Storm Bertha as well as long-term efforts by scientists trying to shrink the dead zone.

Louisiana has more military veterans living in poverty than any other state, the Louisiana Illuminator reported, citing an analysis of federal data by vettory.org. More than 22,000 veterans in Louisiana live below the poverty line, 8.1% of the state’s 278,000 former service members. That is well above the national average of 5.96%.

22 THE APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF LOUISIANA VOTERS WHO ARE UNDECIDED WHEN IT COMES TO THE U.S. SENATE RACE.

Meta’s data center in Richland Parish PHOTO BY JILL PICKETT / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

New Orleans City Planning Commission pushes back vote on data center regulations IN THE FACE OF GROWING PUBLIC OPPOSITION, the New Orleans

City Planning Commission Aug. 25 agreed to push back a vote until October on its recommendations to the city council on how the city defines and regulates data centers. In January, the city council passed a one-year ban on all new data centers to give the city time to decide on regulations, after news broke that a developer applied to build one on a 17-acre lot in New Orleans East. The decision to delay the vote came at the request of a New Orleans East neighborhood group, which argued there hadn’t been enough community input in the process. “We noticed in the report ... that Entergy, the Sewerage & Water Board and certain other city departments were engaged in the production. But what was glaringly missing was any input from the most affected communities,” said Kenya Smith, interim president of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission (ENONAC). In its draft recommendations, CPC staff have suggested allowing “small” or “medium” data centers in some parts of the city. Staff defined medium facilities as those up to 100,000 square feet that use no

more than 20 megawatts of power and small facilities as those up to 20,000 square feet that use no more than 5 megawatts of power. The plan also would require data centers be reviewed by S&WB and Entergy to see if enough water and power are available, be at least 500 feet away from residential properties and would limit the number of data centers in that could be built in the CBD. Rather than vote on the draft, the CPC pushed back the vote 59 days and decided to ask the council to extend the Oct. 23 deadline the CPC has to take a position on them. In an interview with Gambit earlier this month, City Council President JP Morrell expressed skepticism of the industry and warned the city can’t make the same mistakes it made with other tech sectors by under regulating them. “The bad decisions around Uber, the bad decisions around Airbnb were tied to ‘Well, if we just can get money out of it, we’ll just give you the best we can,’ ” Morrell said. “What we’ve seen nationally is that is not a way to regulate. You should not let large companies, large industries dictate to you how your city gets to grow or how it gets

According to a poll of 518 registered voters, only 41% said they were in favor of MAGA candidate, U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow. Meanwhile, 37% said they would vote for Democrat Jamie Davis, a political newcomer, while 22% said they weren’t sure. The poll was conducted before Gulf States Newsroom broke the news about Letlow’s non-disclosure agreements and stock trades with Meta.

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to develop because they’re going to hand you a big stack of cash.” The CPC’s decision followed around an hour of public comment, mostly from people who argued the proposed regulations did not go far enough in protecting residents. It was a sizable turnout for what are typically sparsely attended meetings, in large part due to the organizing of the Louisiana Branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation as part of its Take Back the Power campaign. Organizers with the group also led chants outside City Hall with megaphones, including “Say it loud, say it clear: No data centers here.” Take Back the Power organizer Kendall Berry said she was against any new data centers in New Orleans “even if you call them small or medium sized.” “I’m so tired of hearing about the economic boost that Louisiana will get by selling off more and more of our precious land to these mega corporations who want nothing more than to extract as much as they can from the people of Louisiana, as if they haven’t taken enough,” she said.

After hearing from the public, commissioners asked staff to look into additional regulations such as increasing how far data centers can be from a residence and creating reporting requirements and protocols for restoring a site should they leave. Commissioner Dawn Hebert, who lives in New Orleans East, said she was concerned that under the proposal, data centers would be allowed in large swaths of the East, including areas that are near schools, hospitals and senior housing. In response, commissioners suggested limiting how close data centers could be to school or retirement homes. As the AI industry has boomed over the last five years, communities around Louisiana and the country have struggled to regulate the proliferation of data centers, which the industry needs to power its products. Data centers are energy and water intensive, and the largest sites have also caused complaints about noise and environmental pollution. The industry has typically chosen communities of color and

economically depressed areas as sites for data centers, promising leaders they would bring in large numbers of new jobs and revenue. Ronald Marshall, chief policy analyst of VOTE, which advocates for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, said he was concerned about how a data center in the East could affect his mother’s water supply. “It’s an attack on Black communities around this country,” he said. “None of them billionaires will ever consider putting a data center in their own neighborhood. Never ever.” Data center companies have also been secretive about their plans. In Louisiana, Meta has required elected officials to sign non-disclosure agreements to access even basic information and has often refused to answer questions from journalists with any specifics. Commissioner Robert Steeg asked staff to explore the possibility of making data center applications public. “I’d like to see a proviso that all of the data and all of the information that’s used to make the decision about what capacity, what category

something falls into is public and not kept secret,” he said. “We’ve heard a lot about non-disclosure agreements in North Louisiana, and I’d like to see if we can add a condition that requires any application for any data center to have full information available to the public.” — Kaylee Poche

New Orleans to fund ‘right to counsel’ program with recovered Habitat for Humanity funds

THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL AUG. 20 VOTED TO USE MONEY it recovered

from New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity to continue to fund legal representation for residents across the city facing evictions. The council put $750,000 to fund the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services’ Right to Counsel program through the rest of the year. Monique Blossom, Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center’s director of policy and communications, spoke in support of the council’s

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decision. She said a lot of people are one disruptive life event, like a car accident, illness or death in the family, away from facing eviction. “This is the kind of thing that any of us can come across because a lot of times life gets disruptive and interferes financially,” she said. Y. Frank Southhall, Jane Place’s organizing and community engagement manager, called the program “a critical lifeline and necessary aspect to fight against homelessness, displacement, and slumlords in our city.” He also noted the racial disparities when it comes to evictions in the city, saying more than 85% of renters facing eviction are Black and more than 55% are Black women. “This makes evictions inherently an issue of race, gender, class, and power,” he said. The move comes after Mayor Helena Moreno’s administration in April called off a $2 million deal the city made with the local Habitat to help cover housing costs for homeowners struggling amid insurance spikes. Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso said Habitat had not used the money to assist homeowners and asked that the group return the $1 million had already paid it. Habitat leaders did not pay back the money by Giarrusso’s original deadline but began talks with city officials over what to do with it. Council Member Eugene Green also used the hearing Thursday to

call out Habitat’s sale of 32 rental properties to private Metairie company Stable Housing LLC, also doing business as Cover Casa, last fall. That included four doubles, or eight rentals, in Musicians’ Village, a neighborhood Habitat built in Green’s district after to provide housing for culture bearers after Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures. The company tripled the rents of many longtime tenants that Habitat had been subsidizing the rent for. The Housing Authority of New Orleans is helping cover part of half of the tenants’ rents for a year, but it’s unclear what will happen once that year is up. Green said he wished Habitat would have contacted renters before selling the properties. “I can’t help but reflect on my disappointment with Habitat for Humanity in terms of them not contacting tenants in their units to determine if there was some way that we could have worked with them to maybe to help them to avoid some of the rent increases that happened because of their sales of properties, and also whether we could have worked with those tenants to help them to own some of those properties,” he said. “Habitat for Humanity, do better next time,” he added. At the same meeting, the council also approved Moreno’s picks for Sewerage & Water Board members. — Kaylee Poche

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EVERYBODY KNOWS THE OLD SAYING THAT “absolute power corrupts

absolutely.” It’s a maxim as old as time, and the lesson of any number of works of fiction — and history textbooks. But there’s a corollary to that basic truth, one which Louisianians everywhere should be concerned with: Once someone uses a power, they absolutely will use it again. And over the last three years, Gov. Jeff Landry has not only used his existing power; he’s been creating new ones to get what he wants. New Orleans, of course, has felt the brunt of this. Last year, Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill threatened to effectively take over the city during the financial crisis. He used his power in the legislature to eliminate a public office in the city after an election outcome he didn’t support. When city officials objected, Murrill threatened them with removal from office and arrest under an obscure, little used law. This spring, Landry used his lineitem veto powers to strip more than $33 million in state funding to the city. Last month, Mayor Helena Moreno was forced to abandon plans for an expected, and much needed, shortterm loan after Landry made clear he’d use his position on the state bond commission to oppose it. He’s publicly mused about calling a special session of the legislature to give himself even more power over New Orleans. Landry has argued his use of power is necessary. That New Orleans’ court system is bloated. That our government is mismanaged. That the spending approved by legislators isn’t needed. That we’re not special. While there’s plenty of folks who may like seeing Landry stick it to those “uppity” people in New Orleans, it should be setting off alarm bells from Slidell to Springhill. Because New Orleans isn’t the only place where Landry is exerting his power — and it won’t be the last. Landry Aug. 25 announced to much fanfare a new deal to build a massive spaceport in Vermilion Parish. Landry and SpaceX used non-disclosure agreements to hide negotiations from local residents, many of whom are raising legitimate concerns about not only the process but the impact of the project on their environment and lives.

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Gov. Jeff Landry PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Landry’s use of NDAs isn’t just limited to shielding negotiations with SpaceX or data center developers like Meta. He’s also put them in place for more than 120 state employees, which means there could be any number of projects or other decisions happening in communities across the state without the knowledge or input of residents until it’s too late. Landry has made it clear he wants to consolidate power in the governor’s office. While Republicans in the legislature did rebuff his constitutional rewrite, in the two and half years since, they’ve at best stood by as Landry grabbed power — and at worst actively helped him. When a community decides it doesn’t want a data center, an immigrant detention camp or some other Landrybacked project in their town, does anyone believe Landry won’t use his power to try and force it on them — or to take away vital state funding when they don’t conform to his desires? Those who agree with Landry’s targeting of New Orleans should ask themselves this: What’s to stop a governor who you don’t like from doing the same thing to you? All of our communities are special and unique. What works in New Orleans may not work in Winnsboro. And even if it might, the people of Winnsboro shouldn’t be forced to adopt our way of doing things. While state and federal interference is often necessary to end discrimination or to protect the health and safety of residents, it was never intended for imposing the will of an all-powerful executive branch. Ultimately, New Orleans is the canary in the proverbial coal mine for the rest of the state. And that means if we’re to keep the traditional balance of power intact, it’ll have to start here.

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BL AKE PONTCHARTR AIN™

Hey Blake,

I enjoyed your column (Aug. 8) on the Lakeside movie theaters. The building that is now the Little Red Schoolhouse on Metairie Road looks like it also has a history as an old movie theater? I know you’ll know the story — what can you tell us?

Dear reader,

THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE PRESCHOOL BUILDING AT 2055 METAIRIE

Road was indeed a movie theater, The Grand, for nearly 30 years. The United Theaters chain built it, bringing its number of local theaters to 24, including the Beacon, Carrollton, Dreamland, Fine Arts, Napoleon, Prytania, Rivoli and Tivoli. The Grand opened in October 1942 with the film “Maisie Gets Her Man,” starring Ann Sothern and Red Skelton. Tickets were 25 cents, or 11 cents for children. “Welcome to the newest, most modern theatre,” a Times-Picayune ad proclaimed. “It is pledged to bring to the residents of Metairie the best pictures that the motion picture industry has to offer, featuring your favorite movie stars.” In their 2012 book, “There’s One in Your Neighborhood: The Lost Movie Theaters of New Orleans,” Rene Brunet Jr. and Jack Stewart describe the theater as “decorated inside and out in the brilliant modern Rococo

INSIDE STEIN’S 2 2 07 M A G A Z I N E S T

HOURS

TUES - FRI 8AM - 2PM SAT & SUN 9AM - 2PM @ I TSW H AT E V E R C O F F E E

The Little Red Schoolhouse in Metairie was once The Grand Theater movie house.

Oui Oui Paris!

PHOTO BY BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN

style of the day. Multi-colored swirls decorated the interior walls and ceiling. The exterior was white stucco with a marquee highlighted in swirling neon in flowery modern shapes.” The Times-Picayune reported on the theater’s interior. “Approximately 1,000 upholstered opera chairs are arranged so that every spectator has a clear view of the screen and so that no one need rise to allow passage of others,” explained an Oct. 7, 1942, article. “Thermax walls assure perfect acoustics and indirect lumination throughout is easy on the eyes, the management said. The latest type of motion picture, sound and air conditioning equipment has been installed.” For a time in the late 1960s, The Grand became an adult movie theater. It closed in 1971, before becoming a veterinary clinic. Since 1988, it has been home to the Little Red Schoolhouse.

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WITH THE ANTHONY BOURDAIN BIOGRAPHICAL FILM, “TONY,” NOW PLAYING AT LOCAL THEATERS, we recall some of the celebrity chef, author and TV star’s favorite

New Orleans eateries. Bourdain, who died in 2018, featured several local bars and restaurants on his shows, including “A Cook’s Tour,” “No Reservations” and “The Layover.” He also spotlighted Cajun Mardi Gras celebrations on his CNN series “Parts Unknown” and was a writer and consultant on the HBO series “Treme.” Among more than two dozen local spots he visited are: Antoine’s (with the late food critic Tom Fitzmorris), Emeril’s, Cochon, Jacques-Imo’s, Pho Tau Bay and Domilise’s (for a memorable segment with former Times-Picayune columnist and author Chris Rose). He also checked out R&O, Café Reconcile, Willie Mae’s Scotch House, Snake & Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge (with chefs Donald Link and Steve Stryjewski), Vaughan’s Lounge and the Roosevelt Hotel’s Sazerac Bar. In a 2013 interview on CNN, Bourdain said New Orleans was the one city in America he would tell someone “they absolutely had to eat.” “In America, there might be better gastronomic destinations than New Orleans, but there is no place more uniquely wonderful,” he said. “With the best restaurants in New York, you’ll find something similar to it in Paris or Copenhagen or Chicago. But there is no place like New Orleans. So it’s a must-see city because there’s no explaining it, no describing it. You can’t compare it to anything.”

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Decadence 20 26

Meet the designer behind some of Decadence’s extravagant looks BY K AY LEE POCHE

FOR DESIGNER JOHN DELGADILLO, making Southern Decadence costumes is a sprint, not a marathon. Once he gets the year’s parade theme, either he or the client will come up with an idea. Then, he takes a week to source fabrics, foam for shoulder and head pieces, and any other materials needed. When it comes to actually making the costumes, in the past it’s been a five-day frenzy, during which he estimates he’d work 14 hours a day in his home studio in Metairie. “Literally, I would wake up, I would be working on it, and then I would just keep going until I couldn’t. So usually, we’re talking like seven in the morning until like three, four in the morning,” he says. During those long days, background noise is a must, Delgadillo says. His background noise of choice? “The Real Housewives” franchise. “I can’t do it in just silence because then my head starts going crazy, and things start changing when they shouldn’t,” he says. “I have to stay in tunnel vision.” This year Delgadillo, a fashion designer who moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, is making a costume for 2026 Decadence Parade Grand Marshal Sarah Manowitz. He must keep details about her costume under wraps, but he can’t help but give a little tease. “This year we’re going disco, and we’re going gold. That’s all I can say,” he says. “Gold and blingy, honey.” It’ll be the third costume Delgadillo’s made for the Decadence parade over the years. In 2015, he made one for Johnny Passion and two years later made another for Persana Shoulders. Grand marshals typically want a specific look, he says.

Grand Marshals Coca Mesa (left) Persana Shoulders (center) and Princess Stephanie (right) at the 2017 Southern Decadence Grand Marshal Parade. PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

“With Decadence, it’s feathers, it’s glitz,” he says. “It’s a lot of sequins. It’s a lot of stoning.” For Passion’s costume, the theme was “Swimmin’ with the Gods and Goddesses,” and Degadillo created a look that was gladiator meets Poseidon. “I had to make an entire helmet,” Delgadillo says, plus a bedazzled chest plate. He made a shoulder piece out of foam and layered fabric on top, keeping with the theme colors of lime green, lavender and white. “We made them like three sections, so as she moved, the layers would fold up into each other,” he says. “It was really cool.” To add an aquatic element, Delgadillo also made Passion an eight-foot staff with a three-foot tall seahorse on top — sequined-trimmed, of course. The costume Delgadillo made for Shoulders in 2017 was peacock-themed and incorporated blue, turquoise and purple. He went grand, with a two-foot tiara adorned with peacock feathers that added another several feet. The shoulder plate was even bigger, sticking out three feet on

The 2015 Southern Decadence Grand Marshals parade featuring Johnny Passion (right). PHOTO BY KATHLEEN FLYNN / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

each side, not including the peacock feathers extending from it. All in all, the costume was 12 feet wide, according to Delgadillo. For the base, he decked out a nude body suit with Swarovski crystals and AB crystals. He also created a toga-like piece with turquoise sequins to drape on top. The client’s review, according to Delgadillo, was “Bitch, it was the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever worn, but it was the most fabulous thing I’ve ever worn.” “That’s what you get for being a Southern Decadence grand marshal,” he says. “Comfort is not a word they use.” Delgadillo makes wedding gowns and ball gowns and recently participated in his first fashion show in a decade. He also performs in drag as Taze-Ya Ballz and has made costumes for other events, including the annual gay Halloween ball.

For that event, he likes to think big. For example, when the theme was “Down the Rabbit Hole,” he didn’t just settle for the Queen of Hearts. Instead, he designed a costume featuring as many “Alice in Wonderland” characters as he could. The top hat a la the Mad Hatter had a tea party setting around the brim, with mushrooms and a caterpillar with a hookah on top. The jacket tails parted ways around the Cheshire Cat’s tail, and a huge ball skirt represented the Queen of Hearts. On that note, it’s fitting that Delgadillo’s favorite part of costume making is the execution. For him, bringing a costume to life is all in the details. “Making the costume is one thing. It’s like building a house,” he says. “But then the garnishing it with all the crystals and everything else, that’s the interior design part. That’s like putting pictures on the wall and making that house come to life.”

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SO UT H ER N

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e c n e d a c e D Southern 2026

EVENTS

B Y J O H N S TA N T O N | G A M B I T E D I T O R THERE ARE A TON OF PARTIES, drag shows, burlesque shows, fashion events and even a 5K happening this year for Southern Decadence. The main event, of course, is the parade on Sunday, Sept. 6, which will kick off as usual at the Golden Lantern. At press time, organizers were still working out a route with city officials. But Decadence is much more than just the parade, and groups are hosting events all over town this week and weekend. For more Decadence events, check bestofneworleans.com. SEPT. 2

Decadence Showtunes at Bourbon Pub & Parade, 8 p.m. The pre-Decadence edition of the bar’s weekly showtune singalong will help raise funds for Decadence. SEPT. 3

Cruising Revival at The Church at Hotel Peter & Paul, 7 p.m. Cruising app Sniffies hosts a talk and dance party. Leo Herrera, Michael Hickerson, Quinn Bishop and Farrow Stephenson will discuss Southern Decadence then and now at 7 p.m., followed by a DJ set by Phlegm at 8 p.m. Tickets are free and can be reserved online or first come, first served at the door. SEPT. 3-4

Lust Filth VIII at AllWays Lounge, 10:30 p.m. The annual “weekender of Uncensored Performance Art” features “professional perverts” from around the country. The Sept. 3 show will feature “an eager load of New Cummers as they each share their homage to the obscene,” while the Sept. 4 show will be “blessed by our Royal Court of professional perverts.” Tickets are $44.28 via prettieboi.com. SEPT. 4-6

Her Haus Decadence Weekend Her Haus presents three days of events throughout the weekend. On Friday,

they’ll host Neon Night Swim at Lost Coyote, featuring DJ sets by Interstellar and go-go dancers The Vixens. On Saturday, they’ll host “Saddle Up Sapphics” at Bourbon Pub, featuring DJ sets by DJ Billy Gay Cyrus and performances by Ivy Les Vixens, Lady Brii Adonis, Luna Noire, Jazmin Mariposa and Duali-Tease. On Sunday, there’s an after-parade party at Prohibition celebrating the female grand marshals and featuring DJ sets by Chemical Lex and Billy Gay Cyrus. For more information on times and tickets, go to herhausevents.com/decadence.

PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

SEPT. 4

Southern Decadence Grand Marshals’ Drag Show at the Golden Lantern, 9 p.m. The annual drag show with the grand marshals of this year’s parade. A city proclamation marking the 54th annual Decadence will also be presented. SEPT. 4

HNO’s Southern Decadence Party at The Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes & Culture, 7 p.m. Halloween New Orleans’ Southern Decadence Party will feature DJ Will Lowe, an open bar and full access to the museum. Tickets are $42.99 via halloweenneworleans.com. SEPT. 4

STILL INTO U: Sapphic R&B Party Southern Decadence Edition at The O Bar, 9 p.m. Presented by Lipstick NOLA, Still Into U will feature DJ Arie Spins, DJ Jess and DJ Shan Li playing classic R&B, slow jams, remixes and more. Free admission before midnight, VIP section tickets for up to five people (with a $200 minimum drink tab) are still available for $65.87 at eventbrite.com. SEPT. 5

Frolick with the Femmes 5k, 8:45 a.m. The second annual Frolick with the Femmes run/walk kicks off at Wifey’s in the Marigny at 8:45 a.m. Partici-

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

pants are asked to not wear workout wear but to “come dressed to express yourself in your Decadence fantasy.” There will be hydration stations along the route, which is still TBD, and participants will also get Frolick with the Femmes merchandise as well as a complimentary yoga class at 11 a.m. and access to the after-party. Tickets are $33.85 at eventbrite.com. SEPT. 5

Daya Betty: Southern Decadence Drag Brunch at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, 11 a.m. Hosted by Crystal Edge, Debbie with a D, Laveau Contraire and Vory Qua, the brunch will feature Daya Betty from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14 as well as bottomless mimosas. The show begins at noon, and there’s a meet-and-greet with Daya afterward. Tickets start at $53.68 at eventbrite.com.

SEPT. 5

Sapphic Speakeasy brunch at the AllWays Lounge, 1 p.m. A special brunch edition of the all-sapphic and lesbian burlesque and variety revue show will feature Meatballs Nola serving food, Quinn Bishop teaching sapphic history and performances by drag and burlesque artists. Tickets are $25 general admission at sapphicspeakeasy.com. SEPT. 5

Kitty Pool: Catwalk at The Maidstone, 2 p.m. M3OWM1X and Sparkle Puss host a fashion show and pool party at the Maidstone, featuring vendors, a photo booth, go-go dancers, cat-themed drinks, a poolside fashion show and DJ sets by Legatron Prime, Tristan Dufrene, Avea De Lune, Holly Jean, Sunnie, Foxx Karma and Paw.Pad Live. Tickets start at $20 at eventbrite.com.

Leaving guests spellbound since 1995

Decadence 20 26

Bookk Y Your T Tours T Today d The best New Orleans nights begin when the shutters close, the gas lamps flicker, and the French Quarter starts telling on itself. PHOTO BY DOUG MCCASH / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

SEPT. 5

Laveau Contraire’s Crystal Balls at the House of Blues, 8 p.m. Drag queen Laveau Contraire hosts a drag seance, or a “gayeance,” that’s part concert, part comedy and part tarot card reading. A dance party will follow. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25 at neworleans.houseofblues.com. SEPT. 5

Grrl:SoDec at The Howlin’ Wolf, 8 p.m. GrrlSpot’s Southern Decadence party for queer women will feature DJs, burlesque performances, go-go dancers, circus acts and more. Tickets start at $17.85 at eventbrite.com SEPT. 5

Horse Meat Disco at the Fillmore, 9 p.m. Horse Meat Disco returns for its 11th year at Decadence and will include a secret performance by a tobe-announced artist, a dark room and more. Tickets start at $59.99 at eventbrite.com. SEPT. 5

The Doll House at Okay Bar, 10 p.m. PrettieBoi’s “T4T Rave” will feature music by Conn!e and B. Ames, and performances by Flip It Pole Dancers, Duali-Tease, Ariana Amour and Eddie Lockwood. Tickets start at $13.76 via prettieboi.com. SEPT. 6

Burning Hell Burlesque: 7th Circle at AllWays Lounge, 10:30 p.m. Pinky DeVille and Burning Hell Burlesque present a night of “debaucherous and spicy burlesque acts” set to rock, metal and “badass” music.

Tickets start at $25 at the door and $31.37 at eventbrite.com. SEPT. 7

The Survivors Bar Crawl, 11 a.m. The annual Labor Day bar crawl will kick off at Golden Lantern Monday morning before traveling around to various spots in the Quarter.

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SEPT. 7

Southern Decadence Cool Down Pool Party at the Railyard NOLA, 12 p.m. The Labor Day pool party at the Railyard will feature dancing, music, cocktails and a performance by Laveau Contraire. Tickets start at $33.85 at eventbrite.com.

Let’s Mahjong!

SEPT. 7

RuPaul’s Plane Jane: Strut Southern Decadence Pool Party at the Virgin Hotel, 12 p.m. The 4th annual Strut pool party at Virgin Hotel’s rooftop pool is emceed by London Manchester and will feature, pop-ups, a professional photographer and performances by Debbie with a D, Gigi Gabor, Jeez Loueez, Katrina Waters, La Reina, Otto Von Blotto, Qween Quan, Rusty Fawcett, Tarah Cards, Virginia SlimJim, the Krewe Of Dolly and Disco Amigos as well as an appearance by special guest Plane Jane from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Project Runway.” Tickets start at $37.24 at eventbrite.com.

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SEPT. 7

Wanna Kiss?!: Decadence Pool Party at the Dew Drop Inn, 2 p.m. A “body-positive queer party,” Wanna Kiss will feature DJ sets, a full bar, food and, of course, access to the Inn’s pool. Tickets start at $19.64 at eventbrite.com.

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3931 MAGAZINE ST, NEW ORLEANS CURRENTCROPROASTING.COM Caramel and honey latte with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Delicious hot or iced! This drink was created in honor of Cat’s favorite fictional character, Prince Casteel Da’Neer, in the series From Blood and Ash.

2024 BAYOU RD, NEW ORLEANS OLDROADCOFFEE.COM Locally owned Old Road Coffee is a multiroaster café featuring some of New Orleans’ finest small-batch roasters. During the Coffee Crawl, try drip coffee from Pretty Coffee, Congregation Coffee and Alinea Coffee Roasters. Find your favorite, then take home a featured retail bag for just $17.

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Nobu New Orleans at Caesars New Orleans | by Beth D’Addono WHETHER IN FOR THE FIRST TIME OR A REPEAT VISIT, guests are

greeted by staff at Nobu New Orleans with an enthusiastic, “Irasshaimase,” which translates to “Welcome, please come in.” It’s part of founding chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s tenets for his more than 55 namesake restaurants across the globe, but the show of hospitality particularly rings true in New Orleans. The location situated just inside Caesars New Orleans recently marked two years in business. Matsuhisa, one of the world’s most famous chefs and restaurateurs, is known for his pioneering vision of Nikkei cuisine, the increasingly popular cross between Peruvian and Japanese gastronomy. Matsuhisa was one of the first to highlight this fusion when he opened his original restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1987. He’d spent time in Peru, where a group of Japanese chefs brought innovation, precision and passion to coastal towns, a movement driven by an influx of Japanese contract laborers at the turn of the 20th century. At Nobu, this translates to dishes like the miso cod. A miso glaze is common now, but 35 years ago, not so much. The umami-laced sauce caramelizes around the flaky, mild fillets, wonderfully sweet, salty and savory. Diners get just a taste with an order of black cod butter lettuce wraps, with two perfect bites. In New Orleans, Nobu’s kitchen is in the capable hands of Executive Chef Santiago Paz, who is Colombian by birth. He learned to cook by watching his parents and from an encouraging aunt in Miami. He studied cooking in Colombia and got an associate degree at the Mariano Moreno Culinary Institute in Miami 10 years ago. Paz spent close to a decade working in large, Nikkei-influenced restaurants in South Beach, including the massive MILA, where serving more than 1,000 guests a day was common. “It was so busy,” Paz says. “I was one of 65 cooks handling three different restaurants under the MILA name. It

Executive Chef Santiago Paz at Nobu New Orleans PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

was great training for me to learn about managing people, timing, orders, inventory, food costs, all of it.” A chef who opened Nobu London mentored Paz and suggested that he apply when the top chef position opened up in New Orleans a year ago. “I felt very comfortable with the menu, preparing dishes the Nobu way,” Paz says. “We are consistent at all the restaurants: If you order our signature miso cod dish, it looks and tastes exactly the same wherever you are.” Truffle also figures prominently on the menu, appearing in thick slices on grilled lobster, flavoring the wasabi dressing on the Caesar and imbuing the lobster tempura with an earthy depth. On the raw side, there is a silky toro tartare topped with glistening caviar, citrus-cured tiradito and a colorful sashimi salad with house dressing. For diners who are sushi-averse, there are plenty of cooked options. Seafood dishes include salmon teriyaki, skewers of grilled local shrimp, and a combo of grilled shrimp and lobster atop a bed of frisee dressed in a zesty lemon sauce. Several dishes feature the exceptional, tender-as-butter

Email dining@gambitweekly.com

Japanese wagyu, from a steak that costs $40 per ounce to a $20 taco. Paz oversees most of the menu, including adding locally sourced specials unique to New Orleans. Executive Sushi Chef Law Yee Wu Gwa breaks down the fish flown in from Japan weekly. Besides an extensive offering of sushi and sashimi, there is also an omakase menu for those wanting a deep dive into his specialty. Pastry chef Patricia Morton makes the restaurant’s signature baked Alaska, as well as a Key lime pie on a ginger crust topped with vanilla bean merengue and flambeed with rum. Also notable are her dark chocolate bento box and dreamy whipped coconut cream with strawberries and white chocolate, served with avocado gelato on the side. The restaurant is a handsome space, with enclosed seating nooks that look like open bamboo birdcages. There’s a striking lit bar, a row of seats at the sushi bar and a scattering of tables in the bar and dining rooms. It’s worth noting that the dining room is adjacent to the casino, and depending on where you sit, the experience may include the bells and dings of slot machines and the casino’s music soundtrack. The best way to enter is on the hotel side (Convention Center Boulevard, not Canal Street), where guests can access two floors of designated Nobu hotel rooms. While guests need to be at least 21 to get into the casino, Nobu has its own entrance and welcomes diners of all ages. “For people who’ve never been here, I’d say, it’s a really nice restaurant with a story behind it,” Paz says. “There are wonderful textures, colors, flavors to discover. That all adds up to a great experience.”

? WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

HOW

CHECK IT OUT

Nobu New Orleans

Caesars New Orleans, 8 Canal St., (504) 533-6646; noburestaurants.com/new-orleans

Dinner daily

Dine-in

Nobu Matsuhisa’s refined Nikkei cuisine

Taste of Beard

THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION RECOGNIZES CHEFS AND RESTAURANTS

with its annual awards. In the spring, it released a TasteTwenty list of chefs to watch. Among them is Sophina Uong, chef and co-owner of Mister Mao. She also has been a semifinalist for the Best Chef: South award. New Orleanians can get a taste of food by the program’s honored chefs at A Taste of America event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at The Josephine. The event will feature 20 tasting stations, and Uong will serve lump crab and Gulf shrimp with Kroeung Market lime and corn. Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu of Jun in Houston will serve lamb belly with salted yogurt and pickled green tomatoes. Detroit’s chef Dough Hewitt will serve smoked Appalachian trout with cornbread and chow chow. Philadelphia chef Phila Lorn will serve scallop crudo with chili jam-ponzu, apples and caviar. A full list of participating chefs and their dishes is available on the foundation website. General admission tickets are $175, and early admission is $250 via jamesbeard.org. — Will Coviello

Sophina Uong PROVIDED PHOTO

Sum more

DIM SUM ARRIVE AT THE TABLE LIKE LITTLE GIFTS, with dumplings

snug in their bamboo steam trays and small bites on tea plates. Soon New Orleans will be unwrapping more of it, with a new Magazine Street restaurant in the works from a family that has long been part of the local Chinese food scene and with a different restaurant known for sushi expanding with dim sum as well. Tsang’s Dim Sum & Bar is a new restaurant under development at PAGE 24

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The forthcoming Tsang’s location is also two blocks from another Uptown dim sum spot, Wishing Town Bakery Café (802 Nashville Ave). — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

SOUTHERN BRUNCH

Greyhound closes on Northshore AS THE DINING SCENE IN DOWNTOWN COVINGTON IS HITTING A NEW GEAR,

Judy Ceng (left) and Bonnie Ceng will open Tsang’s Dim Sum & Bar in Uptown. PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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5538 Magazine St., in the address that was previously the steakhouse Medium Rare and a long-time location of Juan’s Flying Burrito before that. It is the latest from mother-anddaughter team Judy Ceng and Bonnie Ceng. The family once ran Little Chinatown Restaurant in Kenner and later started the dim sum restaurant Dian Xin on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. They opened Dian Xin 2 at 620 Conti St. to focus on hotpot dishes. They later sold those restaurants to new operators, who continue operating them today. Judy Ceng says they felt drawn back to the business and wanted to make a fresh start with the new Uptown restaurant. Tsang’s will have a traditional menu of steamed dumplings, including soup dumplings, pan-fried fried pot stickers, turnip cakes, shrimp toast and egg tarts, among many others. Tsang’s is expected to open in the fall. Meanwhile, Poseidon Oyster & Sushi Bar (2100 St Charles Ave.), the long-running Japanese restaurant known for late-night hours and karaoke rooms, is expanding its schedule with dim sum. The restaurant will add breakfast and lunch hours around a new dim sum menu. Details are still scant, but this service could begin as soon as early September, a manager confirmed. Sushi and karaoke will continue as well. The two new additions come shortly after the debut of another Chinese restaurant serving traditional dishes. Shang Kitchen opened at 2917 Magazine St. in July. Soup dumplings are a key part of its menu, which also takes a tour of regional Chinese dishes from Hong Kong through the Cantonese and Sichuan traditions. Shang is a block from Miss Shirley’s Chinese Restaurant (3009 Magazine St.), which in its earlier incarnation as Royal China in Metairie introduced many people to dim sum through the years.

one of the restaurant families that set the pace is now taking a step back. The Greyhound, at 705 E. Boston St., has closed after five years in business, confirms Torre Solazzo, who started the restaurant with her husband, chef David Solazzo. The couple continue to run their Italian hot spot Del Porto Ristorante two blocks away at 501 E. Boston St. Torre Solazzo says they closed The Greyhound to focus their energies once again on one restaurant and their own family. “We’ve spent the last several years giving everything we have to both restaurants, and we’ve realized that it’s time to make a change. Del Porto is still the heart of what we do. It deserves our full attention, our creativity and our energy. And our family deserves that energy, as well,” she wrote in a social media post announcing Greyhound’s closing. “So we’re choosing to focus on what matters most. What matters most is our family, our people, and the restaurant that started it all for us. We’re incredibly proud of The Greyhound and everything we built there, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for that space and for the next chapter of its story.” In the weeks ahead, Del Porto will add a “gourmet to go” menu of dishes for home from both The Greyhound and Del Porto menus. The Greyhound transformed the town’s old Greyhound bus station (hence the name). It brought a casual and stylish restaurant modeled after a European gastropub. The menu ranged from fish and chips to doner kebabs and matzo ball soup, with a wood-fired oven for pizza and an extensive list of imported beers. The Solazzos originally opened Del Porto in 2002 in a much smaller location nearby with just 10 tables. The restaurant quickly made a name for itself, serving a fresh, seasonal take on regional Italian cuisine, and expanded to a larger location in 2006. It grew again through expansion and has become an anchor of downtown. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

3 COURSE INTERVIEW

Timothy Pakron

When people hear the word “vegan” food, they might have negative associations. How do you hope the book helps people re-think that?

Cookbook author and chef by Sarah Ravits WHEN MISSISSIPPI NATIVE TIMOTHY PAKRON MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS

seven years ago, his first priority was to create a lush edible backyard garden. The cookbook author, food stylist and photographer had just published his debut, “Mississippi Vegan” focusing on plant-based versions of Southern staples, and he’d always been drawn to the diversity and creativity of the New Orleans culinary scene. Growing ingredients quickly became the inspiration for his follow-up cookbook, “Garden Variety,” which comes out Sept. 1. The book is meant to be a roadmap for anyone who is curious about plant-based cooking, along with growing produce or herbs, with tips on how to incorporate seasonal ingredients and maximize flavor. “If I can do anything with this book, I want to show people that vegan food can be exciting and cool,” he says. “I’m trying to inspire people, and I’m trying to get you in the kitchen.” Pakron grew up gardening with his dad and cooking with his mom. When he got to college in Charleston, South Carolina, to study fine art, concentrating on photography and painting, he learned about the horrors of the factory farming industry, swore off animal products and never looked back. He also began experimenting with ways to “veganize” dishes, including the Southern staples he grew up with. He moved to New York City after college, where a friend encouraged him to share his culinary wisdom and photography on Instagram. His account, @MississippiVegan, quickly took off, and today he has nearly 190,000 followers. Among his fans are his favorite musician, Tori Amos, who was inspired during the Covid shutdowns to start cooking plant-based meals and whose praise appears on the book’s back cover. Pakron also curates a weekly newsletter in addition to maintaining a blog and website, mississippivegan.com. He’ll host a book launch event with Mosquito Supper Club and Saint Claire’s chef Melissa Martin at the Hotel Peter and Paul on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 6-8 p.m. Admission is free, but RSVP is required at mississippivegan. com/garden-variety-book-tour.

Timothy Pakron at home in New Orleans PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

How did you merge your green thumb and love of cooking with your background in fine art?

TIMOTHY PAKRON: After I graduated college, I was showing my art at a couple galleries in the South, and I moved to New York City, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But I ultimately realized the gallery world wasn’t really for me. I’ve always been a passionate cook, and because I went vegan early on, I had started to veganize a lot of dishes that I grew up eating. I was able to combine everything I learned from making art with food ingredients. I started going to the Union Square Farmers Market and getting exposed to really cool produce items, like interesting peppers, curry leaves, heirloom vegetables and wild-foraged ingredients. I started posting my food on Instagram, and it blew up ... There weren’t many people sharing elevated vegan food at the time, so I had great momentum. I was also serving at two vegan restaurants and doing side gigs. After two years I started doing pop-up events in New York, doing four-course meals, and a literary agent reached out to me. I realized doing a cookbook combines everything I love: curating a body of work and a collection of images — I felt like I’d been working on it my whole life, veganizing the food I grew up eating, and having this passion to celebrate produce and plants. (Writing cookbooks) is merging so much of my life, the inspiration from the garden and the inspiration of living in New Orleans and being in the South ... What started early on in my life, thinking I needed to make art and show in a gallery — I’m still making art, it’s just a different medium, and it’s more personable, because people get to bring the recipes to life in their kitchens.

P: My goal is to be open, welcoming and enticing. What I’m trying to show people is, you’re already eating vegan ingredients. When you eat a slice of sourdough bread, or take a bite of a delicious apple or eat a perfectly sauteed vegetable, you’re eating plantbased ingredients. It doesn’t have to be a wild, bizarre thing. Vegan food is a celebration of plant-based and mushroom-based ingredients, and I feel like it’s my duty as someone who has been vegan for this long to showcase this in an exciting way, and to shed a positive light on the movement. I always tell people, I’m about peace, love and seasonal fruit. If I can inspire you to try some of the dishes I like, and inspire you to get into the kitchen, or inspire you to have an herb garden, then I’m doing something good, and that makes me happy.

How is New Orleans reflected in the book? P: New Orleans taught me truly the beauty of fusion cooking. Look at gumbo: it has African, Spanish, Italian, Cajun, Native American (influences) — it truly is this beautiful blending of so many cultures and cuisines and that’s what makes New Orleans’ cuisine dynamic and special. I feel like it’s my duty to continue that tradition and also find new expressions — and also give a tribute to where dishes and flavors come from. I’m inspired by fresh produce from the garden, but I’m also inspired from traveling and my life experiences. My mom was a passionate cook when I was growing up. On weekends she’d make gumbo. It’s the best dish to learn — it teaches you how to layer flavors, with seasoning and spices at different times, and it teaches you how to create a really strong foundation. There’s a garden gumbo in the book. Gumbo’s always made with oil and flour, then you add celery, bell pepper and garlic and spices — and so you have a (plant-based) foundation. That’s necessary, and it makes gumbo taste the way it does. So instead of animal products, add roasted okra and mushrooms ... I’m trying to show people: It’s not that far-fetched.

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Out to 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. 3rd Block Depot — 316 Chartres St., (504) 552-4095; 3rdblockdepot.com — The menu ranges from seafood and sausage gumbo and Gulf shrimp ceviche to smashburgers and steaks. Brunch brings crab cake Benedict with hollandaise on an English muffin. Reservations available. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Acropolis Cuisine — 3841 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 888-9046; acropoliscuisine.com — The menu of classic Greek dishes includes souvlaki, gyros and pita wraps, spanakopita, hummus and Greek salads. Moussaka has layers of eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, ground beef and bechamel. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Angelo Brocato’s — 214 N. Carrollton Ave., (504) 486-1465; angelobrocatoicecream. com — This Mid-City sweet shop serves its own gelato in flavors like praline, salted caramel and tiramisu, as well as Italian ices in flavors like lemon, strawberry and mango. There also are cannolis, biscotti, fig cookies, tiramisu, macaroons and coffee drinks. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $ Annunciation — 1016 Annunciation St., (504) 568-0245; annunciationrestaurant. com — Gulf fish Capri includes artichokes, crawfish, tomatoes and capers. There also are oysters, seafood pasta dishes, salads, steaks, lamb chops and desserts like bananas Foster bread pudding and lemon icebox tart. Reservations recommended. Dinner Thu.-Mon. $$$ Audubon Clubhouse — 6500 Magazine St., (504) 558-1200; audubonclubhouse. com — The menu by Dickie Brennan and Co. includes crabmeat cheesecake, shrimp remoulade, fried oysters, burgers, sandwiches and more. Shrimp Tchefuncte combines house-made andouille, mushrooms, popcorn rice and Creole meuniere sauce. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Banana Blossom — 500 9th St., Gretna, (504) 500-0997; 504bananablossom. com — There are traditional Thai dishes like pad thai, green curry, pineapple fried rice, drunken noodles and coconut shrimp as well as original creations. Beef rib Chiang Mai features a slow-braised beef rib with yellow curry, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and chili oil. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$ Budsi’s Authentic Thai — 1760 N. Rampart St., (504) 381-4636; budsisthai.com — Chef Budsaba Mason prepares dishes from her native Issan region of Thailand and other popular Thai dishes like papaya salad, grilled pork shoulder, larb, khao soi, pad thai and red curry. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sun. $$ Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop — 2309 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, (504) 835-2022; gumbostop. com — The Gumbo Stop has several gumbo varieties including chicken and sausage gumbo and seafood gumbo with shrimp, crab and crawfish. The menu also has boudin balls, Bayou shrimp scampi, crawfish etouffee and fried shrimp po-boys. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$

$ — average dinner entrée under $10 $$ — $11-$20 $$$ — $20-up The Commissary — 634 Orange St., (504) 274-1850; thecommissarynola.com — Dickie Brennan’s Commissary supplies his other restaurant kitchens and also has a dine-in menu and prepared foods to go. A smoked turkey sandwich is served with bacon, tomato jam, herbed cream cheese, arugula and herb vinaigrette on honey oat bread. The menu includes dips, salads, sandwiches, boudin balls, fried oysters and more. No reservations. Outdoor seating available. Lunch Tue.-Sat. $$ The Country Club — 634 Louisa St., (504) 945-0742; thecountryclubneworleans. com — The Bywater restaurant and pool has a menu of crab beignets, truffle mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, burgers and more. Seared redfish is served with kale, toasted chickpeas, sesame seeds, chili crisp and whipped tahini. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Lunch, brunch and dinner daily. $$$ Delacroix Restaurant — 1 Poydras St., (504) 655-9002; delacroixrestaurant.com — With views overlooking the Mississippi River, the restaurant serves a mix of South Louisiana dishes like smoked duck gumbo, crawfish bisque, shrimp Creole, blackened redfish and crawfish étouffée. Drum amandine is served with green beans and stewed potatoes. Reservations available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Desire Oyster Bar — Royal Sonesta New Orleans, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 5860300; sonesta.com/desireoysterbar — A menu full of Gulf seafood includes oysters served raw on the half-shell or char-broiled with with Parmesan, garlic and herbs. The menu also includes po-boys, gumbo, blackened fish, fried seafood platters and more. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House — 144 Bourbon St., (504) 522-0111; bourbonhouse. com — There’s a seafood raw bar with raw and char-broiled oysters, fish dip, crab fingers, shrimp and more. Redfish “on the half-shell” is cooked skin-on and served with crab-boiled potatoes, frisee and lemon buerre blanc. The bar offers a wide selection of bourbon and whiskies. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse — 716 Iberville St., (504) 522-2467; dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com — The menu includes a variety of steaks, plus seared Gulf fish, lobster pasta, barbecue shrimp and more. A 6-ounce filet mignon is served with fried oysters, creamed spinach, potatoes and bearnaise. Reservations recommended. Dinner Mon.-Sat. $$$ Domenica — 123 Baronne St., (504) 6486020; domenicarestaurant.com — The Italian restaurant offers a mix of wood-fired Napolitano-style pizzas and house-made pastas. Appetizers include various salumi and cheese boards, antipasti, roasted cauliflower and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Don’s Seafood — 4801 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, (504) 888-1555; donsseafoodonline.com — The seafood options range from char-broiled oysters to seafood gumbo, fried shrimp and catfish platters

and stuffed flounder. The menu also has rib-eye steaks. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Elizabeth’s Restaurant — 601 Gallier St., (504) 944-9272; elizabethsrestaurantnola. com — Elizabeth’s is known for its signature praline bacon, and the menu also includes boudin balls, shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles and eggs Florentine. Outdoor seating available. Reservations accepted for parties of 10 or more. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Katie’s Restaurant — 3701 Iberville St., (504) 488-6582; katiesinmidcity.com — The Cajun Cuban is stuffed with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. The eclectic menu also includes char-grilled oysters, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, fried seafood platters, pasta, salads and more. Delivery available. Reservations accepted for large parties. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ King Brasserie & Bar — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3000; kingbrasserieandbar.com — The restaurant’s menu is inspired by the cuisine of the Riviera and southern France. There are dishes like steak frites and bouillabaisse as well as blackened Gulf fish and barbecue shrimp and oysters. Reservations recommended. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Legacy Kitchen’s Craft Tavern — 700 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 613-2350; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes oysters, flatbreads, burgers, sandwiches, salads and sharable plates like NOLA Tot Debris. A slow-cooked pulled pork barbecue sandwich is served with coleslaw on a brioche bun. Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Legacy Kitchen Steak & Chop — 91 Westbank Expressway, Gretna, (504) 5132606; legacykitchen.com — The selection of steaks and chops includes filet mignon, bone-in rib-eye, top sirloin and double pork chops and a la carte toppings include bearnaise, blue cheese and sauteed crabmeat. There also are burgers, salads, pasta, seafood entrees, char-broiled oysters and more. Reservations accepted. Outdoor seating available. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. $$ Luke — 333 St. Charles Ave., (504) 3782840; lukeneworleans.com — The raw bar offers oysters, boiled shrimp, cured tuna, smoked trout dip and more. The menu has dishes like shrimp and grits, crab omelets, crawfish etouffee and steak frites. Reservations encouraged. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Lyons Corner — 537 Gravier St., (504) 527-0006; lyonscornernola.com — The eclectic menu includes Cajun prawns, bangbang fried oysters, chicken sandwiches, salads and more. In the morning, there are breakfast empanadas, muffins, croissants, scones, beignets and more. Delivery and takeout available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Mikimoto — 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., (504) 488-1881; mikimotosushi.com — The menu of Japanese cuisine includes sushi, signature rolls, tempura fried items, udon noodles, teriyaki, salads and more.The South Carrollton roll includes tuna tataki, avocado, snow crab, green onion and wasabi roe. 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

shrimp Mosca, baked oysters Mosca and spaghetti bordelaise and chicken cacciatore. Chicken a la grands is sauteed with garlic, rosemary, Italian herbs and white wine. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Sat. Cash only. $$$ Mother’s Restaurant — 401 Poydras St., (504) 523-9656; mothersrestaurant. net — This counter-service spot serves po-boys dressed with sliced cabbage like the Famous Ferdi filled with ham, roast beef and debris. Creole favorites include jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice and more. Breakfast is available all day. Delivery available. No reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro — 720 Orleans Ave., (504) 523-1930; orleansgrapevine.com — The wine bar offers a selectoin of cheese boards and appetizers. Creole pasta combines shrimp and andouille in tomato cream sauce. Reservations accepted for large parties. Outdoor seating available. Dinner Thu.-Sun. $$ Pascal’s Manale — 1838 Napoleon Ave., (504) 895-4877; pascalsmanale.com — This Creole-Italian spot invented New Orleansstyle barbecue shrimp, and the menu also includes seafood gumbo, crab cakes, oysters and Italian-style pasta dishes. There’s also an oyster bar. Reservations recommended. Lunch and dinner Tue.-Sat. $$$ Peacock Room — Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, 501 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 324-3073; peacockroomnola.com — At brunch, braised short rib grillades are served over grits with mushrooms, a poached egg and shaved truffle. The dinner menu has oysters, salads, pasta, shrimp and grits, a burger, cheese plates and more. Reservations accepted. Dinner Wed.-Mon., brunch Sun. $$ Pizza Domenica — 4933 Magazine St., (504) 301-4978; pizzadomenica.com — Pizza is the focus of this offshoot of the Italian restaurant Domenica. There also are meatballs, roasted cauliflower and house-made pastas. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Restaurant August — 301 Tchoupitoulas St., (504) 299-9777; restaurantaugust. com — The fine dining restaurant serves Creole and contemporary dishes featuring foie gras, Gulf fish, duck and more. Gnocchi are served with crab, summer truffles and Parmesan. Reservations recommended. Dinner Sun.-Fri., lunch Fri. $$$ Rivershack Tavern — 3449 River Road, Jefferson, (504) 834-4938; rivershacktavern.com — This tavern along the levee offers a casual menu of roast beef po-boys, burgers, wraps, fried shrimp platters, catfish and gumbo. A country fried steak is served with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables and salad. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner daily. $$ Shaya — 4213 Magazine St., (504) 891-4213; shayarestaurant.com — The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu includes dishes like hummus, falafel, kebabs, grilled chicken and wood-oven pita bread. A chicken schnitzel sandwich is dressed with little gem lettuce, pickles and harissa mayonnaise on sesame brioche bread. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Stingray’s Restaurant & Bar — 1303 W. Esplanade Ave., Kenner, (504) 443-4040; stingraysseafoodrestaurant.com — Zydeco fish is stuffed with crabmeat dressing and topped with shrimp cream sauce. The

menu also includes fried shrimp and oyster platters, grilled redfish, crabmeat jalapeños, and boudin egg rolls. Reservations available. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ Tableau — 616 St. Peter St., (504) 934-3463; tableaufrenchquarter.com — The menu features traditional and creative Creole dishes. Pasta bouillabaisse features squid ink mafaldine, little neck clams, Gulf shrimp, squid, seafood broth, rouille and herbed breadcrumbs. Outdoor seating available on the balcony. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun., brunch Thu.-Sun. $$$ Tacklebox — 817 Common St., (504) 827-1651; legacykitchen.com — The menu includes raw and char-broiled oysters, seafood platters, po-boys, fried chicken, crab and corn bisque and more. Redfish St. Charles is served with garlic-herb butter, asparagus, mushrooms and crawfish cornbread. Reservations accepted. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Tavi — 330 N. New Hampshire St., (985) 200-2045; tavirestaurant.com — The menu combines dishes from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean. There’s hummus, falafel, kebabs, flatbreads, grilled fish, lamb burgers and more. Reservations accepted. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ 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, wings, breadsticks and more. Delivery available. Lunch and dinner daily. $ The Vintage — 3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144; thevintagenola.com — There’s a full coffee drinks menu and baked goods and beignets, as well as a full bar. The menu has flatbreads, cheese boards, small plates and a pressed vegetable sandwich with avocado, onions, arugula, red pepper and pepper jack cheese. No reservations. Delivery and outdoor seating available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. $$ Vyoone’s — 412 Girod St., (504) 381-4384; vyoone.com — The French-Creole menu includes dishes like escargot, crawfish beignets, crab cakes, shrimp pasta, duck a l’orange and lamb chops. Reservations recommended. Dinner Wed.-Sun. $$$ Willa Jean — 611 O’Keefe Ave., (504) 509-7334; willajean.com — The bakery and cafe serves biscuits with honey butter, cookies, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, shrimp and grits and more. Avocado toasts are made with house-baked ciabatta topped with tomatillo, spiced pepitas, pickled onion, cilantro and chipotle aioli. Outdoor seating available. No reservations. Breakfast and lunch daily. $$ Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks — 1514 Delachaise St., (412) 860-6801; yinzersamazingcheesesteaks.com —There are classic and original cheesesteaks filled with steak, chicken and more. Diners can opt for toppings like provolone, house-made cheddar whiz, mushrooms, onions, banana peppers and more. Delivery available. No reservations. Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sun. $

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upcoming events, seasons, activities, membership and volunteer opportunities at the free event. Participating organizations include the French Quarter Festivals, NOLA Project, Le Petit Theatre, WWNO, WYES, WTUL 91.5, New Orleans Film Society, Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice, Jefferson Performing Arts Center and more. At 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, at LSU New Orleans University Center (formerly UNO). Visit culturenola.org for details.

Galantis

The work of the Swedish dance pop band Galantis may be more familiar for songwriting members did for artists including Icona Pop and Britney Spears. Christian Karlsson, who co-wrote and produced “Toxic,” is the driving force behind Galantis and its blend of electronic sounds and pop hooks. Galantis has an EP due out in October, and it includes the preview single, a reworking of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” At 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Metropolitan. Tickets $46.31 via eventbrite.com.

Circle Jerks

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The influential hardcore punk band burst on the Los Angeles scene in the late 1970s and in 1980 dropped “Group Sex,” a landmark album of 14 songs in 15 minutes. It followed up with albums including “Wild in the Streets,” but took long hiatuses in the ensuing decades. The pandemic thwarted attempts at a 40th anniversary reunion tour, but the group has continued to play dates. Detroit hardcore pioneers Negative Approach and young punk outfit Upchuck also perform. At 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, at Tipitina’s. Tickets $45.71 at tipitinas.com.

Ricardo Pascal Sextet

Saxophonist Ricardo Pascal is a regular performer with Marcus Roberts’ Modern Jazz Generation and Judith Owen and the Gentleman Callers. In his own music, he blends swing, blues and soul. At the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music on Tuesday, Sept. 1, he’ll lead a sextet featuring bassist Amina Scott, drummer Gerald Watkins, trumpeter Ricio Fruge, trombonist Ethan Santos and pianist Oscar Rossignoli. The concert starts at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $15 for general admission, $45 for reserved seating and $5 for students via ellismarsaliscenter.org.

Fermin Ceballos album release

Vocalist Fermin Ceballos celebrates his latest album, “Sonando: Por amor a mi gente,” with a release party at the Broadside. The tropical folk album is inspired by immigrant communities in the U.S. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Admission is free, but RSVP is required. Find information via broadsidenola.com.

The Batture

After an August hiatus The Batture reopens on Friday, Sept. 4. The guitar and cello duo of Nat & Kat Cajun String Band performs at 6-8 p.m. The riverfront park has vendors including Bub’s NOLA, Bootsy’s, The Nell Shell, Imperial Woodpecker snowballs and more. Fall hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday. Find information at batture.com.

Neonautica

As Neonautica, vocalist and trained opera singer Megan Ihnen and saxophonist and producer Alan Theisen blend dubstep, drum and bass, funk, experimental classical influences and other genres for a unique electronic dance music sound. The duo next performs at 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at Saturn Bar with Tayls, Lisbon Girls and Bride. Tickets are $12.47 via dice.fm.

Very Good Tuesdays

The weekly Tuesday night jam is back at the Maple Leaf. Organized by trombonist Alex Wasily and guitarist Ari Teitel, Very Good Tuesdays features some of the best New Orleans musicians (and occasionally a visitor) playing improvised sets. The next edition, Tuesday, Sept. 1, will feature Wasily, Teitel, keys players Ivan Neville and Andriu Yanovski, trumpeter Aurelien Barnes and drummer Alvin Ford Jr. There’s also a DJ set by Mileslions. Music starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door. Find info at mapleleafbar.com.

‘Scout Island Symbiotic’

NOLA ’Nacular opens two new art shows on Saturday, Sept. 5. Lillian Lovich’s “Scout Island Symbiotic” explores the natural world through ink drawings, “botanically inspired” silkscreens, shadow boxes and mandala photographs. And in “Color as Memory,” Lorraine Streckfus shows abstract paintings on canvas. Ambient musician Halo Storm will craft live soundscapes using Scout Island field recordings during the opening event, starting at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Find more info on Instagram: @nola_nacular.

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MONDAY 31 30/90 — The Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Velvet Collective, 9 pm APPLE BARREL — Mark Appleford, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Byron Asher, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Red Beans & Blues with Washboard Chaz & Jonathan Freilich, 9 pm BROADSIDE — Hot Summer Salsa Nights with DJ Lady B, 7 pm BUFFA’S — David Doucet, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Mykel On the Beat / Alright Slash, 9 pm CARROLLTON STATION — Biscuits n’ Jam with Meryl Zimmerman & Friends, 10 pm DA JUMP OFF LOUNGE — Sporty’s Brass Band, 9:30 pm DBA — Secret Six Jazz Band, 6 pm; Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet, 9:30 pm DOS JEFES — John Fohl, 8:30 pm FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Tin Men, 5 pm; Richard Scott & Friends, 8 pm GASA GASA — Cheekface w/ Catbite, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — DJ Reverend Robert Sinewave, 10 pm MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Jenna McSwain, 6 pm; The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, 8 pm THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 8 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio, 7& 0 pm NOLA BREWING & PIZZA CO — Bluegrass Pickin' Party, 7 pm SATURN BAR — BC Coogan, 8 pm SIBERIA — Fauns with Fen Magus, O.I.L., and Soul Giant, 9 pm SNUG HARBOR — Charmaine Neville Band, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm SPOTTED CAT — Jenavieve Cooke & the Winding Boys, 2 pm; Dominick Grillo & the Frenchmen Street AllStars, 6 pm; Betsy Propane & The Accessories, 9 pm ST. ROCH TAVERN — Chasen Wayne & the Honky Tonk Machine + Andrew Jobin & the Thick Smoke, 9 pm

TUESDAY 1 APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Tangiers Combo, 6 pm BAYOU BAR — The OG’s, 8 pm; 10 pm BUFFA’S — Alex McMurray, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — The Super-MostFantastic-Blues-N-Such Jam, 7 pm DOS JEFES — The Spalding Brothers, 8:30 pm GASA GASA — The Miss B. Haven Show, 9:30 pm THE MAISON — Paradise Jazz Band, 8 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM — Jason Neville All Star Band, 5 pm OKAY BAR — Big Easy Stompers Line Dancing & Lessons, 8 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 9:30 pm ST. ROCH TAVERN — Hairaoke: Haircuts & Karaoke, 8 pm

TIPITINA’S — Circle Jerks + Negative Approach + Upchuck, 8 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Cuttin’ Up with Lil Prince & the Youngbloods, 10 pm

THURSDAY 3 APPLE BARREL — Felipe Kerra, 6 pm; The Budz, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Jesse Morrow, 6 pm BANKS ST. BAR — Bimbo-Oke, Karaoke!, 8 pm BAYOU BAR — Firm Roots, 8 & 10 pm BUFFA’S — Dylan James, 7 pm CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Songs for the People, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jam-ilton, 7:30 pm DBA — The Next Level Band, 8 pm GASA GASA — Maisy Owens & Jordan Day, 7 pm HOLY DIVER — The Amazing Henrietta, 8 pm THE MAISON — Gene’s Music Machine, 6 pm MAPLE LEAF BAR — Happy Organ Hour, 7 pm

Circle Jerks play Tipitina’s with Negative Approach and Upchuck Tues. Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. PROVIDED PHOTO BY ATIBA JEFFERSON

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & BLUES MARKET — Summer Music Series ft. Paul Sanchez, 7 pm NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM — Melanie Scholtz with the Adonis Rose Quintet, 2 pm PAULIE’S — PUPS Jam, 8 pm SANTOS BAR — Chambre Noir with DJ Paco, 10 pm SATURN BAR — Samantha Henson, Max Sanders, & Lefty’s Right Hand, 9 pm SIBERIA — Loose Helmet with Static Static and Dana Ives, 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Shotgun Jazz Band, 6 pm; Marty Peters & The Party Meters, 9:30 pm

THURSDAY 3 APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Johnny B, 10 pm PAGE 31

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BACCHANAL — David Sigler, 6 pm BANKS ST. BAR — Bimbo-Oke, Karaoke!, 8 pm BAYOU BAR — Cryptic, 8 pm; 10 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Lily Unless & The If Onlys, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Irvin Mayfield’s Music Church, 9 pm; DJ T-Roy, 11 pm BUFFA’S — Tom McDermott with Aurora Nealand, 7 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Armani Smith & Soul Ties, 10 pm CAROUSEL BAR — Leslie Martin, 5:30 pm DBA — Vegas Cola Band, 8 pm DOS JEFES — The Mark Coleman Band, 8:30 pm DOUBLE DEALER — Sariyah Idan, 9 pm FAVELA CHIC — Groovy’s House Party ft. DJ Groovy Smooth, 9 pm GASA GASA — Ben Kenney, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — SEX MEX / M.A.T.B. / BADZY, 8 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULE — The Soul Rebels, 11 pm THE MAISON — Single Malt Please, 8:30 pm PAULIE’S — Jay Dufour & the Strange Gang, 6 pm PEACOCK ROOM — Da Lovebirds: Robin Barnes & Pat Casey, 8 pm SATURN BAR — Neonautica, Tayls, Lisbon Girls, Bride, 9 pm SIBERIA — Boot with Jaded, Menorah, and Bored Shortz, 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Jenavieve Cooke & The Winding Boys, 6 pm; Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, 10 pm VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE — Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 10 pm

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FRIDAY 4 APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Willie Green, 7 pm BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 11 am THE BATTURE — Nat & Kat Cajun String Band, 6 pm BAYOU BAR — Oh Yeah!, 8 & 10 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Spaghetti Heist + Chef Menteur, 9 pm BLUE NILE — Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers, 10 pm; DJ FTK (upstairs), 10 pm BROADSIDE — Fermín Ceballos Album Release, 7 pm BUFFA’S — T Marie & Bayou Juju, 8 pm CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jamey St. Pierre and THC, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm THE CRYPT — Melody Zenith Live, 7 pm DBA — Michael Watson & The Alchemy, 6 pm; Jason Neville Funky Soul All-Star Band, 10 pm DOS JEFES — The Joe Krown Trio, 9 pm GASA GASA — MOTHICA w/ support from wilt, 8 pm HOLY DIVER — DarkLounge Ministries, 8 pm HOWLIN’ WOLF — Rodell Duff & Friends, 9 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Jon Roniger & The Good For Nothin’ Band, 11 pm LE PONCE — Manny Artega, 8 pm NO DICE — SINCLAIR NOIRE + Come to Ruin + Ethanol Merman, 9 pm THE RABBIT HOLE — Where You Are, 10 pm SATURN BAR — Una Noche de Música Latina con La Tran-K, 10 pm

SPOTTED CAT — Paradise Jazz Band, 2 pm; New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings, 6 pm; Dana Abbott Band, 10 pm TIPITINA’S — Free Fridays Concert: Erica Falls + Kota Dosa, 9 pm

SATURDAY 5 THE ALLWAYS LOUNGE & CABARET — The New Orleans High Society Hour - Live Jazz and Burlesque, 8 pm APPLE BARRELL — Hobo Gadget, 6 pm; Smokey Greenwell, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Raphael Bas, 7 pm BANKS STREET BAR — Sky Choice, 8 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — Chef EZ’s 50th with Horace Trahan + The Ossun Express, 9 pm BROADSIDE — Mr. Chris & The Blue House Band, 4 pm; The Suicide Machines + Bad Operation, 8 pm BROTHERS THREE LOUNGE — Steady Company, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Jerry Giddens & Lynn Drury, 8 pm CHICKIE WAH WAH — The Desert Nudes, 9 pm DBA — Margie Perez, 6 pm DOS JEFES — Bass X, 9 pm HOLY DIVER — Primitive Impulse / Laughing Torso / The Pallbearers, 9 pm LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Reverend Rob. B. Mortimer, 11 pm THE MAISON — Nola Axe Men; 1 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 4 pm NO DICE — That’s so Fetch, 9 pm OKAY BAR — “The Doll House” T4T Rave ft. Connie + B.Ames, 10 pm SANTOS BAR — Joe Fiore Presents: Furball Southern Decadence Edition, 9 pm

SPOTTED CAT — Twerk Thomson Band, 2 pm; Panorama Jazz Band, 6 pm; Ashton Hines & the Big Brawlers, 10 pm

SUNDAY 6 THE ALLWAYS LOUNGE & CABARET — The New Orleans High Society Hour - Live Jazz and Burlesque, 8 pm APPLE BARREL — Shwag, 6 pm; Steve Mignano, 10 pm BACCHANAL — Juan Tigre, 7 pm BJ’S LOUNGE — James McClaskey & the Rhythm Band, 9 pm BUFFA’S — Charlie Wooton, 7 pm DBA — Ryan Robertson Jazz Quintet, 6 pm; The Jump Hounds, 9:30 pm DOS JEFES — Joplin Parnell, 8 pm GASA GASA — The Phantom A.D w/ The Bills, Luxurious Faux Furs, 8 pm THE MAISON — Krewe Debauchery, 9 pm NO DICE — DYKEADENCE, 8 pm SANTOS BAR — FEMMES THEMS & EDM, 9 pm SATURN BAR — Yeah You Rite Karaoke with Nicky Diamonds, 9 pm SIBERIA — Cult Member with 4evr (body bag), 9 pm SPOTTED CAT — Jacky Blaire & the Hot Biscuits, 2 pm; Treme Brass Band, 6 pm; Pat Casey & the New Sound, 9 pm SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

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Fire Sale by Jake Clapp

BAD OPERATION HAD PLANNED THEIR FIRST SHOW for March 2020. The

five members of the New Orleans ska punk band came together in late 2019 wanting to get back to the joyful spirit of ska and play a show. The band — drummer Robert Landry, vocalist Dominic Minix, guitarist Brian Pretus, bassist Greg Rodrigue and trombonist and keys player Daniel Ray — had been working on original material and wanted to track songs in late March before Pretus went on tour with his hardcore band PEARS. By mid-March, though, Covid was spreading in New Orleans, and Bad Operation canceled their show. But the band members still had the energy, and when it felt safer to gather, Bad Operation pivoted to record their self-titled album. Released in December 2020 on the burgeoning ska label Bad Time Records (BTR) and Ray and Rodrigue’s Community Records, the self-titled album quickly had them riding the crest of a new wave in ska. If “Bad Operation” was prompted by the Covid era, the band’s second full-length album, “Everything Must Go,” was shaped by the following years of sweaty, fun shows and five musicians growing together. With “Everything Must Go,” “We did so much exploring and kind of digging into what we were aiming to really achieve with the self-titled in some ways,” Landry says. “It’s really nice to see it resonate with people and [see] where we were able to take ourselves as artists and musicians. The record kind of shows the best versions of all that.” Bad Operation released “Everything Must Go” in April through BTR and Community Records, but with tour dates in the spring and this summer, the band hasn’t played a hometown show since December. They now celebrate the album and open for ska punk legends The Suicide Machines on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Broadside. The Suicide Machines are also marking the 30th anniversary of their seminal album “Destruction by Definition.” Bad Operation ended up playing its first show in October 2021, and since then, the band has frequently toured, including with Jeff Rosenstock and several times with other bands on the BTR label. They also released a 2023 split EP, “Wavebreaker #4,” with Joe Gittleman, the bassist for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

Bad Operation PROVIDED PHOTO BY RAE MYSTIC

Along with New Orleans band Joystick and BTR groups like Catbite, JER and We Are the Union, Bad Operation has been part of a resurgence in ska punk in the U.S. Bad Operation’s self-descriptor “New Tone” — a nod to the working class, socially conscious Two-Tone wave of ska — has also been used to label the modern wave of ska, although the movement is shaped more by a DIY, justice- and community-minded ethos than it is about a specific sound. “The thing that sticks out the most is how the bands — us, all the Bad Time Records bands that we roll with a lot — how that community’s grown from us hitting the road together,” Pretus says. “It’s like this movement that we’re doing with a collective. The shows are selling out, people are going nuts at the shows, and they’re buying every band’s merch. ... Being part of that is really special.” When Gambit recently spoke with Bad Operation, the band was on its way to Chicago with BTR labelmates Kill Lincoln and JER for a sold-out show at the Cobra Lounge. On “Everything Must Go,” Bad Operation expands the sound it established on its first album, incorporating new styles and more group vocals and trying new things in song structures. The band’s aesthetics also have grown: For “Bad Operation,” the group shot videos and photos in black and white (another Two-Tone nod), while recent videos have been in color, and gold is integrated on “Everything Must Go” to reference New Orleans as well

as reflecting “an inner illumination” on the album, Minix says. The band leaves song interpretation up to the listener, but they wear their feelings about justice, social action and joyful resistance clearly on the sleeves of their coveralls. “Bad Operation is a container to learn how to work from our hearts,” Minix says. “It’s just a measure of how we show up in the world, how we show up for each other, with respect to our community and respect to ourselves. ... It’s awesome that that’s being reflected back to us by other bands in our cohort who are also doing the same thing. It’s really encouraging.” Touring can be tough, but the members of Bad Operation have developed systems to make it better. Communication is important. They meditate together and share meals. And there’s a schedule for merch and driving duties to help spread out the work. “It’s more of an overarching thing we’ve become really good at focusing on ... prioritizing our happiness and our comfort while we’re out here doing this uncomfortable but joyful thing,” Ray says. “Really watering the seeds of our relationship and checking in with each other and just making sure that we’re all in a good space to get on stage every night and do what we do.” Each member of Bad Operation has had years of experience in New Orleans bands and touring, and while talking with Gambit, they all expressed gratitude for what’s happened since late 2019. They’re proud of the albums, the touring and the hard work, they say, but it’s also been about personal growth. “This band has been an opportunity to look in the mirror and try to be a better version of myself,” Rodrigue says. “Through that, we’re collectively creating art and challenging ourselves. The fruit that has come from this tree is so sweet and so good that I can’t feel anything but gratitude.” Bad Operation plays with The Suicide Machines at 8 p.m. Sept. 5. Tickets are $32.73 via broadsidenola.com.

COMEDY

Participation trophies

1 OC20T261

by Will Coviello

IN HER JUST RELEASED COMEDY SPECIAL “THE INTROVERT,” Emily

Catalano talks about joining high school friends to go bra shopping. Having not hit puberty, she says she didn’t yet need a bra but didn’t want to be left out. She barely needed a training bra, she says. She tries to explain that to the crowd in San Diego, where she filmed the special. “It’s weird shopping for something you can’t fill yet,” she says. “It’s sort of like if the Padres went shopping for a trophy case.” “I use whatever sports team is not good in the city,” Catalano says from her home in Los Angeles. Saints fans can come prepared, as Catalano will be in New Orleans for two nights of shows at Sports Drink on Sept. 4-5. Actually, the Saints probably won’t suffer a trophy case joke. Catalano is kicking off a whole new set of material in New Orleans. She is a sports fan in general, and she often goes to daytime Major League Baseball games when on tour. But the only team she actively roots for is the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. She grew up in Santa Cruz, California, with a family full of older brothers and played a lot of sports herself. Her family also is the source of a steady stream of jokes about growing up in a religious environment and being naive about the world. In “The Introvert,” she tells a story about wanting a TheraGun massage gun for her birthday. Her dad misunderstood and thought she wanted an actual gun. But instead, he bought her a Hitachi Magic Wand. When she unwrapped the gift at a restaurant dinner, she was sure that she and the waiter were the only ones aware of its reputation and other uses. Her dad knows what it is now, she says. But, “I never talked to him specifically about that joke,” she adds. Her parents have seen her show and haven’t complained about the jokes. “I don’t think they love them,” Catalano says. “But they love me. They’re very supportive.” The jokes about naivete work in part because Catalano has a deceptively

Heaven’s Pets at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemeteries Every step supports local animal rescues. Register, donate or fundraise today! PHOTO PROVIDED BY EMILY CATALANO

quiet demeanor. Her deadpan delivery draws comparisons to Steven Wright and Tig Notaro, but she also talks at a teasingly slow pace. “I think it got more exaggerated on stage because I was doing rowdy bar shows and I noticed that the slower I talked, the more people would pay attention,” she says. Catalano was originally planning on becoming a screenwriter. At U.C. Santa Barbara she wrote a script for a short film called “Charline,” and it screened in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. After college, she moved home, and she first got on stage after a friend convinced her to try writing some jokes. It didn’t go entirely well, but she realized she knew how to write jokes. “I wanted to be behind the scenes, but that didn’t get me any jobs,” she says. “Stand-up is the ultimate creative project where you’re in charge of everything, and you can get instant feedback. As a writer, it’s hard to do that. It’s so fulfilling.” Catalano moved to San Francisco to do more shows at her favorite club, the Punch Line. In 2019, she got a slot on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show. In the last three years, she’s released two full specials and a short “Don’t Tell Comedy” set. Now she’s working on material for her next special. Emily Catalano performs at 7 & 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 5, at Sports Drink. Tickets $28.99 via sportsdrink.org.

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