Gambit Digital Edition: July 13, 2026

® July 13-19 2026 Volume 47 Number 28

ACME FENCECOMPANY

SATURDAY AUGUST 1ST

TELLIN’ TALES

Seeking Homeowners for a Research Study

Researchers at Boston Universit y, the University of Chicago, and Tulane Universit y are seeking homeowners to participate in inter views about their experiences of homeownership

ANY ADULT WHO OWNS OR CO-OWNS A HOUSE, CONDO, OR MOBILE HOME IN THE NEW ORLE ANS ME TRO AREA IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE.

Interviews are 60 – 120 minutes long and will be at a time and place of your choice. The researcher will ask how you came to own a home, how you maintain it and about the challenging and positive experiences of being a homeowner. Interviews are conf idential. No real names will be used in research reports.

ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE A $25 AMAZON GIF T CARD.

To participate, please contac t:

Dr Robin Bar tram, The University of Chicago: rbar tram@uchicago.edu or 77 3. 702 .6385

Eileen Tomczuk, Tulane University: etomczuk@tulane.edu or 609. 290.9535.

STAFF

EDITORIAL

(504) 483-3105 // response@gambitweekly.com

Editor | JOHN STANTON

Arts & Entertainment Editor | WI LL COVIE LL O

Staff Writers | JAKE C L APP, KAYL EE POCHE, SARAH RAVITS

Contributing Writer | IAN MCN ULT Y Podcast Producer | MADDIE SPINNER

CREATIVE

Creative Director | DORA SISON

Traffic Manager | JASON WHITTAKER

Project Manager | MARIA VIDACOVICH BO U É

Associate Art Director | EMMA DA VIA

Graphic Designer | GAVIN DONA L DSON

Contributing Graphic Designers |

SCOTT FORS Y THE, JASM Y NE WHITE, JEFF MENDE L

BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

Billing Inquiries 1 (225) 388-0185

ADVERTISING

Advertising Inquiries (504) 483-3150

Advertising Director | SANDY STEIN BROND U M [sstein@gambitweekly.com]

Sales and Marketing Manager

ABIGAI L BORDE L ON ( 504 ) 636 -7427 [abigail.bordelon@gambitweekly.com]

Sales Representatives

KE LLY SONNIER RODRIG U EZ ( 504 ) 483-3143 [ksonnier@gambitweekly.com]

CHAR L IE THOMAS ( 504 ) 636 -7438 [cthomas@gambitweekly.com]

BENNETT GESTON ( 504 ) 483 -3116 [bennett.geston@gambitweekly.com]

A LY SSA HA U PTMAN N ( 504 ) 483 -1123

[alyssa.hauptmann@gambitweekly.com]

L A U REN C U NNINGHAM ( 504 ) 636 -7426

[lauren.cunningham@theadvocate.com]

and Marketing Coordinator

C L ARE BRIERRE

[clare.brierre@gambitweekly.com]

L IONE L NOSACKA [lionel.nosacka@gambitweekly.com]

Watermelon Ice LemonB

lueberry Gelato

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

To the front

GINA LESLIE IS LEARNING HOW TO BETTER COEXIST with her inner critic. Most people have that voice inside their head, questioning and judging their choices or bashing their self-esteem. Leslie gave hers a name: Trish. “That was a direct technique from my therapist,” the New Orleans musician says. “Give the voice a name, so that when it’s talking smack to you, you can be like, ‘OK, Trish, you just chill out over here. I’ll give you a snack — you’re just hangry.’ ”

But while the inner critic can cause pain, it also is counterintuitively working to protect its person, Leslie adds. So instead of trying to banish Trish, she has been working to make peace.

On her recently released album, Leslie dedicates a song to calming Trish, singing “I’m learning to live with the voice in my head / How to put out her fire with my own glorious choir.”

The song “Trish” comes toward the end of “I Love You Always No Matter What Happens,” an album full of patient and warm Americana. The open-hearted album also is the first solo full-length from Leslie, who has spent the last decade as a popular side musician, often on bass, recording and performing with numerous singer-songwriters. In just the last few years, Leslie has played on records with Esther Rose, Bella White, Maggie Koerner, Sabine McCalla, The Lostines, Max Bien Kahn, Sari Jordan and others.

In 2022, Leslie released her first EP, “No, You’re Crying,” a wistful collection of country songs connected by heartbreak. But after the EP release, came “a healing era,” Leslie says. She was seeing a therapist and learning more about herself, and the new music she began writing reflected that personal growth.

So like with “Trish,” many of the songs on the new album find Leslie embracing herself and speaking words of encouragement, set to spacious indie rock-touched country.

Leslie is a careful lyricist — sometimes agonizing over each word, she says — and there are affirming sentiments throughout the album. The title “I Love You Always No Matter What Happens” is a love note to her younger self, a line taken from the song “Sing to the Flowers.”

On the album’s opener, “The World is Changing,” Leslie reflects on the ways things around her are shifting, and admits that she’s changing, too. The touching “Remember When” is a reminder to be present and hold on to special moments, while “Ain’t I Livin’ ” explores the loneliness that can come

by Jake Clapp |

from chasing success. And on the dreamy, shimmering “Sugar Water,” Leslie sings about romantic serendipity.

“I want to use music as a tool to speak truth to these experiences,” Leslie says.

“I love a feel-good party song, and I’ll always want those songs as well, but I’m finding a superpower that is within me of being honest about the struggles.”

Leslie recorded most of “I Love You Always” in Nashville, where her two brothers live. She was ready to record some new music, but things weren’t quite lining up to do it in New Orleans, she says. While visiting her brothers for Thanksgiving last year, though, she took a walk with her longtime friend Nat Smith, a musician also living in Nashville, and Smith invited Leslie to record in his home studio.

Smith called another friend, Lake Wilkinson, to engineer the sessions.

“I Love You Always” includes Leslie singing lead and harmony vocals and playing acoustic and electric guitars; Smith playing guitars, bass, organ, drum machine and other instruments; pedal steel by Thorleifur Gaukur Davidsson; drums and percussion by Armen Aroush; and additional vocals from Elise Leavy, Sam Leslie and Nina deVitry.

Leslie recorded additional parts of the album in New Orleans with Ross Farbe and Ajaï Combelic. Timothy Stollenwerk, who has worked on albums by Built to Spill, Haley Heynderickx and Cake mastered the album.

When performing live, Leslie is usually joined by drummer Howe Pearson, Max Bien Kahn on bass, guitarist Dave Hammer and occasionally another

vocalist friend, like Leavy, Sari Jordan or Anna Moss, to sing harmonies.

Leslie grew up in Colorado in a musical family — she’ll still join her parents and two brothers to play together during weddings and funerals. But in 2016, Leslie was living in California and working a design job that kept her overworked, unhappy and unable to play music the way she wanted to, she says.

A phone call from a musician friend, Ric Robertson, who was living in New Orleans at the time, convinced her to make a change. She originally intended to stop in New Orleans for a few days on her way to Nashville, where another friend was holding a room for her.

On that first night, Halloween 2016, though, Leslie met singer-songwriter Dave Hammer at St. Roch Tavern, and the two immediately hit it off and decided to start a band. Leslie soon after told her Nashville friend to forget about the room. Leslie, Hammer and Robertson found a house to rent together and started up the band Damn Gina. The trio booked a Sunday night gig at the former Sidney’s Saloon (now Holy Diver).

“We created a really sweet community night, and it was like every Sunday for three years, we’d book two other bands and then we’d close it out,” Leslie says. “It was the best time of my life. It was such an explosive time for growth. That’s when I learned to play bass and how to take guitar solos.”

During that time, Leslie also met Sam Doores, co-founder of The Deslondes, who invited Leslie to join his solo band. Her musical network continued to grow, and she found steady work accompanying others.

“Supporting others brings me so much joy and purpose. I like to do my thing and write songs and steer my own ship, but I think life is kind of richer when we don’t think of it like, ‘I’m the main character,’ ” Leslie says. “I like to think of more like, I’m part of an ensemble cast in the production of this life here.”

“I feel really lucky that my trajectory in this town immediately put me into collaborative situations,” she adds. Leslie quickly found “my people and then we just never looked back.”

Find Gina Leslie’s music at omgina.com.

New Orleans International Piano Institute & Competition

The competition and festival feature an array of performances. The 30th annual New Orleans International Piano Competition features a dozen semifinalists from the U.S., Russia, China, South Korea, Japan and Canada. A festival highlight is the premiere of local composer Courtney Bryan’s “Ancestor Tree.” It will be performed by all pianists in the competition. Also, visiting artist Angela Cheng performs a program of works by Mozart, Cheminade and Chopin at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 18. The competition runs July 19-26, and there are master classes throughout the week. Events take place at Loyola University’s Roussel Hall and Nunemaker Hall. Visit masno.org for information.

Elmiene

British neo-soul vocalist Elmiene has been a quickly rising star off of the strength of a string of acclaimed EPs and singles in the last few years. He released his first full-length album, “Sounds for Someone,” in March with the help of artists like Sampha, No ID and Raphael Saadiq. Elmiene is familiar with New Orleans and filmed a live video here for his song “Honour,” featuring a brass band made up of Jeremy Phipps, Zharia Sims, Charles Lumar and others. He returns to the city for a Civic Theatre show at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 18. Resale tickets start at $134.47 via civicnola.com.

Little Freddie King

New Orleans bluesman and living legend Little Freddie King celebrates his 86th birthday on Saturday, July 18, at his home bar, BJ’s Lounge. After a bicycle accident last year, King hasn’t

Gina Leslie releases heartfelt solo album

Courtney Bryan

PHOTO PROVIDED BY COURTNEY BRYAN

Gina Leslie PROVIDED PHOTO BY RETT ROGERS

DDOWNTOWN OWN O TOWNSummer Starts

F I N D D E A L S : FIND DEALS:

Summer starts in Downtown New Orleans with can’tmiss deals across dining, drinks, activities, services, and retail. From happy hour steals to shopping finds, everything you need for the season is right here. NewOrleans can’tdealsacrossdining, drinks,activities, andretail. happyhourstealstoshopping everythingyou forthe season righthere.

The World Monuments Fund, a prominent global organization focused on preserving cultural heritage sites, recently placed New Orleans on its Irreplaceable America list, an initiative highlighting 10 historic places essential to American history. New Orleans is the only city to be included on the list, a placement recognizing the value of its cultural landscape, from the architecture to the traditions and pace of life.

OPENING GAMBIT

NEW ORLEANS NEWS + VIEWS

Happy 86th Birthday Little Freddie!

LA Gov. Je Landry, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno trade barbs in escalating political ght

THE WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN GOV.

New Orleans public schools saw significant improvement in this year’s LEAP test scores, making the school system one of the most improved in the state. Local public school students this year did 3 percentage points better than in 2025 across all tested subjects and grades. It’s the third year in a row the school system has made the top-improving list.

JEFF LANDRY AND NEW ORLEANS

MAYOR HELENA MORENO HEATED UP THURSDAY JULY 9, with the two trading dueling letters over the city’s finances and not-so-veiled threats of who will be responsible for economic pain if Landry uses funding to the city in retribution for the recent indictment of Attorney General Liz Murrill.

it through the remainder of 2026 without Bond Commission approval. That does not mean the underlying cash-flow challenge disappeared. It means the City must now absorb the financial impact in other ways.”

THE NUMBER OF NEW ORLEANS CRIMINAL COURT JUDGES — THE ENTIRETY OF THE LOCAL BENCH — WHO HAVE RECUSED THEMSELVES IN ATTORNEY GENERAL LIZ MURRILL’S CRIMINAL INTIMIDATION CASE.

Murrill, who was indicted by a grand jury on 16 charges after threatening to remove local elected officials from office after they called for a special election, immediately had the case frozen by the state Supreme Court. Now the Court will appoint an outside judge to consider the matter, the latest development in the ongoing power struggle between state Republicans and New Orleans Democrats.

Louisiana needs to do more to connect families with available federal food assistance, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor recently found. Last year, around 47% of the available assistance went unredeemed, the report says. The audit made recommendations to get funding into the hands of those who need it, including ensuring clinics meet outreach requirements and addressing barriers like transportation and restrictive appointment rules.

In a letter to Moreno, Landry demanded answers about the city’s finances and Moreno’s plan to fund government, including her decision to drop a plan to seek approval for a $110 million bond from a state agency Landry and Murrill both sit on. In his letter, Landry wrote, “how is it that the City one day needs $110 million and today it does not?”

But that’s not exactly how the decision was made. In fact, earlier in the day Moreno announced she was cancelling the meeting with the state bond commission because it was clear it was not going to approve the bond and that she would instead look to alternative ways to fund the city’s operations.

In response to Landry’s letter, Moreno noted, “The answer is straightforward: after it became clear that approval at the Bond Commission was unlikely, we developed an alternative plan to make

“The long-term financing request was never intended to avoid difficult decisions—it was intended to spread those decisions over time. It would have allowed us to continue reducing expenditures in a deliberate and responsible manner while minimizing disruptions to essential services and our workforce,” Moreno added.

Murrill and Landry are extremely close. The recent decision by a grand jury in the city to indict Murrill on 16 counts of alleged illegal threats towards Moreno and other city officials have enraged Landry and Murrill.

The state Supreme Court has not only stayed that indictment and pulled back an arrest warrant for Murrill, it’s made clear it will almost certainly throw the case out entirely. Which in theory should have squashed the fight before it ever got started.

But Murrill and Landry clearly remain upset about the entire situation. So much so in fact that Shreveport Republican state Sen. Alan Seabaugh told the TimesPicayune, “I can’t imagine New Orleans would get anything they’re

What is your favorite spirit for a summer cocktail?

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill

PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

asking for now ... and I would be very surprised if they kept everything they’ve got now.”

SMIRNOFF ICE RED,WHITE &BERRY

Meet the icy,cold, ready to drink Smirno�Ice.Smirno� IceRed White Berry is the perfect wayto kick back and relax. With the cooling taste of cherry, citrus and sweet blue raspberry,this limited edition malt beverage is fruity,fizzyand full of fun.

Style -Flavored Malt Beverage ABV-4.5%

SINLESS VODKA COCKTAIL

Take the guilt out of goodtimes. Afull-flavorcocktail made with Premium Vodka. Zero sugar, zero carbs, &only 100 calories. It’s booze without baggage. Bold, juicy black cherrywith balanced sweet and sourimpact. Lightbody,lightly carbonated.

Style -Ready to Drink ABV -5.0%

The indictment has no actual bearing on the city’s finances, of course. But in previous disputes with city officials, Landry has been explicitly clear he will use whatever levers he has to impose his will on the city in order to bring New Orleans “to heel.”

In her letter, Moreno said that without the $110 million bond, her administration is “compiling a plan that defers tens of millions of dollars in projects, implements an additional $20 million in mid-year reductions effecting City operations, public safety and essential services, aggressively pursing collections owed to the City, and continue utilizing furloughs and other temporary cost-saving measures while we stabilize our finances. This path is achievable, but it is unquestionably more painful.”

Just how painful remains to be seen. Details of the plan to fund the city are still being worked out by the administration, and sources familiar with the situation said things remain very much in flux. There are some sources of revenue the city could try and tap, including $130 million from the Superdome naming deal Moreno cut earlier this year – though those funds are designated for emergency spending in the event of a hurricane or other disaster. The city could also collect on tens of millions of dollars still owed the city by the Sewerage & Water Board, and it’s still owed upwards of $20 million in federal reimbursements.

Multiple sources said short of a deal with the state, the administration may be forced to cut funding for some services and expand the current furloughs significantly.

Those furloughs were put in place as a result of financial mismanagement by former Mayor LaToya Cantrell, which nearly resulted in the city running out of money months before the end of the year in 2025. Moreno, City Council President JP Morrell and former council member and current Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso avoided that scenario by working with the state’s legislative auditor to reduce spending, obtain short-term loans and implement furloughs. Since coming into power, Moreno and Giarrusso have sought to minimize furloughs, largely targeting managers, appointees, members of the council and others to avoid impacting ground level city workers. That’s accounted for roughly 10% of the city work

force – and has not included staff in the sheriff’s office, NOPD, the district attorney’s office or the court system.

While it’s lessened the pain – and would have not been an issue save for Landry’s threats – it’s also come at a cost: rather than seeing cost reductions in the tens of millions which would have been achieved from broader furloughs, up till now they’ve netted the city only a few million dollars in savings, sources said.

But that’s likely to change if an agreement with the state can’t be reached. Any plan will almost certainly include not only extending current furloughs but also adding significant numbers of other city employees, including administrative staff at NOPD. While all sources agreed actual officers on the ground won’t be furloughed, there are hundreds of NOPD employees who don’t actively patrol streets or investigate crimes who will likely be affected.

The DA’s office, sheriff’s office and court system could also likely see similar furloughs to back-end staff.

The city could also look to reduce, at least temporarily, funding for a number of large projects in the city, though that could have significant funding and development impacts for years to come. More concerning for the city could be how the fight affects the city’s long term financial situation. Moreno and Giarrusso were already under the gun to find ways to raise revenue to keep the city afloat in the coming years while demonstrating the city and state are serious about righting New Orleans’ fiscal situation – a key factor in keeping the city’s already tenuous bond credit rating.

If the city is forced to tap into the Superdome money and expand furloughs, combined with a poisoned relationship with state officials, credit agencies could further downgrade New Orleans. That, in turn would make borrowing money significantly harder. — John Stanton

From left New Orleans CAO Joe Giarrusso, Mayor Helena Moreno and City Council President JP Morrell

PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

JOHN STANTON

Focusing on groundwork, Moreno’s New Orleans East

NEW ORLEANS MAYOR

HELENA MORENO JULY

8 ANNOUNCED HER ADMINISTRATION’S NEW PLAN TO REVITALIZE NEW ORLEANS EAST, with a focus on much needed infrastructure repairs and improvements to attract new businesses.

Moreno’s “New Orleans East Investment and Jobs Corridors” plan comes as the mayor fast approaches the six-month mark of her administration, and it is the latest in a series of policy moves which, at least on paper, could mean dramatic improvements for the city.

The plan, which Moreno called one of the “biggest announcements” of her political career, aims at attracting aerospace businesses connected to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility and the planned port in St. Bernard Parish. Rather than simply offering up tax breaks or land, Moreno’s multiyear plan is to make sure the basic infrastructure potential businesses will need is in place in order to attract them. That, in turn, would help stimulate growth of retail businesses, bars and restaurants and other growth in a part of the city that has never fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina.

This isn’t the first time a mayor has announced an ambitious plan to bring back the economy in the East.

Former Mayors Mitch Landrieu and LaToya Cantrell also announced plans they said would bring the East back, ranging from multimillion dollar plans to transform Read Boulevard to multiple failed plans to redevelop the old Six Flags site. And while some of the neighborhood-specific plans have borne fruit, none have made good on their transformative promises.

Details of Moreno’s plan are still not fully fleshed out and, given the history of redevelopment efforts in the East, it’s still way too early for celebration. Still, there is reason for some amount of hope.

Most importantly is what Moreno’s plan isn’t, namely a big-time development project with lots of bold-faced names and ambitious promises. While unveiling detailed scale models and celebrity involvement are splashy staples of local politicking, as history

has shown, those plans rarely come to fruition without the basic infrastructure. That Moreno is eschewing the flash for the hard work of laying the groundwork is a positive sign.

While her term is still in its early days, there’s already signs that Moreno is serious about following through on the small steps. Her decision to step in and begin helping Lower Decatur businesses hit hard by the Sewerage & Water Board’s construction, the administration’s progress toward finally fixing traffic signals damaged during Hurricane Ida and its push to fix streetlights are all positive signs. Likewise, her administration has begun bringing many of the city services outsourced under Landrieu and Cantrell back into the public sector, which will make it easier, more affordable and hopefully faster for City Hall to repair roads, streetlights and other basic infrastructure. These may seem like small things, and to a certain extent they are. And to be clear, a lot of work remains to be done even in these areas before anybody claims success — like following through on promises for more help on Lower Decatur, setting deadlines and concrete goals for projects like the Charity Hospital redevelopment and holding city departments, utility providers and developers accountable. But after more than a decade of privatization, failing city services and unfulfilled lofty promises, a steady, incremental approach to fixing things is a welcome and necessary change.

summe r str aws

shop @ gaetanasnola

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™

@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

Hey Blake,

I came across a vintage poster for sale in a flea market for the Toulouse Cabaret at 615 Toulouse. What do you know about its history?

Dear reader,

THE TOULOUSE THEATER, LATER CALLED THE TOULOUSE CABARET, opened in 1970. It was built by attorney Joseph Bernstein and Frank Friedler Jr., who was later elected to the New Orleans City Council. The 300-seat Toulouse was leased to the Walter Reade movie theater chain, which also owned Metairie’s Sena Mall theater.

“The attractive and intimate Toulouse Theater in the French Quarter opened Friday with an attractive and relatively innocent picture, ‘The Virgin and the Gypsy,’ ” wrote Frank Gagnard in a Oct. 17, 1970, Times-Picayune review.

States-Item columnist Tommy Griffin wrote the “exterior of the playhouse conforms handsomely to French Quarter architecture and inside the walls are lined with simulated gaslight lamps, a beige stage curtain and blue sliding lounge chairs with footrests in front for comfort.”

The Toulouse initially featured foreign and arthouse films. And from 1974 to 1976, it showed X-rated movies, according to a Times-Picayune article.

New owners acquired the theater in 1977, offering, “movies of special interest, live concerts, vaudeville, theater, gospel, midnight disco and a café,” according to Times-Picayune theater writer Richard Dodds. In 1978, the theater premiered Vernel

BLAKE VIEW

Bagneris’ “One Mo’ Time” musical revue recreating the history of Black vaudeville. It opened Off Broadway before playing London’s West End, followed by a world tour and a Broadway revival in 2002.

The Toulouse continued as a theatrical venue, later changing hands and becoming the 21 Supper Club and Maxwell’s Toulouse Cabaret, owned by orchestra leader Jimmy Maxwell. Among its regular performers was singing Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. In 1999, the club reopened as the Shim-Sham Club and Juke Joint, hosting everything from rock concerts to burlesque shows. In 2002, new owners renamed the club One Eyed Jacks. It closed in 2020 and was sold in 2021 to a group including Preservation Hall proprietor Ben Jaffe. They renovated the club and revived the Toulouse Theatre name.

IN HONOR OF NEXT WEEK’S TALES OF THE COCKTAIL , we visit a place where many visitors have enjoyed a cocktail or two: the bar of the Columns Hotel.

The hotel’s bar area was the family dining room when the property at 3811 St. Charles Ave., built in 1883, served as the Simon Hernsheim family home. Born in New Orleans in 1839, Hernsheim made his fortune in tobacco, owning what would later be called the largest cigar factory in the country, located at Magazine and Julia Streets (now the offices of the Deutsch Kerrigan law firm).

Hernsheim’s three-story St. Charles Avenue mansion was designed in the Italianate style by noted architect Thomas Sully. In addition to its grand columns, one of the home’s most striking features is its mahogany stairwell, which rises to meet a square-domed stained glass skylight.

Hernsheim and his family lived in the house until 1898, after which it was bought and sold several times. In 1915, it was converted into a boarding house. In 1953, the property became the Columns Hotel. It fell into disrepair by the 1970s.

In 1978, “Pretty Baby” starring Brooke Shields was filmed at the hotel. Two years later, Claire and Jacques Creppel purchased the property and restored it.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building was purchased in 2019 by hotelier Jayson Seidman. It has been recognized with the Michelin Key twice, in 2024 and 2025.

Ben Jaffe, left, Jeanette Jaffe, Boo Randle and Clayton Randle pose on the balcony of the Toulouse Theatre.

PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

Tales Tales Tellin’

Tales of the Cocktail

comes at a

difficult time for the hospitality industry

BY JOHN STANTON | GAMBIT EDITOR

THIS WEEKEND, thousands of bartenders, bar and restaurant owners, distributors, brand reps and other members of the hospitality industry will come to New Orleans for the annual Tales of the Cocktail convention.

Over its more than two-decade history, Tales has always been more than just convention, starting out as more of a consumer event that has over time transformed into one of the liquor industry’s biggest events of the year. Sure, Tales has all the events you’d expect from a normal convention. There are, of course, lanyards and badges, panel discussions and educational programming in hotel ballrooms, a trade show of sorts, an awards ceremony dinner ... all the standard issue trade industry association fare.

But that’s where the similarities between Tales and, say, the American Podiatric Medical Association convention end. Liquor companies host tastings, lectures and special happy hours across the CBD and French Quarter, and every night brands take over bars across the city for big parties and events.

Tales also has been a major economic driver for local small businesses. Coming in the middle of July when few tourists visit and locals head out of town to beat the heat, Tales — particularly in its early years — was a key economic lifeline for owners and workers. Over the last decade as brand bar takeovers and other free events have proliferated, its direct impact on local hospitality workers has lessened. This year the bar and restaurant industry in New Orleans is struggling.

Longtime institutions like Check Point Charlies and Cafe Sbisa are gone. Critically acclaimed restaurants like Coquette and Emeril Lagasse’s 34 Restaurant and Bar have closed their doors, as has the French Quarter outpost of LUFU — fresh off its CBD location getting a Michelin nod. It’s not just new spots or historic businesses that are closing their doors, either. The popular Magazine Street restaurant Gris-Gris at the beginning of July announced it was closing, and at least a dozen more bars and restaurants have either closed since the beginning of the year, are considering closing or are barely hanging on.

Meanwhile, infrastructure mismanagement by the Sewerage & Water Board is crushing Lower Decatur businesses, which once included LUFU and Cafe Sbisa. After nearly a year of street closures and construction chaos, the venerable stretch of bars on Decatur could see more spots go out of business before it’s all said and done (see page 17 for more).

Donald Trump’s war on Iran is driving up fuel costs nationally, making the cost of everything from limes to Budweiser more expensive — and making it harder for workers to afford even getting to work. Meanwhile, his xenophobic immigration policies and rhetoric are driving down international tourism. Suffice it say, from Magazine Street to the Bywater, bars and restaurants are struggling. It’s gotten so bad, city officials are taking steps to help. Mayor Helena Moreno last month announced the city was creating a program to give grants to Lower Decatur businesses to

help offset some of the lost revenue from S&WB’s construction, the first in what she said will be a series of steps to help keep them afloat.

Meanwhile, the Office of Nighttime Economy and district city council members are organizing a series of bar crawls throughout the city. Beginning Aug. 8, Council Members Jason Hughes, Freddie King III, Lesli Harris, Eugene Green and Aimee McCarron are teaming up with local influencers for district specific crawls throughout the month.

Tales of the Cocktail visitors know firsthand just how hard it is make a living in the service industry. But that’s especially so in New Orleans, where hospitality remains one of the chief economic drivers. When it suffers, the

entire city suffers, which in turn makes them suffer even more.

That makes getting out into the city during Tales — and not just sticking to the free events and takeovers — so important this year. Tales participants know how to tip, perhaps better than any other group that comes to New Orleans. They understand what it means for the day-to-day lives of workers and the long-term viability of businesses to spend money in their establishments, not just wander past on the way to a free mezcal tasting down the street.

Tales of the Cocktail and New Orleans are inextricably linked, which makes supporting our local bars and restaurants this year more important than ever.

Decatur Street

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

Ain’t der no more, Cafe Sbisa

PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

D O N’ T forget GUEST COLUMN:

Decatur Decatur

BY TREY MONAGHAN

THIS WEEK, THOUSANDS OF VISITORS WILL POUR INTO THE FRENCH QUARTER for Tales of the Cocktail, and many of them will walk straight into a construction fence that’s cut off Lower Decatur Street since last September.

I’m Trey Monaghan, the third James Monaghan to run Molly’s at The Market. My grandfather and his wife Carol opened the bar on Lower Decatur after selling their first bar on Toulouse Street. Not long after, the building burned to its rafters. We were open again the next day. My dad Jim took over in late 2001 after my grandfather died. A few years later, Hurricane Katrina forever altered the trajectory of our city. My father kept the bar open every day following the storm.

I bring up that history because I was asked to write this piece about the struggles unfolding on Decatur Street because of the Sewerage & Water Board project, and its impact on residents and businesses. The context of our bar burning down, and the worst disaster in this city’s history, is what shapes how I think about the current situation. Just last month, someone tried to tell me the fence was worse than Covid, and I had to remind them that Covid killed people and stopped the entire hospitality industry overnight. This fence, this project, is not Katrina, or Covid, or the tenant who accidentally burned our building down. But what it represents speaks to a larger issue: As residents and business operators, we are constantly at odds with our major infrastructure companies and the leadership meant to serve us.

I won’t speak for the whole city, but from my experience and conversations with others, no one lives here because of the great service provided by our local or state government, or companies like Delta Utilities, Entergy, Cox or the Sewerage &

Water Board. We live here because of the community, the people, the culture, and the energy we create together, despite constantly having to fight for basics that other cities take for granted.

The fence went up in September 2025, directly in front of Molly’s and several other bars that will be packed this week for Tales of the Cocktail. As I raise two children of the next generation, one of whom was born this February during a boil water advisory, I understand we need to replace and update critical infrastructure across the city. What’s most frustrating about this project is SWBNO’s inability to hit a single self-imposed timeline. It has devastated every business on Lower Decatur Street and forced several to close their doors for good.

Imagine being told the road would be temporarily paved for Mardi Gras, only to have to cajole the board into admitting the street wouldn’t be open in time. Then came the promise to temporarily pave it for French Quarter Fest in April, in case the project wasn’t finished by then. Again, these were promises made by the Sewerage & Water Board.

No one was surprised when the street wasn’t open for French Quarter Fest either.

From September until now, the street has lost every major event, including now Tales of the Cocktail. Our neighbor Kirk, owner of Cane and Table, lost a private event and thousands of dollars because of missed timelines and the Board’s unwillingness to help facilitate load-in and load-out.

The real danger in projects like this is the lasting, knock-on damage. My friend and business partner Wayne Jones lives in Hollygrove, where a major SWBNO project ran years behind schedule and created unsafe living conditions. Imagine your house catching fire and the fire truck having to park blocks away, along with

TALES

reduced property values (though you’d never know it from the property tax bill) and a steadily eroding quality of life. How is his son supposed to throw a ball in the street when it’s torn up?

I’ll admit this feels personal right now, given the ineptitude across these agencies and bureaucracies.

But it’s an issue that touches every resident and every business owner in this city. So I’ll leave you with the same thing I tell tourists at the bar, and my friends who were born and raised here: stretch your wings and fly, or really, just walk, Uber, or bike.

Tales of the Cocktail is an incredible event, and this industry and city are lucky it happens every year, right when we’re feeling the deepest impacts of the summer. There’s an amazing lineup

of events and brand activations this week that will be unforgettable. In this industry, we treat Anthony Bourdain almost like a saint, so I’d ask you to channel his mentality while you’re here. Come get weird on Lower Decatur Street. Do you think Bourdain would rather be at the 1 p.m. Negroni pool party, or at Aunt Tiki’s at 3 a.m., talking to a stranger while the bartender points him toward the next bar?

Luckily, you can do both. Step away for an hour and grab Coop’s famous red beans and fried chicken. Or once all the events have gone to bed, catch the late show at Santos. Thank you to anyone still reading: please don’t forget about Decatur.

Molly’s at the Market has been in the Monaghan family for three generations.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Molly’s owner Trey Monaghan PROVIDED PHOTO

S U E M R M

Avenue Avenue on the

Meet your St. Claude bartenders

BY SARAH RAVITS

St. Claude Avenue over the past couple of decades has become a quintessential part of New Orleans nightlife for locals and visitors alike. Stretching from just outside the French Quarter all the way down to the Lower 9th, the corridor’s offerings are super eclectic — there’s pretty much something for everyone, including non-drinkers.

The Domino hosts arts and crafts nights, DJs spinning disco tracks and a rotating menu of craft cocktails, while Saturn Bar is a divey neighborhood fixture that’s especially known for its sweaty late night mod dance parties and live music. Venues like No Dice and Siberia draw in local and nationally touring alternative and punk bands, among other genres. Then there’s karaoke at Kajun’s, burlesque and theatrical performances at The AllWays Lounge, wine tasting at the laidback Faubourg Wines shop, and creative cocktails and a date-night vibe at Nightbloom. The Mexican restaurant Galaxie also has a bar — what would a Taco Tuesday be without a margarita? Unfathomable. For those leaning into ’80s and ’90s nostalgia, Emporium Arcade Bar has oldschool arcade games that are soundtracked by hip hop DJs on the weekends. Lowpoint is a coffee shop by day that also serves wine at night, along with hosting acoustic musicians and poetry readings. And over in the Lower 9th, places like Pirogue’s Whiskey Bayou get the party going with live music outside, an outstanding food menu and good old fashioned bar games like pool, darts and shuffleboard. That’s just to name a few.

Every summer though, the people who work there — along with restaurants and bar workers all across the city — have to brace themselves for a slow period and a drop in revenue, especially as it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and people are fleeing the city or hiding out in their homes.

So now’s a great time as ever to get on down there, bar hop around or stay a while and get to know your bartender (like these fine folks we interviewed), bask in the A/C and make sure to leave a generous tip.

Cat James

OWNER AT FAUBOURG WINES

How long have you been in the wine business?

Cumulatively, but not continuously, about 20 years.

Where did you get started?

After a weather event known as Hurricane Katrina, I was living Uptown just off Magazine Street, and there was a wine shop (Sip) that happened to be opening — in spite of the fact that everything else was still boarded up. I was one of the only people around — I was basically the only person available to work. It was October of 2005. I didn’t know that much about wine, but I got a crash course that year.

What’s your favorite kind of wine?

Chablis. A crisp, fresh white wine is my go-to.

Where do you hang out when you’re not working?

Really Really Nice Wines. What song or band would you put on a playlist to set a fun tone?

It’s eclectic here, sometimes it’s country, sometimes it’s jazz, sometimes New Wave — it depends on the weather and the vibe and the mood of the day and who’s working. What summer specials or events do you have coming up?

We are participating in an art crawl organized by Anna (Giordano) of Anna’s bar. Bywater bars

are hosting installations in their bathrooms for “It’s Potty Time Art Crawl.” We’re hosting artist Ely Marshall. (Ed. Note: these installations will be open for viewing starting on July 11 and run through the end of August.)

What sets this place apart?

We’re primarily a retail store. People are often surprised at how affordable our wines by the glass are. That’s by design and part of our business model. We want to provide good quality wines by the glass at approachable price points. And it’s a community space. We’re not open late. People bring their kids. It’s very community-oriented. Everyone always runs into someone they know here. And we also just started selling fresh flowers by Rainbow In the Dark, a queerowned flower farm.

SUMMER WINE PAIRING:

Sparkling wine pairs with hurricane season. Low barometric pressure makes sparkling wines more enjoyable.

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS/ GAMBIT

Saturn Bar

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS / GAMBIT

7 th Annual

Tasty Bte

ACulinary Competition Fundraiser featuring over 25 Local Chefs.

Benef iting Tales of the CocktailFoundation

Monday, August 3rdat6-9PM

TheMISI by Messina’s at JaxBrewery (3rd and 4th Floors)

•Sweet andSavory Culinary Creations

•OpenBar

•LiveEntertainment

•Two ExcitingFloors

Scan the QR codefor detailsand tickets code fordetail

MEET YOUR BARTENDERS

Jon Greene

BARTENDER AT SATURN BAR

How long have you been a bartender?

On and off for 15 years.

Where did you start bartending?

I started up in New York, but when I first moved here and didn’t know anyone, I worked at Verret’s.

What’s your favorite spirit? Gin.

What’s your go-to drink?

At a place like this, a shot and a beer — usually a whiskey and a Pabst Blue Ribbon or High Life. If it’s a mixed drink, it’s a Last Word.

What bars do you hang out at when you’re not working?

This bar, MRB, Cosimo’s and Pal’s.

What song or artist would you put on a playlist to set a fun tone?

The album “Midnite Vultures” by Beck.

MONTENEGRO AND SODA — for the tiniest of buzzes

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces Montenegro

6 ounces soda water

Serve over ice.

What summer specials or events do you have coming up?

We have live music seven days a week and Mod Night every first Saturday of the month.

What sets this place apart?

History, consistency and the vibe. Everything happens here. You can come here and see the best piano in town. You can see Daikaiju light chairs on fire. You can dance all night to local DJs. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s at Saturn Bar.

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS / GAMBIT

Kieran

Byram

BARTENDER

AT EMPORIUM ARCADE BAR

How long have you been a bartender? 11 years.

Where did you start bartending?

Kajun’s Pub, right across the street.

What’s your favorite spirit? Tequila.

What’s your go-to drink? An Old Fashioned.

What bars do you hang out at when you’re not working?

Aunt Tiki’s, J&J’s and Black Penny.

What song or band would you put on a playlist to set a fun tone?

I’m not sure if it’s considered “fun,” but I’d put on The Smiths.

What summer specials or events do you have coming up?

We have a Monday happy hour with a beer and a shot special, and on July 16 we have trivia, on July 23 we have an X Games Red Bull event, and August 23 there’s a Virgo birthday bash.

What sets this place apart?

We have arcade games and nostalgia — all the games will bring you back. We show classic ’80s and ’90s movies, and we have DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, usually playing old school hiphop or modern hip-hop.

THE BYWATERMELON

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 ounces Branson Cognac

1 ounce watermelon juice

1 ounce triple sec

0.5 ounce lime juice

Pour over ice and stir.

Garnish with a lime.

Ed it h& Edga r’s

GA RD EN CA FE

Inthe mood forsomething cold,refreshing, andbubbly?

Tryour cafe’s newItalian CreamSodas &Fairy Floats:sorbet+ prosecco or soda.

Open daily, 8:00AM -5:00PM Happyhour, 3:00PM -5:00PM

Rela xw it hselect ions of WINE ,COCKTAI LS OR DINNER

Casual finediningand wine barinthe heartofthe French Quarter

Open Thursday throughSunday4PM till 10PM

DailyBacon HappyHour4 -6PM Wine Flightsand cocktails Tropical Courtyard or Sidewalk Seating

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS/ GAMBIT

Jordan Ingram

BAR MANAGER AT THE DOMINO

How long have you been a bartender?

18 years.

Where did you get your start?

Houston, Texas. One of the owners of this bar, Brad Moore, and I worked at the same bar.

What’s your favorite spirit?

Amaro. We have a very impressive amaro collection here.

What’s your go-to cocktail?

A classic margarita. But right now, I’m into the Jungle Bird. It’s a throwback tiki drink. If you make it with mezcal, it’s especially interesting.

Where do you hang out at when you’re not working?

Big Daddy’s, Pepp’s Pub and Tuff Break.

What song or band would you put on a playlist to set a fun tone?

For myself, Dwight Yoakam, but here, disco, like Sylvester. We have a lot of DJs here, and they tend to be in the disco vein.

What summer specials or events do you have coming up?

The “It’s Potty Time” art exhibit. We also have Queer Craft NOLA that comes in on the second Wednesday of the month. They

do an art market or some kind of craft, and you just come in and sit and drink and make a craft. It’s fun. We also host NOLA Sapphics events (on the last Wednesday of the month). And we have a good espresso martini, and a strawberry spritz made with amaro — plus, we’re rolling out a new cocktail menu this week ahead of Tales of the Cocktail.

What sets this place apart?

We have a really eclectic group of people that come through here. One of the bartenders, Jesi Goodwin, does a little bit of everything. She DJs and gets people in here. We have a lot of interesting stuff.

STRAWBERRY SPRITZ

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 ounces

Chamberyzette aperitif 2 ounces rosé

Splash of club soda

Pour over ice. Garnish with an expressed grapefruit.

Val Hereford

GENERAL MANAGER AT GALAXIE TACOS

How long have you been in the service industry? 30 years.

Where did you get your start?

My first big job was at House of Blues. I worked there for 12 years.

What’s your favorite spirit? Mezcal.

What’s your go-to drink? Mezcal, neat.

What bars do you hang out at when you’re not working? Markey’s.

What song or artist would you put on a playlist to set a fun tone? Questlove.

What summer specials or events do you have coming up?

We have Taquito Tuesdays and we have a happy hour everyday, and it’s happy hour all day on Sundays. We have DJs on Saturdays.

MARGARITA

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 ounces tequila

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce triple sec

Couple dashes of bitters

.5 ounce of sugar

Shake and serve over ice in a Tajin-rimmed glass.

What sets this place apart?

It has a laidback vibe, and a good price point in the neighborhood. We are inclusive and friendly to everyone, including families and children, and we have a diverse staff. All are welcome!

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS / GAMBIT

PHOTO BY SARAH RAVITS / GAMBIT

FRIDAY,J ULY3 1, 6–9 PM

Explorethe museum after hours withlivemusic,in-gallery activations,tours, hands-on artmaking, and more! Get your ticketstodayat noma .org.

For thousands of years, tattooing has been considered an art form in cultures across the globe. And while Puritanical views about our bodies and art generally may have made them taboo for much of American history, over the last two decades they’ve become as ubiquitous as short pants in the United States.

New Orleans is blessed with a host of immensely talented tattoo artists who can help bring your artistic vision, need for self expression or simple desire to be a walking canvas to life – and this National Tattoo Day is a perfect excuse to pop into one these great shops to get some work done!

VAN GOOR INDUSTRIES

632 Rampart St., New Orleans

567-694-6674 @vangoortattoos

Hello, my name is Joel and I’m excited to do your next tattoo! I’ve been tattooing since 2006 and specialize in bright, bold, colorful cartoon designs of your favorite food and drinks. I’m capable of working in damn near every style and love working with my clients to create bespoke custom designs. I am happy to make myself available at my clients’ convenience, 7 days a week. My studio is in a shared space with my partner’s piercing studio, Wonderful & Strange in the French Quarter. Please stop by any time to talk about what tattoos are on your mind, or just to check out the designs I’ve got drawn ready-to-go!

TREASURE TATTOO

2350 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans, LA 504-344-7989 | treasuretattoo.com

Treasure Tattoo was established in 2015 on St Claude Avenue in the Marigny by Jamie Ruth. Jamie began tattooing in New Orleans in 1995 and after many years of travelling the world she wanted to create a space that would be welcoming to all and that would be a relaxing environment for people to be tattooed. Along with other resident tattooers Marc Mayeux and Miranda Brouwer, the shop specializes in bringing their clients’ unique visions to life, no matter how small or large, through well-crafted tattoos that will stand the test of time. Find us on Instagram & Facebook @treasuretattoo.

TOUGH LOVE TATTOO

1027 Touro St., New Orleans

504-354-2839 | toughlovenola.com

Located in the heart of the Marigny Triangle, Tough Love Tattoo is a high-end boutique tattoo studio proudly serving New Orleans, LA. We welcome both walk-in clients and scheduled appointments, making it easy to bring your next tattoo idea to life. Our talented team of six artists specialize in Traditional, Neo-Traditional, Blackwork, Fine Line, Black and Grey Realism, and Folk-inspired tattooing. After proudly serving the New Orleans community for six years, we look forward to creating your next piece!

HIDDEN DIMENSION TATTOO STUDIO

6723 St. Claude Ave., Arabi 504-766-7125 hiddendimensionstudio.com

Owned and operated by head artist Michael Bogle, local New Orleans Tattooer of 19 years, Hidden Dimension Tattoo Studio prides itself on being a shop unlike any other. Prioritizing positivity, creativity, individuality, and professionalism, Hidden Dimension o ers completely custom tattoos designed by seasoned industry professionals in a welcoming, clean, and inclusive space. All Hidden Dimension tattoos are 100% custom, designed by Michael Bogle, Syd Fornos, or Ty Rivera, our three resident artists, specifically for each client based on their individual vision. Whether you’re a collector of tattoos, art, or modern and vintage toys, Hidden Dimension Tattoo has something for everyone. See for yourself at HIDDENDIMENSIONSTUDIO.com

ACE TATTOO

4916 Freret St., New Orleans @acetattooneworleans

Ace Tattoo is a traditional style street shop in New Orleans. We take walk-ins as well as appointments Tuesday through Sunday. Located at 4916 Freret St., Ace opened in April of 2023. The team at Ace takes pride in being a part of the New Orleans community and especially the Freret Street neighborhood. With a shop full of artists that are passionate about the craft, we are informed and prepared to execute many di erent styles. Whether it’s something small or fully custom like an arm/ leg sleeve or full back piece… we’re confident and ready for you!

SWAMPWATER STUDIO

3933 Toulouse St., New Orleans 504-264-7795 @swampwaterstudio

SwampWater Studio opened in 2022 by Brandi Bruce, an 18-year tattoo artist who has worked at various shops around the country. Focused on a sterile environment, whose doors are open as a safe place to any-and-all clientele, she has built her studio to cater towards appointments or walk-ins and can be booked in person Tuesdays through Saturdays or via email at swampwaterstudio@ gmail.com. In 2025, she added Jake Fielder as a fellow resident artist who enjoys building custom artwork for his clients. They are going on year 4 of being recognized locally as Best of the Big Easy.

NO KINGS TATTOO

2146 Gause Blvd. E, Slidell, LA 985-646-6075 @nokingstattoos

Located in Slidell, LA, No Kings Tattoo is a trusted destination for custom tattoo artistry and quality craftsmanship. As Slidell’s longest-running tattoo studio, their experienced artists specialize in creating unique, personalized designs across a variety of styles. With a focus on creativity, professionalism, and a welcoming atmosphere, No Kings Tattoo works with each client to bring their vision to life. Whether you’re getting your first tattoo or adding to your collection, their talented team is dedicated to creating meaningful artwork you’ll love for years to come.

EAT + DRINK

Speakeasy vibes

Tragos Amargos opens inside Taquerias Carnalito

WALK INTO TAQUERIAS CARNALITO AT 930 POYDRAS ST. and expect more than meets the eye. Yes, it’s a lively, bright orange Mexico City-style street taco joint, with outstanding house-made salsas, a killer birria and sizzling trompos for carving al pastor and steak for tacos.

But head to the back, where the technicolor jukebox is, and prepare to go down a rabbit hole. A host will reveal the hidden entry to Tragos Amargos, a sexy new bilevel, music-themed speakeasy that delivers wows at every turn. Reservations are strongly recommended, although walk-ins will be accommodated if possible.

This is the second two-in-one concept from Veho Hospitality, the local restaurant group from power couple Danny Cruz and his spouse and business partner Vilexys Salas. Their first dual concept is Tacos Del Cartel, nearby on Girod Street, with its hidden Sushi by Us omakase in the back. The company is taking both ideas on the road, opening them in West Palm Beach, where the couple also spends time.

The 60-seat Tragos Amargos space, which is named for a bittersweet love song from Mexican balladeer Ramón Ayala, feels like it could be in Las Vegas. From the rosy, red lighting to chandeliers dripping crystal to the DJ station at the bar and the many turn tables, albums and music art throughout the space, Tragos Amargos is richly styled. It’s designed to immerse the senses, and the theme is carried through the menu and cocktail program.

The company’s corporate chef Christian Moreno attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Gastronomy in his native Mexico City after high school. In the ensuing 22 years, he’s opened 143 restaurants, many in large hotels in Mexico, Spain and Italy. Moreno has been with Veho for a year, moving here from Florida.

The compact menu focuses on traditional flavors from Moreno’s family tree, both in Oaxaca and

by Beth D’Addono |

Mexico City, with many dishes spotlighting Gulf seafood. Louisiana crab croquettes are one of the standouts, made with local blue crab bound by a rich bechamel sauce. There also is a hamachi tiradito, with cured bites of yellowtail marinated in yuzu and ginger, ideal for summer.

The Louisiana alligator sausage is a revelation, plump and juicy (maybe it’s the crawfish fat?) and spiced with garlic and Old Bay, with plenty of snap in every bite. It’s served on a brioche bun with garlicky mayo and a glaze of serrano and jalapeno chili jam.

Also on the savory side, there’s a 12-hour braise of tender oxtail, cooked down in a tomato and pepper sauce, then treated to the mother of all moles, mole negro. It takes about 30 ingredients to make black mole, known for its deep color and complex smoky and layered flavor profile, rich with charred chiles, Mexican chocolate and spices. It’s served over tetela, or hand-folded triangles of nixtamalized masa.

Beverage director Ivan Castillo’s cocktail program is equally impressive, an effort to capture Mexican gastronomy in a glass. Manager Evan Smits oversees the bar and music. Born and raised in Costa Rica, his appreciation for good sound was honed in church, where he directed the music program at home for six years. Then he worked with a 2,000-member church in Dallas before moving to New Orleans. Smits was part of the opening team for the new Three Maries jazz club in the Omni in the French Quarter. Cocktail themes unspool thoughtfully and the menu includes Raiz, or roots, a section grounded in botanicals and origin agave spirits. There is an Amargo menu, with an emphasis on spirit-forward and bitter flavors. Memoria indicates pours that are soft and fruity. Each of the drinks is named for a song, which also is included in the playlist looping through the loudspeakers. The Quincy Jones-inspired Summer in the City is made with a shake of house-brewed pineapple tepache — think Mexican kombucha — with bits of cilantro and the complex sweetness of mole liqueur.

Smits says he sees guests coming in to soak up the atmosphere with cocktails before heading out to dinner or staying awhile to sample the menu’s small plates.

“I believe this is a new concept for New Orleans,” he says. “We’re trying to set the stage — to create a place that’s magical.”

FORK + CENTER

Email

Special sauce

THE TABLE WHERE TUNG NGUYEN GREW UP EATING AT HOME WAS LINED WITH ketchup, hoisin, Tabasco and Sriracha ready to augment meals drawn alternately from the Vietnamese heritage of his family and the traditions of their adopted home in New Orleans. It was pho one day, Popeyes fried chicken the next.

The same mix of Vietnamese and American dishes carried through to the restaurants and food stands he would later run, which were known for hot sausage patty banh mi and pulled pork bao. As a chef, he eventually created his own sauces that bridge the AsianCreole-American barbecue blend.

Now, Nguyen has turned them into a new retail brand of sauces called Asian Cajun Cowboy. It’s taking off as the New Orleans native has found a new national audience for his cooking chops on the Food Network. He competed July 6 in the season finale of the network’s “BBQ Brawl” show, paired up with celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

Asian Cajun Cowboy is hitting the market with four dipping sauce flavors, developed from recipes Nguyen first devised for Slow & Pho, the stand he once ran at the St. Roch Market food hall, and his earlier spots, including Em Trai Sandwich Co. and T2 Street Food.

In the home kitchen, they’re designed to jazz up the frozen dumplings, shumai, gyoza and other Asian bites that proliferate now in grocery aisles and to add new life to takeout.

“That cheap Chinese food we all love and adore? These are sauces to have around that’s compatible with it,” he says.

Evan Smits, left, and Christian Moreno at Tragos Amargos

PHOTO BY MADDIE SPINNER / GAMBIT

Tung Nguyen created Asian Cajun Cowboy sauces.

PHOTO BY IAN MCNULTY / THE TIMES- PICAYUNE

It’s for dipping, drizzling and dunking. The tagline: “Not traditional. Not sorry.”

“I learned that I could use these Asian flavors to infuse traditional American barbecue traditions and make something that stands out,” he says.

Food has always been central in Nguyen’s family. His parents once ran a seafood market in Algiers called De Gaulle Seafood. Later, his sister Betty Archote opened Thanh Thanh, the Vietnamese restaurant in Gretna where their mother Viet Nguyen oversees the pho every morning.

Nguyen’s obsession with barbecue developed after a friend recruited him to join a charity cookoff team at Hogs for the Cause.

This would open new horizons. Eventually he left the restaurant business and went to work for barbecue seasoning and sauce maker Kosmos Q. From a new home base in Oklahoma City, he is now the company’s director of culinary operations and travels to trade shows and events around the country cooking for the brand. It was at one such event where he caught the attention of producers for a Netflix show, “Barbecue Showdown.” His debut performance was a personal disappointment after being eliminated in the first episode. But the experience lit a fire in him to do more.

His run on Food Network show “BBQ Brawl” was a comeback. The show pairs contestants with celebrity chefs, and for Nguyen, working with Flay was pivotal. The chef and food media luminary coached him through the season and also took an interest in the hybrid Vietnamese influenced sauces he put to use on the show. With that affirmation, Asian Cajun Cowboy was born as Nguyen’s own independent brand.

“It’s still my flavors, my story, I just get to share it on a bigger platform now,” he says. The sauce line is distributed at about 300 Target locations around the country (though none in Louisiana so far). It’s available to order on Amazon and direct through asiancajuncowboy.com. Nguyen says he’s now working on more local retail distribution in the New Orleans area as well. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

Gris Gris to close

IN JULY, THE LOWER GARDEN DISTRICT RESTAURANT GRIS GRIS IS RUNNING A SPECIAL menu with dishes, and prices, drawn from the original menu chef

FORK & CENTER

Eric Cook served here when it opened on Magazine Street eight years ago. This look back has new resonance now. Cook announced Monday that Gris Gris will close for good at the end of July.

Cook says the restaurant wasn’t doing enough business to continue. Summer, with the tourism slowdown, is when many New Orleans hospitality businesses struggle most, though Cook says the decision came after a long fight to get back to the level of business the restaurant saw before the pandemic shutdowns and disruptions.

“I gave it everything, but we couldn’t get it back on the level,” Cook says. “But at the end of the day, it’s a business and I have partners and you need to be responsible.”

There’s also been some bad luck on its block. In December 2024, an adjacent two-story building collapsed during a fully-booked dinner service, damaging cars and power equipment. Canceled reservations afterward cost the restaurant around $10,000 in lost revenue, the chef said at the time.

As a mid-range, upscale casual restaurant, Gris Gris is of an increasingly rare sort in the local dining scene. Serving local Creole flavors like gumbo, shrimp and grits, stuffed crab salad and chicken and dumplings, it’s approachable enough for anytime visits but more elevated than a neighborhood joint.

It opened in July 2018 at 1800 Magazine St., a former shop space converted in 2014 to become Square Root, an ambitious, highend tasting menu concept. Gris Gris kept the open kitchen downstairs, while upstairs the wraparound balcony offers a perch for outdoor dining with views of downtown.

Cook and his partners own the restaurant space. The chef says they are still assessing what to do with it next.

Separately, Cook and partners also opened Saint John, a Creole restaurant that was initially in the French Quarter on Decatur Street before relocating to its current home at 715 St. Charles Ave. in 2024.

Cook sold his share of Saint John to his partners earlier in the year in an effort to “circle wagons” and focus on keeping Gris Gris viable. Saint John restaurant is not affected by the Gris Gris closing plans. — Ian McNulty / The Times-Picayune

Edgar “Dook” Chase IV

Chef/restaurateur

by Will Coviello

EDGAR “DOOK” CHASE IV LEARNED TO COOK FROM HIS FAMILY, especially from his grandmother Leah Chase. He’s now the executive chef at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant and in charge of other family restaurants as well. He’s also the host of a new cooking show, “A Chef’s Journey,” which will air Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m., and premieres July 18. On the show, he explores New Orleans culinary history and presents traditional and original recipes. A companion cookbook with additional recipes will be released in September. Dooky Chase’s is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, and one of the special events is Summer Nights, featuring music and food. The next edition is Thursday, July 24, and the musical guests are young musicians from the Heritage School of Music All-Stars and their mentors. Visit dookychaserestaurants.com for information. For more about the show, go to wyes.org.

What are you doing on the new show?

EDGAR “DOOK” CHASE: It’s a 26-episode show that’s going to highlight New Orleans. It continues to tell my family’s story, and it tells the story of all the great things that we have in this city in the many different cultures and backgrounds that we love down here. We started to break down what tells our story and where we can go and shed a little light.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY LAURA COMBEL

Episode 1 starts with the importance of the Mississippi River. What better way to tell that story than to hop on the steamboat and ride with the captain? That starts where we are going with this journey: the importance of the river in terms of commerce, in terms of bringing people and diversity up and down, the importance for our soils in the Mississippi River delta. It also leads the way to the lake and the Gulf where we get all of our beautiful seafood. It builds on Louisiana’s food pantry. That’s where we start. Then we start to navigate. Our family’s restaurant started as a sandwich shop. So I dive into that, but I don’t do that at Dooky’s. I do that at Parkway Bakery & Tavern, a well-known restaurant that’s all about po-boys. We dive into po-boys and how they got started and the rail strikes and how Parkway played a role in that. Then I go back in the kitchen and have some fun and cook three items. In this one, it’s three po-boys that were

inspired by my conversation with (Parkway General Manager) Justin Kennedy. Then we go to different places and visit farms and seafood markets. When you think of our institutions that have helped define Creole cuisine, we visit Commander’s Palace. When you think about the Vietnamese community, we go to Dong Phuong. When you look at all of these places that define our people, many of their stories come from faraway places, but then they use the pantry that we have.

You think of Dong Phuong’s bakery and their beautiful pistolettes and recipes that traveled here. But now what is Dong Phuong known for here during Mardi Gras time? King cake. They have embraced the tradition and developed it in their own way. When you go in their store, you get their culture and flavors, along with the adaptive approach of where they are.

Then you go to Brocato’s, which has been here for over 125 years. You go to a fourth and fifth generation business like Vaucresson sausage, which started as a butcher. And those butcher shops in the 7th Ward and the 6th Ward were really community hubs. They didn’t just sell meat; they were gathering places. Then you move on to new generations. You think of chef Ana Castro of Acamaya and Serigne Mbaye of Dakar, and now they’re starting not only storytelling from their culture and bringing who they are to the plate, they’re starting something to pass down and keep evolving and moving this city forward.

What about more home cooking and traditional things on the

show, like canning?

C: Canning goes back to my grandmother’s sister in Madisonville. When we would go visit them, my aunt Cleo’s pantry, right off her kitchen, it had all sorts of colors of preserves. There was fruit, there was string beans and pickled okra. You name it, it was in there. That’s stuff you remember from growing up. They’d pull one out and taste it, whether you hit it with a sugar cookie or toast point or cracker. Or you had red plum jelly that my grandmother would cook with quail. When you’re young, you don’t realize it, but as I am older now, I remember, and it was really cool.

You also give a lot of good instructions and tips.

C: That is a focus of the show. The ultimate goal is to get people back in the kitchen and cooking. Getting people back to the table and celebrating any recipe they cook. I want to tell you the stories of New Orleans, but I want you to cook. That’s how you pass it down. That’s how I learned. I watched my grandmother cook. I learned by watching my family cook. If someone in your family is getting back to that stove, they’re teaching somebody something. That’s the goal. I always say about confidence in the kitchen, hopefully you get it right the first time, but you may not. As chefs, we didn’t get it right the first time. We mess things up. But we do it over and over and learn. I don’t want people to lose confidence. That’s what I am trying to tap into: letting people know how much culture we have in the city. Don’t lose it. Continue to tell your story, continue to pass down your family recipe, that family tradition to the next generation. That’s what made New Orleans New Orleans.

OUT TO EAT

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. $$$

Grilledshrimp, spinach&roasted

FriedorGrilled,servedwithfrenchfries

Baby back ribs in blackberry jalapeno BBQsauce,choiceoftwo sides

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. $$

$ — average dinner entrée under $10

$$ $11-$20

$$$ — $20-up

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. $$ 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) 513-2606; 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. $$ Shaya — 4213 Magazine St., (504) 891-4213; shayarestaurant.com — The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu includes dishes like hummus, falafel, kebabs, grilled chicken and woodoven pita bread. A chicken schnitzel sandwich is dressed with little gem lettuce, pickles and harissa mayonnaise on sesame brioche bread. Outdoor seating available. Reservations recommended. Lunch and dinner daily. $$$ 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. $

JOIN THE KREWE SUPPORT

Gambit has been your go-to source for local news since 1980 —absolutely free.

If you believe in the power of local journalism, join The Gambit Krewe. With your support, we’ll keep the good times rolling!

• Exclusive email ofers

• Gambit tote bag

• Name listed monthly in print as Gambit Krewe member (optional)

• 15% discount at Gambit store: bestofneworleans.com/shop • Invites to Gambit Krewe events • Exclusive email ofers

• All Green Krewe benefts

• A ¼ page print ad to donate to your

or

been able to play his guitar like he once could, but that hasn’t stopped him from singing, and he made his stage return at this year’s Jazz Fest. At BJ’s, King will be backed by guitarists Ryan Scully and Tony Dios and his main band: drummer “Wacko” Wade Wright, harmonica player Bobby Louis and bassist Robert Snow. Also, look for the recently released “Little Freddie King: Live at BJ’s Lounge,” on vinyl and on streaming platforms. King and his band play at 8:30 p.m., and the band Leopard Hounds, featuring Scully, Wright, Dios and Benjamin Hubbell, will perform afterward. Find more info on Instagram: @bjslounge.

Creepy Fest

The annual underground music festival returns with four nights of punk, metal, hardcore and surf rock and a film screening. There are 50 bands on the lineup, including Death Church, Evil Army, Hawgjaw, Pussyrot, Rade, D. Sablu and Thunderosa. Creepy Fest opens Thursday, July 16, at the Broadside with a screening of the 2004 throwback slasher flick “Stabbed in the Face” and performances by The Unnaturals, Trash Night and The Bills. Friday features shows at Bar Redux and Siberia. Saturday includes an afternoon flea market and shows at Poor Boys, The Crypt and Holy Diver (all for one price). And Sunday has a show at Parisite Skate Park followed by a closing bill at Santos. Find the schedule and ticket info at sheerterrornola.com.

High Fade

Edinburgh, Scotland’s High Fade play high-octane rock that’s funky, soulful and vibrant. The trio recently released its second full-length album, “Twice as Nice,” and are now touring the U.S. They stop in New Orleans for a show at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets are $29.96 via chickiewahwah.com.

‘The School for Wives’

Last year, the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane mounted Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid.” This year, it closes its season with a staged reading of a new adaptation of the French playwright’s “The School for Wives.” The comedy is about a man who tries to create a perfect wife by training a young, naive girl, but he can’t stop her from falling in love with someone else. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 13, at Lupin Theatre. Tickets $22 via neworleansshakespeare.org.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

CRYS

New York cosmic country and honky tonk musician CRYS plays a trio of shows this week in New Orleans. She’ll bet at St. Roch Tavern on July 16 with Johanna Rose, at BJ’s on July 17 with Steady Company, and at Saturn Bar on July 18 with Charlie and the Tropicales. Find more info on Instagram: @crystalcrysforshort.

Alexis Marceaux’s

Jagged Little Pill

The Krewe of Freret throws a summer party on Saturday, July 18, with Sweet Crude’s Alexis Marceaux channeling Alanis Morissette in this killer tribute show at Gasa Gasa. Pop artist Boyfriend will be DJing before and after the show. The Krewe of Freret gets things started at 6:30 p.m. at Dat Dog before heading to the music venue for a 7:30 p.m. showtime. Find more info at gasagasanola.com.

Island Strong Music Fest

The Grand Isle festival has a music lineup featuring Groovy 7, Waylon Thibodaux, Junior Lacrosse, Foret Tradition, Louisiana Beat, The Chee Weez and more. There also are vendors selling food, crafts and more. The festival was founded to help the community recover in the wake of Hurricane Ida’s damage. Gates open at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 16, and 11 a.m. Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, at the Tarpon Rodeo Pavilion in Grand Isle. Admission $10 on Thursday, and $20 Friday and Saturday. Children under 13 get in free. Find information at islandstrongmusicfest.com.

Krewe of Dreux’s Cancer Party

The Krewe of Dreux throws a free party to celebrate Cancer season birthdays on Friday, July 17, at the Maple Leaf. The lineup includes folk rock band Jelly Biscuit and the Flaky Layers, the funky Peter Church Experiment and rock bands Daddy D and She Might Be a Beast. The music starts up at 8 p.m. Find more info at mapleleafbar.com.

The Ice Man Special

The Ice Man Special plays its own blend of swampy funk rock with psychedelic tinges. The band headlines a Free Fridays show at Tipitina’s at 9 p.m. Friday, July 18. Admission is first come, first served. Find information at tipitinas.com.

CULTURE CUISINE CARNIVAL NEWSVIEWS MUSICPOLITICS

WHAT’S WORKING WHAT’S NOT

Hosted by John Stanton

FOR COMP L ETE M U SIC L ISTINGS AND MORE EVENTS TAKING P L ACE IN THE NEW OR L EANS AREA, VISIT CALENDAR.GAMBITWEEKLY.COM

To learn more about adding your event to the music calendar, please email listingsedit@gambitweekly.com

MONDAY 13

30/90 Margie Perez, 6 pm; Piano Man ‘G’, 9 pm

ALLWAYS LOUNGE — Betsy Propane & The Accessories, 7 pm

APPLE BARREL — Bread For Sale, 6 pm; Decaturadio, 10:30 pm

BACCHANAL Byron Asher, 6 pm

BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 12 pm; Jon Roniger, 4:30 pm; Ted Hefko & the Thousandaires, 9 pm

BROADSIDE — Mellow Mood Mondays with Gráinne Du y & Firebrain, 7 pm

BUFFA’S — David Doucet, 7 pm

CAFÉ ISTANBUL James Singleton, Brian Haas & Justin Peake, 7 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL — Keep It Rollin Brass Band, 8:30 pm

CARROLLTON STATION — Biscuits n’ Jam with Meryl Zimmerman & Friends, 10 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

THE MAISON Nahum Zdybel Trio, 5 pm; Gene’s Music Machine, 8 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR — George Porter Jr. Trio, 7 & 10 pm

MAYFIELD’S 208 — Kermit Ru ns: Red Bean Mondays, 6 pm

NOLA BREWING & PIZZA CO Bluegrass Pickin' Party, 7 pm

POORBOYS Gumbolaya, 9 pm

SATURN BAR — BC Coogan, 8:30 pm

SNUG HARBOR Charmaine Neville Band, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm

SPOTTED CAT — Dominick Grillo & The Frenchmen Street All-Stars, 6 pm

THREE MUSES — Trombone Charlotte, 8 pm

TRUE SOUTH — Danny Alexander Blues Jam, 8 pm

TUESDAY 14

30/90 Sugar & The Daddies, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 9 pm

APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Jackson’s Flying Circus, 10:30 pm

BACCHANAL — Raphael Bas, 6 pm

BAMBOULA’S F K-rrera Music Group, 12 pm; Ted Hefko & the Thousandaires, 4:30 pm; Caitie B. & the Hand Me Downs, 9 pm

BANKS STREET BAR — Vet Jams, 7 pm

BAYOU BAR — The OG’s, 8 pm; 10 pm

BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER — Bruisey's Bottoms Up Open Mic, 9 pm

BUFFA’S — Wilson-Weber Project, 7 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL — Super-Most-FantasticBlues-N-Such-Jam, 7 pm

CAJUN BOIL HOUSE Les Getrex, 3 pm

DBA Nat & Kat Cajun String Band, 6 pm; Kid Chocolate + the Free POC, 9:30 pm

DOS JEFES — Tom Hook, 8:30 pm

GASA GASA — Stoneyard with Acath, Boot, 6:30 pm; The Miss B. Haven Show, 9:30 pm

JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — The Sam Lobley Trio, 7:30 pm

MAHOGANY JAZZ HALL — Big Joe Kennedy, 6 pm; Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sound, 8 pm

THE MAISON Jacky Blaire, 5 pm; Paradise Jazz Band, 8 pm

OKAY BAR — Big Easy Stompers Line Dancing & Lessons, 7 pm

THE RABBIT HOLE Rebirth Brass Band, 10 pm

SATURN BAR Baile Ritmo: Los Guiros and C’est Funk, 9 pm

SIBERIA — Medieval & Renaissance Dancing with Giddy Up Two Step, 6:30 pm

SNUG HARBOR — Oscar Rossignoli, 7:30 & 9:30 pm

SPOTTED CAT Chris Christy Band, 2 pm; Sweetie Pies of New Orleans, 6 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 9:30 pm

WEDNESDAY 15

APPLE BARREL — Hobo Gadget, 6 pm; Joey Houck, 10 pm

BACCHANAL — Jesse Morrow, 6 pm

BAYOU BAR Firm Roots, 8 pm; 10 pm

BJ'S LOUNGE BYWATER Nic Cage Movie Bingo, 8 pm

BLUE NILE — New Breed Brass Band, 9 pm

BUFFA’S — Joe Krown, 7 pm

CAFÉ DEGAS Gizinti Trio, 6 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL — Jam-ilton, 7:30 pm

DBA — Stephen Walker N’em, 6 pm; The Next Level Band, 9:30 pm

DOS JEFES Javier Gutierrez, 8:30 pm

FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB Richard “Piano” Scott, 1 pm; Bourbon Street Stars, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Kevin Ray Clark, 8 pm

HOLY DIVER — The Amazing Henrietta, 8 pm

HOWLIN’ WOLF — Aliah She eld & Friends, 9 pm

JAZZ PLAYHOUSE Funkin’ It Up with Big Sam, 7:30 pm

THE MAISON Gene’s Music Machine, 6 pm

MAYFIELD’S 208 Irvin May eld ft. Kermit Ru ns, 6 pm

ROCK 'N' BOWL Nicky Diamonds, 7:30 pm

SANTOS BAR Chambre Noir with Paco, 10 pm

SATURN BAR The Cicadas + Fake Co ee Club + My Beloved + hey thanks, 9 pm

SNUG HARBOR Desert Nudes, 5 pm; The Uptown Jazz Orchestra, 7:30 & 9:30 pm

SPOTTED CAT Chris Christy, 2 pm; Margie Perez & Her Valentinos, 6 pm; Marty Peters & The Party Meters, 9:30 pm

VAMPIRE APOTHECARY — “Sinners” Party ft. Mark Barrett & The First Calls, 8 pm

THURSDAY 16

30/90 — The Dapper Dandies, 6 pm; Where Ya At Brass Band, 9 pm 4141 NOLA — Davis Rogas, 6:30 pm

ALLWAYS LOUNGE Van Ella Bordella, 7 pm

BACCHANAL — Tangiers Combo, 6 pm

BAMBOULA’S — The New Orleans Rug Cutters, 4:30 pm

BANKS STREET BAR Creepy Fest with Cicada, 10 pm

BAYOU BAR — Generational Swing, 8 & 10 pm

BJ’S LOUNGE — Rose & the Rabbit Fangs, 9 pm

BLUE NILE Irvin May eld’s Music Church, 10 pm; DJ T-Roy, 11 pm BMC Leroy Marshall Band, 6 pm; Kat Kiley Experience, 9 pm

BROADSIDE — Creepy Fest with STGMA, The Unnaturals, The Bills & More!, 6 pm

Little Freddie King throws his 86th Birthday Bash with The Leopard Hounds at BJ’s Lounge Saturday, July 18 at 9 p.m.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEVE PYKE.

BUFFA’S — Tom McDermott & Aurora Nealand, 7 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL — Blues at Work with Phil Breen, 6:30 pm; Armani Smith & Soul Ties, 10 pm

DBA Palmetto Bug Stompers, 6 pm; Vegas Cola Band, 9:30 pm

DOS JEFES Mr. Kohl, 8:30 pm

DOUBLE DEALER — Matt Wilson & the Sinking City, 9 pm

FRITZEL’S JAZZ CLUB — Richard “Piano” Scott, 12 pm; Doyle Cooper Band, 2 pm; John Saavedra Band, 5 pm; Fritzel’s All Star Band with Caleb Nelson, 8 pm

GASA GASA —Sean Hobbes & The Hi Res + Kyle Alexander + badout t, 8 pm

GOOD MEASURE — Arséne DeLay, 8 pm

HOLY DIVER — DJ Eclipzia & Witch House, 9 pm

JAZZ PLAYHOUSE — Brass-AHolics, 7:30 pm

JEFFERSON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER — 250 Years of America's Music, 7 pm

LIVIN SWELL 4211 RECORDING

STUDIOS Thursday Night House Party featuring Stooges Brass Band, 8 pm

THE MAISON Dane Harter, 4:30 pm; Single Malt Please, 8:30 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR Booker & Beyond Piano Series with BC Coogan, 6 pm; Johnny Vidacovich Trio, 8 pm

NO DICE — Madison Hughes, 9 pm

PEACOCK ROOM Da Lovebirds: Robin Barnes & Pat Casey, 8 pm

RABBIT HOLE Free Thursdays with DJ Shlomo, 9 pm

SANTOS BAR Reptilia Indie Vinyl Night with DJ Shane Love, 9 pm

SATURN BAR FLIP IT & REVERSE IT, 10 pm

SNUG HARBOR Davell Crawford, 7:30 pm; 9:30 pm

VAUGHAN’S LOUNGE Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet, 10 pm

FRIDAY 17

30/90 Sean Hobbes + The Hi Res, 5 pm; The Soulcial Club, 11 pm

ANNA’S Heelturn, 9 pm

APPLE BARREL — Bubbles Brown, 6 pm; Joey Houck, 10:30 pm

BACCHANAL — Willie Green III, 7 pm

BANKS STREET BAR — Domenic Fusca

Honest Man Happy Hour Show, 4 pm

BJ’S LOUNGE — Crys and the Fever Dreams + Steady Company, 9 pm

BLUE NILE — The Next Level Band, 10 pm; Pleasure Savior, 10 pm

BMC — Parish Line, 6 pm; Big Mike & The R&B Kings, 9 pm

BUFFA’S — Washboard Chaz, 8 pm

CAFÉ ISTANBUL — Sacred & Soul

Sessions with Jonté Mayon, 7 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL — Dana Abbott Band, 6:30 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm

THE CRYPT — KRYPTIK Presents: CABLE, 9 pm

DBA — Michael Watson & The Alchemy, 6 pm; The Soul Rebels, 10 pm

DOS JEFES — The Joe Krown Trio, 9 pm

THE DRAGON’S DEN — $5 Zydeco Fridays with line dancing and Yung Dex Brass Band, 6 pm

FAVELA CHIC Jass Hysteria, 4 & 10 pm

GASA GASA Red, White & Boohoo

EMO NIGHT, 8 pm

GOOD MEASURE Charlie & The Tropicales, 9 pm

HOLY DIVER Filth Abyss with DJS

Mange & Scythe, 10 pm

LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ — Shawan Rice, 11 pm

THE MAISON — NOLA Rug Cutters, 5 pm; St. Julien X, 9 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR — Cancer Party ft. Jelly Biscuit & the Flaky Layers, Peter Church, Daddy D & More!, 9 pm

NO DICE — The Wise Man’s Fear with Advents, 9 pm

REPUBLIC NOLA — Mike Posner with Sounds by Brody Jenner, 11 pm

ROCK 'N' BOWL — BIRD plus The Front Line, 8 pm

SANTOS BAR — Kazettes & More!, 10 pm

SATURN BAR Slaap Cabaret, 9 pm

SIBERIA — Creepy Fest with with Evil Army, The Pallbearers, Tu Luvs, Evil Tree, STMBLR, & Gacked, 8 pm

TIPITINA’S Free Fridays Concert Series ft. Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes + Electric Ramble, 9 pm

SATURDAY 18

30/90 — Decaturadio, 5 pm; Hotline, 8 pm; T. Cherelle & Lou’s Bayou, 11 pm

BACCHANAL Miles Berry, 7 pm

BJ’S LOUNGE Little Freddie King 86th Birthday Bash with Little Freddie King + The Leopard Hounds, 9 pm

BLUE NILE The Caesar Brothers’ FunkBox, 7:30 pm; Afrobeat NOLA, 10 pm

BUFFA’S Gage Rhodes with The Dead Magnolia String Band, 8 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL Orphaned in Storyville, 1:30 pm; Gabe Stillman Band, 6 pm; Higher Heights, 10 pm

CHICKIE WAH WAH — Link & Chain, 8 pm

CIVIC THEATER Elmiene, 8 pm

THE CRYPT — Creepy Fest with Blood Lovely + Miss Amerikan Vampyre + Atomic Broad + Anxious Arms & more, 6 pm

MUSIC

DBA — Dana Abbott, 6 pm; Colin Davis & Night People, 10 pm

DOS JEFES — Harmonouche, 9 pm

DOUBLE DEALER Sean Riley, 9:30 pm

GOOD MEASURE — Steve Lands, 9 pm

LE BON TEMPS ROULÉ James Jordan & The Situation, 11 pm

THE MAISON NOLA Axe Men, 1 pm; Smoking Time Jazz Club, 4 pm; Feral House Cats, 8 pm; DJ B Dot (Dot Dunnie), 11 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR SOUL Brass Band, 8 pm

NOLA 'NACULAR — Live Music - Kevin Comarda, Natasha Sanchez, and Micah McKee, 6 pm

OKAY BAR — “Heatwave!” Soul/R&B Dance Party with DJ Ann, 9 pm

ROCK 'N' BOWL — Disco Night with The Mixed Nuts, 8:30 pm

ROUSSEL HALL, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY

— 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition, 12 am

TIPITINA’S The Iceman Special’s Summer Meltdown, 9 pm

SUNDAY 19

30/90 Chris Cubed, 3 pm; The Andre Lovett Band, 6 pm; Manic Mixtape, 9 pm Bacchanal — David Sigler, 7 pm

BJ’S LOUNGE James McClaskey & The Rhythm Band, 9 pm

BLUE NILE — Street Legends Brass Band, 9:30 pm

BUFFA’S — The Millie Grace Band, 7 pm

CAFÉ NEGRIL John Lisi & Delta Funk, 4 pm; The Next Level Band, 9 pm

CHICKIE WAH WAH — High Fade with JT Loux, 9 pm

DBA — Paradise Jazz Band, 6 pm; The Jump Hounds, 9:30 pm

HOWLIN’ WOLF Hot 8 Brass Band, 10:30 pm

MAPLE LEAF BAR Keiko, June & Donald, 9 pm

NO DICE — Oreja the Band + Sgt Dork + Da Screech, 9 pm

OLD ARABI LIGHTHOUSE RECORDS AND BOOKS — Open Mic Night with guest host Hex Windham, 6 pm

SATURN BAR — Crys + Charlie & the Tropicales, 9 pm

TIPITINA’S — Fais Do-Do with Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, 5:15 pm

SCAN FOR THE COMPLETE GAMBIT CALENDAR

ROSES

MUSIC

Release valve

by Jake Clapp

KEATON SCHILLER CAN BE A PRETTY VULNERABLE songwriter, penning lyrics that are candid and raw. But the New Orleans-based singer-songwriter doesn’t want that to be mistaken as her feeling too somber or down on herself, she says.

So Schiller leans into her electric guitar, plays loud and pairs those raw lyrics with resilient, energetic alternative rock. On her dynamic second EP, “The House That I Built,” released last month, the result plays like the feeling of shaking out the tension in the body and finally shouting the expletive you’ve been holding all day.

“I want that vulnerability in my songs to feel like strength and freedom and catharsis,” she says. “I think emotions, even the saddest ones, can feel like a point of power in pushing someone forward.”

The musicians Schiller looks up to — alt-rock icons Liz Phair and Courtney Love and female-fronted bands like Mannequin Pussy and Wednesday — are able to capture that feeling, she says.

She reflects on the changes in her own life, the loss of relationships and how friendships are now different as new priorities come up and people grow.

“That is my goal when I’m performing these songs, too. I want to channel a type of release that the rest of daily life can’t give me,” Schiller says.

Schiller, a Chicagoland native, released her first EP in 2024, a couple of years after moving to New Orleans. The project, “Somebody’s Ocean,” grappled with big questions of feeling loved and feeling wanted in her life and within herself, scored by propulsive indie rock with synths and dream pop influences.

The release of her first EP also came with more time on stage, and Schiller was growing into her sound. Live performances informed how she wrote the songs that would ultimately make up “The House That I Built,” which came together quickly, Schiller says.

“I really wanted to write stuff where the feedback [happens], the gain is on, things are turned up and I could rock out on stage,” Schiller says. “I wanted to build in quieter moments, but also [moments] that feel really explosive with the image of how I wanted to perform them in mind.”

Along with Schiller’s vocals and guitar, “The House That I Built” also features bassist Ellis Maclean, drummer Jake Gartenstein, keys player Jamie Koffler and guitarist Giovanni Ventello, who also produced the EP.

In comparison to the big questions about love she asked on “Somebody’s Ocean,” Schiller meditates on the life she’s built in her mid-20s on the new EP.

“It’s kind of accepting the ambiguity, and whether it’s right or wrong, it’s your life and your choices,” Schiller says. “I wanted to really think about just the small moments of living every day, and even the restlessness that can be within that.”

Schiller grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago, with two older siblings who are musicians, and had formed her own band while attending Scripps College near Los Angeles. While living back home during the pandemic, one of her sisters helped Schiller record and produce her first few singles.

Schiller wanted to continue pursuing music after graduating from Scripps and decided to move to New Orleans. Her father had attended Tulane University, and Schiller had been to the city a few times. She says she “wanted to go somewhere that was going to ground me in what I’m doing and why I’m doing it,” and New Orleans felt like that special place.

Recently, Schiller and her band wrapped up their third brief East Coast tour.

“There’s a certain caliber that is expected of musicians in New Orleans, and getting to work with people and meet people that are making music at such a high quality and still be friendly and accessible, it has set the bar of how I want to pursue this,” Schiller says. “It’s been a journey for me to figure out what pockets I live in, and pushing myself to be traveling, touring and visiting places to keep expanding myself.”

Keaton Schiller

PROVIDED PHOTO BY SARAH GARDNER

GOING OUT

Spirited humor

by Will Coviello

IN A “DON’T TELL COMEDY” CLIP, BROOKLYN COMIC Adam Gilbert jokes he’s so cheap, he’s the only member of Spirit Airlines’ rewards program.

“I will fly on a Minionscolored cry for help that’s being kept from collapsing by the power of prayer,” he says. “It’s Tinker Bell rules. If you stop believing, we all die in the woods.”

It’s part of a cascade of self-deprecating jokes in the special, and it’s a preview of the set he’s touring through September. He comes to New Orleans for two shows at Sports Drink on Saturday, July 18.

Gilbert’s riff on the downsides of Spirit builds steadily, and then it takes a darker turn.

“They should have done 9-11 with Spirit,” he says. “Nobody would have died.

“It would have just bumped into the south tower and slid down the side like a pigeon flying into a glass door,” he adds. “Now it’s not even terrorism. It’s just graffiti.”

Gilbert points out that the notion of nobody dying is what keeps it from being too dark. But it’s a joke he was hesitant to debut in New York.

“I was so scared to do this, but I actually did that joke in my Comedy Cellar audition,” he says via phone from his home in New York. “And it was the only time it’s ever worked there.”

Since then, things have gone better. He’s a regular at the Cellar, its Village Underground location and other New York clubs like Union Hall and Chelsea Music Hall.

Gilbert has been pursuing comedy full time in the city for much of the past year. He moved to Brooklyn from Chicago four years ago. There, he spent several years pursuing stand-up at clubs like Zanies, Laugh Factory and Annoyance Theatre. He was popular in the city’s alt-comedy scene, and after a couple years he started honing his writing, acting and improv skills at Second City.

Gilbert first gave comedy a try when he was 18 and wanted to get noticed in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, he says. His first gig was opening for his father’s friend’s band, but it wasn’t at a music club. It was at a Tilted Kilt, a restaurant chain similar to Hooters, but with a Scottish theme. Then he opened for them at a bowling alley.

But Gilbert was hooked and started going to open mics at comedy venues.

He still tells jokes about his early career and the jobs he took. For a while, he had a gig traveling to regional Walmarts to distribute free samples. There he noticed that many people came to the store in either pajamas, or with a gun, and sometimes both.

“A guy walked up to me — he had this huge gun right under his belly fat and was like, ‘Where’s that Xbox?’ ” Gilbert says.

Now he’s happy to be in New York.

“New York is challenging,” he says.

“It’s like having a kid. I love it, but it’s the most work I have ever done.”

There also are more opportunities. He’s going to act in an independent film later this summer from Dan Perlman, co-creator of the TV comedy series “Flatbush Misdemeanors.”

He’s also a regular podcast guest.

“I like hopping on my friends’ podcasts,” he says. “It’s half the way you hang out with your friends now.”

He’s in the middle of a summer headlining tour, which culminates in performances at Let’s Fest in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

Adam Gilbert performs at 7 & 9 p.m. Saturday, July 18 at Sports Drink. Tickets $28.99 via sportsdrink.org.

"Working with The Pearl has been such a joy for our small business ! We love collaborating each month to choose the perfect vintage pieces for their magazine and advertisements – it’s always a fun and inspiring process.

The feature continually brings new customers into our shop, and we are grateful for the opportunity to connect with more people who appreciate vintage treasures and timeless design."

" We couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve seen since we began advertising in The Pearl! Since our opening in late August, our ads and featured products have led to multiple sales and new customers seeking out the shop. We launched our website the same day as our latest ad publication and we received our first online order within hours of going live ... thanks to ad they saw in The Pearl!"

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ADAM GILBERT

— Angela DiSimone OWNER, AVIS ALDINE

— Josh Saladino | OWNER, THE RISING SON

FULL SERVICEREALTOR

PREMIER CROSSWORD PUZZLE

PROMINENT CELEBRITIES

By Frank A. Longo

Co-star of “Volver” and “Nine”

25 Days of yore

Trick-taking game akin to

Singer of the 1965 #1 hit “Downtown”

Enter by sidling

82 He played Grand Moff Tarkin in “Star Wars” 85 And not

Twisting fish 89 MI-to-SC dir.

Huge Brit. lexicon

In the near future

Folk singer Guthrie

Most wan

First recorder of Bach’s Cello Suites

100 Moved in a curved path 103 Rim of a cup 105 Not yet on the sched.

Performs the function of

She co-starred in “Gremlins”

TV’s Geraldo

Abut

Like software that works on Windows machines ... or like this puzzle’s nine featured celebrities?

Hampering

Buffalo’s NHLers

Grace’s last name on “Will & Grace”

Is fixated (on)

English university city

Perp pursuer

Not keep, as a promise

Two- -- (some swimsuits)

Mtg. with a doctor, e.g.

Like uncaged chickens in barns

Rock’s Ocasek

-- Lingus

“I’ve had -- to here!”

30 T. rex, e.g.

Red-yellow dessert apples

Reef deposit

Piercing site

Peruvians of the past

VI halved

Sea east of Greece

“W.” star Josh

Cows

Sweepers, in brief

-- -Magnon 53

Of city government: Abbr.

Former Israeli president Weizman

“Speed up,” on mus. scores

73 Goody-goody

75 Positive, as an attitude

76 Sense of self

79 “Quit yer yappin’!” 80 Pointer

83 Train tracks’ foundations

84 Brief sleep

86 Like pencil marks

Singer Fitzgerald

Red-ink entry

Wane

Frightened

How to sit on a horse

River in both Carolinas

Street languages

Vena --

Perfume compound

H.S. class for a future doc, maybe

Diamond shape

Combat unit

Rival of Coke

108 Dwarf planet past Pluto

109 TCBY treat 110 Read quickly 112 -- dixit (mere assertion)

115 “NCIS” airer 116 “Either he goes -- go!”

117 Went first 118 Trauma ctrs.